AlcoSense Lite Breathalyzer & Alcohol Tester (Scottish and Irish Limit) What Car? Best Breathalyser Under £40

Quick overview: product looks well made. It’s a bit fiddly to prime or set up, you have to expose the sensor to a bit of alcohol using the parts provided in the box. Once this is done the unit is easy to use and way more accurate than my previous device, which is what I wanted. I trust this unit more than my previous cheaper one.I bought my first tester in a filling station in Austria whilst I was skiing for a couple of months and using the car to get to and from the slopes, it was an impulse buy, not very expensive but I thought I’d get one as I like a beer at lunchtime but had to drive after skiing in the afternoon. It was ok as a guide for that but I was never convinced of its morning after accuracy, but as I say it was only a cheap thing where you blow through a hole in the case onto a sensor. I lost it, and so have been thinking of getting a new one, I’m just about to take the car skiing again, and I drive a motorhome and sail, so morning after testing is also important. I bought thins unit because of the what car ‘best under 40 quid’ review, and it turns out to be British which is a bonus in these times of trying to reduce transport miles. Out of the box the unit looks more complex and detailed than my previous tester, but not unduly complicated. I was a bit surprised by the need to set up or ‘activate’ the sesor, and this is a bit fiddly but straightforward, you pop a drop of alcohol in a little cap provided and cover the sensor with it and wait for the unit to do its thing. Using the device is easy, and you blow through a tube that you pop onto the sensor, which has to be more accurate than blowing through a hole, and sure enough it’s moring after readings are higher, and I assume more accurate. All you need is in the box except for an AAA battery, but it would have been nice if there was a cloth bag to keep all the bits in to avoid losing the small parts (that cap and a pipette with which to fill it), I’m going to order the separate case which I might have done anyway even if a temporary thin bag had been supplied in the box. Overall I am happy that I have a tester that I can reasonably rely on, small enough to fit in my pocket or back pack, but accurate enough to do its job. I like a beer or two, but I don’t want to ulose my driving or yachtmaster license, skiing sailing and motorhoming do attract quite a lot of social activity!

I live in Scotland, so we have the lower limit version. I bought this just to ensure that I'm OK to drive after a few drinks at night. The big test came on Christmas Day, when I was driving the Edinburgh for Christmas Dinner with the Family. It's a 140 mile trip, so we have to set off around 11am ish to get there. I tested myself before we left the house and it showed that I was OK. That was with a large Scotch, before Dinner, on Christmas Eve, and 4 glasses of wine, stopping drinking at half past midnight. I had 10.5 hours to process the alcohol and the machine showed Low, so OK to drive. On Christmas night, after having a few during the day and evening, we stopped drinking at 10:30 ish. We got a taxi to our hotel and I tested myself, out of interest, before going to bed, about 90 minutes after stopping drinking. It showed that I was over the limit and should not drive. The next morning before heading back to the Family home for breakfast. I tested myself again, as I was driving, and it showed Low, so OK to drive. The test on Christmas Morning and Boxing Day morning gave me the confidence to drive without the worry of "am I over or not"?The product states that it's got a tolerance level, so if you make sure that the reading you produce + the tolerance, is under the Limit then you should be OK to drive. You have to remember that this is just a guide to help you, but the final decision lies with you. If it reads low, but you don't feel that you're low, don't drive.I'm happy with this device and for £40, it's worth it, as the cost of a fine + losing your license is a lot more than £40.

This is a good wee gadget, and I'm very glad I bought it. To be honest (not many people seem to admit this), I wanted to find out whether I could drink a pint and still be safe - where we live is in the depths of the west of Ireland, and the pub is the only place people can meet - and the weather is almost always wet and windy! The pub is a mile away on a back road, and people do drink and drive.I learnt quite a bit from the breathalyser. First, that one pint of Guinness seems to keep me under the limit. Second, that two puts me on the edge. Three, it seems to be affected VERY much by how bulky the person is; a smaller, lighter person will be over the limit very quickly. And yeas: the reading increases for quite a while after having had a few drinks, regardless of how much one eats. It has made me MUCH more careful. And I know....shouldn't encourage drink-driving. But this gadget has made me much more thoughtful about that.I think that for next-morning drivers, especially professional drivers, it's an important piece of equipment, and I really recommend it. I could wish it had a slightly higher accuracy, but for 50£ what can a person expect? And as the booklet says, there are so many factors affecting what your alcohol level will be, for some hours after taking a drink that the accuracy is good enough to tell a person that consuming more than one would seem foolish (I know, don't drink anything - but people will...).The initial calibration, using a drop of 50-50 wine and water, is slightly fiddley, but not difficult.