Can You Trust Drywall Anchors?

I’m testing drywall anchors from the ez anchor basic wall anchors to the new 3M claw to see what they can really hold!
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Basic Drywall Anchor –
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I'm testing drywall anchors from the Cheap basic Ones oh to some new expensive designs oh Gosh to see if they can hold up to the Weight ratings they say they can this Could go horribly bad or if there's some That you should really avoid I'm going To be testing the three most common Drywall anchors you'll find at the Home Improvement store as well as these Drywall picture hangers that are Supposed to be really amazing but we'll Find out now these are all different in The operation as well as the price going From just a few cents a piece all the Way up to over $6 a piece but first Let's see exactly what they are and how They work here's how the regular drywall Anchors will work so all you do with This one is you drill a hole into your Wall this one's a/ qu inch then you can Insert your anchor tap it in place and Then drive in a screw and on the back of It it will expand to hold the screw in There and secure it into the drywall This next anchor is a little more Sophisticated it's got these little Wings on the side this is the same size Anchor as before same hole but when I Put it in and drive the screw through Through these little wings will open up And they suck up against the back of the Drywall now this last anchor is one that You don't need any drills on it so it

Has what looks to be these nice coarse Threads and a pointy in here so you can Just push this into the drywall with Your screwdriver and then you just screw It right into the drywall and then once It's in there it does the same thing you Put the screw in and those wings spread Open and this one will hold even more Than the other two and lastly we have These picture hangers which I'd actually Never seen before until I saw them in a Video by my buddy Niels over from learn To DIY and I wanted to check them out so These just press right into the wall Nothing fancy but apparently they'll Hold a lot of weight now that we know How they work let's put it to some real World testing now I have this prized Possession which is my autographed Picture of Norm Abram who obviously is The goat so we're going to be hanging This up I'm going to use each of the Different types of anchors and see how Long it takes me to give Norm a spot Right on the wall so the goal is to have The picture exactly aligned with the Black lineup there which means I'm going To have to do some measuring to make Sure that I place each of the different Anchors in the right [Music] Spot all right that was kind of what I Expected all three of the screw inss Actually took the exact same amount of

Time and I think the last two were Actually down to the 100th of a second Which was amazing but 54 seconds I was a Little surprised by the claw it actually Took a minute and 8 seconds and that's Because they have these little mounting Little Triangle Arrow deals here that You actually have to put on the back and Then you place it so I thought because I Didn't have to measure it was going to Be faster but it really wasn't although It's not that much longer so all in all I don't think time's really a factor Here now another thing to think about is When you take them out what does it look Like especially if you're a renter or You just like to move things around in Your house a lot how much repair are you Going to have to to do to the walls so I'm going to go put Norm back in his Place of honor and then we'll take these Out I will always remember to wear my Safety glasses Norm thank [Music] You all right so looking at the damage The basic one you know it's just a Little quarter inch hole not too bad the Wings uh you get a little bit more Fray But still not horrible the screw in is Definitely the most damage but I still Feel like you could easily fill that With wall putty and you'd okay and the Claw there's almost nothing there you Can fill that just super easy you

Probably wouldn't even have to sand it Afterwards all right now it's time to Have a little fun I went out and bought This little digital scale that measures Loads when you put it on there kind of Like a little you know fishing scale if You caught really big fish so I'm going To be testing these anchors and see how Much they can hold they're rated for 20 To 75 lbs I'm just looking at the Screw-in ones no toggle bolts or Anything like that but I did find this Guy this is just one of the screw-in Ones but it says it will hold 205 lb so Later on in the video we're going to Screw this in and see if it'll hold me Now the package ratings for these are All about sheer load which is just a Downward Force which is basically the Way you would use them but I'm really Curious to see how much it would take to Pull them out so we're going to test Them out and see what happens and I'm Going to test the highest rated version I have versus the lowest rated version I Have for each of these different types Of anchors right we're going to start Off with the basic ones and I've got the 20 lb and the 25 lb versions installed In here all right we're zeroed out I'm Going to get a nice closeup of this and I'm just going to pull it with my hand To start because you Know all right let's see what happens

