Evaluating Low-Cost Breathalyzers for Hangover Driving Safety

Lee's experiment with low-cost breathalyzers reveals their unreliable accuracy for measuring alcohol levels after drinking.

### Evaluating Budget Breathalyzers: A Personal Experiment with Base Us and Sentech Models
* 🍺 After a night of drinking, many people experience hangovers, leading to the dilemma of whether they are **fit to drive the next day**.
* 🔍 To explore this, I decided to test a budget breathalyzer from Base Us, which costs around **10,000 won**, as a more accessible option compared to pricier models.
* 📊 I compared it with a police-grade alcohol tester from Sentech Korea, priced at **99,000 won**, which has a **10% margin of error** and is recognized for its **accuracy**.
* 🧪 During my self-conducted experiment, I noted that the Base Us breathalyzer displayed results that **fluctuated significantly**, often sticking at a reading of **0.13**, regardless of the amount consumed.
* ⚖ South Korea has strict penalties for blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) above **0.03%**, including fines and license suspension, which highlights the **importance of accurate testing**.
* 💡 My findings suggested that while the Base Us device is **convenient**, it may not provide **reliable results**, leading me to recommend investing in a **higher-quality tester** for serious users.
* 🚫 Ultimately, I concluded that for those who drink occasionally and need to assess their sobriety, a **trustworthy breathalyzer is essential**, but the **budget option may not suffice**.
* 🤔 "For anyone who needs to drive after drinking, it's best to **avoid alcohol altogether** or ensure you have a **reliable testing method**."

It's really hard to work. I have to deal with this because of the content. Hello, I'm Lee. Today, I guess this is a content to solve my curiosity. The product we will look at today is something related to hangover driving. These days, after a drinking party or staying out late drinking, when you wake up the next morning, you often have a pretty bad hangover. When you feel really unwell, you know, you realize you have a hangover and decide not to drive. Of course, it's best not to drive when you've been drinking, but there are times when the next day is a bit ambiguous. For instance, if you have a meeting or need to travel somewhere, it can be a tricky situation. I often find myself wanting to test this out. I'm thinking of testing this in the morning, just like the police do.

Buying a breathalyzer to keep at home is quite expensive and not really necessary, but it also feels a bit awkward to just leave it lying around. So, I looked it up and found that Base Us Light is selling breathalyzers. Surprisingly, breathalyzers aren't that expensive; you can purchase one for around 10,000 won. While it may not be as recognized as the ones used by police, I was curious about how much I could rely on this low-cost option, so I decided to buy one. Today, I'm going to conduct a clinical experiment myself. The brand is Base Us, which those who like electronics might be familiar with, and I bought it for about 1 dollar. It clearly states Digital Alcohol Test on it. To be honest, I have some reservations because when I searched for food testers a while ago, they were around 100,000 won.

It was around 200,000 won, which is quite a bit more expensive than I expected. The police use it often, but for regular consumers, we don’t drink alcohol every day, so it’s not really necessary to buy it. However, if it’s in the 10,000 won range and performs decently, I thought it might be worth purchasing, so I bought it as soon as I saw it. The interesting thing is that they say it can be used for about one to three months on a single charge. It simply comes with an A2C cable. The price of this 10,000 won cable is somewhat surprising, and it seems like there’s a holder that can be used in the car. Next, there’s the alcohol measuring device included. The finish and appearance are similar to what is commonly seen in lower-priced alcohol testers, so it does feel a bit cheap. Oh, and there’s a logo engraved here.

It seems to be a method for measuring alcohol levels. Here, it says Oh, and when I turn this, it immediately turns on. Right now, some numbers are showing. There's a pinwheel icon appearing, which seems to indicate something. But the seconds are passing by. What is this? Oh, it seems like it's completed now. The LED indicator above is showing green, which probably means it's in a normal state. If you look here, two figures are displayed. The one above seems to be based on Chinese standards, and the one below seems to be based on American standards. Oh, it turned off. If it's not used for a certain period, it automatically shuts off, and I think there's a booting time of about 10 seconds at the beginning. Let's ask about this. The user manual mentioned to keep a distance of about 1 cm. Since I’m not inebriated right now, it seems like nothing is showing. Anyway, this is the kind of product it is.

The usage method is quite simple. Also, just testing it out would be boring, so I'm curious about how accurate it actually is. I was initially going to review a product worth 10,000 won, but I ended up purchasing one for comparison. The product I bought for comparison is the alcohol tester Al 8,800 from Sentech Korea. The reason I bought this is that it's a brand used by the police. The price is 99,000 won, and it's a well-known brand in the alcohol testing device market. The device I purchased has about a 10% margin of error, which is quite good, and it has even been recognized for its performance in the United States. However, looking at the price of 99,000 won, it seems like a lot for those who drink often. If it works well, I wonder if I made a good purchase; it doesn't seem that expensive after all. Oh, and it's made in...

