fischer DuoTec 12

Drilled holes as per instructions fitted the item however the plug would not accept the supplied machine screw in any of the ten I fitted, the screw just kept pushing the plug out of the way. Ended up knocking them out and used a different fitting. Don’t waste your money

Fischer are excellent and I use with confidence their wall plugs. I bought the duotec 12 after much deliberation. I consider these to be the next step up to red/grey plugs, in light that I’m drilling into walls made from old terracotta hollow blocks. I’m hanging 16” brackets on an no load bearing wall, so these need to get the best possible exposure to the void behind the plaster in the bricks. The problem is that, it’s very fiddly if the gap is small. I couldn’t measure the space in advance, I just knew the bricks were hollow. The first attempt missing the centre T hole then the screw pulls sideways at an angle as you hope it’s taken. After realising it’s going down the side of the hole you are widening the 12 mm drill hole. Then backing it out to re-evaluate, more mess and frustration. Second attempt made it but I needed to drill very carefully the back of what is the other side of the brick skin into the next room. A torch and a flat blasted screwdriver were then needed to force the toggle sideways, the T shape looses its return memory spring after such pushing and pulling. I did one of these but the remaining 5, I reverted to trusty Fischer 8 x 65, more confidence but technically less load capacity. Overall, I lost so much of the hole I wasn’t prepared to risk getting stuck on the others. I should have gone for a resin anchors and had no doubt. Too late. Plan B. When I’m using wall plugs I always drill the hole, clean it, wet it and put PU glue in as well as the on the plug. The PU expands and follows water, after it firms up apply the screw. This holds the plug firm especially if you happen to drill mortar. The Fischer plugs are perfect for this method too. Been doing that for years on heavy radiators. Fingers crossed!Solution reliance on pot luck if you don’t have a clear understanding of the material.

I have knocked off some stars because the toggles were meant to come with m5 screws. Looking at the box it was a return and the screws either fell out and couldn’t be matched with the box.