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BreathKey Digital Breath Alcohol Tester

Author:	Jason Dumbaugh, Jack Wells, Justin Washick, Michael Lynch
Date:	2008.07.21
Topic:	Miscellaneous
Provider:	X-tremegeek.com
Manufacturer:	BreathKey

BreathKey Digital Breath Alcohol Tester

BreathKey Digital Digital Breath Alcohol Tester

Review Analysis:

During the video, the alcohol consumed along with the readings are listed below.

Readings:	Jason	Jack	Justin
Round 1: Jason had 1/2 glass of spiked chocolate milk. Jack had 1 jigger of Myer's Rum. Justin had 1 jigger of Whiskey Sour.	.007	.009	.019
Round 2: Jason had 1 jigger of Black Cherry Rum and 1/2 glass of spiked chocolate milk. Jack had 3 jiggers of Myer's Rum. Justin had 5 jiggers of Whiskey Sour. Justin is a drunkass.	.031	.027	.112
Round 3: Jason had 1 shot of Parrot Bay Rum and 1/2 glass of spiked chocolate milk. Jack had 1 jigger of Smirnoff Green Apple Vodka. Justin had 2 jiggers of W.L. Weller Whiske.	.018	.030	.173
Round 4: Jason had 1 jigger of DiSaronno and 1/2 glass of spiked chocolate milk. Jack had 1 jigger of Smirnoff Green Apple. Justin had 2 jiggers of W.L. Weller Whiskey.	.098	.080	.200
Round 5: Jason had 1 jigger of DiSaronno and 1/2 glass of spiked chocolate milk. Jack had 1 jigger of Myer's Rum. Justin had 1 jigger of W.L. Weller Whiskey.	.100	.050	.200
All three cached, Justin wasn't feeling very well and Jason was ready to stop before getting to Justin's point.	.109	.032	.200

Justin went to the little boys room, Jason went and called his girlfriend to let her know how it went. Jack watched the Godfather. The maximum the tester goes is .200, roughly 2.5 times the legal limit. For kicks, readings were taken after a time period to see how much they changed after drinking was over. You only have to wait 20 minutes if you drink each time.

Readings:	Jason	Jack	Justin
30 minutes	.068	.086	Out of Order
50 minutes	.115	.129	Out of Order
55 minutes	.103	.099	Out of Order
75 minutes	.086	.148	Out of Order

Wikipedia.com states "One of the most common sources of error in breath alcohol analysis is simply testing the subject too early—while his or her body is still absorbing the alcohol. Absorption of alcohol continues for anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours after drinking or even longer. Peak absorption normally occurs within an hour; this can range from as little as 15 minutes to as much as two-and-a-half hours."

Because of this, I cannot tell whether or not the sensor is inaccurate or not, but some of the numbers seem quite drastic from one timeframe to the other. For Jason to go from .109 to .068 to .115 in 20 minute increments seems like a false read, as well as Jack's .030 to .080 to .050 in 20 minute increments. Because of this, we recommend testing yourself 2-3 times just to make sure. Breathing patterns can also affect the read of the device.

Michael Lynch was on stand-by for video recording and general supervision, and tried the Listerine test. Listerine is 44 proof, and has been said to fool alcohol testers, but MythBusters disproved it. Michael did not wait the 20 minutes that the tester said to wait, which will give a reading from mouth alcohol. The breath did not come from the standard reading source, it came from the alveolar air in Mike's lungs which contained the Listerene.

Conclusion:

If you need a cheap, portable alcohol tester, The BreathKey Digital Breath Alcohol Tester is a great candidate. It fits on a keychain, and has a lifetime battery. While our testing was all fun and games, drinking and driving is a very serious matter. These videos also show the effect of alcohol on regular people, and .08 does not even seem like a safe limit. Thanks to X-tremegeek.com for sending us this item, it has truly been a fun review. The BreathKey Digital Digital Breath Alcohol Tester can be purchased from X-tremegeek.com for $69.95.

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