Korean Neighbors do this. Oh, you can blow into this after entering the military. They also provide an extra one. It's called a Centec. Oh, it has some corrections. It looks a bit like an electronic cigarette, doesn't it? How do you use it? Oh, when I press this, an LED lights up. What does it mean when I press and blow into it? Is it analyzing something? What's the usage? You press the power button and wait until it shows 0. Once it shows 0, you blow for four seconds. For ten seconds, it indicates... Hey, what is this? What does this mean? Oh, that indicator shows a message when the breathing duration is insufficient. Shall we take another look? Oh, but it tells you in real-time. In practice, it feels more intuitive. Still, I think more expensive products are better. Now, before we conduct the actual test, let's take a look at the drinking measurement standards in South Korea. First, when you measure alcohol content...

If the blood alcohol concentration is between 0.03 and 0.08, it is said that there will be a penalty of up to one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to 5 million won, and a suspension of the license for 100 days. If the concentration is between 0.08 and 0.2%, it leads to imprisonment for more than one year and up to two years, a fine of more than 5 million won and up to 10 million won, and the cancellation of the license. If it exceeds 0.08, the license is essentially canceled. If the concentration goes above 0.2%, it results in imprisonment for more than two years and up to five years, a fine of more than 10 million won and up to 20 million won, and the license will be canceled. 

I also looked into how long it takes for the body to metabolize alcohol. Typically, for one bottle of soju, it takes about 880 km of metabolism, which for men takes about three and a half hours. So, if I had one bottle of soju at 8 PM and returned home at 12 AM, then it would likely be completely metabolized by that time. Now, let's proceed with the test.

It seems that I have no choice but to drink. First of all, I have prepared a glass, and this is also a gift I received. Now, I will pour some. This is a legal drink, although it's not really legal; it's for content purposes. Today, I seem to be in a good mood. No, I'm not actually in a good mood; I'm just curious about the test. This glass seems to be a bit larger than a regular soju glass. They say that when you drink one glass, it typically results in a blood alcohol content of about 0.03%. So, even if you just drink one glass of soju, you shouldn't drive. If it's 0.03, then theoretically, if I take one sip, it should show that level. But then I realized that they're not actually drawing my blood for analysis; I'm just blowing into a device. Let me try it out. I haven't eaten anything today after working out my chest. Let's see... Wow, wait a minute, this is a lot.

It has come out that if you drive now with an alcohol level of over 0.2%, your license will be revoked and you could face a fine of up to 20 million won. Let's try it out right away. But right now, as soon as I tasted it, it's already going down my throat, so it might not be accurate. Ah, blowing for 10 seconds isn't working; it shows 0.13. Should I try it again? Let's see if it goes down a bit. The baseline should show 0.03, right? It hasn't gone down to that level in my body yet. Should we try it simultaneously? If we do it at the same time, it might be more credible, right? But it's not loading. Still, it shows 0.13. That's 0.05. Isn't that surprisingly reliable? This one seems a bit stronger than regular soju. It was said that a typical glass of soju shows 0.03%, so if this one is stronger, it might show around 0.05.

If you do it, it actually seems like it's dropping significantly. This one is at 0.05, and now it's at 0.13. Should we wait a little longer to see? Should I rinse my mouth with water or just with the remedy? If I don't give it, it's fine, right? Should I drink one more glass? I guess I have no choice but to have another glass. But so far, this one definitely has better convenience. It's clearer to turn off, and this one only needs to be blown for 4 seconds, while this one has a timing of 10 seconds. Plus, I can't confirm if it was actually blown enough. It's back to 0.03%. Oh, it's 0.0 now. The alcohol breakdown is really good, but why is this happening? It's ambiguous. This one is at 0.04 and has dropped, and now it's showing a warning with the orange light. But just looking at this, I think the reliability of this one seems better. This one feels a bit strange. Let's check again.

I usually don't measure right after drinking, so I'll rinse my mouth and then measure. Oh, it tastes good. I've had two shots of soju. The reading is 0.05, 0.13. This one doesn't seem reliable at all; the reliability seems very low. Did I use it incorrectly? If it's about 10 cm, then it should be quite scientific. The reading is 0.02. Should I try inserting it and blowing? It's showing 0. But what is this? Normally, the reading decreases over time. Theoretically, if I drink this much, it should be around 0.09, which is a normal increase. Of course, since this soju glass is slightly larger than a regular soju glass, it might go above 0.1. They say that measuring after 20 minutes gives a more accurate result, but I think it will actually decrease rather than increase after 20 minutes. Just my assumption. So now, let's continue.

