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.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have a Topcon RL200 2 slope with remote. Works great for field leveling with slope changes. Enter the slope you need with the remote and it is ready to go in seconds.

The receivers I use have a range of about 8 inches. That has has been plenty of travel for grading in my experience.

 

[Fallon]

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.

I'm pretty sure its detector size & number of detector elements that's the relevant bit, not screen size. The bigger & more the faster & easier it is to get a bead on the line.

All the rotary ones I saw were self-leveling. You can check accuracy by marking a wall a ways out then rotating the laser 180. If the line matches the mark its self-leveling correctly.

 

[Fallon]

I have a Dewalt DWLRS 2V MAX Tool Connect Red Tough Rotary Laser Level on order. Not as cheap as the Bosch GRL500 kit & didnt come with a tripod or grade stick. It did do vertical lines though, which will help putting up some HAM radio towers & other upcoming projects. You can punch in a grade % on the Bosch remote or the Dewalt app on your phone (the laser reciever acts as a RF relay for the app so you can control it from 1,000' out). I mostly use Ryobi One+ gear, but my Dewalt grease gun uses the same battery, which will be a nice backup.

We'll see if I chose right here in a bit. I looked at the Topcons, but they were just a bit far out of my budget or mostly lacked the good grading options as well as vertical.

The CTS/Berger one is a good unit, except for the remote (not detector). Because of the remote limits setting grades on the laser was painful.

 

[spitter]

Been running large union jobs for the past 40 years and used every laser under the sun. TOPCON. Every thing else falls short in one way or another .:drink:

 

[jenkinsph]

I have a Dewalt DW8LRS 2V MAX Tool Connect Red Tough Rotary Laser Level on order. Not as cheap as the Bosch GRL500 kit & didnt come with a tripod or grade stick. It did do vertical lines though, which will help putting up some HAM radio towers & other upcoming projects. You can punch in a grade % on the Bosch remote or the Dewalt app on your phone (the laser reciever acts as a RF relay for the app so you can control it from 1,000' out). I mostly use Ryobi One+ gear, but my Dewalt grease gun uses the same battery, which will be a nice backup.

We'll see if I chose right here in a bit. I looked at the Topcons, but they were just a bit far out of my budget or mostly lacked the good grading options as well as vertical.

The CTS/Berger one is a good unit, except for the remote (not detector). Because of the remote limits setting grades on the laser was painful.[/QUOTE)
My first laser was á Dewalt and think it was a good bang fór the buck. About $400 non selt leveling 15 years ago. Still works good. Fór long distance shots the Topcon is much more accurate. Enter the slópe percent to three decimal places good fór about 1800 ft radius.

If the distance you are working are 200 yards ör less á less expensive laser will dó the job. Grading lasers are better suited fór field leveling.

 

[hawkeye08]

With some projects coming that I wanted a rotary laser for, along with my daughter and SIL building a house, I was watching CL and FC marketplace.. found an older DeWalt listed for $75, got it for $20 when it would not rotate. Turns out it just needed some help and has been fine since. One of the vials is cracked and useless, but fortunately, it has two in that axis, so just use the other one. It needs calibrating (I set it up and leveled it, then marked the level on a wall about 75' away, then rotated the laser 180 and did it again... had about an inch difference, so need to adjust that vial slightly. I only checked one axis.

The self leveling are tempting, but my budget doesn't go there. I have an indoor cabinet installer line level that self levels so may be using that to verify my DeWalt.. my advice on the rotary levels, buy name brand and make sure parts are available, should you need them.