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Laser Level reccomendations

joe_pinehill1

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There are a few threads on the board, but the technology seems to be changing fast. Anyone have a recommendation? I'm considering the DeWalt. DW088K. Also don't want to go over ~$200. Lowes is reducing all their Bosch's , I'm guessing Bosch is coming out with new units, and they are clearing old inventory. I normally buy Milwaukee, but their lasers seem stupid over priced.

 
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rlitman

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Indoors, I use a three plane laser for everything. It's best feature is that you get crossing lines above and below to indicate plumb points.
 

tarbellb

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The Dewalts have a good reputation on site, nice bright green lasers.

Bosch has all tiers of quality, lower end stuff is on par with any other brand or generic imo.

I can recommend Huepar, do a search here on GJ and see the reviews. Good entry level lasers.

The only reason to consider Milwaukee is if you are on the battery system, even then they are overpriced.
 

mike93lx

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Renegade1LI

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I see mostly dewalt or
Hilti on job sites. I only buy the dewalt green lasers but gr or red both work with a detector for outside work.
 

danski0224

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Unless you get a PLS branded unit, red line lasers are just about useless in many well lit environments, much less outside.

Whatever you buy will need a pulse function to be usable with a detector. For some, pulse is default, for others it must be enabled.

Not all detectors are universal for a given color.

Even green lasers become invisible outside. And inside if it's really bright (daylight).
 

GeoBruin

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I have the DeWalt DW088K you mentioned and it's been great. If you don't need a 3 plane laser, it smaller, lighter, and cheaper. The vertical line extends slightly past vertical (directly above the level itself) which is nice. I also have the receiver that allows you to detect the line in brighter conditions or further away and that's a great add on if you'll be working outside.

I was comparing this to the model that takes the dewalt batteries and I thought I would miss the extra juice but it actually seems to have really good battery life. I did a basement project that took a week and I had it on all the time, often forgetting to turn it off for extended periods and it was fine. I haven't tried running eneloops or similar but it may work.
 

Galvonzo

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The dewalt one you’re looking at is pretty good. I’ve used an older Bosch GPL5 and I highly disliked it. My main issue with it was the magnet, wasn’t strong enough to hold tightly to metal columns. Also didn’t help that you had to spin it around when using the magnet and in doing so it leveraged most of the tools weight to pull down on the magnet. Especially after that magnet got metal dust on it. Best off just using that one on the ground.

I personally use a Klein laser(93lcls) that looks identical to the Dewalt DW0822 for about half the price or even cheaper if bought from zoro with a coupon. Very strong magnet along with a bracket you can hang from a screw or nail in a wall or stud. No complaints so far. Also comes in a version that has the green laser, which is nice but not mandatory for me.
 

F-22

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Friend had a higher end Bosch for worl (electrical) and wasn't very happy with it (I think he said it drained batteries, though I might be confusing stuff). He got a Hilti and is very pleased with it.
 

Handyandy23

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I have a DeWalt green beam one and it's always worked well for me. I have a cheap little Amazon tripod to use with it. I've used it outside a couple times, but mostly just indoors doing shelving, hanging pictures, whatever. Also has a magnet on the back if you have something metal like a metal door frame.

I can't compare it to any other brand because it's all I've used, but I have no complaints about it. Takes 4x AA batteries, and it does seem to go through them semi regularly, but for my occasional use it's not really an issue.
 

alinc100

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Friend had a higher end Bosch for worl (electrical) and wasn't very happy with it (I think he said it drained batteries, though I might be confusing stuff). He got a Hilti and is very pleased with it.

The green beam lasers do drain batteries faster.
One of the benefits of (most) of the Huepars is they can plug into the wall via USB C cable. This also allows them to be powered by a (cheap) powerbank that is longer lasting,more powerful than their batteries,and ultimately cheaper than AA batteries. Neither of these are options on my DeWalts or my Hilti but jobsite wise Hilti battery and Dewalt batteries are common if for some reason I would need to borrow from another tradesman. When we had 5-6 guys installing those of us with Dewalt or Hilti with 12v batteries would change out batteries once every 2-3-4 days, the smaller batteried Heupar (503cg) would get a change 1 time a day. The Bosch would need new AA batteries almost daily. If everyone stayed busy lasers would be in use 6-7 hours a day. Out of habit I would swap out my Makita 18v subcompact Impact Driver daily at lunch. Our habits for battery switches was born out of having a central location where our chop saw was set,where I cut aluminum angle all day, and I set up a charging station with batteries/chargers in an area of the jobsite with constant 110v power while the crew was installing on multi levels of an office tower. This prevented having to remember where things were plugged in, whose things were plugged in,etc.
 