I'm going for the third drink. The more I do this, the more it seems like I can handle it. But if you look at this, it's definitely better, right? This one is just... it's like you blow through the straw, so it seems more accurate. As for the drinking, it's going to come out really high, just like before. Around 0.4, that's almost a full measure, right? 10cm, 10cm, 0.13. I've already had this much soju, and now it's been about 25 minutes since I came back. I'm feeling a bit tipsy from drinking on an empty stomach, but still, our test is a test, so we need to conduct this clinical experiment accurately. Let's try again. 0.07. Well, three drinks at this level seems okay. But we need to do this scientifically. Do my lips look 20cm? 0.04. But with three drinks at 0.04, it's a bit hard to believe. However, the deviation is too large.

From the beginning, it's true that this device behaves a bit differently each time. Shall we try to get really close, almost like a kiss? If we do this, it shows 0.13. I wanted to get a bit more accurate results, so I tested it every time I had a drink at a gathering. The readings fluctuated somewhat, but there was a steady increase overall. However, the base reading seemed to stick at 0.13 no matter how many drinks I had. I thought it was reliable because it was a base model, but this isn't working out. The accuracy is just too low, whether it’s a 10 cm or 1 cm difference. For those who are genuinely worried like I am, it's clear that drinking and driving is absolutely not acceptable. And for those who might be considering buying such a device because they wake up the next day feeling fine but are still in a bit of a gray area, I would just suggest...

I think it would have been better to buy a good run product from the beginning. Of course, I don't know if the police actually use this one, but when compared to something like the Bayser's Yang, this one had the least variation. Now, I've been drinking for about three years, so I should be at around 0.09%. However, since I am a regular adult male weighing about 880 kg, it could come out a bit lower. So, I think it's somewhat accurate. If you have to drive the next day after drinking, I recommend either avoiding drinking too late or drinking less in advance. Testing yourself accurately with a high-quality tester is more of a secondary consideration, and it would be good to use it as a reference. Still, I think it's nice that it can provide some level of reference because right after drinking...

Of course, I can't drive, and when I wake up the next day, I think it will be okay for me to do a self-check. However, since it costs 100,000 won, I'm a bit hesitant. People who often go on business trips or have jobs that require them to use their own cars might be able to invest in it. Anyway, to satisfy my curiosity today, I took a look at the breathalyzer. It seems like it was faulty from the start, and I think those who need it should just buy a proper one. I wouldn't want to use this one again; the readings vary too much. However, it's interesting that it shows a reading of zero when I drink alcohol, which seems accurate. Earlier, I went to work and saw a reading of 0.03. So, honestly, I don't think I can trust it, and even this one seems to be somewhat reliable, but only for things like hangovers.

If there isn't one, I think I have to drive. This is just for reference.

알리에서 산 만원짜리 음주 측정기? 성능이 궁금해서 사봤습니다 ㅋㅋ

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ITSub잇섭

Affordable Breathalyzers for Hangover Driving

Lee discusses the challenge of deciding whether to drive after a night of drinking, especially with ambiguous hangover symptoms.

He finds a low-cost breathalyzer from Base Us Light for around 10,000 won and decides to conduct a personal experiment with it.

The breathalyzer offers a surprising one to three months of use on a single charge and comes with a holder for the car, making it a convenient option for those in need.

Measuring Alcohol Levels: A Device Review

The device measures alcohol levels, displaying numbers and icons during operation.

It has two figures for Chinese and American standards and automatically shuts off after use.

The reviewer compares it to a more expensive, police-used brand, noting the latter's better accuracy and performance recognition.

Alcohol Concentration and Its Consequences

08% results in up to one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to 5 million won, and a 100-day license suspension.

2% lead to over one year of imprisonment, higher fines, and license cancellation.

2% results in more than two years of imprisonment, even higher fines, and license revocation.

Testing Alcohol Levels and Reliability of Measurements

The alcohol level readings are fluctuating, with one device showing a drop from 0.

There is uncertainty about the reliability of the measurements, with one device feeling strange and showing inconsistent readings.

The individual is conducting a self-experiment after drinking soju, questioning the accuracy of the readings and the effects of time on alcohol levels.

The Inconsistent Accuracy of a Drinking Device

The device's readings fluctuated but consistently stuck at 0.

13, leading to doubts about its reliability.

Despite its base model status, the accuracy was too low to provide trustworthy results.

The speaker, a regular drinker, suggests avoiding late drinking or consuming less in advance if driving the next day, while emphasizing the importance of a high-quality tester for accurate results.

The narrator is hesitant to invest in a self-check breathalyzer due to its high cost.

They find the device's readings inconsistent and unreliable, despite it showing a zero reading after drinking alcohol.

The narrator concludes that the breathalyzer may only be somewhat reliable for assessing hangovers and is uncertain about its overall effectiveness.