Anchoring into metal studs
 

What is the best hardware for anchoring something heavy into metal studs?

And what are the studs shaped like? Are they mini I-beams, or rectangular tubes?
Something else?

TIA

Similar to rectangular tubes open on one side. Use self tapping screws/bolts.

Depends on what you are hanging. Something light maybe self tapping screws. Something heavier, then I'd choose Togglers

Choose 3/16 or 1/4" size.

Toggler on You Tube

Aha!! thanks!

I didn't realize they were open on one side. That explains a lot of the mystery.

I used the togglers.

I will offer a tip, take a very small drill and drill several holes to determine the exact location of the metal stud, then use these to drill the hole in the center of the stud, the toggle type can fail to seat correctly if not located close to the center of the stud.

Search pin probe stud finder Works great

As other have posted, Togglers are the best bet and can be used on tv wall mounts. I’ve mounted a 90” using them. Avoid the metal studs completely.

I hung my TV bracket with Togglers. They work great!

They’re great for sure. I’ve easily used a few hundreds of them and quickly learned to start the threads by hand before torquing them down (as opposed to starting them with a screw gun) :)

If you use a Walabot, you can easily see exactly where the stud is without drilling. The Walabot uses advanced wall imaging and can show you wires, pipes, steel and wood studs. Different materials show up in different colors. It's like a super stud finder and works great!

sheet metal screws
 

Metal studs are thin sheet metal. Sheet metal screws are made for this purpose. They are self-tapping.
Use a stud finder that works for metal and wood, mark both edges, drill in the middle.
Your drill (drill bit) needs to be smaller than the threads - preferably about the same diameter as the solid part of the screw (can be eyeballed).
Don't over tighten, just snug - you can yank a hole in the sheet metal or break the screw from you know where.

You can start by drilling a smaller hole, then the final one. Makes drilling easier.

10 or 12 gauge screws will easily handle 10 or so pounds each. 8 gauge a little less.

TVs? Plug type will handle more weight, but you need good drills to make a clean hole that large.
(don't use the expanding rubber type. they're not made to go thru sheet rock and metal, just metal, nor really heavy loads. they'll oooze outa the hole over time.)

My house was built two years ago. Are all the interior studs metal?

Lowes sells a magnetic stud finder (very cheap) and it works great for finding the metal studs. I used it when I was redoing our closets. Great product.

i have used French cleats from Lowes on a few items. They have different sizes for different weights. Hillman 100lb 12-in Picture Hanging Cleat