And I did clamp this down so I hope the Whole thing doesn't just hit me in the Face all right here we Go I was kind of worried about that but I think that's because of the small head On this one all right I put a little Washer on here let's see if this can Hold any more or we just have to totally Change all right here we Go this is nerve-wracking I you know What most important safety rules to wear These safety glasses I'm just I'm just Going to give it my Goodness all right success or failure Just looking at the replay it looks like That was right about 38 lbs but may have Been off a little bit so Chris can put That right here and that was almost Twice as much as the sheer rating on This one I've got the 25 pounder in There let's see how she Goes 25 Lb oh that's pulling right out the Heck Woo all Right interesting that felt a little Lighter so yeah from what I saw that one Was only 36 pounds so I don't know it's Kind of weird let's try the ones with The wings I think those are going to Perform way better all right for the Winged version this smaller one which is A number eight screw will be rated for 35 lbs and this larger one which is a

Number 10 screw is rated for 61 lb so Quite a bit more than the others let's Put them in see what happens all right Here is 35 lb with the Wings oh looks like my the plastic going To give away First sure did all right we've got a Washer now let's see if we can pull it Out oh jeez all right that was kind of Interesting because I was pulling I saw It go up to about 43 lbs and then as I Started pulling again it looks like the Number kind of stopped for a minute and Then went up so I'm not sure if that was A bad reading but uh maybe it's just This smaller version but the wings Didn't do as much as I thought they Would we got up to about 43 lbs let's Try the bigger one all right now we're Ready to Go oh yeah much Harder Oh wo that one held on nice all right Now this is what I'm talking about some Real destruction this thing just Annihilated the drywall and it looks Like we got up to maybe 72 lbs but I Want to just really emphasize I realize This is not a scientific approach This is more like redneck backyard I'm In Tennessee you know so if you want to Do something scientific and get it exact Then try it on your own all right I'm Going to change this test set up for the

Next test and also as we come into Spring it's a good reminder for me to do Some maintenance around my house with The sponsor of today's video WD40 brand Now I'm sure you're all familiar with The WD40 multi-use product which is Their original formula but they have a Whole selection of specialist products I Love using the specialist dry lube with PTFE to help quiet squeaky doors because It leaves a nice Dry Film there and no Oily residue and for heavier Duty Applications like my garage door I like To use the white lithium grease this is A great product for metal on-metal Highear applications now around the shop I like to go back to the specialist dry Lube because it does have that Dry Film It's not going to transfer any oils onto Your projects or your Woods you can Check the links Down Below in the Description to pick up any of these Products in the WD40 specialist lineup a Big thank you to WD40 brand for Sponsoring today's video All right let's jump into the screw type We're going to start with the 50 Lb or maybe not oh Boy so looking at the camera it looks Like we had right about 52 lb to pull That out so right about the same rating As the shear Force let's see what the 75 Pounder does I'm pretty worried about This

One All right we were able to get just a Little bit higher and you might wonder Why there's two holes it's because I Wasn't recording on the first one so I Had to record it again but we got 57 lb Right around there on the 75 lb one so I Think what we're starting to see is as You see these big rips in the drywall The anchor is fully intact and so now We're just having the force of pulling Out the drywall so I don't think we'll Be able to go much over 60 lbs probably On any anchor that we use unless it gets Really wide so you're pulling out a Bigger piece of drywall now the last one We have here is the claw and I'm only Putting the 25 pounder in here because I Think this is just going to be an Exercise in futility but we'll try it And see what happens all right let's see If we can get any meaningful weight off Of this at All well my clip flew off I don't know How I'm going to do this because it's Just not made to be pulled On I mean it's already pulled out of the Wall it's just going to hang in by Threed yeah so looking at the camera it Looks like it didn't even make it to 5 Lbs of pull out for so if you're looking To attach anything to the wall that'll Have any kind of pulling on it at all uh These claws definitely not the right way

