Digital inclinometers - How accurate is yours?

[DaveyH]

Hi,

I recently bought a digital inclinometer, it's a Huepar AG01.

It has 1 magnetic side and 3 non-magnetic sides.

When placed on its magnetic side and left side it's bang on.

However,

Upside down it's 0.45 degrees off.
The right side is 0.55 degrees off.
The bubble is also off by about 0.2 degrees.

Is this normal for these devices, or do I need to be sending it back for a refund ?

I've tried the device on several different flat surfaces, worktops, windowsills, desks, tables, sideboards and the results are always the same.

Thanks in advance.

Here are some pictures.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

No, it isn't normal. You need to send it back. Any bubble in a level should be accurate out of the box when the level is turned end to end, on the flat or vertical. Similarly the digital read out should be consistent. This is always a problem with cheaper products - lack of consistency and quality control.

But are you sure that your control surfaces are plumb and level?

 

[Notch7]

Hi,

I recently bought a digital inclinometer, it's a Huepar AG01.

It has 1 magnetic side and 3 non-magnetic sides.

When placed on its magnetic side and left side it's bang on.

However,

Upside down it's 0.45 degrees off.
The right side is 0.55 degrees off.
The bubble is also off by about 0.2 degrees.

Is this normal for these devices, or do I need to be sending it back for a refund ?

I've tried the device on several different flat surfaces, worktops, windowsills, desks, tables, sideboards and the results are always the same.

Thanks in advance.

Here are some pictures.

It’s early in the morning and my brain hasn’t woken up, but can you check a level that way?

if you reverse a digital level on a non plumb surface….won’t it read differently?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

It’s early in the morning and my brain hasn’t woken up, but can you check a level that way?

Good grief! It's the middle of the day for some of us!

If you reverse a digital level on a non plumb surface….won’t it read differently?

Yes, at least my last one did, precisely why you should periodically check bubble levels end to end. You can almost never guarantee that an installed surface is exactly level (and truth be told along a 3m worktop being out by a few millimetres isn't noticeable, which is why lasers can "get away" with minor innaccuracy)

 

[^woody^]

Have you calibrated it?

 

[^woody^]

if you reverse a digital level on a non plumb surface….won’t it read differently?

No, not if it's been calibrated correctly

 

[Deleted member 174758]

How do you calibrate the bubble, then?

 

[Notch7]

No, not if it's been calibrated correctly

Yes I guess if you Zero it, then turn it around, it has moved 180 degrees.

I said it was too early for me!


this one has an accuracy of +/- 0.2 deg, I guess over 180 degrees it could read 0.4 deg out -which is about what yours is

Amazon.co.uk

this one has a closer tolerance

Wixey Digital Angle Gauge with magnetic Base

Wixey Digital Angle Gauge with a magnetic base to attach to machine tables etc. Simple to calibrate to any reference surface with the zero button

www.machine-dro.co.uk

the base is pretty small, so it would only need a tiny manufacturing flaw in the accuracy of the base, of a few 1/100s of a mm to make it out by by half a degree.

if its 60mm wide, then 0.3mm of inaccuracy on the base relates to an inaccuracy of 0.3 degree

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Or a bit of grit under one end

 

[^woody^]

How do you calibrate the bubble, then?

The OP has bought a digital inclinometer, presumably for the digital function which requires calibration. If he wanted to use a bubble, then he should have bought an inclinometer with just a bubble

It's a waste of time playing off the bubble and the digital sensor. It's one or the other.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Upside down it's 0.45 degrees off.
The right side is 0.55 degrees off.
The bubble is also off by about 0.2 degrees.

Is this normal for these devices, or do I need to be sending it back for a refund ?

I would suggest that is pretty near as accurate as you can expect. The reference face, is the magnet face, the sides and top will not be accurately machined and I'm not convinced anyone could level with a normal bubble to 0.2 degrees - that is well into specialised engineering level territory.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The OP has bought a digital inclinometer, presumably for the digital function which requires calibration. If he wanted to use a bubble, then he should have bought an inclinometer with just a bubble

It's a waste of time playing off the bubble and the digital sensor. It's one or the other.

In case you didn't read it:

The bubble is also off by about 0.2 degrees.

If you have a bubble it should be accurate enough to meet the relevant standards (CE, BS or whatever), which means that if you set it up to be level one way, then turn it through 180 degrees it should also be correct. Hence the comments about needing to rotate it through 180 degrees to validate - and that applies to both the bubble and the digital. FFS if they can't set a bubble up right, there seems little chance that they'll get a digital inclinometer to work right. BTW my old Bosch inclinometer has two bubbles in it (one horizontal and one vertical) which are in agreement with the digital read out and my Stabila bubble sticks. This is not a fluke

 

[^woody^]

In case you didn't read it:

If you have a bubble it should be accurate enough to meet the relevant standards (CE, BS or whatever), which means that if you set it up to be level one way, then turn it through 180 degrees it should also be correct. Hence the comments about needing to rotate it through 180 degrees to validate - and that applies to both the bubble and the digital. FFS if they can't set a bubble up right, there seems little chance that they'll get a digital inclinometer to work right. BTW my old Bosch inclinometer has two bubbles in it (one horizontal and one vertical) which are in agreement with the digital read out and my Stabila bubble sticks. This is not a fluke

It's a digital device. The bubble is superfluous.

The digital sensor can be calibrated the bubble can not, so is double superfluous.

As I stated, if the OP wants to rely on a bubble device, he should buy one.

 

[DaveyH]

The surface's don't have to be flat and level, they just need to be flat, because these devices can use a mode called relative angle mode. They also have an absolute angle mode. For anyone that needs a full explanation of this feature. Here's a youtube video to watch.

The bubble on it is of no real use and wish I hadn't mentioned it. But on a level surface (checked with another level) in absolute angle mode I need to raise the left hand side to properly center the bubble and the digital read out is 0.2 degrees. Most other makes of these devices don't have a bubble, I'm not sure why Huepar decided to include one (probably just a silly marketing gimmick).

I reckon 3 of the corners are a Midgie's Dick out of square. And that's why 2 of the sides are off by 0.45 and 0.55 degress. Only 1 corner is actually 90 degrees and that's why I get an accurate reading on the magnetic side and the left hand side.

If any of you own one of these devices (or something similar) does yours read 0, 90, 0, 90 in relative angle mode on a flat surface as you rotate it, or does yours suffer the same issue as mine?

 

[^woody^]

I have one like yours without the bubble. It was from lidl. It's out by .25° horizontal and vertical (relative) no matter how I try to calibrate it.

It seems a lot and it messes with my OCD, but in practical terms its nothing.

I have a couple of Bosch digital levels and a no-name and whilst accurate and useful, an inherent problem in all seems to be that the sensor is slow to react or the steps are not fine enough. This manifests itself by the sensor not moving to 0 or 90° before the bubble does. I always seem to need to jig the level further out of level or plumb and then back again - if that makes any sense.

But all are OK when measuring inclines.