What’s The Difference?

For private drivers and general use

There are various differences between devices; their size, sampling method, sensor type etc and by and large the more you pay, the more accurate they become although in some cases the additional cost is in accessories such as hard cases, spares sensors, additional mouthpieces etc.

It depends what you want to use it for. If you want something that you are not going to take to seriously but will nevertheless give you some idea of how long it takes you to get back to zero, something like the Micro or AL2500 will do the job and they are small enough to slip in a pocket or handbag.

Devices that you “blow on” to, like the AL2500 can be good when several people are using them because mouthpieces are not required, however you will never get a high degree of accuracy or consistency from blowing on to a sensor in the way that you will if you have to blow through a tube.

The AlcoHawk Slim 2 is one of our more popular devices for home use and is the “base model” of those that have a tube to blow through instead of a sensor to blow on – the AlcoSense, as endorsed by Stirling Moss, also has an intriguing “phone” styling to it. Further up the range the AlcoHawk ABI has SRT technology that monitors the readings from the sensor as it is sampling to look for any abnormalities, and the AL7000 provides readings in ProMile (drink drive limit 80) to give a more detailed result.

At the top of the range of Personal models the AlcoHawk Pro is an excellent detector and comes with a full hard case, but for the very best accuracy and reliability from a Personal Detector the PT500 offers police-grade fuel cell technology, until recently only available in Breathalyzers costing £700 or more, for just £199 plus VAT which represents superb value for an excellent and accurate detector.