Water level question....any advice?

[NM_Shooter]

Heading up tomorrow early a.m. for two days work on piers.  I have a few different methods of leveling with me.  A string level, which I suspect is fine for setting level for a small (14' X 20') cabin.  But I am bringing a cheapie laser level, and also a water tube.  I have about 20' of 1/4" tubing that I thought I might use as a sanity check. 

In the past, whenever I tried to use a water level, I had the worst time trying to get the bubbles out of the tube.  This would cause some settling issues which were a pain.

Any tips on using a water level?  Should I scrap the small tube which has more capillary action and just stick with the string level?

I try to keep telling myself that I am not building furniture, and that tolerances don't have to be perfect, but I am anal and want it to be as close as possible.

Tnx...

-f-

[PEG688]

  Water levels can be a PITA, the small tubing does exacerbates that as the water as you noted clings to the tubing.

As far as bubbles just fill the jug then let the water run out of the tube until they are gone , then add water carefully to the reservoir so as not create more , find something to use as a plug while at the Borg so the water can be stopped at the end of the tubing for storage. Be inventive, a big screw , a plumbing pipe plug or some thing cheap so you can get a couple as those tend to get lost right outta the gate , especially if your a long way from the store 

  I'd say buy some bigger clear plastic hose at Home Despot / any Borg on your way to the place.

Be anal , getting started level and square will improve every thing about the place.

That clear tubing will be money well spent.

G/L PEG     

[MountainDon]

I use a Zircon water level with an electronic tell tale buzzer and you can borrow it, but it's still locked away in the Jemez. (I meant to bring it back already.  

It uses 5/16" tubing I believe. There is a slight lag when you move the tube end up/down. But with patience it works well.

As for getting rid of the air bubbles I fill it by siphoning water until it's running free of bubbles then stop the outflow. Mine has some fancy nylon locking clamps. A good pair of spring clamps would do the same.

I've used a small amount of food color in the water to make the level lines easier to see... a big help with my vision. I also have problems hearing the high pitched beep... have to have my head cocked just so.     

As for the string level, use good mason's line and pull it TIGHT!

"...building furniture..."  I know what you mean. I drove myself mad trying to get a perfect corner to corner diagonal as well as a perfect levelness between as 10 piers. You probably know, but you get a better result when leveling by using a central reference and going from there to each pier, rather than going around the rectangle from one pier to another.

[PEG688]

  #1: I've used a small amount of food color in the water to make the level lines easier to see... a big help with my vision. I also have problems hearing the high pitched beep... have to have my head cocked just so.     

#2: As for the string level, use good mason's line and pull it TIGHT!

  #1: Good point!

#2: 40 or 50 lbs mono / fishing line , clear so it's harder to see , you hit the line more often , but you can stretch--errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr tight! 

[NM_Shooter]

Thanks for the feedback! 

I am planning on driving a reference post right smack in the center of the cabin, and using that as my reference point. 

I may try and hit the hardware store in Chama and see what they have for tubing there.  It would be nice to have something a little larger in diameter for the water level. 

I am also thinking that I can shim the Simpson brackets up to get a planar surface for the main beams.  I am shooting for no worse than 1/4" out of level from pier to pier.  I am going to try for less, but I am not going to fight this for hours if it is at 1/4". 

Hopefully won't get chased down by the rain.  I may try and work through any bad weather on Saturday.  If need be one of the other owners has graciously offered to let me stay in his cabin.  If I get stuck on the hill at least I have a dry flat place to lay down.  It is a very small cabin but would appear to be the Hilton if a storm blows in.

Thanks again!

