Alcohol Testing
About Alcohol Testing
Drinking and driving never go hand in hand. For that reason, countries across the world had strict laws against drunk driving. The severity of punishment ranges from small fines up to a few months of jail time. Police use different types of alcohol test equipment for measuring the blood alcohol content of a person. Usually, they carry a small portable breathalyser with them all the time.
In the olden days detecting the blood alcohol level in a person would have taken a really long time. Sometimes it would take them even weeks before they can get reliable test results. But due to massive technological progress, it is quite easy to detect if a person is drunk or not. One can do it by using simple and portable alcohol test equipment. There are, in fact, so many different types of alcohol test equipment differing in their price range, accuracy, battery life and reliability. Before you are shopping for alcohol test equipment, it is a good idea to learn more about it. This article will tell you about the different types of alcohol breathalysers and how each of them works.
Everything you need to know about alcohol test equipment
Although there are other equipment that can measure the alcohol level in a person’s blood, portable breathalysers are the most popular because of their portability and ease of use. They also provide fast results. Breathalysers that law enforcement across the world use can measure the alcohol content in a matter of seconds. They also have good battery life, which means you can charge it in the morning and they will last for a whole day. Here is a list of all the types of alcohol test equipment that you will find in the market.
The nitty-gritty of alcohol test
There are hundreds of different types of alcohol. But alcohol test using breathalysers only deals with the type of alcohol that is present in some beverages, i.e., ethyl alcohol. It is this type of alcohol that intoxicates a person. In almost all countries some activities, including driving, are illegal for a person under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol breathalysers test the amount of alcohol in a person’s blood. This is important because the law mandates a maximum percentage of alcohol in the blood before that person can no longer drive a vehicle, or carry out surgery in case he is a doctor.
Semiconductor alcohol breathalyser
If you want an affordable yet accurate and portable breathalyser, go for this model. This is a newcomer in the breathalyser world. They use a special alcohol detecting sensor called ‘Taguchi cells’ to measure the amount of alcohol in the breath. These sensors oxidise the alcohol and tests the extent of alcohol oxidation. Another advantage of a semiconductor breathalyser is the long battery life. While they are quite easy to use, they also provide a great deal of accuracy in the results. But there is a big caveat. The sensor in this type of breathalyser triggers even in the presence of other gases that are similar to ethyl alcohol vapours.
Fuel cell breathalyser
This is the type of breathalyser that you will find with the law enforcement personnel. The obvious reason for this is their accuracy and reliability. This is important because the result from the breathalyser serves as evidence in court proceedings. In past, the effectiveness of fuel cells was high. But later, they also proved to be very good at measuring the alcohol content in the breath. While the Taguchi sensor works by oxidising the alcohol vapours using heat, fuel cell analysers use electric current to oxidise the vapours.
Spectrophotometer breathalyser
While the semiconductor breathalyser and fuel cell breathalyser measure the per cent of alcohol in the breath through an indirect method, spectrophotometer breathalyser measures it directly. When alcohol vapours are inside the machine it changes the infrared spectrum. The infrared sensor measures this change to calculate the amount of alcohol in the breath. Before fuel cells became a reliable option, police and law enforcement used spectrophotometers to measure the alcohol content accurately.
Tips on how to buy Alcohol Test Equipment
There are a few different types of alcohol test equipment in the market. Because there are so many different types of alcohol test kits, it can be quite confusing when you try to choose one for yourself, especially if you are new to it. But if you know what to look for, it becomes a whole lot easier. Here are some tips that you can follow when you shop for them. You can easily find the right type of alcohol test kit you want using these tips.
- Professional vs home breathalyser – There are professional-grade breathalysers as well as those meant for home use. Professional ones are much more expensive than the latter. But they are accurate and do not show false positives. Professional-grade equipment is also reliable and provides consistent performance.
- Extra bells and whistles – Look for alcohol test equipment with more features if you fancy that. There are models that can pair with mobile phones and can save the history of your test results for later referencing.
- Accuracy – This is probably the most important factor to consider in alcohol test equipment. If the accuracy is too low, that will render the machine virtually useless. Consistency is also important. When you test the same sample of breath, the machine should give the same results.
- Cost – The cost of breathalysers vary a great deal between models. While home analysers are considerably cheaper, professional ones can cost you an arm and a leg. But in places where you need professional-grade accuracy, there is no way to do that with a cheap variety.
You will find semiconductor alcohol test equipment starting at a price range of 300 AED. The starting price of professional-grade equipment is two times higher than that. In the end, the right one for you depends on where you use it and how often you use it. Also, don’t forget to check out other products from Health & Beauty . You can find all kinds of self-test products using our shopping search engine . It will let you compare the prices and features of different products and pick the best ones among them.
Question & Answer
How long after drinking can you detect alcohol presence in urine?
Apart from the breathalyser test, police sometimes use urine tests as well to check the alcohol content in the blood. This test measures the amount of ethyl glucuronide in the blood. This compound is what gives the drinker intoxication. Therefore, urine tests are much more reliable than breathalyser tests. This test can detect even a small amount of alcohol in the blood. Sometimes, it can detect alcohol even after five days of consumption. But the problem with this test is that it will show positive for the presence of alcohol from other food as well like cola or orange juice.
How long can a breathalyser detect alcohol?
That entirely depends on how much alcohol has the person consumed. The body removes the alcohol from the blood at a rate of 0.015% BAC per hour. BAC stands for Blood Alcohol Content. This equals one drink per hour. That means the blood removes alcohol at the rate of alcohol content in one drink in one hour. Therefore if the person has only had one drink, there would be no alcohol content in his blood after one hour. But if a person had alcohol more than the legal driving limit, it would take at least six hours before the breathalysers cannot detect the alcohol in the breath.
Can an alcohol breathalyser detect weed?
No, breath analysers cannot detect if the person has smoked weed or not. Or as a matter of fact, alcohol test breath analysers can only detect the amount of alcohol in the blood. But police in some countries use other test kits to detect the presence of other types of drugs in saliva. These test kits are called weedalyzer. There is another type of breathalyser that can detect the presence of THC in a person’s breath. These types of analysers are called marijuana breathalysers and are common among the police force in the USA and Canada.If you are looking to buy professional breathalysers online in Dubai, look no further as you are in the right place.
There are so many different kinds of breathalysers in the market. Regardless of that, you will find anything from the best alcohol test equipment to a cheap alcohol breathalyser to buy on Shops.ae. Just use the product search engine to look for what you want. These shops offer products from brands like Jastek, Gdbow, Cden, Bactrack, and Promiler.