Customer Reviews

Stanley 77-110 IntelliSensor Stud Sensor

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I usually research things before I buy them, but in this case I bought the 77-110 without the usual due diligence. In summary, after testing this thing on a piece of 1/2" drywall and a piece of 1/2" plywood laying across some 2x4's (stud configuration), I have a better idea how to use it. Before the details, I'll bore you with how this thing works (you can skip the next paragraph if you want to just get to the result.

Electronic stud finders work by comparing two things. Everybody knows materials can support a static electric field to a certain degree. Air is better than copper (copper flows electricity but air will prevent electricity from flowing (it insulates). So stud finders compare how well two materials insulate (typically the air-drywall combination versus the stud-drywall combination). The stud finder is basically a metal plate and a capacitor (a thing that stores up an electric charge). The stud finder compares the electrostatic charge stored in the capacitor (the calibration result in the initial air-drywall calibration) to whatever else is there as it rolls along the surface by using the plate. When it detects a difference from the stored charge in the capacitor then it signals the change, first by the bottom red light then the top red light and a beep.

Ok, so if you get the theory then any kind change in the electric charge-storing ability of the material (strictly any change in capacitance property of the material) will trigger a beep and a red light. This is a shortcoming of all electronic stud finders not just the 77-110. How accurate the stud finder is in locating the center of the stud depends on the plate configuration, the geometry of the field it broadcasts and the change detection electronics.

So here are the results of the tests:

(1) on drywall the 77-110 signaled the edge of the stud 1/4" to 3/4" away from the true stud edge when held in the typical way i.e. vertical or parallel with the stud. The pencil point notch on the top of the 77-110 was used to mark the "found" edge,

(2) approaching from the other side produced the same result, so marking both sides and then taking the center-point pretty reliably finds the stud center,

(3) if you hold the 77-110 perpendicular to the stud, i.e. typically parallel to the floor, the 77-110 beeps or light up both red lights about 1/4" into the stud using the pencil notch as the mark point,

(4) lifting the stud finder or moving over a bumpy surface makes it inaccurate and you get false positives, signals a "found edge" but wrong,

(5) it helps to hold your free hand on the wall near the stud finder to eliminate any static charges and keep the AC detector quiet,

(6) if you start out over the stud, the light stays green and will not detect the edge. I assume this means the 77-110 looks only for a drop in capacitance and the air-drywall combination has a higher not lower capacitance than the stud-drywall combination,

(7) the 1/2" plywood had cracks and knots. When this was laid over the studs it gave very unreliable results. I suppose the cracks and knots cause enough of a capacitance change to trigger the calibration value.

(8) placing a smooth thin (1/8") glossy magazine over the plywood made the 77-110 just as accurate in finding the stud as for the smooth drywall,

(9) laying the plywood over the drywall and then using the magazine for a smooth surface produced the same result as the drywall only case,

Bottom line, the 77-110 seems to work as advertised over a nice smooth surface. As advertised it finds the "edge" not the center of the stud. Just remember, it detects the "edge" and you have to calibrate it in a non-stud area, and approach from the other side to find the other "edge" and then take the midpoint.

Over rough or inconsistent surface like the old plywood I used, it was unreliable. I intend to use the 77-110 to locate roof rafters and punching holes in the roof with a nail is not an option. I'll use a combination of old fashion tapping and the 77-110 with a thin magazine.

The reason I gave this product 3 stars, is because I was forced to do all of this experimenting to figure out how it worked. Stanley should do this and include it in the instructions as a tips section..

I picked up one of these at a Local Lowes. It was my first time using a stud finder - so I didn't know what to expect. Well I popped in the battery for a test run.

* Ran it across about a dozen walls and it worked perfectly - getting the edges of studs without fail. I tested the results with a thin wire nail at a few places and it was consistently getting the same results

* Today - 3 weeks later - I take it out of my toolbox - and the thing won't measure worth a darn ANYWHERE. I initially thought a wire may be messing up the scans - so I tried it on several walls. Every wall I tested all of the sudden has studs that are six inches wide on edge now.

Total piece of garbage. I am very disappointed in this product b/c I actually had great results with it - but that only lasted for one useage - and it was gently placed in my basement toolbox. I guess they are disposeable.

* One more con against this unit is the 9 volt battery connection. It has the 2 wires that snap onto terminals. It grabbed the batteries so tight that it ripped one of the connectors off my battery. I prefer the ones that slide the 9 - volt battery into place.

Definitely NOT recommended -

Jake

I was too much of a geek to take the advice of the guy at the hardware store, so I bought one of these gizmos instead of a nail. On my walls, at least, this thing is useless. Basically, it finds many more studs than are actually present. So in the end I have to confirm its predictions by driving a thin nail through the wallboard and seeing if it hits wood. There are probably electronic stud finders that work, but this isn't one of them.

Bought this item at the local Lowes. Good thing I kept the little box. Like another reviewer said its inconsistent. Never reads the same edge twice in a row from same direction. And on a smooth sheetrocked ceiling with nothing else in between not even paint it doesnt find a darn thing. If you can't return it then at least use it for what its meant for. DOORSTOP!!

My wife bought this piece of junk, so if I wanted to keep getting fed, I had to try to use it to put up the shelves she wanted.

Running it over wallboard was useless, since it never located the same stud twice. On one pass it beeped for a stud & on the next pass the stud had suddenly disappeared. The only thing consistant with this stud finder was its inconsistency in finding studs.

Luckily, it soon fell out of my pocket into a bucket of paint, which solved my problem. Now I have better luck finding studs by tapping the wallboard & driving in a thin nail where it sounds solid. Actually, my problems are not completely solved, since I still have to put up the shelves.

I bought this sensor about a year ago and used it once. It worked great. The next time I went to use it, about six months later, it beeped constantly, even when it was no where near a wall. I replaced the battery and it still is malfunctioning. I am very disappointed with this unit. The warrantly is expired now, but by the time I payed to ship it back, etc. it is hardly worth it.

After this unit failed to correctly locate studs and caused me to drill two dry holes, I ran some tests.

Taking a piece of unused wallboard, I placed a test stud on the other side and ran the unit over it.

After about 5-10 tries, it determined that it detects the stud about 1" to 1.5" before the unit is actually centered over the stud. In some cases, it failed to even register the stud was there.

Finally, I ran it over a 3 to 4' wall which clearly had studs, since I can still see the nail heads and it failed to show anything at all.

Actually, during 30 minutes of use, it failed to correctly detect *any* studs.

As mentioned by other user, the battery does not come out very easily, as I was trying to remove it to return the unit and ended up having to pry it out with a screwdriver.

I cannot believe Stanley has the nerve to sell a piece of junk like this. The measurement is completely inaccurate.

Just bought one as my old Stanley stud finder died after 9 years of use. This POS thinks all the studs are 6-8" wide on studs I have marked before. Also the livewire sensor is useless and beeps all the time. What the hell are you guys selling Stanley? Don't understand how a company can mass sell such a useless product. Are your QA department a bunch of crackheads? Will not buy another Stanley product from here out.

Look at other brands and save your time and money.

Inaccurate, completely unreliable, and flimsy. According to this crappy device, the studs in our walls must be in constant motion since it never detects them in the same place twice. Don't waste your money on this "tool."