Find Your Stud – Franklin Prosensor 710 Stud Finder

There are a lot of different stud finders available on the market.  You can buy one ranging from $5 and up.  The one thing we do know about this market is that you really do get what you pay for.  While some of the concepts for the $5 one are cool in theory, they just don’t get the job done.  Some of the more pricey ones are awesome like the Milwaukee Sub Scanner, but they are overkill for the home market.  We have yet to find a really good home stud finder that is easy to use, reliable and reasonably priced, well that was until we tried the Franklin.

Manufacturer – Franklin Sensors

Model – Prosensor 710

Average Purchase Price – $50

You don’t always have to find a stud when you are hanging something, after all that’s what anchors are for.  However there are times when finding a stud is important.  Finding a stud is crucial for a couple different reasons.  First if you are hanging something heavy, you need that solid backing.  Second it is a time saver.  If you can’t find a stud, then you will certainly be doing some patching.  So with that being said, having a reliable stud finder is key.

This is where the Franklin comes into play.  The first item we really like about this is how quick it is.  You do not have to calibrate the unit or even wait 30 seconds for it to auto-calibrate.  Just press one single button and you’re ready to start finding either metal or wood studs.  Another cool feature is that it doesn’t matter the position you have the unit when you start it.  You can have it directly on the wall and press the button or away from the wall.  Some units require that you start the unit when it is on the wall, so it can calibrate the unit.  With the Franklin you can start it even if you are away from the wall.  You maybe asking what is so cool about that feature.  Well, it means you don’t have to slide the unit along the wall to find a stud.  You can lift the unit up and place it at another location and detect a stud.  If you want, you can still slide the unit along the wall.

Once you do find a stud, some of the 13 LED lights on the front will light up.  Not only does it tell you a stud is behind the wall, but it also tells you the width of the stud.  You maybe asking isn’t a stud all the same width?  Yes, for the most part and that is why you should always get around three led lights.  However when we tested it with a stud and a piece of conduit right next to the stud, we had 5 LED lights, light up.  Just a helpful little tip if for some reason you see more LED lights.  When we tested it this way, it just showed one stud behind the wall.  The unit will show multiple studs behind a wall as you can see in the video.

The unit doesn’t claim to work with plaster walls and we did find it a little more sensitive.  While there were areas we could detect, other areas we could not.  Plaster is very hard because of the make up of plaster and the different thicknesses of plaster.  One thing we did notice was the unit does a very nice job to contour to the wall.  So if you have a small bump or something in the wall, it didn’t effect the detection.

The stud finder is always scanning in deep sensor mode which is 1.5″ in ideal conditions and 1.1″ in real world conditions.  You can scan through sheetrock, plywood and more, so it makes this detector very well rounded and suitable for a variety of different materials.  We always try to find a couple things that could be improved with a product, but we do have to say this is one that is pretty close to the perfect stud finder.  If we really had to dig deep, we would like to see a case or pouch with the stud finder.  Not a big deal, but we just like cases.

Overall this is the best home market stud finder we have tested or used.  Even the contractor who needs to find the occasional stud and can’t warrant a large investment in a stud finder because of not being used enough will find this very handy.

SPECIFICATIONS

Franklin Professional Stud Detector Prosensor 710 Includes

• Stud Finder

Warranty

Tool – 90 Days