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Archive for the Buy Breathalyzer Category

Best Breathalyzer for Christmas 2011

Which is the best breathalyzer for my money ?

Every year at around this time of year we are asked this question. For many it is the start of the autumn and winter social calender that prompts a personal breathalyzer purchase.

Why buy a breathalyzer you may ask ?
With the start of the office party season looming many people want to be able to check  that they are ok to drive ‘the morning after the night before’

We would never advocate drinking and driving as it is so dangerous. It is much safer to take a taxi or get a lift with a non drinking colleague to the party. However there has been a lot of cases in the news over the last couple of years of people being breathalyzed on their way to work, and still being over the limit !

Others are simply researching for a great christmas gift for a male relative, boyfriend or friend. I’m sorry I know it’s only September, but christmas cards are in the charity shops already and it certainly makes a change from socks.

We thought you may find it useful if we reviewed, what are in our opinion the best value for money breathalyzers on the market for christmas 2011

Accuracy and reliability matters

When making a breathalyzer purchase online for yourself or to give as a gift it is important to remember that accuracy and reliability of readings are important, and that you do get what you pay for. Avoid cheap keyring breathalyzers as they are just for fun breathalyzers really, and should not be relied upon.

Instead choose a quality personal digital breathalyzer such as the latest model  DA5000 breathalyzer which once again continues to offer great value for money for christmas 2011 or a single use disposable breathalyzer if you only need an occaisonal test

If you are happy to spend a little more then opt for superior & more robust AL7000 breathalyzer with clip in clip out sensor.

Click here to see a range of great value quality digital breathalyzers & single use disposable breathalyzers for christmas 2011 that are available to buy online 

Let us know what you think and which are your favourite breathalyzers for 2011 if you have a breathalyzer review then please leave it in comments

Breathalyzer buying guide

Seasonal drink driving awareness is upon us again and the purchase of digital breathalyzer products increases as individual and business purchasers seek to protect and educate. Breathalyzers are often criticised for allowing or tempting users to drink and then drive while under the prosecution limits, but none the less under the influence of alcohol. In practice their use is far more commonly restricted to individuals testing that all alcohol has gone the morning after a social event, prior to considering driving, and company and business policy is more safety orientated and educational versus punative.

There are a large number of breathalyzers on the market which make choosing which one is right for your needs difficult. With this is mind we thought it would be useful to do breathalyzer buying guide, to help make choosing a breathalyzer easier.

Lets start with breathalyzer terminology which in itself can be confusing. Most breathalyzers either diplay BAC or BrAC

BAC = Blood alcohol concentration commonly displayed as a percentage %BAC or mg/100ml

BrAC = Breath alcohol concentration

Few breathlysers display in BrAC, most are mg/100ml BAC display units, doing the electronic conversion for the tester. These scales can be confusing, but just remember all European prosecutions are on the basis of eqivalent BAC levels, so a simple BAC display is best.

Do you require a fuel cell breathalyser or is a semi conductor sensor adequate ? Well fuel sensors do offer a small amount of greater accuracy, but at the levels we are talking about this 4th decimel place is simply irrelavent to all but scientific researchers. If you insist on a fuel cell breathalyzer,  you are going to pay a lot more and have to return the breathalyzer to a service centre for calibration service every few months to maintain the accuracy.

Go for a semi conductor sensor breathalyser model with changeable sensor modules. Simply replace the sensor module when the breathalyzer instructs with a new pre-calibrated sensor and never have to send the unit away for service. Models start from under £40 and the sensors are under half the price of a service centre calibration. Most semi conductor breathalyzers give 3 decimel place accuracy (more than enough for all self and business testers)

Best value breathalyzers this season remain the DA5000 , with the AL6000 and AL7000 models coming a close second

Breathalyzers for sale

The current range of breathalyzers that are for sale in UK include an extensive range of re-usable digital breathalyzers, and a range of single use disposable breathalyzer kits.

