Good stud scanner?

[ear3]

For stud scanning I've gotten by with one made by Zircon, which I originally picked up because it was a) cheap and b) on the shelf at Home Depot.  But I don't always get good results with it, so I was wondering what people thought might be a good upgrade.

Bosch makes the GMS120, but many of the Amazon reviews say that it doesn't perform that much better than cheaper options.

I was also looking at the Franklin ProSensor 710, as the LED display seems like a more foolproof way of finding the center:http://www.amazon.com/ProSensor-710...?ie=UTF8&qid=1452006668&sr=8-2&keywords=bosch+stud+finder

But some reviews of the Franklin say it doesn't work well on plaster/lath walls.

Any thoughts?

 

[Harvey]

I went with the Franklin. You're right that none of them are prefect, but the Franklin seems to be the best of the bunch.

 

[mark60]

I've bought and disposed of a few Zircon's over the years. I bought a Franklin and have been more than pleased with it. The only time my Franklin has failed me was on a wall with foil faced insulation.

 

[Rob in Vancouver]

I have always had problems with all stud finders----they always point at me when I turn them on

 

[ben_r_]

What Ive used for years: LINK

 

[bkharman]

I have two that I like. The first one is from Franklin and is great.http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0064...1452017468&sr=8-3&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=Stud+finder&dpPl=1&dpID=4126HTB927L&ref=plSrch

The other one is a magnet based one that is also really good. This isn't the one but it is very similar.

 

[RKA]

I wrote one of those reviews on the Franklin and plaster and lathe. But for typical Sheetrock, it's far more consistent than the other battery powered gadgets. Note than Costco carries an identical version (only blue) for about $35.

I've found as you slide it across a wall, the 3 LED's that correspond to a stud will light up. Just as the LED's shift, stop!  The 3 lit LED's now mark the center and outside edges of the stud. Simple and accurate.

 

[ear3]

Thanks for the suggestions -- looks like the consensus is the Franklin, so I'll go with that, and keep the Zircon handy for electrical scanning.

 

[tjbnwi]

My favorite;
http://www.amazon.com/CH-Hanson-03040-Magnetic-Finder/dp/B000IKK0OI

Tom

 

[itasor]

I use the Franklin to find the stud, then the magnetic Hanson to pinpoint the location of drywall nails/screws. The Hanson works well because you can leave it stuck on the wall as a reminder of where the stud is without marking the wall.

The Franklin works extremely well. I have used it on really old plaster lathe walls and it found the studs with no issues. Two layers of drywall is also not a problem.

 

[dltflt]

The Franklin has worked best for me also.

 

[anthonyz]

Yes! Another for the Franklin Blue from Costco and I think the price has gone down from the $35. Best I have had and easy to use. All my Zircons sit in a pile in my shop.

 

[bkharman]

Yes! Another for the Franklin Blue from Costco and I think the price has gone down from the $35. Best I have had and easy to use. All my Zircons sit in a pile in my shop.

A pile of what?  [emoji90]

 

[BMAC]

I bought the Franklin model same as the others. Unfortunately it was about $50 bucks or so here in Canada.

I've had a bunch of zircon's and really hated how they worked (or didn't) on double 5/8" Fire rated drywall with steel studs in the apartment towers I'm often working in. All the zircon's I have were not that accurate at these depths and when using it to find studs for base it was very hard to see the gray LCD display (not backlit) when in corners of rooms with poor lighting I'd resort to wearing a headlamp so I could see properly.

None of these issues with the Franklin and the depth penetration is certainly better. Can't say enough about this unit speeding up my workflow and accuracy.

 

[danrush]

As a cabinet installer, I spend a fair amount of time chasing stud framing almost every day.  I've given up working with the electronic devices; I use a 1/2"x 1/2"x 1/2" rare earth magnet to locate drywall screws/nails.  Pretty darn accurate, even by old school methods.

 

[waho6o9]

big ol magnet

 

[Cheese]

Ya, over the years I've purchased way too many of these contrivances and the outcome has always been the same...PATHETIC

The best thing I've found is a couple of rare earth magnets attached to a 1" wide piece of 3M blue painters tape. I've probably had a 80-90% success rate using the rare earth magnets.

I've been looking at the current Milwaukee offering but haven't pulled the pin because of the price. However, if the Milwaukee unit  actually works, then as far as the price goes, das macht nichts.

 

[EdL]

I've got the Bosch GMS120, it'll find everything but a stud.

Ed

 

[travisj]

I have a bunch of the Zircon units and they work awesome for my kids to play with.  Based on what I have read online, I picked up the Franklin unit at Costco a couple of days ago.  I haven't had the time to open it up and test it out yet.

 

[L.J]

I have the Milwaukee M12 model ant it serves me quite well.