Which Cable / Stud Finder??

[will1983]

Hi guys,

Do any of you have any recommendations for which cable and stud finding device is worth buying.

As this is a business purchase I'm not really limited to a budget, avoiding just one service strike will recoup the additional cost of a professional standard tool.

Thanks in advance
Will

 

[transatlantic]

I was looking for something that detected wires (live or not). I tried these two and gave up. They're super unreliable. Some reviews say you have to touch the wall with the other hand to ground it, but again, unreliably in my tests. You think you've sussed it, then all of a sudden it'll start beeping in places where you have justed test clear, or won't beep next to a say a live socket. bah!

I've kept the tacklife, and just use it in metal detector mode, which seems to work ok and is better than nothing.

They're obviously on the cheap side, so hopefully you have a few hundred to spend and maybe those are better?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Detector ... ref=sr_1_9
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tacklife-Multi ... ef=sr_1_10

 

[custard]

I tried these two and gave up. They're super unreliable.

+1

That's exactly what I find, you think you've got something that you can rely on and then it starts giving random beeps!

I'll follow this thread with interest, if there's something out there that you can absolutely count on to locate stud work then I'd be willing to spend a bit more, the cost of a cock-up could be pretty high, so it's worth paying for quality. But the fairly premium Bosch stud finder I have certainly isn't that quality tool!

 

[siggy_7]

My experience is that wall chasers and SDS drills are the best tools for finding things in walls. I've tried numerous detectors and I find them to be universally hopeless, even for live wire detection.

 

[John Brown]

Has anyone tried one of the expensive ones, like this, for example?
Bosch D-tect 120

 

[AJB Temple]

I have the Bosch D tect 120. So does my plumber. We are of like mind that it is OK but not 100% reliable. Better than the cheap ones. From memory mine was £180.

There is a much bigger Bosch detect that is a good machine, capable of finding live cables, metal, stud, water pipes (including plastic if there is flow) to a reasonable depth in walls and floors. But it is about £650.

The other thing that works in some applications is a thermal imaging camera. It works even better if you can get a heat source on the other side of the wall you are checking.

 

[will1983]

Cheers AJB, just placed a bid on one of the D tect 120 units on eBay.
I'll see on Sunday if I've won it.

 

[shed9]

Have you had a look at the Walabot device?

https://walabot.com/diy

Not used myself or indeed met anyone who has but then it is fairly new. Seems to be legit, went through a kickstarter route. Plenty of good reviews on it.

 

[will1983]

Thanks Shed9, not much use to me as an IOS user though.

Cheers anyway.
Will

 

[shed9]

Thanks Shed9, not much use to me as an IOS user though.

Cheers anyway.
Will

I did notice that IOS seems unsupported at the moment but given the price and nature of its use, I'd have a punt at this and just buy a cheap Android to use with it exclusively. It's a device that will likely be updated in it's use via software.

Either way good luck in finding something suitable.

 

[Marineboy]

Peter Millard uses a magnet to locate the nails in studs (or the line of plasterboard screws at the edge of the sheet, or presumably if lath and plaster the nails holding the laths to the stud). Not tried it myself though.