To go so for the pullout strength test It looks like they all have at least as Much pullout strength as they do for Rated sheer downward strength until you Get to the limits of the drywall which Seems to be around 55 6 lb of force and Another thing to mention this is/ in Ultra lightweight drywall so this really Should be probably the least amount of Strength as you go up to 5/8 or if you Go to the regular drywall it'll probably Have a lot better pull out because it's Going to be more dense all right we're Ready for the sheer load testing and I've got this guy zeroed out but I'm Going to start with the 20 lb basic Anchor and we're going to go straight to The max weight rating which is 20 PBS And go from there and I'm just using my Dumbbells because uh they're not getting Much use these days so so here's 20 Pounds looks like we're doing fine I Don't have 5B weight so I'm going to Have to do a little comboing here and We'll do two sevens and a 10 for 24 lb Do not try this at home this is this is A little Sus all right 23.4 1 all right here's 30 Lb 27.24 I'm just going to get a little Crazy and uh just kind of add this on It's probably a horrible idea but I can Hear it it is bending quite Substantially

P oh yeah it is totally bent down all Right I've got 47 is PBS here this is Going to get a lot harder when the Weight goes Up and it is hanging on by an absolute Thread 56 holy cow how's that still staying on There And oh there we go I didn't see what That totally ended up with so for the 20 Lb rating we got right about three times That at 60 and the way that it failed Was it just kind of pulled out and it Was really starting to fail around 40 Lbs and then totally let go right around 60 but I've got the 25 lb number 14 Screw in there now let's see how this One does I need to do some more lifts When I mean more I mean any let's get Right-handed oh gosh oh boy okay oh my Gosh get on There oh wow oh wow why does that say 27 All right this says 27 and2 but clearly That is 60 lb now's about to pull Through it any second we're going to add Another seven lbs and see if that does It no so this would be 70 Lb now 80 lb I mean this is barely Barely hanging on there all right let's Just push it over the Edge I mean I got a hand it to it it's Still it's still holding it all right 94 Lbs and then I don't know what we'll Do all right I'm calling it here at 94

Lbs because it is like it it's basically Out all right so I figured out what was Going on and I should have realized this But uh it had switched over to kilograms So uh what 1 kilogram is 2.2 lb so yeah It ended up right around 95 lbs and from My European friends uh we had it in Kilograms we're switching back to pounds For the next one almost try to pin that Carabiner There so you definitely are not going to Get your full holding power unless you Drive the screw all the way in for the Winged ones let's see what it does all Right for this one we're going to start Off with 50 honestly just so I have more Room to stack stuff I'm assuming that's Going to Hold oh wow that is deforming a lot Already so that's 56 lbs I don't know Why where we got the five extra pounds From maybe because this scale was Cheap all right 62 63 Lb 70 lb let's just go straight to 80 All right 80 is the braking Point all Right now this is pretty interesting the Wing part actually is the part that Failed and just pulled out just like uh The other basic ones all right we've got The 61 pounder we're going to start Straight off with 60 Lbs again that is already starting to Pull through I think there's really an

Issue when you don't have the screw Pulled all the way in so that the wings Are against the Wall all right 82 holding strong let's Go 90 100 I can definitely hear some Creaking Who so even though this didn't come out Of the wall I'm calling that a failure Because we're past 45° basically Anything you have on here is going to Start falling off all right now we're Going to test the screw in anchors and Honestly I've never really liked these I Don't know why they just always kind of Seem cheap to me for some reason but They've been turning out to be the best Ones yet so let's see how much they can Hold We're going to go right to 60 lbs Already starting to pull out a bit all Right we're going to go by 10 70 oh gosh That's going to Go's go 77 Oh all right I did not see that coming So this failed in less than 70 lbs I'm Surprised because it did so well at the Straight pullout strength and then on The sheer strength it almost just like It levered out let's see what happens With the 7 lound all right we'll start Again with 60 lb which should be easily Held that is already pulling out all Right 61 lb

