Engineers TEST Stud Finders | Dewalt vs Zircon vs JAXWQ

WE TESTED 8 OF THE BEST STUD FINDERS WE COULD FIND From Amazon's best sellers to well know brands like DeWalt and Zircon. We measured their accuracy , their ability to detect live wire and their ability to detect PVC, Metal Conduit and Copper.

Product Links (No Specific Order):

0:00 - How do Stud Finders Work
1:39 - Test Setup
1:58 - Craftsman
3:10 - Dewalt
5:02 - Zircon HD900
7:05 - Zircon HD55
8:32 - Franklin ProSensor 710+
10:03 - Hart
11:13 - JAXWQ

Whether you are putting up some nice floating shelves you just bought, hanging some pieces of art or setting up your brand new TV, being able to determine where your studs are is critical.

Before the advent of stud finders, you had to hammer in a small nail into the wall until you found a stud.

There are two main technologies used in stud finders, magnetic and electronic ones. Magnetic ones like the stud buddy here, use a strong magnet to find the screws in the drywall.

To use magnetic stud finders, you simply zig-zag across the wall and hope that you find a screw. These types of stud finders are cost effective and easy to use. If you have the patience and your budget is tight, this might be the right stud finder for you, just make sure you find several screws to confirm this is indeed a stud.

Moving on… electronic stud finders are the most common out there. They detect changes in capacitance to determine the presence of a stud.

Within the electronic stud finder category, you have edge stud finders and center or whole stud finders. Edge stud finders utilize only one magnetic field; thus they can detect only one edge at a time and requires you to come from the other side to determine the other.

For a whole or center stud finder, engineers employed the use of multiple magnetic fields to detect several changes in density and thus detect the entirety of the stud or even two studs at the same time.

To test the stud finders, we built a wall with studs spaced at 16 inches apart on center. We installed electrical conduit, PVC, PEX and Copper piping. We added an electrical outlet and light switch to test the live wire detection capabilities of the stud finders. Finally, we installed 5/8 in drywall and applied 3 coats of satin paint.

One of the most affordable options we will be testing today is the Craftsman edge stud finder. This stud finder has a limited lifetime warranty and claims it can detect wood and metal studs up to 3/4 in. It also features a marking channel for convenience.

Next up we have the Dewalt center stud finder, this stud finder offers a three year limited warranty and it claims it can detect wood studs up to 1 inch deep, metal studs up to 1.5 inches deep and live wires up to 2 inches deep. Additional features include a convenient center marking channel, directional LED arrows for visual guidance and constant auto calibration, allowing you to begin on a stud.

We have the ZIRCON HD900. It offers a limited lifetime warranty and claims it can detect Wood studs up to 1.5 inches deep and metal ones up to 3 inches deep. It has an AC SCAN mode to detect live wires as well as a wire warning detection in any mode.

Also from Zircon, we have the HD55 edge stud finder. It offers a limited lifetime warranty and claims to detect wood and metal studs up to ¾ of an inch or 1.5 inches " in deep scan mode". It features live wire detection up to 2 inches and a unique arrow projection for ease of use.

One of the most expensive stud finders we will be testing today is the Franklin Pro Sensor. It offers a 1-year warranty and claims to detect wood and metal studs up to 1.6 inches deep because 1.5 just wouldn’t cut it.

The most economic stud finder we will be testing today will be the HART center stud Finder, at a low price of 9.88 at Walmart, It offers a 3 Year Warranty and claims to detect wood and metals studs up to 1 inch deep.

Next in line, we have the JAXWQ. It offers a 2 year warranty and claims to detect wood and metal studs up to 1.5 inches deep and live wires up to 2 in deep.

**Some of the links and other products that appear on this video are from companies which Brand Ranks will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Brand Ranks is part of an affiliate network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available.

[khuongathebounga]

I had a Bosch and also a Stanley branded stud finder and sometimes they also gave false live wire alarms. I’m not sure with the DEWALT but I found that you could prevent the false detection by putting your free hand flat on the wall while using the stud detector with your other hand. You may need to put your free hand on the wall close to the stud finder. This is due to your body absorbing the surface charge on the wall in order to prevent false live wire detections.

