I've got one but it's years old - has the technology improved and has anyone got any recommendations?
Device for finding cables and pipes prior to drilling
Mar 09, 2017
4 Replies
A nail works for me. Let's the electricity and water out just as well as a drill. ;-)
Tim
It happens that Murmansk formulated :
Mine is a combined unit - cable pipe, live wire, stud finder and quite old. A friend bought the recent Lidl one on offer and I had quick chance to have a play...
It included all of the above, plus an ultrasonic distance measure. It seemed a bit more capable, but maybe not worth the expense as I had one already.
Some are better than others, but whether the age has much impact is harder to know. My Zircon Triscanner works well - and that must be a good decade old or more.
IME not really, I've got a Bosch GMS120
I would *not* recommend it, it can give false positive and false negatives for mains cabling whenever there's any plasterboard within a few feet.
A 20p neodymium magnet is far more accurate for finding joists/studs provided there are nails or screws in them.
As for copper pipes it *is* actually quite good at finding those, even where they pass within brick walls.
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