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rlitman

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... I’ve used an older Bosch GPL5 and I highly disliked it...
I have nothing but bad things to say about the GPL5. I owned one when it was a yellow RoboToolz, before it was rebranded in gray as Porter Cable, before it turned blue and became Bosch. Unlike the magnetically damped pendulum mechanisms used in just about every other self-leveling laser on the market, this POS relied on a motor to kick the laser into level. Except it moved in increments that meant that if you disturbed the laser and put it back in the same place, the plumb points would shift every time just a little. I NEVER had any faith in this, as the plumb points weren't repeatable enough to even set a door jamb.
Just curious, why would one need Bluetooth on a laser level?
Bluetooth isn't a significant battery drain (it consumes less power than simply sitting on the shelf), and lets you use your phone instead of a separate remote. A remote can turn planes on or off without disturbing the laser by touching buttons, or maybe you want to attach your laser near the ceiling and control it without getting on a ladder.
 

alinc100

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I wouldn't suggest Banggood ...unless you're looking for something else entirely,wrong currency,etc.
Buying at Amazon ,you actually bought from The Heupar Store. I've seen two warranty issues one we had snapped a fitting on one of the poles on the 12 ft tripod(now we treat fittings with anti-seize) took a picture ,sent an email to Heupar and within 24 hours a new,complete tripod was sent UPS to my door, from somewhere in the CONUS. 2nd issue a co-worker kept saying there was something wrong with his 503cg, it would blink intermittently. We believe it was user error and he wasn't setting it up right,but he emailed Heupar ,they instantly credited him the purchase price,he upgraded to the 4 beam. Very soon after that he left employment with our company and I have not heard more about the 4 beam laser. Please update us when you get your new laser and your thoughts on it after using.
 

M6erfan

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Bluetooth isn't a significant battery drain (it consumes less power than simply sitting on the shelf), and lets you use your phone instead of a separate remote. A remote can turn planes on or off without disturbing the laser by touching buttons, or maybe you want to attach your laser near the ceiling and control it without getting on a ladder.

Great answer, thanks.
 

danski0224

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I have a huepar. Nothing special hut it gets the job done.
Huepar wasn't an option, and got tired of waiting for Milwaukee when I got the DeWalt 3 plane that runs about $500.

That was the going price at the time.

I do have a Huepar detector to keep onhand if I happen to need it on the job.
 
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jrsavoie

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I have nothing but bad things to say about the GPL5. I owned one when it was a yellow RoboToolz, before it was rebranded in gray as Porter Cable, before it turned blue and became Bosch. Unlike the magnetically damped pendulum mechanisms used in just about every other self-leveling laser on the market, this POS relied on a motor to kick the laser into level. Except it moved in increments that meant that if you disturbed the laser and put it back in the same place, the plumb points would shift every time just a little. I NEVER had any faith in this, as the plumb points weren't repeatable enough to even set a door jamb.

Bluetooth isn't a significant battery drain (it consumes less power than simply sitting on the shelf), and lets you use your phone instead of a separate remote. A remote can turn planes on or off without disturbing the laser by touching buttons, or maybe you want to attach your laser near the ceiling and control it without getting on a ladder.
I got a robo laser decades ago and am still using it.
I don't move it, once set, so I never had an issue with the slight adjustment if the base got tilted a little
 

danski0224

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For most of my uses, a rotary laser would ****.

The one time it wouldn't would be if I'm setting up a ceiling line and if the rotary laser has an adjustment on it that will change the direction of the line slightly. Trying to dial in a line laser like this can be a pain. I've seen the carpenters use one, and the laser usually has a remote control. Looks like a HILTI.

But, I only need something like this for work, and I'm not providing it... The HILTI PR 30-HVSG A12 runs over $2k new.
 
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jrsavoie

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I have a super cheap line laser that I used for years and a Fat Maxx laser plumb bob that I also used for years.
I got the plumb bob when they first came out. Until then it was a brass bob and fishing line. And hopefully no wind.
 
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