Digital breathalyzers for sale

  • can be used multiple times
  • can be more cost effective if you are doing multiple tests
  • a good model starts from just under £35 upwards
  • ideal for personal use or clinic use
  • better breathalyzers are supplied with mouthpieces
  • breathalyzers with mouthpieces are generally more accurate than those with simply a ‘blow hole’
  • extra mouthpieces & sensors can be purchased for DA5000, AL6000, Al7000 & DA7000  breathalyzers.
  • some breathalyzers (DA5000, AL6000, AL7000 & DA7000) have clip in clip out sensors which makes servicing quick & easy
  • DA8000 breathalyzer offers fuel cell high accuracy breath testing

Single use Breathalyzer kits for sale

  • ideal if you only need to do an occaisonal breath alcohol test
  • disposable-simply discard after use
  • very easy to use
  • available in 3 cut off levels 0.02%BAC for zero tolerance testing, 0.05%BAC for European Driving limit and 0.08%BAC for UK prosecution level.
  • reliable results in under 2 minutes
  • portable-fit in a pocket, glove box or purse

Click here to see our full range of breathalyzers for sale

Using a Home Breathalyzer- FAQs

What is the UK drink driving legal limt currently ?

Blood Alcohol Concentrations (BAC) - 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres, 80mg/ml, 080 on mg/100ml display or 0.08 %BAC, 0.8 Promille

Breath Alcohol Concentrations (BrAC) - 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath BrAC

What is the best buy for home breathalyser use ?

Higher price does not always mean higher accuracy, as the expensive breathalyser models are designed to be serviced regularly to maintain their accuracy and don’t have on board self diagnostics.

 Here are some key points to consider when buying a DIY digital breathalyser:

1) Insist on interchangeable sensors - without this you are tied to sending the breathalyser regularly to a service centre for calibration services.

2) The breathalyser must have selectivity of no less than +/-0.01% BAC which is the same as +/- 10mg/100ml BAC. (avoid units with +/-0.02% and over)

3) Choose your display scale and stick to it, most digital breathalysers either display as %BAC or mg/100ml BAC  (BAC=Blood Alcohol Concentration) don’t confuse this with BrAC .(Breath Alcohol Concentration) which is available but rarer.

4) Be realistic, under £25 and you are getting a novelty device which you should not rely upon. Expect to pay £35-£70 for a digital breathalyser which will work well, give reliable readings, cost £15-20 to replace the sensor (every 300 tests or 6 monthly)

Can I rely on the results when choosing to drive ?

No. Breathalysers should not be used to test your ability to drive legally, as a breathalyser will measure only your current blood alcohol levels. These can rise after testing if the unit is being used immeditaely after drinking. Breathalysers should be used the morning after to confirm that alcohol has left the body.

To see a range of breathalyser suitable for home use click here

Best Breathalyzer to buy as a present for around £40

With christmas approaching we know many of you are looking to buy digital breathalyzers as christmas presents.

A question we are frequently asked is ‘which is the best breathalyzer to buy as a present & why?’

For Christmas 2009 we reccomend the DA5000 digital breathalyzer for the following reasons:

  1. It offers excellent value for money
  2. Excellent accuracy
  3. Nice sized & box packed -easy to gift wrap & post
  4. Reliable testing in regular use
  5. Price just £39.99 with Free UK delivery
  6. Comes in a presentation box with battery, user manual, 6 mouth pieces & carry case with strap.
  7. 1 year warranty
  8. CE RoHs Certified

Click here to find out more about the DA5000 breathalyzer or to buy

Digital Breathalysers at under £50.00

Many breathalysers are available on the European market, and the choice for consumers is confusing, with many seemingly similar breathalyzers making claims on accuracy, value and performance.

Whichever breathalyzer takes your fancy here are some key features to consider when choosing a digital breathalyser to buy:

  • All digital breathalysers will require calibration service regularly to keep them accurate
  • Breathalysers offering changeable sensors avoid you having to send the complete breathalyzer back to a service centre
  • Breathalyzers taking mouth pieces give more accurate results than “blow at the hole” models
  • Breathalyser should take standard batteries
  • Buy from a reputable established breathalyzer dealer, your warrantee is with the UK supplier.

I recommend avoiding key ring and micro breathalyzers. They are not reliable for long periods, and are unlikely to be cost effective to service, so these very cheap breathalyzers should be viewed as consumable novelty items. I would not personally rely on one!

Expect to pay between £40 and £50 for a reliable digital breathalyser which is likely to meet your expectations of reliability, build quality and accuracy. In this price range I recommend the DA5000 digital breathalyser with pro mg/100ml BAC display 

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