Thread: Stud Finder

I use mine a fair bit. Make sure you're not holding it at 1200 from the floor when you switch it on because you might be detecting a nogging!

It needs to be well away from anything solid in the wall when you push the button - bit of trial and error sometimes. I usually find a known stud (like wherever there's a power point or light switch) and make sure it's detecting that before I go across the wall. Even then it sometimes either detects non-existent studs, or fails to find the ones that are there. I do a sanity check with a tape before banging anything into the wall.

All in all not a perfect technology but has been useful to me in the past.

Originally Posted by silentC

I use mine a fair bit. Make sure you're not holding it at 1200 from the floor when you switch it on because you might be detecting a nogging!
.

Depends, what if you have 2700mm high ceilings?

[Insert the height of the noggins in your building]

I just can't seem to work out my Stanley 'Fat Max'.

It finds studs where there are none and tells me a whole wall in my office is charged with 240 volts.

For me it's worse than useless.

Yes, stud finders can be like that.

My name is not Clark Kent, and I use the stud finder as a guide only to what is in the wall. I have two different stud finders in my box, one to check the other.

Why do they sometimes give funny readings? Sometimes it depends what is in the wall. Some types of insulation or wall paper can throw them out. The type of plaster can also have an effect. A join between two plaster sheets can if correctly picked up will appear as a strange reading. Other stuff in walls like wires and pipes may also be picked up and give a false reading. There might also be brace board in the wall.

After checking with a stud finder, I suggest drilling a small (>2.5mm) hole to test for a stud (or noggin).

Every building is different, good luck.

At the other extreme there's the hideously expensive Bosch that uses radar (yes you read that right high frequency-low output radar) to scan. Through plaster, timber, even concrete. It not only detects as it scans, but also reliably identifies anomalies, and indicates their depth from the surface, up to 150mm in most substrates, and 100mm in cured concrete! And it's uncannily accurate.

Did I mention it's expensive? Well, so is a burst underfloor water-pipe!

Hi Ratbag,

Have you actually used one of these? I Googled it after reading your post and found some mixed reviews. I'd be happy to pay the exorbitant price if it could actually detect wires and pipes in concrete/masonry walls.

Cheers,

Steve

Hi Bodgia
I have used both the stanley and the black and decker I was not happy with either
I now have a Bosch GMS 120 ( the blue version) and it is a far superior product and has to date never given a false reading,
they are not cheap although it seems with stud detectors you get what you pay for.

Originally Posted by Mosman-Handyman

I just can't seem to work out my Stanley 'Fat Max'.

It finds studs where there are none and tells me a whole wall in my office is charged with 240 volts.

For me it's worse than useless.

Same here; probably one of the most disappointing products I have ever bought.

Originally Posted by China

Hi Bodgia
I have used both the stanley and the black and decker I was not happy with either
I now have a Bosch GMS 120 ( the blue version) and it is a far superior product and has to date never given a false reading,
they are not cheap although it seems with stud detectors you get what you pay for.

Hi China,

Thanks for that. I've tried all kinds and always use at least two stud finders if I'm in any doubt. I've got the Bosch DMF 10 Zoom Professional and a Stanley Intelli Sensor (strangely enough, I find the Stanley the most accurate on Gyprock walls), but I've never seen anything that can give me a good reading for pipes or electrical wires in a masonry wall. I must admit that I'm constantly worried that there will be electrical wires chased into a wall where I want to drill - and that would not be good .

This radar thingy sounded promising but I just wanted some feedback from somebody who had actually used one.

Cheers,

Steve

Bosch GMS 120....works great.
Bunnings around $159. in the US around $55.00