TIL those cheap cable toner probes on Amazon actually work better than I thought

I bought a $15 toner probe kit off Amazon last month for a side job in Austin, fully expecting it to crap out after one use, but it traced a buried line through three inches of concrete and a dog fence without flaking out, so now I'm wondering if I've been wasting money on the expensive Fluke stuff for the last 5 years.

2 comments

2 Comments

lisak2621d ago

Man, your story about the concrete and dog fence is exactly what my buddy Mike ran into last month. He borrowed my cheap little toner to trace a line under his driveway in the suburbs, and he said it worked great even through the rebar and a buried sprinkler pipe. He was all smug about it, saying he saved like $200 compared to the pro stuff I usually buy. It's wild how far these budget tools have come, even if they feel flimsy in your hand.

hugo_schmidt21d ago

Funny how that works out. Mike got lucky with his run, but I wonder if your cheap toner would hold up on a longer pull or through thicker concrete. Did his signal hold steady the whole time or did he have to wiggle the probe around a lot to get a lock? I've seen those bargain toners drop out when you hit a metal conduit or a wet patch in the ground. Makes you question if that $200 savings is really worth it when you're on a tight deadline. What's your gut feeling on the reliability after watching him use it?