How to Use a Pipe & Cable Detector - DIY Tips!

Tip from the Bosch manual: "When the measuring indicator continuously shows an amplitude even though there is no metal object in the vicinity of the measuring tool, the measuring tool can be calibrated manually. For this, remove all objects in the vicinity of the measuring tool (including wristwatches or rings of metal) and hold the measuring tool up in the air. With the measuring tool switched off,press the On/Off button until the illuminated ring lights up red and green at the same time. Then releasethe button. When the calibration process was successful, the measuring tool will start over after a few seconds and is then ready for operation."

Don't usually leave comments, but this is one of the most helpful, informative videos I've watched. Trying to put up shelves around gas and electricity meters felt like a minefield in Victorian tenement with a variety of walls. About to give up, terrified (my brother, a welder, suffered bad burns when he drilled into a live wire that had been wrongly marked as a safe point by others). Now have half the shelving up. Great stuff.

Very useful for myself. Starting out using a detector but as always using extreme caution. Patients and checking numerous times is so key for me. Its not all negative using these items, there are good sides to it.. Thanks for the simple and effective info.

I use one that is basically just a thin long magnet and have had better results than with the flashy, beepy ones. I had no idea that someone made one with a digital display. I'll be on the lookout for one here in the states. Keep up the good work Andy! I enjoy your videos immensely.

genius - like you i've had my PD06 for donkeys, but i think the last time i used it YouTube videos weren't that common - i'm about to put up a coat rack. TODAY S THE FIRST DAY I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO DO IT SAFELY. good on ya fella - the range detector and not the noise is defo the way forward

Nice one Andy, got a pdo6 second hand and loving it.

Excellent video. Straight forward info. Thank you

Thank you very much for this video!

Nicely done once again Andy, think I'll upgrade my old detector after watching your vid. Nice to see your one can detect that massive drawing pin you have stuck in the wall 😂🤣😂. Must be left over from one hell of a Christmas decoration....lol. Keep up the awesome vids 😁👍.

Hi Andy, I lost a mate who went to school with me and started working for his dad who was an electrician, they were working on old council houses and had all the plans for the houses. he drilled into a wall that was not supposed to have any cables in it and all the electricity in the house was off. he was using a steel-cased drill (they were common then) and because he was gripping the drill they could not pull him away from it. If it had happened today with plastic-bodied drills he would have probably survived the accident but it goes to show that even when the power is off you have to take care. I don't think detectors were available then either.

I own an unbranded detector which often gave false positives. I bought a Stanley S200 which does the same. After researching the problem, I learned to use it with my fingertips gripping the edge and just proud of the scanning surface so that the detector is a few millimetres off the wall. This greatly reduces false positives for both the S200 and the unbranded detector. The S200 manual suggests keeping your free hand at least 15cm away from the detector and wall surface to avoid interference.

Great video...When I have used this unit and get the old false/positive I have turned the electrics off at the mains. Of course with light switches one of the two cables is always live so turning the switch on and off isn't really reliable

I have a similar detector. I think one of the tips that were in the instructions say that to avoid or reduce the false positive detection of electricity, place your other hand palm flat on the wall. It does seem to reduce it a bit but I still only treat it as a guide.

Thanks for the video =)

Thanks a lot! I borrowed the exact same one from someone and the manual is lost. I had no idea what's going on with the beeping, and neither did the person who lent it to me :D

Hi ya only been watching your videos for & couple of days now and I must say I've really enjoyed them. I'm really interested in the device for mobile phones that actually let's u see on the screen of the phone an accual picture of what it's detecting. Would be really interested in seeing a video if possible of how they work, keep up thd great videos

You had to say takeaways didn't you. I want an Indian now. Handy video as always. Keep it up Andy. I have the magusson 3 in 1 material detector which has a digital displsy. For a £30 tool its surprisingly accurate.

I thoroughly tested several detectors and found that there is not "the best". I checked at locations where I exactly knew which cables or studs or metal objects were behind the surface and different technologies worked differently good in different locations. In the end I decided to keep the Tacklife DMS03, which is very low priced, but often can find the objects very quickly. In addition I also kept the Bosch GMS 120, which sometimes is more accurate, but needs often more time to auto-calibrated by moving backwards and forwards several times. It also has the downside that it's pretty big, so for smaller places the Tacklife is the only usable option. The Bosch D-Tect 120 did not detect more accurate nor more reliable or more objects than the other two devices (combined). In contrast the D-Tect 120 gave me lots of false warnings. The advantage of the the GMS 120 and Tacklife DMS03 is that you can switch between different modes. This dramatically helps to fine-tune the search and differentiate between different types of objects, but also double checking with the two devices made decisions where to drill much better informed. Last not least it's important to remember to put the free hand on the wall to discharge (hope that's the right word here, in German I'd say: "erden").

Hi! Love your videos. Please can you recommend different detectors that are available? I bought the linked Bosch one but it gives no information about how close the object is on the digital display (not sure what the point of the digital display is!) overly fancy for no reason, the beeps tell me the same thing as the display!! I’m returning it 😅 And the unbranded one you’ve linked is not available anymore 😔

Thank you