What Is a Live Wire Warning on an Electronic Stud Finder?
Electronic stud finders are tools that allow you to look into a wall for studs, joists, beams or wires. Most houses have a framework consisting of wooden studs, joists and beams, all covered with various materials like plaster, paneling or drywall.
When looking to hang things securely from your walls or ceilings, you need to know, accurately, whether there is a stud behind the wall at that point or not. Electronic stud finders are extremely accurate devices that paint a clear picture of the goings on behind the wall’s exterior.
Live Wire Warning
All electronic stud finders come fitted with a “live wire warning”, usually in the form of an LED on the front side of the gadget. Electronic stud finders are capable of locating live wires even under stud scanning or metal scanning modes.
In most cases, the live wire warning is used to indicate any unshielded wire that may lurk behind the walls.
Depth of Search
Electronic stud finders have a limited range and this range is, in most cases, dependent on numerous factors such as the material of the wall, the contents as well as the quality of the gadget. Most electronic stud finders can locate live wires no deeper than 2 inches into the wall.
How it Locates Wires
An electronic stud finder or sensor works on the concept of capacitance differential caused due to the presence of a difference in the density of the surface & interiors. Stud sensors can use this format to detect live wires, especially if you are planning to burrow deep into your wall–more than 3 inches. Electronic stud finders are more effective in identifying wooden beams but they all come with a dependable live wire finder as well.
Recognize a Wire
The ability of an electronic stud finder to detect live wires is more reliable than when detecting studs. The reason behind is that studs usually generate a marginal deviation in the dielectric constant while in the case of live wires, electrical signals and electromagnetic waves are more definite and easy to pick up. As a result, not only can you easily identify a live wire when the beacon goes off, you can be sure that the machine is accurate to a large extent.
What You Do not Get
Live wires, while easily detected by electronic stud finders, are not a regular feature in many houses. In worst case scenarios, modern houses may have just a handful of live wires, that too running for just a short distance in almost all cases. “Armored”, or “not in use”, wires will not show up on the electronic stud finder primarily due to the lack of running electric current.
Avoid Traps with Stud Finders
Most old houses have thicker walls, plaster and a whole lot of strength that goes into it. Using an electronic stud finder may not give you an accurate enough reading to make an incision. You might want to consider getting a stud finder that has a sensitivity control, allowing it to up the ante when required.
When there is a possibility of wires running through studs, you may require the higher sensitivity mode to go further than 3 inches into the wall.