87 and we're Gone wow I again forgot to turn on the Close-up camera but that's okay because I want to put another one in so we can Get the close-up and I want to show you Something in the back that I think I'm Picking up on that might be causing the Lower rating on these so check this out Because I have not put the screw all the Way in it's not really separating a Whole lot I'm going to drive another one Right underneath it and put the screw All the way in so we can compare It so it's a little bit hard to tell but This bottom one that I screwed the screw All the way in is really opened up quite A bit more than the other one and I Think that's why it performs so well in The pullout test because the screw was Fully engaged and when you don't have The screw fully engaged it just doesn't Spread out the back of the anchor is Much so kind of makes sense so these Little screwing guys did not do very Well at all they're barely meeting their Weight ratings that they're even stating Let alone doubling or tripling them Really has me concerned about that one That's going to hold up my body weight All right now we're going to check out The claw and the reason I'm really Interested in this one is because of the Way that the arc goes let's check it out All right we're going to start off

Straight at 30 because you know give an Extra 5 lbs it should be able to take it Oh so that hook is already starting to Bend the metal part so the weakest part Might actually be the metal why don't we Just go up Seven let's go 40 that is definitely pulling Out all right so that did just pull out It was not the metal that failed and the Way that these were being talked about I Thought these were going to perform way Better but it does exceed the weight Rating they say so I guess you can't Blame them but I do have a big one that Is 65 lb let's go there all right so This guy is kind of wild I just opened Up it's actually articulated it looks Like a little uh like a little nanobot Or something my kids use the hex the hex Bots something like that let's try it Out all right let's get a little scale Up here which just fits on there we are On kilogram I think every time it falls It just goes metric you know hit in the Head go Metric all right we will start with 60 Lb oh my gosh that is about to pull off That's not even gonna take It oh Gosh the hook bent right Off that's not cool I think part of the Issue is the size of the caribbeaner and The thickness of the uh metal bar here Because as I put it on all of that

Weight and stress was going right at the Tip of the Little Hook and I think Really for it to have a lot of weight it Wants that weight to be down at the Bottom so I went ahead and and switched Out the Carabiner with just a little Piece of this parac cord so now we're Right down there at the base we'll see If that helps it at all all right let's Try this again at 60 Lb man I'm not standing next to that Thing okay let's go 70 all right we're Just going to keep going up by 10 85 it's Creaking for seven more so we're at 91 Lbs kind of unnerving oh here we go so We are right at 100 lb and it's just Tearing through the drywall we're just Going to we're just going to sit here And watch this cuz this will fail here He Goes Redemption all right so same thing With the claw actually this looks like It is intact completely and it was just The drywall that failed so thing to note Is that the weight rating you have to Make sure that that weight is all Getting carried at the bottom of the Hook I told you about this heavy duty Drywall anchor that I saw and it's this Guy right here I'm just calling it The Beast because it says it will take 205 Lbs but before we get into that just

Looking at the other four and how they Stacked up I would go with either the Basic or the screw inss because they are The least expensive and they performed Really well and the basic did the best Just because it outperformed its ratings So much the wing dankers did perform Well but not that much better than the Other two for costing twice as much so I Just wouldn't go with those and as for The claw that one cost 10 times as much As the others I would not recommend the Claw unless you're doing a lot of moving Around of pictures it's just not worth It in my opinion because they all take About the same time but now we're going To put this Beast of a drywall anchor to The test and apparently these little Blue things come out like crazy claws so As I was pulling this out it says 205 lb In 5/8 of an inch drywall in/ inch Drywall it's only 130 lbs I'm definitely More than 130 PBS so we'll see how much Weight it can take All Right oh I think I spun it Out there we go now as I screw it in Those little wings should Deploy on the Back go ahead and do four oh there we go Oh that's tight okay all right we got The camera on here so we should be able To see the weight if this fails when it Fails before I get up all right I'm just Going to start standing up I hope this

Thing doesn't crack me in the knee maybe I can pull myself up here all right There goes 50 60 80 oh Gosh 90 100 oh God I don't know if I can Balance what are we up to 120 130 oh It's it's going it's [Music] Going that did pretty good well that's a Nice size hole in that Drywall can't quite hold a human maybe a Small human I've got another video where I tested MDF versus plywood you can Check it out right there a big thank you To the ftbt builders club I'm Brad until Next time get out there and build Something awesome

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