Bosch GMS Bosch GMS120 Digital Multi-Scanner
Bosch GMS Bosch GMS120 Digital Multi-Scanner
I live in an attached home with metal as well as
wood wall studs and plumbing that runs through the attic and down the
walls. Just about the perfect test bed for wall scanners.
The way this scanner works is a bit unintuitive. The user selects one of three modes; wood, metal or live electrical. When you select wood, the Bosch actually scans for all three. Selecting metal excludes wood, so you're scanning for metal and live electrical wire. Selecting live electrical limits the scanner to only that. Indicators in the display show what the scanner is reacting to; wood, metal or live electric.
The Bosch GMS120 did well scanning for wood. Since I live in an attached home, my neighbors and I are separated by a cement block fire wall. My dry wall is attached to that using thin furring bar. The Bosch reliably found the furring bar even against that dense slab of concrete.
When scanning metal, the Bosch attempts to determine if the metal is magnetic or not. That's useful to me, for instance, so I can tell if I'm detecting a steel wall stud or a copper water pipe. The Bosch gets it right most of the time, but not always. Sometimes magnetic metals are identified as non-magnetic. Still, the Bosch did a good job of finding metal studs. On interior walls, I could even identify studs supporting the wall I was scanning and studs supporting the other side of the wall. I could tell the difference by the signal strength displayed by the Bosch.
This wall scanner had the hardest time detecting live electrical wire. All the wiring in my home is simple 3 conductor plastic insulated wire with no shielding. Still, the Bosch could not detect most of it even when I made sure electricity was flowing.
The way this scanner works is a bit unintuitive. The user selects one of three modes; wood, metal or live electrical. When you select wood, the Bosch actually scans for all three. Selecting metal excludes wood, so you're scanning for metal and live electrical wire. Selecting live electrical limits the scanner to only that. Indicators in the display show what the scanner is reacting to; wood, metal or live electric.
The Bosch GMS120 did well scanning for wood. Since I live in an attached home, my neighbors and I are separated by a cement block fire wall. My dry wall is attached to that using thin furring bar. The Bosch reliably found the furring bar even against that dense slab of concrete.
When scanning metal, the Bosch attempts to determine if the metal is magnetic or not. That's useful to me, for instance, so I can tell if I'm detecting a steel wall stud or a copper water pipe. The Bosch gets it right most of the time, but not always. Sometimes magnetic metals are identified as non-magnetic. Still, the Bosch did a good job of finding metal studs. On interior walls, I could even identify studs supporting the wall I was scanning and studs supporting the other side of the wall. I could tell the difference by the signal strength displayed by the Bosch.
This wall scanner had the hardest time detecting live electrical wire. All the wiring in my home is simple 3 conductor plastic insulated wire with no shielding. Still, the Bosch could not detect most of it even when I made sure electricity was flowing.
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