joseph_green13•9d agoTop Commenter

Burned $150 on a laser level that can't handle sunlight

Picked up a Bosch GLL30 for indoor trim work and thought I was set. Took it outside to check a patio door frame and the green line was invisible after about 10 feet. Next time I'm just borrowing my buddy's self leveling rotary laser or saving for something with brighter diodes. Anyone else run into this with budget lasers?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_rowan9d ago

yeah my first green laser was a Huepar box level and same thing happened to me. i took it outside to mark a fence post and the line just vanished after like 8 feet. what finally worked for me was grabbing a cheap laser detector from amazon for like 40 bucks. clipped it to a tape measure and you could hear the beep even in bright sun. still not as good as a rotary but it got that patio door job done without me buying new tools.

anthony_jackson319d ago

Borrowing your buddy's rotary would definitely help for outdoor stuff, but I gotta say the GLL30 is a solid little tool for what it is. It's built for indoor trim and stud work where the lines are short and the light is dim. Taking a green line out to ten feet in full sun is like bringing a flashlight to a floodlight fight. For that patio door job, a piece of white paper or a laser detector clipped to your tape would have saved you the frustration without dropping a ton more cash. The diode on those budget units just doesn't have the power to fight the sun, and that's not really a flaw, it's just physics.