I've never had a bulls eye bubble malfunction at any temperature until today. This rod bubble was fine on Friday afternoon when I put it away in my truck. It spent the weekend in the truck as usual and low temps were only in the 30's. Today when I tried to level it for the first shot it was as if the bubble was inverted. I could chase it around the perimeter of the vial but getting it inside the circle wasn't happening even with a bipod. I switched rods and continued the job and then checked the bad rod again when I was packing up. It was better, but still wouldn't go to the very center and looked like it had a bit of residue inside the vial that was keeping the bubble from centering. By the time I got it to the local shop to see if they had a new vial in stock it had cured itself. I'd think I imagined the whole thing if an engineer friend hadn't witnessed the strange behavior. It was as if some of the liquid solidified and changed the shape of the vial but I wouldn't expect that to be possible at 30F.
Your Hangover must have worn off......I't will be O.K. tomorrow!
BLH
:bored:
Stephen,
I had a bubble that would act crazy, and I could no keep it adjusted a year or so ago.
It did not display the same behavior that yours did though.
Jimmy
Hide your beer from your rod.
direct sunlight influences some bubbles a lot, may be keeping it a shade of the pogo would help
I've had that happen on a couple of different rods. Intermittent, and I never figured out why it was happening.
Dave
when temp is floating just around 0 deg Celsius the bi-pod and pogo may transfer heat from surrounding air into the ground and the pogo/bi-pod tips thaw the ground and the bubble is not behaving well - this is what I noticed when tripod/bi-pod is permanently setup.
I usually put some snow where tips are so the sun does not heat the metallic ends of the tripod/bi-pod.
I appreciate all the comments helpful and otherwise.;-) I have ordered a replacement bubble and will be testing the existing bubble in a freezer once the replacement arrives.
...liquid solidified ...
.. at 30F.
It's ice, man.
Hey don't they put antifreeze in those things?
I know some "liquid filled gauges" are full of oil, not water.
It's a SECO rod with the florescent green/yellow bubble. I always assumed that they were filled with alcohol (spirit level) but after yesterday I wonder if it is oil based or has an additive or something that could congeal in the right circumstances.
Oddly, I've used the misbehaving rod in much colder temps with no issues and the 12 foot version of the same rod had no issues either.
It sounds like the liquid contracted in the cold and pulled the top of the container down so it was concave, then warmed up and pushed it back to convex so it was right again.
I saw a similar problem a number of years ago. As it was nowhere near freezing, I ended up thinking it was static electicity having an effect. You could lightly stroke you finger across the bubble surface and see the bubble react. Like moving your hand over the top of someones head... sometimes static causes their hair to move, sometimes it doesn't move. Just leave it a few days and try it again but keep the possiblity of static in your mind.
OK, Seriously
I had mine malfunction lately. It is temp and pressure related, I think. The bubble, that is the ACTUAL bubble got broken into 2 or more pieces. Those things are filled with alcohol, so no freezing. And, they are not filled FULL. There is room for an air bubble. That air bubble should be in ONE piece. IF it gets "broken" into 2 or more, then the bubble cannot center, and surface tension keeps them from rejoining into 1 piece. So, to cure it shake it, and watch it.
If it does not go back to one bubble, then it may need a bit of heat, so set your finger on it, so your body warmth, goes into the alcohol, and warms it. Then shake it again. All mine that malfunctioned, did so when it was cold, and temperatures were rapidly fluctuating. They went normal, after getting warmed up.
Just me slow functioning memory got jarred, the other day.
Nate
The fluid in a level vial is an alcohol based fluid very much like vehicle antifreeze. Compare the yellow color of some vials to the Prestone in your car or truck.
Sometimes older vials can have internal "crystals" appear inside attached to the top surface. That can cause the edge of the bubble to "catch" briefly and then move past the desired centered position. I don't know of any way to make the crystals dissolve. Cause could be impurities in the vial fluid.
If you have a very sensitive level like one found on an old 18" Level or the telescope of transit the bubble can vary in length in temperature extremes. Likewise touching a vial will cause the bubble to move because the temperature where you touch becomes a bit warmer. The extreme is the vial in a hand level that explodes or leaks fluid when it is left in the sunlight on the dash of a vehicle for example.
Levels vials can also get flaky if they become loose in their mounts. Tubular bubbles are often secured with a bit of plaster of paris. Circular vials may have a bit underneath them. Lightly touch the vial and see if there's any movement of the vial in the mount. Not hard to repair but you have to be careful not to break the tip where the glass was drawn out when the vial was filled and sealed.
Chambered vials used in geodetic striding levels sometimes are quirky when you're changing the size of the bubble and then getting all of the little bubbles to re-group into a single bubble.
Once upon a time I was ordering one and was asked whether or not I wanted the vial filled with Deuterium so that it would "glow in the dark?" I declined since some places I go would go nuts if I showed up with a radioactive bubble.