Mowing Grading laser recomendations?

[Fallon]

I recently picked up a CST/berger RL25HVCK Horizontal/Vertical, Interior/Exterior Rotary Laser Complete Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008OQHMJY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EAdkDbP70N37F it works great for level, but has proved problematic for grading. The remote is super fiddly & often non-responsive when trying to dial in a grade. Not sure if my remote or reciever is bad,or they are just that fiddly & short ranged. So it's likely going back.

I'll mostly be using this for grading driveways & small pads for sheds. I need to upgrade from string levels. Most of the time I'm shooting for a 1% grade or so rather than level to get drainage.

I'm now looking at a Bosch GRL500 or Dewalt DW080LRS. A GRL500hv apparently will do horizontal & vertical, but seems to be rather rare, the Dewalt & the CTS/Berger do both. Vertical will be handy for raising a ham radio tower here soon. Vertical isnt critical, but would be nice.

The Bosch you can dial in a specific grade from the remote/detector. For the Dewalt you can dial in a specific grade on the app on your phone via Bluetooth. The app almost sounds cool, but is probably tedious & fiddly in operation.

Any recomendations on either option, or something else I'm not considering feature or tool wise?

 

[1010]

https://www.amazon.com/TRIMBLE-SPEC...d=1562922131&s=gateway&sr=8-40&srs=7672963011
I pretty sure this is the model at work we use. It's several years old and is the handiest thing to have..
It mounts to any tripod and the reader clamps to any grade rod. Ours is rechargeable and has been used for a 1/4 mile away. Once it's on it levels it's self and a few seconds later the laser starts to spin. Very easy.

 

[Hozzie]

Good timing as I was also just looking at grading lasers. I decided to go with the Topcon RL-H5A from Tiger Supplies. I just went with the dry cell batteries instead of rechargeable as I won't be using it a lot and the rechargeable will probably be dead when I want to use it anyway. I'll just take the batteries out when not using it. I ordered the tripod and rod from them as well. Seems to have much better reviews than both the Bosch and Dewalt. It also has the slope function.

Best deal was through their Ebay store. I ordered mine withe the tripod and fiberglass rod.
Topcon RL-H5A Construction Laser Level Kit Tripod 16' Fiberglass Rod 1th | eBay

You can save a bit with an aluminum rod, but for the $40 I figured it was well worth it. You can also get inches or metric instead of tenths if you prefer. They have many combinations listed on ebay. I checked their store direct, but it wasn't any cheaper and in some cases more expensive for the combinations.

 

[oosik]

I've used a Trimble - very nice and it's accurate.

 

[Soldier415]

following

 

[crashz]

I have a Topcon that I love. No grade control, so you have to manually calc the distance and elevation when setting grades, but helps me double check.

Wow prices have dropped significntly. I bought mine about 5 years ago and paid over $1,100.

 

[Fallon]

I have a Topcon that I love. No grade control, so you have to manually calc the distance and elevation when setting grades, but helps me double check.

Wow prices have dropped significntly. I bought mine about 5 years ago and paid over $1,100.

Ya, that no grade control part is my only issue with the CTS/BERGER one. Trying to get it to tilt & match the calculated grade with the remote takes forever. Need to get one that you can dial in an x% grade. The option to have it tilt until it hits the reciever automagically is nice for matching a grade, but still leaves me doing math setting a grade (which often ends poorly).

 

[3Ts]

Those of you with the rotary lasers, do you need to calibrate them or are they ready to go from the box. I read about one that to calibrate it, you had to turn it off, remove the batteries, make an adjustment, reinstall the batteries, turn it back on, check calibration and repeat.

And what about the detector? I've seen several that have different size screens and "two on grade settings" and "9 channel grade indication". I'm at a loss to understand those last 2. It seems to me that the screen size shouldn't matter since you're only looking for the laser beam, although the farther away you are the bigger the detection area the quicker you can find the beam.

 

[1010]

No calibration for the one I posted. We just move the detector up or down the grade rod for a slope. It's pretty straight forward.

 

[Hozzie]

I am sure any of them will need calibration at some point, but I think most of them (at least these higher end ones) come calibrated to start. The one i posted also does.

I haven't used one much so I am sure there will be a learning curve, but i suspect for the most part they all work very similarly, especially for the weekend warriors like me who will be using this periodically as I work on the land and house I just bought. Lots of projects on the horizon where this will be a necessity.