transit?

[BLL]

interested in getting a transit for soem upcomming drainage work...does anybody currently use one or know anything about them...IM not sure what kind i need or where a good place to get one is...I have used them before and know how to use them but i never had one of my own and dotn knwo what kind i need....Thanks

[GreaterMilwLawnscape]

I dont have one of my own, but if i had extra money id own one. They run about 250.00 to 350.00 You can buy them at Home Depot or United rentals

[Rex Mann]

BLL,

First, one question. Will you be using by yourself. If yes, then a rotating laser level is what you are after. If you have 2 people then than get a transit and a stick. David White is a good brand name for a transit. They sell them at Sears and rental stores. One thing, no matter what transit you do get, get the stick in inches rather then 10th's. Inches are easier to learn and less confusing to most people.

Their great tools to have. Worth the investment.

Peace,

Rex

[mower_babe]

we use an old, old one. It works well, though. Wish we had one of those high tech lazers. Really cool and Really$$.

[AGLA]

Most people that do this type of work actually use something called a dumpy level, but refer to them as a transit. A transit is more complicated and expensive because it measures vertical and horizontal angles as well as being able to shoot level.

A practical dumpy level ought to be $ 250 and up as someone else said. Berger, 3m, Sokasha (sp?) are decent.

[Turboguy]

you can also find transits of every brand and type on Ebay for about anything you want to pay

[BLL]

are just the optical levels sufficient for shooting grades and such or do you need an actual "transit" level...Also what about the rotating base or "circle" i think its called?

[mdvaden]

Not sure why I never got a transit yet. But I do know that we prefer all tools to be as compact as possible.

This enables more to be carried full time in the truck.

Since I only "shoot" the grade about once a year, I bought what is about a $70 sight level. Its about 10" long.

I made a stick - a 1" x 1'2" furring strip - six feet long, with 2" horizontal rests every one foot.

The measuring stick, and the resting stick fit easily into a cranny.

And the sight level fits most anywhere.

It probably accurate for about 100' of distance within an inch of accuracy.

[AGLA]

A dumpy level is fine for walls and walks. The cheap ($250-$350) ones are usually good to 1/4" at 100'.

You are paying for the precision of the instrument. Getting a used one adjusted would probably cost you more than you will save, if it is out of whack. Just a thought. You might ask an excavation contractor if he has an old one you can buy. So many are now using lasers.

If you only need it once in a while, I would hold off on the laser. Think of it as $300 per shot if you only use it four times a year, and a big loss if it gets wrecked or stolen. You might as well rent one instead. Everyone likes to collect tools and gadgets, but that is when you get buried in overhead.

[deere ZTR]

Lasers save a lot of time and money over all even if you do have two people to run a transit and a wise invest if you use one much. We use a line transit and hope to go to laser soon.

[little green guy]

I have a Berger, I think it was like 350.00 or so. If your doing drianage, walls pavers or any excavating or grading it's a must in my book.

[BRL]

I bought a rotating laser level a couple of years ago for around $1,200.00 with tax, tri-pod & stick. Can't think of the brand name off hand. I consider it probably one of the best investments in tools I've ever made. The amount of time saved over running string lines etc. had it paid for in the first 2 jobs I used it for. Plus you don't have to worry about tripping over those strings LOL. Sometimes I have wished that I got a real transit sometimes, but jobs where that would come in handy are pretty rare, and we've been able to get that work done with the laser level any way. It just takes longer, like it used to take longer to use string lines in the past. A definite must IMO as well, like LGG said.

[Alan]

Don't waste money on a transit, that's old technology and labor intensive. Not that it's a bad method, but with a laser you will check more often and do it with one man, not two.

I have an old David White transit, works good and is easy to "peg" and adjust if need be. But, it still takes two people to use. And the time wasted is terrible. Suppose you're working on something and need to take a shot, one man goes for the rod, the other the instrument. The guy on the instrument has to focus it and find the rod, then take the reading. If you're shooting levels with it it's not too bad as you can use a target and eliminate worrying about reading numbers.

Now using a laser, especially for level, once you set it up and establich your grade it's a piece of cake. If you're shooting level you (one man) pick up the rod an set it on the ground. If you get a tone you're within an inch at worst. If no tone you either lift it to see how low you are or tilt the rod until the tone sounds to get some idea of how much you need to take off. If you're grading a large area level you walk and set the rod on the ground ahead of you at each step. As you step past it it will go through vertical, if grade is "right on" you will get a beep that tells ou you are too low but as the rod goes past vertical a solid tone tells you you're on the money. It's so easy you will take many more shots than you ever would with a transit.

I bought a DeWalt like this one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2540586660&category=42298 I got it at Home Cheapo. The one here has a detector included so all you need to buy is a rod and tripod, about another $150. I needed one right away so eBay wasn't an option for me. I think I paid under $400 for mine with a tripod but no detector and got the detector from eBay for well under $100.

[BLL]

many thanks for the replies...I went ahead and made a purchase today of a Berger auto-leveling model. It ran me 456 wit pole and tripod...Talked to teh guy at he shop for a while and he said good laser was around 900 and that if i wasnt using it everyday it would be awaste of money so i opted for the cheaper non laser model. The auto leveling works well, all you gotta do is get it fairly level adn somethign inside fets it perfectly level..Onyl off like 3/6 at 200 ft which is better then the 1/4 at 100 with a regular optical ...I think ill be happy