Gas Leak Detector, MESTEK High Precision Natural Gas Detector with Triple Alarms, Portable Gas Sniffer with Digital & Analog Dual Display Checking Combustible Gas Leaks for Home and RV, Rechargeable

The media could not be loaded. Simple to use. Turn on the device. Wait 30 sec for it to "warm up" then put the sensor near a suspected leak. I bought it to try help track down a leak (see video) at my mom's house. It seems to be an intermittent leak. She'd smell gas every so often then it'd be nothing for months. I happened to be over to reboot the wifi router, and smelled gas, so I grabbed the MESTEK detector (I had left it there for this exact scenario), and check where we suspected the leak was. Took a few minutes, but eventually found it.

This worked great...while it worked. It was a great value...until it wasn't.It got about 5 months of light use before it bricked out.I don't know if it's the internal battery that crapped out or what, but it's now a $70 paperweight.It's outside of the return/replace window so there I have no recourse besides eating the cost and buying something else.If you get/have one of these, Beware. This tool does an important job!Get yourself a back-up so you're not caught out on a job with a useless tool.

The media could not be loaded. What I like about this gas leak detector:- It has a nice large color screen- The readings are in large easy to read numbers along with a digital arc dial meter above the numbers- It has a high quality metal bendable probe that is easy to adjust and still holds is position very well- It has strong rugged shell with a raised frame around the screen for extra drop protection and extra impact padding on the sides that also provide a better grip- It has a battery saving automatic shut off button ( APO button)- It charges with a USB C cable which is included as well as a nice padded soft case- In my test it quickly alerted me to the leak (see video). Minor complaint: the screen is harder to see in bright lighting & could be a little brighter so you may have to shade the screen with your hand to see the screen clearer sometimes. Overall this product is working great so far.

Easy to use, seems very accurate.Buttons: Power - Long press to turn on, it warms up for 30 seconds and visually displays time remaining. APO - Toggles the Automatic Power Off function C/F - Toggles between Celsius and Fahrenheit Sound - Toggles audio indicators on/off PPM/%LEL - Toggles between Parts Per Million and Percentage Level Zero - Used to zero out the sensor in an area where there is no gas, to set a "baseline"After charging it with the included cord, Red for charging, Green for complete, I powered it up with a long press on the power button. It counted down the 30 seconds and was ready to test. I turned the natural gas on my cooktop on, bypassing the ignition, and it didn't take long for the sensor to alert me to the presence of the gas. I let it go until the alarm went off, which is adequate in loudness and grabs your attention.Using it is very simple, without so many features that you'd have to take out the manual every time to use. Turn it on, detect, done. The hardest part may be remembering the long press of the power button.The case is nice, and has a pocket to hold the charging cord. The construction of the detector is really nice, has a very professional feel to it, and looks nice. The display is bright and clear, easy to understand what is on or off, and the audio alert is loud.

I ran it through the propane stove test (very broad) and it did respond. It is difficult to verify it's accuracy unless you have access to calibration gasses.The instructions are very limited. They do state that the readings are relative to natural gas but don't give an indication of in what way. Is it as a percent volume? Is the LEL still accurate or does one need to adjust for propane with a lower LEL? The instructions give no guidance.This instrument could be excellent if the instructions would be clearer. They were obviously written by a non-English native speaker and may have been created through Google Translate.I would trust it more for natural gas than other gasses. However, I'm in a volunteer fire department of a rural area that only has propane to be concerned with. It will help find a leak but I wouldn't trust the LEL (lower explosive limit) reading without guidance.

I don't have any kind of calibrated sensor to compare this to independently, but when placed next to my stove and letting a little gas out it picked up the gas immediately and started beeping. There's no way for me to know if the PPM measures are anywhere near true, but can definitely be used as a true/false detector for small leaks in specific areas.

I calibrated the instrument outside in open air and began testing a newly installed gas line. After not seeing any change in reading, I decided to introduce it to a controlled propane leak to test it. I opened a small propane tank nearby with no change. Eventually I directed the flow directly at the sniffer and still nothing. I was hoping it was user error, but confirmed it wasn't after reading the instructions (which are limited).