Types of Alcohol Detectors

A recent survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that over 2 percent of individuals stopped on the road had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 percent or greater. This exceeds the legal limit to drive in every state within the US and in Washington D.C., especially considering most states have lowered their legal limit to drive to anything greater than .05 percent BAC. All this despite serious efforts to combat drunk driving and to educate the public on the dangers of driving while intoxicated. No one is arguing for or against having a drink once in while or going out to have a good time with friends or family members. The key is safety, and with so many types of alcohol detectors available on the market just having a device on hand is a safe and easy choice to ensure you are legal to get behind the wheel after a few drinks.

The types of alcohol detectors present on the market today basically break down into two separate categories - fuel cell detectors and semiconductor detectors. Fuel cell based devices provide greater accuracy, a much lower rate of failure, and require recalibration at least once every six months. Semiconductor devices are less accurate, but are much more affordable and can at least be a good indicator of intoxication. They require recalibration as well which can usually be accomplished by the device owner with the aid of a kit a few simple instructions.

Fuel Cell Alcohol Detectors

Many of the newer more accurate types of alcohol detectors use a fuel cell technology to capture the alcohol particles in the breath. Two platinum plates surround an acid-electrolyte material make up the main testing agent within the fuel cell breathalyzer. As a breath passes into the machine, the present alcohol particles oxidize within the electrified platinum plates, altering their molecular structure to produce acetic acid, protons, and electrons. The number of produced electrons gets measured by an internal micro-processor to give the resulting blood alcohol content reading.

Fuel cell devices are much more reliable, producing much more consistent and accurate results. Typically, individuals suffering from diabetes or those on a low calorie diet may be the only ones with a higher acetic content on their breath, which is one of the only conditions that may result in a false positive reading. For these reasons, fuel cell devices are the types of alcohol detectors used by law enforcement and private industry for testing individuals for alcohol intoxication.

Semiconductor Alcohol Detectors

Older designs and less expensive alcohol detectors use a semiconductor based detection system to measure an individual's blood alcohol content. Semiconductor alcohol detectors use a tiny piece tin within the device that when electrified carries various rates of electrical impedance depending on the presence of alcohol particles within the mechanism. The more alcohol vapor particles strike the electrified tin, the greater the resulting electrical impedance. This rate of impedance gets measured internally, resulting in a blood alcohol content reading.

The problem with semiconductor alcohol detectors is their inherent unreliability. The device will indicate weather or not alcohol is indeed present, but often the reading can vary greatly even when samples are taken within short intervals. For this reason, these types of alcohol detectors are good for indicating weather or not a person has had a drink at all, but are not very good at indicating if the same person is legal to drive. Semiconductor devices are also plagued by short life spans as the tin reactive surface can easily become saturated with alcohol vapor particles and other contaminants such as cigarette smoke residue and dust particles.

It's great to be out with friends and family and to have a good time. If plan on having a few drinks, having an alcohol diction device on hand is a smart and safe decision for you, your passengers, and the other drivers on the road. You don't even have to lug around some cumbersome device or have an embarrassing contraption strapped to your waist to measure your BAC. There are many affordable, accurate, compact types of alcohol detectors available on the market today.