Reliable Cable Detector?

Hello World,

I am new to UK.D-I-Y & "a newsgroup novice".

Can anyone recommend a reliable sensing tool for detecting and finding electric cables buried in walls?

I now have 2, none of which are much use. One is the fairly standard metal/ voltage detector. Other is a recently purchased (and quite costly) Zircon cable and stud detector (which if poor at both!).

Thanks John

Reply to
John Watson
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I have a Zircon Triscanner Pro which I bought in the U.S. for about $30, so not expensive at all.

I find that it works really well for both pipes and cables as long as it's used properly. It must be allowed settling time while in contact with the surface.

Realistically you are not going to detect dead lighting cable at 50mm away from the detector, but cables that are closer and obviously if they are live I find are picked up easily.

Certainly the cheap detectors sold in the DIY sheds are about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike, but I've found the Zircon really good.

WHat are you trying to detect and under what circumstances?

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Reply to
Andy Hall

Which cable detector will detect live MICC??

Reply to
James Salisbury

Tried Zircon products & returned them as being next to useless.

Bought this

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case that doesn't work it's a Metalla 120/1 Portable,Metal & Power Field Detector Typical metal sensitivity 20cm (3/8) inch pipe in concrete wall Typical field sensitivity 20cm (power line in concrete wall carrying 100W load

a.. LCD bargraph display to show proximity of metal and mains wiring

b.. Alarm functions for both metal and wiring detection

c.. Ability to reset alarm thresholds

d.. Individual indicators for metal and wiring

e.. Reset function to allow for accurate readings

f.. Auto power off

g.. IP44

h.. IP65 tactile keypad

i.. Low battery indication which advises 60 minutes of operation time remain

really does work - only gripe I have is that it has two sensing heads and only one has a hole thro it for marking spot with a pen.

sensitivity is continuously variable so you can home in on an object regardless of surrounding materials plus there are individual indicators for metal/leccy so a nearby cable won't confuse pipe location.

expensive but good

Reply to
Chris Oates

I have one of these:

and it does what it says on the tin although it is very pricey if you're not using it everyday like I am.

Reply to
BigWallop

Thanks for the replies. The York thingie looks tempting at £73. I'll see if father Xmas will get me one. I tried the link for "tinyurl" but directed me to RS components with whinging message?

I do quite a lot of electrical repairs & upgrades and occasionally it is invaluable to be able to find cables (often ring power circuits) that have been routed in a strange manner esp. in old cottages.

I actually have 4 sensors in total - two are Zircon iSensor stud detectors which don't detect studs at all well (!!). My newest is a Zircon contractor ac (all from RS components), which works better but is poor at detecting mains cables.

PS. Being a "Newsgroup novice", I am just recovering from the deluge of spam that followed my first posting, so apologies for the tardy reply. I guess part of the trick is to have a phoney email address. Thus far I have posted via google.

John

Reply to
John Watson

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