[gigavolt]

I use a $20 Zircon stud edge finder and tiny dot sized neodymium magnets. The magnets are just to rule out the possiblity of a pipe. The nails should be spaced out a few inches. if the magnets stick to every inch, it could be a pipe. Once I'm confident it's a stud, I mark the edges of both sides of the stud up and down the wall to get a silhouette of the stud. Confirm if there is another stud 16 inches to the side. If it looks like it all makes sense, I mark the middle of the silhouette and drill a small pilot hole. I've hung a lot of heavy stuff using this method. works great.

[Bowtieoclock]

I have that Craftsman, it took me about a half hour to talk myself into trusting it when I was mounting my tv. The price was awesome, it did it’s job and I’m happy with it.

[allencar]

I have the Franklin, Hanson Magnetic, and a Ziron i700 (~$55-60). The Franklin is my 1st choice especially if there is a possiblity of double or triple studs which it readily shows. It is the fastest tool. The Hanson's magnet will pull the device from your hand if loosely held. It never gives a false reading unless the worker missed the stud and did not pull the nail out. The Ziron is a multi-mode tool and works OK but really finding the center of the stud takes some work.

[IsaacEckman]

This is an excellent review. Very helpful. Something that I would love to see someone address is the ability of a stud finder to work on uneven surfaces. I grew up in the NE and flat painted walls were the norm. Now that I live in the SW US you will never find a flat painted wall. Almost every wall in every house has texture sprayed on them. It makes finding Studs a huge pain.

[gustavomacall]

We built a shuttle to go the moon but we still can't find the center of a stud 😐

[perrydear]

if you ever visit stud finders again I would be interested in the performance of the Ryobi whole stud finder..thanks!

[bbaaspencer]

I bought a Walbot for $160 and so far it’s been the best one I tried. It picked up an electrical line I didn’t know was in my wall.

[perrydear]

Totally agree with your comments on the DeWalt tester I'm not impressed it felt loosey goosey for want of a better word. Instruction sheet was good for a laugh...and Thanks for doing this, good job!

[DennisMathias]

It makes a difference as to what the purpose of detection is. I typically don't want to know what's behind the wall. I only want to know where there is a stud. Thus the name. I don't want to detect copper/pvc pipe or electrical conduit because I'm not going to mount anything there. I'm only going to mount to a stud. So you can throw all the other detections out AFAIC. And if it's a deep stud..I don't want to know that either since I won't be able to mount anything there anyway.

[Midmo]

The Franklin looks identical to the hart one I have. My guess is they are identical except the color. It is hands down the fastest and most reliable stud finder I have used as a trim carpenter. The zircons have always given me issues.

[tenmilliondollarsnow]

I don’t know where you got your Franklin, but Lowe’s X2100 and Home Depot M210 offer live wire detection. Which works great.
I like that these are made in the USA.

[jmuench]

To me a stud detector sensing conduit and pipe without very reliable differentiation is a fail. I use a stud to see where to put nails and screws, I don't want pipes and conduit showing up the same as studs.

[kaknu]

I'm a finish carpenter (install lots of cabinets, shelving etc) and the most reliable method in my experience is just knocking on the wall. You can hear and feel the difference on a stud with some practice. It also eliminates false positives on pipes becuse it only works where the drywall is fastened tight to the stud. If in doubt, drill a tiny test hole right above the baseboard so you can caulk it unnoticeably.

[jnorris]

Dropped my Franklin pro off of a ladder onto hard surface when trying to locate ceiling studs. Still going strong.

[HandyTim]

I have a craftsman stud finder and it has a mind of it's own some days it works and some not

[FXDE]

I got a Franklin several years ago. One of the LEDs was burned out almost immediately (should have returned it) and then another one went out some time after. At least it has enough area to just use a different area of the sensor. I wish it did have a higher resolution.

[darylfortney]

Dewalt is garbage for me too but in my experience I have tried 4 different stud finders both cheap and expensive and they are all terrible. This market seriously needs some new tools that actually work.

[bwill]

I have the Zircon and the stud buddy. The zircon finds the stud well but is not always the center. Typically use the stud buddy to get the ballpark then use the zircon but always verify the center with a nail.

[darkshadowsx]

I have a zircon stud finder and its garbage. i tried it out on a stud and put a dot where it says it detected the edge. i went up about 3 feet on both sides moving up about 2 inches at a time.
by the time i connected the dots it looked like like someone was playing pin the tail on the donkey absolutely wasted drunk.
sure it "detected" the stud but you could definitely miss putting in a few screws.

i just picked up a Hart brand stud finder with 9 sensors. i have yet to do the same test.