Zircon StudSensor Pro LCD: What's a Word for "Less than Useless"?
Written: Jan 10 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: battery included
Cons: plainly and simply does not function at all
The Bottom Line: If given the choice between a brick and a Zircon StudSensor Pro LCD, take the brick: they both function only as paperweights, but the brick will hold down more paper.
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| scmrak's Full Review: Zircon Pro LCD StudSensor |
I'm not certain what the deal is with stud finders, but the electronic ones just plain don't seem to work. This is my second - the first was a Stanley IntelliLaser that simply quit working (the calibrate button stopped functioning) after a couple of years and a few dozen uses. I trashed that one and went back to Lowes to get a different one. This time I avoided Stanley (fool me once, etc.) and went with a Zircon StudSensor Pro LCD model, one without the bells and whistles of the IntelliLaser.
Zircon says that the StudSensor Pro LCD will find metal or wood studs through plywood or wallboard, with an "easy-to-read display screen [that] indicates stud edges." In theory, all one needs to do is place the StudSensor Pro LCD on the wall, hold down the power button until the unit calibrates, and then slide the unit along the wall. They say that an LCD arrow fills in on the small (1" by 1½") LCD panel on the face as you reach the edge of the stud, and a red laser pointer lights up. Once you've found an edge, Zircon says, you can work from the opposite direction to find the other edge and thus center your screw or nail in the stud for the best holding power. Zircon claims that the two settings (StudScan and DeepScan®) allow detection of studs or joists through up to 1½" of drywall and/or plywood. That's in theory, of course.
According to Zircon, the StudSensor Pro LCD also performs continuous detection of AC current (from 90 to 250V) in a hot wire with their WireWarning® technology. Current detection is a safety feature to prevent a worker's cutting, drilling, or driving a fastener into a current-bearing wire. A triangular warning icon lights up on the LCD panel when the unit detects a nearby live wire, says Zircon. You can't tell it by me.
Zircon builds the StudSensor Pro LCD in a high-impact plastic case, with a contrasting pocket clip that also serves as the cover for the battery case. The unit runs on a 9V battery, which is included.
My Experience:
The Zircon StudSensor Pro LCD is worth its weight in used cat litter, which is to say that it is completely worthless except perhaps as a paperweight. The unit will not calibrate on any surface - painted, papered, drywalled, even on a hollow-core door. It begins to beep and flash; then beeps and flashes continuously, never reaching a mode in which it can be used to detect a stud. And yes, I tried it on other spots and tried it on other walls. Oh, and the WireWarning icon stays on continuously.
The Zircon StudSensor Pro LCD is completely worthless. You are much better off tapping on the wall with a hammer and looking for spots that aren't hollow.
Not recommended. Not Recommended at all.
Recommended:
No
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