How to choose a breathalyzer? Breathalyzer: instruction, price

Many consumers believe that such a device, as an alcohol test, in everyday life is not useful. However, this device will help control teens to protect them from early alcoholism. Having your own device, it's easy to determine whether you can drive. How to choose a breathalyzer? What you need to know and remember when buying and using? This article will tell you about this.

A bit of history

The first devices for determining the presence of alcohol in the subject in the blood appeared in the thirties of the twentieth century. However, these were still quite primitive devices, they could not determine the degree of intoxication. Only in 1953 the first breathalyzer was made, capable of quantifying. Since then, devices of this type have been used in those industries in which verification of sobriety is required.

What it is?

Breathalyzer is a device that allows you to quickly determine the amount of alcohol in a person's blood by analyzing the air exhaled from the lungs. The result, as a rule, is displayed on the screen in ppm - one, which means one thousandth of a share.

How to choose a breathalyzer? There are professional instruments that are commonly called alkometers. Their accuracy class is slightly higher than that of the usual "home" alcohol testers. Professional devices can hold up to seventy thousand measurements per year, they are equipped with special drives and printers to store the results in memory and print them out. It is the ammeters that are used for inspections by the traffic police. Indications of only those devices that have passed special certification are taken by the court - all drivers must remember and know this.

In ordinary life, such complex devices are not needed. Buy a conventional breathalyzer, the price of which is acceptable. Heaped alkometers are very expensive and take up a lot of space. Probably, for this reason, most users choose their compact "home" units. Today, many drivers are trying to purchase such a device for themselves. Especially a lot of users among the newcomers, recently become motorists. They still do not have enough experience in managing their car and in dealing with traffic police. Of course, police inspectors have their own professional breathalyzers. However, the indications of individual devices should not significantly differ from those that are presented to you by traffic police officers. The permissible error is up to twenty percent.

Are you interested in how to choose a breathalyzer yourself? First, let's try to figure out how it works.

Operating principle

How to use such a device? If you purchased an alcohol test in the store, instructions for the device should be included. Usually, the device should be used as follows: for five to six seconds a person exhales through the special tube air. Having collected enough material for analysis, the device makes a click, indicating that it is time to stop breathing. After that, the collected air is analyzed and the results of the measurement are displayed.

Appearance

The model for individual use is usually very compact, it can be put in a pocket. Such a small alcohol test, buyers' reviews about which are mostly positive, looks a bit like a mobile phone, only one button at the device. Depending on the chosen brand, the device can be red, gray, black, silver, etc. Such devices are produced in factories in Russia, Canada and Germany.

How to choose a breathalyzer? Buyers' comments say that it is desirable to purchase products from official representatives. The fact is that today on the market there were "gray" models, apparently virtually indistinguishable from the originals produced under the brands of well-known and proven firms. Usually such "left" instruments have a much lower price. An experienced buyer should consider why the cost of the device is so different from the price of a similar model offered by an official representative? No one will, of course, guarantee the normal operation and accuracy of this device. In addition, alcohol testers, purchased in questionable places, are usually not subject to repair, that is, they are disposable. It turns out that the purchase of cheap devices in fact is not so profitable.

Types of Breathalyzer

In today's market of personal alkotester, two types of models are presented: with electrochemical or semiconductor sensors. The latter are somewhat cheaper, but periodically they need to be changed (on average every three to four months). If you opt for an electrochemical sensor, then initially pay a little more (up to 8.5 thousand rubles). However, thereafter, you do not have to contact the service center to replace the part - it will only be necessary to periodically adjust it to reduce the measurement error. Work alcohol testers can from batteries. Depending on the model, you may need two or three pieces. It is advisable to purchase alkaline batteries - they last longer, and a device that works on such power will give more accurate readings. Professional breathalyzers are usually large, so they are powered from the mains or from a special battery.

Budget models

How often can I use an individual breathalyzer? User feedback indicates that cheap models (with a cost of up to 1000 rubles) are desirable to operate for one to two times a week. What devices belong to this product line?

For example, it's a popular breathalyzer called Dingo. It can withstand up to 400 tests. After the sensor fails (usually this occurs every three to four months), you simply need to purchase a new one and insert it into the device. For individual use, such a device is quite suitable, one should only remember that the permissible error of this model is up to twenty percent. Although for domestic use this is quite an acceptable result. Among budget models, Alco Stop Alco Stop is also very popular.

Professional devices

If you need to conduct daily measurements, choose devices of higher cost - up to ten thousand rubles. You have not decided what exactly to buy an alcohol test? Feedback from buyers will give more information about this or that device, so do not neglect to read opinions and statements.

To check a large number of people should buy a quality professional device. For example, if you purchase a device from the German firm Drager, the alcohol test will serve a lot more. Such a device can check up to seventy thousand people a year. If necessary, you can complete this device with a printer, on which the results of the research will be printed. Sometimes an enterprise does not want to spend significant funds to check the status of its employees, but the need remains. What should I do in this case? You can advise to pay attention to such models as "Dingo", Drivesafe. They can conduct sufficiently accurate studies in a large number of people, and their cost is significantly lower than that of professional alcohol meters.

Now the industry produces alcohol testers not only for drivers, but also, for example, to check out visitors to nightclubs. Often, such devices are purchased by the enterprise for inspection before the flights of its employees. Therefore, when choosing a device, you should take into account the specifics of use.

Mouthpieces

Many models of alkotester have a mouthpiece complete. In sets of some devices, there may be several such accessories at once. In addition to the hygienic component, the purpose of such a device is to carry out the measurement with greater accuracy. When you exhale through the mouthpiece, the whole volume of air gets into the device. Without this auxiliary device, some of the air will go "to the side", which reduces the accuracy of the measurement.

Finally

Now, after getting acquainted with this article, you know exactly how to choose a breathalyzer, it remains only to make a purchase. Let the money will not be wasted, and the new device will help prevent accidents on the road and save you money on traffic police fines. It is possible that you are a strict parent who wants to control his teenage child, in which case you can choose any, even the most simple model of the breathalyzer. Get, for example, a device that looks like a key chain.