BACtrack Element Breathalyzer

When I received the BACtrack Elements s78 unit I followed the instructions carefully but it would always give the error “Flo” like many others have mentioned here. I went to return it but alas Amazon does NOT accept returns on breathalyzers (I assume for health reasons?). So I called BACtrack and they guided me through the procedure over the phone, and now it works!

The written instructions are not clear on this, but to make it work do this:

1) Push the button until you hear an initial beep, then let up on it. The unit will start to count down from 11 (why 11? Are the Engineers at BACtrack Spinal Tap Fans?).
2) When the countdown reaches 2, take a deep breath
3) Wait for two quick beeps after the countdown reaches zero then steadily blow into the unit.
5) You will hear a single beep once the unit detects your breath – DONT STOP! This beep lets you know the unit is working, not that it is done (like I mistakenly thought). Keep blowing while it beeps!
6) After w moment you will hear and feel a clicking noise, then another two beeps, at this point you can stop.
7) After a few seconds your BAC will be displayed on the unit.

When I followed this procedure it works great. It’s simple to use (once you follow my instructions and not theirs) and so far seems reliable.

It’s nice to have this on hand to check when I am out for dinner or dancing with my wife when having friends over and they drink, etc. Better to know and wait it out or catch a cab, then to get a DUI (or worse).

I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but I will do a follow-up review once I’ve used it for a while to report on its repeatability.

I give it 4 stars because of the incomplete instructions, otherwise, I’d give it 5 stars (as of now).

Bought this product to keep track of my BAC levels when drinking and also to see how accurate it was out of curiosity. It’s very easy to put together and comes with a nice assortment of tips to use to gauge your BAC levels. As one other customer review excellently pointed out the manual that comes with it describes some things well such as what the BAC level means and overviews what the outside buttons do. However, it does poorly mention how you have to blow into the device for more than 11 seconds and wait for it to click in order for it to display your results. If you stop too soon, then you won’t get a reading at all and it makes you seem like it’s defective but it’s not. You just need to blow into it longer than 11 seconds and wait for the feeling it gives you in your hand. It will feel like the device has just clicked or activated then you’ll get your test results. I’ve tried it quite a few times and the readouts are pretty accurate based on how intoxicated I was. I do recommend this product it’s a solid purchase and works well, but I just wish the manufacturer did a better job of explaining its operation.

Good daily tester

I was looking for something to give my wife piece of mind when we were out with friends, or when I’m out on the motorcycle. I read many of the reviews for the other breathalyzers and decided to stick with a fuel cell model. I was a bit surprised to read about the units not being accurate, with one reviewer claiming to compare it to an official law enforcement unit. I find that rather funny. These units measure blood alcohol based upon the amount of alcohol on your breath, which is affected by many factors. Even the PBT given by law enforcement (the unit used by patrol cars) is prone to error. The only truly accurate measurement of blood alcohol is an actual blood test, period.

All of that being said, I tested this unit right out of the box, and had a reading of “0.00”, which is what I expected as I hadn’t been drinking. I then drank six ounces of wine (in less than five minutes), drank a glass of water, then waited 20 minutes to do the next test. This time the reading was “0.02”, which is about where it should have been based upon the “standard” factors. Although I have yet to use it for any “normal” circumstance, I am confident that this unit will provide as accurate a reading as a standard PBT. That being said, whether I drive will be only partially based upon that reading. If I feel fine, yet have a reading of “0.08”, then I won’t be driving. If I have a reading of less than “0.08”, but don’t feel I’m capable of driving, I won’t drive. Common sense still has to rule. This unit is a valuable tool to help give an idea of what BAC may be, but it is only one part of making the right choice. If you’re going to have more than a drink or two, a designated driver may be the right choice anytime.

Like many others in the comments who had issues with this item out of the box, my wife and I have been unsuccessful in getting it to work. Literally every time we have tried to use it, we have received an error code versus a BAC reading. We followed the troubleshooting steps mentioned in previous reviews and on the BACtrack website to no avail. I attempted to reach the BACtrack product support team directly via both phone and email and have never gotten a response (the phone option pushes you to leave a voicemail after some predetermined amount of hold time, which the company has never followed up on). At this point, Amazon refers me to BACtrack for product support, including refund / exchange requests, and BACtrack cannot be reached directly and has been unresponsive to voicemails and emails left for follow up. Absolutely not worth the time, effort, or money spent.

Easy use and reliable.