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Hercules Hook
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Vendor Commercial
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ASOTVI Review
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May 1, 2008
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| | | ASOTVI RATING:
CONDITIONALLY WORKS |
What is it? A wire hook for wall hangings.
Major Claims:
- Installs easy by hand
- No tools required
- Can hold up to 150 pounds
This product is a piece of strong, heavy-gauge wire, sharp on one end for piercing through drywall, curved in the middle, and shaped into a hook on the other end (see video for illustration). The idea behind this product is for its sharp end to be pierced through drywall into a hollow wall space behind it, then by virtue of its curve, tilting it up inside the wall until its tip is braced against the back side of the drywall, directly above the point of insertion, leaving the hook outside the wall for handing pictures or other wall hangings. In a hollow wall with several inches of space this is a straightforward process and, indeed, requires no special tools to accomplish. And in this scenario, the product can work as advertised. However, a user specifically needs to know in advance that they are, in fact, dealing with a hollow wall prior to use, or installation could be problematic, and possibly even dangerous.
This product will not work on wood walls or paneling, plaster or brick; it is intended to be used on drywall ONLY, which is soft enough to allow the sharp end of the wire to penetrate it with only manual effort by the user.
Please note that unless a user already knows where the studs are in a particular wall, or has used a stud-finder ahead of time to locate them, they have roughly a one out of ten chance of hitting a wooden or metal wall stud with this product, due to standard sixteen inch stud spacing of one-and a half inch studs, in which case the product will not work at all.
Heavy insulation inside a wall may also prevent the product from tipping upward into place and thus prevent it from working.
Drywall can also be installed onto thin furring strips attached to a brick, stone, or concrete wall, leaving only about an inch of hollow space behind the drywall, and therefore not enough space for this product to work. This is very common in the outside walls of homes made of concrete block.
CAUTION: There also exists the possibility of not only piercing through the drywall, but in doing so also possibly piercing through the shielding of a live home electrical wire, which could potentially result in injury to the user—who would be holding a bare metal wire (the product). Also, in the event of a short caused by the penetration of the product, should sparks or heat be produced, this scenario could represent a possible fire hazard. For this reason we do not recommend the use of this product without a prior wiring location check.
ASOTVI strongly recommends to all users of this product, prior to use, to use a good stud-finder, available at your local hardware or home improvement store, in order to avoid wall studs, and preferably a stud-finder that also has the ability to detect the presence and location of house wiring, so that particular potential hazard can be avoided as well. Finding out whether or not a wall is filled with insulation is likely to be more a process of trial and error. Most insulated walls can be expected to be found in outside walls, but insulation can also be found within inside walls in energy efficient homes.
To this product’s claim of being able to be installed by hand and not requiring any tools, that statement is only true in the specific conditions of a drywall wall that is hollow (by several inches) on the other side—i.e. no insulation, studs, or house wiring to interfere with its motion required for installation. Yet the only way to be truly sure that this is the case and not take a risk is to use a stud-finder, which is a tool. So while not using any tools is physically possible, it is not a recommended approach.
As to its claim of being able to support up 150 pounds, this feature was not evaluated by ASOTVI, but we have no reason to doubt the strength of the wire to do so. We do, however, have reservations about the strength of drywall to support extremely heavy loads on anything with such a thin surface area actually in contact with the drywall. The drywall itself, depending on its thickness and density, could potentially crumble or tear under very heavy loads. It is strongly recommended that any heavy objects be hung with secure wall anchors rated for the load needed—and for any item weighing 150 pounds, to use at least two anchors to distribute the weight (e.g. only 75 pounds at each point).
ASOTVI also wishes to highlight the poor cost-benefit aspect observed with respect to the use of this particular product. The vendor’s video asserts that the use of a common hammer and nail to hang a picture is somehow problematic, can make large, unsightly holes in walls, and furthermore, that somehow the use of any other tools in general is a problem that requires a remedy. We can find no basis for any of these contentions. Indeed, a clumsy person could surely damage drywall with a hammer and nail, just as surely as the same clumsy person could potentially dig an unsightly hole in a wall using this product if not careful. Fortunately, one of the specific benefits of using drywall for interior walls is its ability to be easily patched and painted.
To the assertions regarding the “problem” of using nails, we would note that nails come in a multitude of sizes, including many in approximately the same diameter as this product, which would leave the same size hole in a wall. Smaller nails are available, which would make even smaller holes than this product. But unlike this product, if a nail comes in contact with a wall stud, it isn’t problematic for the nail, but quite the opposite, it creates an opportunity for a much more secure wall hanging.
Depending on the length of the nail or screw used, and the angle of penetration, the likelihood of hitting live house wiring can be much less with a nail or screw than with using this product, which needs to penetrate and move several inches behind the wall in order to be installed properly.
Lastly, you can purchase a multitude of nails or screws for the price of ten (or even 20) of this product. The vendor of this product offers a “free” lifetime supply of these hooks, if the buyer pays for shipping and handling. But if you’re paying anything at all, then, by definition, it isn’t free.
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Product: Hercules Hook
Available From: Vertical Brands
Summary:
- User needs to be well aware of what is behind the drywall
- The use of a stud-finder is highly recommended
A set of 10 for $14.99 + S&H
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