werner automatic levelers

[xkvator]

MD...what do you do to extend/retract them.
looks like you have to cut about 6+ inches off the bottom of a perfectly good ladder :eek:
do you use the feet off your ladder or do they come with them?
how much do they weight...noticable when carrying?

[mdshunk]

They come with their own feet. Yes, you do cut some off the ladder (template included) and drill some bolt holes according to the template. They are automatic. You just set the ladder up like normal, and then pick the ladder straight up (plumb) and sit it down on the ground. The levelers automatically lock in place, since there's an axel rod that runs through one of the rungs to co-ordinate the two levelers. There's no operator intervention required to work the mechinism other than to pick the ladder up and sit it down. The way it's made, it would be 100% impossible for the mechinsim to "slip" or come out of adjustment when you're up on the ladder. I'd guess it maybe weighs 5-7 pounds, but I can't notice the weight. Let me tell you, these are a dream. Every extension ladder should have one. Once you use one just one time, you'll wonder how you ever used an entension ladder outdoors without one. I'm noticing these on lots of guys ladders now when I see them on top of their trucks. They were special order a few years ago when I first got mine, but I notice now that even my electrical supply house has them as a normal stock item.

[xkvator]

online price at a few places i looked is about $80 - a local builders supply is back in business under a new name after bankruptcy - their prices were always lower- when i get over there, i'll check. I'll try a set...blockings a pain. thanks

interesting the way you level it...but that reminds me of the new Maytag washer i bought last fall...you level the front feet as always...to level front to back, you tilt the machine toward you approx. 30-40 degrees and DROP IT :eek: I had to read those directions again to see if I read correctly. It worked...perfectly level!!!

[dremmel]

Md, could you post a pic of this leveler? Since I'm a one man operation, sounds like this might come in handy. I've been using a few 2x8s or other wide scrap.

[mdshunk]

Sure, I've attached a picture of the two accessories that I think every electrician's extension ladder should have. At the top is the V rung/hook combo. I don't use the hooks (phone guys do), but the V rung is quite handy. It stabilizes the ladder when leaned on round telephone poles to change dusk-to-dawn lamps without a bucket. I've also used it to lean on the corner of a house. Right handy for that. The hooks flip out if you want to support the far end of the ladder off messenger supported phone and cable TV lines. The other pic shows the automatic levelers in use. Obviously, for electrical work you wouldn't want to be using them on an aluminium ladder. The levelers are part# PK80-2 if you're doing an eBay search. The PK40 series are useless, since they only do one leg of the ladder. You absolutely need the PK80-2 that will do both legs.

[dremmel]

Xkvator mentioned $80. How much were yours md?

[xkvator]

while not the best prices, i found www.scaffold.us has a lot of info/pics on ladder accessories.
and another leveller i found was at www.levelok.com - although not automatic, they're removable and you don't have to cut :eek: the bottom of your ladder. i think with the quick coupler kits, you could use one set on many different ladders. :cool:

[mdshunk]

Xkvator mentioned $80. How much were yours md?
Mine were $105 bucks at the electrical supply house. Probably not the cheapest place to buy ladder acessories. I've seen the Werner automatic ones new on eBay for as cheap as 39 bucks.

While sawing the feet off a perfectly good ladder seems counter-intuitive, it's the way to fly for a daily used ladder, I believe. For the homeowner or DIY, manual levelers that you connect onto an existing ladder might do the trick. I was turned onto the automatic ones by the local utility when they started to use them some years back.