Spirit Level - Checking and Adjustment

Checking and Adjustment

To check the accuracy of a simple carpenter's type level (i.e. whether the level indicates that a truly horizontal surface is, in fact, level), it is placed on a flat and approximately level surface, and the reading on the bubble tube is noted. This reading indicates to what extent the surface is parallel to the horizontal plane, according to the level, which at this stage is of unknown accuracy. The spirit level is then rotated through 180 degrees in the horizontal plane, and another reading is noted. If the level is accurate, it will indicate the same magnitude of orientation with respect to the horizontal plane. A difference implies that the level is inaccurate and must be adjusted.

Adjustment of the spirit level is performed by successively rotating the level and moving the bubble tube within its housing to take up roughly half of the discrepancy, until the magnitude of the reading remains constant when the level is flipped. Note that a perfectly horizontal surface is not required.

A similar procedure is applied to more sophisticated instruments such as a surveyor's level or a theodolite and is a matter of course each time the instrument is set up. In this latter case, the plane of rotation of the instrument is levelled, along with the spirit level. Furthermore this is done in two horizontal perpendicular directions.