-f-

[mechengineer13]

NM Shooter.  I made a homemade one that works great.  I'd take a picture, but it's 0145 hrs here, so I'll try to describe.  With respect to bubbles, very small bubbles adhering to the inner wall of the tubing won't affect the accuracy significantly, provided there isn't a ton of them.  The larger bubbles that span the cross section will affect accuracy.  If the smaller ones really bother you, you can tap them out while having the end of the hose elevated held to something with a spring clamp.  I tried just using a hose when I built a very large privacy fence, but with no reservoir, you end up repeatedly adjusting both ends, and that is a pain.  The one I now have I made with a 15 quart sterlite container (roughly 18" X 15" X 8"deep) as the reservoir, about 30' of 3/8" ID tubing, an appropriately sized hose nipple (more about that in a second), two large fender washers with ID just larger than the threaded area on the hose nipple, nut to match the threads on the hose nipple, and a small hose clamp.  The hose nipple is brass with a tapered end with barbs similar to those on a car radiator.  Just behind the tapered end is a hex area for a wrench, and just behind that is a threaded portion.  I drilled a hole in the side of the sterlite container towards the bottom, put clear silicone, on both sides of the container around the hole, slid a fender washer over the threaded end of the hose nipple which seated against the hex area, inserted the threaded end through the hole from the outside, another fender washer on the inside and then the nut and tightened.  No leaks after the silicone cured.  The hose is hose clamped over the barbed end of the nipple.  Got about $20 in materials in it.  Much cheaper than what I saw available for sale.  With the Sterlite container serving as the reservoir and its large surface area and volume, it serves as a reference.  Large changes in elevation (on the order of inches) of the hose end have a negligible effect on the reservoir level.  The added benefit is it eliminates fighting both ends when using a hose only.  I taped the end of the hose to a four foot ruler with blue painters taped spaced about every 8 inches.  To use it, establish a reference point, say 20 inches on the ruler for example.  Always set your water level in the hose at that mark, and then for whatever your measuring, measure up or down.  Make sure you set the reservoir at a level so that the level in the tubing will fall within the span of your measuring device.  Hope I described it well enough for you.  Cheap, easy, works great, and also satisfied my anal tendencies as well.  Oh by the way, when you're done, the sterlite container serves as a great way to store the hose with its snapping lid.  P.S.  The sterlite container came from Walmart, about $4, and the rest from Ace Hardware.  P.P.S.  This gave me level to within 1/16" for my piers for my 12' x 24' workshop.

[rwanders]

This may be completely bogus advice since I have not tried it myself but-----I once read that if you add just a few drops of a dish detergent to the water it will break the surface tension and allow the bubbles to percolate out.

[desdawg]

I built one using a piece of 3" ABS. Glued a cap on one end and a fitting on the other end that accepted a screw in plug like you would use on a cleanout. I drilled a hole in the cap and threaded in a brass fitting to accept the hose. The ABS threads easy if drilled to the correct size. A little pipe dope or silicone on the threads will assure a good seal.

[glenn kangiser]

This may be completely bogus advice since I have not tried it myself but-----I once read that if you add just a few drops of a dish detergent to the water it will break the surface tension and allow the bubbles to percolate out.

Sounds logical.  For dropping the gold flakes out of clay water we add a few drops of Jet Dry  (anti streak for the dish washer).

[PEG688]

This may be completely bogus advice since I have not tried it myself but-----I once read that if you add just a few drops of a dish detergent to the water it will break the surface tension and allow the bubbles to percolate out.

I'd think the soap would create more bubbles ? I have used anti -freeze in winter , as the water level tends to stay in the truck.

[MountainDon]

RV antifreeze, the stuff that's safe for potable water systems could be an ideal year round fluid. It's pink so easy to see, not toxic to pets if spilled.

[mvk]

I used to make them by putting a hole the size of my tubing in a tupperware container then getting a 2" piece of tubing that would slide over the other tubing and use silcone caulk to seal the hole and the 2" piece of tubing to the bottom of the container. I also liked to use silcon tubing for the water level because it stayed flexiable at low temps. i wanted to make a new one but got sticker shock at the cost of silcone tubing! I got some pieces of other cheaper tubing and put it in the freezer and they were all hard to deal with when it got cold. What kinds of tubing does everone else use?
Mike

[MountainDon]

I use cheap vinyl; it's not usually cold enough for that to be a bother. If it is I don't work. 

[mechengineer13]

Vinyl for the one I made as well.  It was 99 degf and 75% humidity today while I was putting the subfloor in the loft.  Don't have to worry too much about flexibility.