You can often see in the instructions of different laser levels and rangefinders this line: “Protection from dust and moisture – IP54”. Have you thought about what this code means?
There is an international system of standards called – IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). Which has developed a special and understandable code system for determining the degree of protection of a technical product from dust and moisture.
General decoding of the code
The IPXX code is decoded by three characters, each of which carries its own information, and is decoded as follows:
- alphabetic character: IP (International Protection)
- the first digit from 0 to 6 indicates the degree of protection against penetration of solid foreign objects (dust).
- the second digit from 0 to 8 indicates the degree of protection against water penetration.
The third point should not be confused with condensate. Condensation is formed when the appliance is handled incorrectly. A sharp temperature drop from negative to positive will necessarily cause condensation to form inside the device.
So always, after working with the laser level on the street in sub-zero temperatures. When you come home, do not take it out of your bag immediately! Let it rest for at least 30 minutes before you can turn it on again.
Attention! Even the highest water protection can not protect against condensation.
So let’s look at all possible protection codes in more detail, including the value of the IP54 code.
Decoding the first digit of the code
| Numeral | Brief description | Comments |
| 0 | The device is not protected | – |
| 1 | Protection against penetration of solid foreign objects with a diameter of 50 mm or more | Objects with a diameter of 50 mm will not get inside the device |
| 2 | Protection against penetration of solid foreign objects with a diameter of 12.5 mm or more | Objects with a diameter of 12.5 mm will not penetrate the device |
| 3 | Protection against penetration of solid foreign objects with a diameter of 2.5 mm or more | Objects with a diameter of 2.5 mm will not penetrate the device |
| 4 | Protection against penetration of solid foreign objects with a diameter of 1 mm or more | Objects with a diameter of 1 mm will not penetrate the device |
| 5 | The device is well protected from dust | The penetration of dust is not completely eliminated. However, dust does not penetrate into the device in quantities that can interfere with the satisfactory operation of the device. Or impair the safety of operation. |
| 6 | The device is dustproof | No dust penetration |
Decoding the second digit of the code
| Numeral | Brief description | Comments |
| 0 | The device is not protected | – |
| 1 | Protection against vertically falling water drops | Vertically falling drops will have no harmful effect on the device |
| 2 | Protection against vertically falling water drops (when the device body is tilted up to 15°) | Vertically falling water drops when the device body is tilted up to 15° will not have a harmful effect on the device |
| 3 | Protection from water splashes | Water splashes sprayed at an angle up to 60º to the vertical surfaces by any device will not have a harmful effect on the device |
| 4 | Water spray protection | Spraying water in any direction towards the device will not have a harmful effect on the device |
| 5 | Protection against water jets | Water jets that fall on the device at any angle will not have a harmful effect on the device |
| 6 | Protection against strong water jets | Strong water jets hitting the device at any angle will not have a harmful effect on the device |
| 7 | Protection against temporary immersion in water | Temporary immersion in water will not have a harmful effect on the device under standard conditions of pressure and duration of immersion |
| 8 | Protection against prolonged immersion in water | Prolonged immersion in water will not negatively affect the device under standard conditions. These conditions are negotiated between the manufacturer and the user. They are stricter conditions than for code 7. |
The laser levels have different protection codes from IP43 to IP65 (for example, such protection at the laser level Firecore F94T-XG), but as a rule, this is mainly the IP54 code. For more information about who has what protection code against dust and moisture, see the reviews of laser levels.
