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Ketone Breathalyser Monitor

9K views 54 replies 4 participants last post by  NSDad126 
#1 ·
Ok, I admit, my nerd is showing -LOL

My order of gas sensors came in today from china.

I'm building my own breathalyzer for detecting ketones so I can check to see of I'm successfully in ketosis with my LCHF diet.

I haven't read the data sheet yet, but basically the sensor produces a voltage that is proportional to the amount of ketones it senses. All I have to do is build a basic circuit that reads that voltage and dumps the value onto an LCD display. It won't be calibrated number that means anything, but it will be a quantitative number that - in time - I will learn what it means.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Interesting. I've found with my Ketonix, like pee strips, low readings may not be be truly definitive. If I win the lottery, I'd post a multiple time a day pee/breath/blood comparison for a few months.

LOL. A real nerd would come up with more accurate, less expensive, testing equipment without the need for disposable strips.
 
#6 ·
Yes, me too, that's why I got the Ketonix. I'm full of lack of motivation to figure out how to build my own. Justified in my own mind the cost of Ketonix vs cost of blood ketone test strips.
 
#7 · (Edited)
i've got an alcohol breathlyser on order which has been reviewed on youtube as a acetone detector for ketogenic diets.

it was $10 and if the reviews are truthful, it is able to detect a full on ketosis state ( the meter gives a reading of .04% blood alcohol) but they complain that it doesn't have the sensitivity to detect intermediate levels of ketones, ie it tends to provide an on or off type of reading for acetone. not bad for a multiple use device for $10

if im lucky with my sensors, i will be able to put them through a $2 arduino clone that has a 10 bit A-D converter that will quantify the sensor with a number between 1 and 1024. hopefully that is enough resolution to measure the intermediate levels of acetone.

i told you i'm a nerd. i carry a mini screwdriver next to my manly edc pocket knife.
 
#10 ·
from what i read, pee strips can be deceptive. they show high levels before your blood ketones are up to high levels, and depending on the person, ketones in thre urine might stop once you have become fully keto adapted.
The pee strips are virtually useless for monitoring ketosis. All these sticks do is indicate that, yes, there were some ketones filtered out of the blood.

Their purpose is to warn diabetics whose BG is high that they are approaching, or are actually in, DKA.

The best they can do for low-carbers (whose BG is not high) is to indicate the presence of (excess) ketones (having been filtered out of the blood by the kidneys) which possibly indicates one is in ketosis. They do not show quantity or level of ketosis. It's like a pregnancy test - yes, or no. And even that isn't for sure.
 
#14 ·
Now that's funny. Hope she don't swing a mean skillet.
 
#15 ·
@NSDad126

I stumbled across this UTube video about using a breathalizer for measuring acetone in breath. I found it interesting, and he did explain what it measures and what the measurements mean for those in ketosis. While I'm sure you know all about this, for the rest of us, it is informative.



(I also discovered there is an abundance of videos showing how to use a breathalyser to measure acetone in the breath. I'm sure there's some that go into much more scientific detail and analysis.)
 
#18 · (Edited)
Thanks to VeeKay's posted video, I finally understand the limitation to my breathalizer.

My meter shows me a reading of 0.1g/L ( 1.7 mmol/L). Any reading less than 0.1 that does not round up would show as 0.0 g/L. A zero reading could lead me to think I am NOT in ketosis when in fact I might be.

When you watch the video, the guy was able to measure 0.56mmol/L which my meter can not measure.

The answer to my problem is simple, don't buy my meter for $10 when his meter can be bought for a few more dollars.

I'll work on posting a link to his meter.
 
#22 ·
What I saw says to by the cheaper meters not the expensive ones. The expensive ones have fuel cell sensors that ignore the acetone. Make sure it has a semiconductor sensor. Thats the limit of my one evening on a couple of You Tube videos expertise.
 
#24 ·
The other 'cheap breathalyser' came in today.

Unfortunately, I am not in ketosis at the moment because I lost a staring contest with a bag of potato chips. He was All Dressed up and waiting to pick a fight with me. I didn't stand a chance.

Anyway, check out the pics below. I took a swig of crown royal so that they would have something to report.
 

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#27 ·
I lost a staring contest with a bag of potato chips. He was All Dressed up and waiting to pick a fight with me. I didn't stand a chance.
I believe his cousin lives at my house. :vs_mad:
 
#28 ·
just a quick update

i got a readong of 0.02 on both meters tonight.

the meter with red backlight ( just reference the pics) is consistently providing readings of 0.02

the meter with the blue backlight. gave me 1 reading of 0.02 with multiple readings of zero before and after the 0.02 reading.

at this point i haven't recognized any secret to getting a reading. i've been testing at the end of my breath like the video but i'm not getting repeatable results.
 
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