PT520A Natural Gas Detector, Gas Leak Detector with 17-Inch Gooseneck, Locating The Source Like Propane, Methane, and Butane for Home and RV (Includes Battery x3) - Orange

For a few weeks I've been smelling a very slight order of gas in my father's home I couldn't find. I had no idea how bad it was until I received this Gas detector. Finding the leak may have saved my elderly fathers life.It was very easy to use. From about 75 feet from the leak it started finding low levels of gas. This lead me to a faulty valve on a space heater within just a minute. It has a fast response time after the initial 30 second warm up. Very easy to use. This is a must have for anyone who has gas appliances. It appears to be built very well. As with all gas detectors of this type I expect it to have limitations on how many hours it can used before it needs to be replaced. I would assume its good for at least 2500 hours of total use. I like the carry case that helps keep the sensor clean and batteries that were included. Battery life is not important to me as we are not using it every day like the gas company does. The alarm sound is loud enough for me but may not be loud enough for noisy machinery spaces. If working in a loud environment just watching the easy to view LCD screen is good enough for detecting. My only regret so far was not buying it sooner.

It did its job - I had an extremely small gas leak in my moms basement I was trying to pinpoint, where we could only sometimes catch a light whiff when walking down the stairs and then halfway across the room. Walking over towards the water heater and furnace down there, you smelled nothing, and you couldn't ever catch a 2nd smell of it, until the next day.Got this thing, went over all of the pipes and fittings, and found just the very smallest leak possible, where you would only smell it if you brought your face right next to the fitting and inhaled.I think maybe as the temperature went up/down in the room maybe it leaked more or less from the metal contracting or something? Not sure. Or maybe it wasn't sealed properly. Either way, it was just a 2nd bar on the meter on hi sensitivity. But it worked!Other reviews are accurate - it feels like it takes 30-60s to turn on initially, and then you have to hold it a few seconds at each area you want to test. It's a little bit of a slow process if you have no clue where you're testing and have to hit many places, but it was very useful!

I recently installed a new gas line for my new kitchen range and wanted to make sure there was no leaks. I suspected the detector was a good one if one of the big box home improvement stores (the orange one) had the smaller versions of these in store. This one has the bendable probe which is nice to reach behind and in small spaces. It detected no gas around my fittings. I later tested it with some unlit gas from the stove burner and it went off like crazy. Confirmed it works. It was plenty loud and also beeps faster the stronger the gas is at the sensitivity level.I enjoy also that this came with a nice zipper case and actually came with name brand batteries instead of cheap knockoffs. The price was good also!

Seems to work effectively. Recommend Calibration to be done outside.

How this product can be manufactured and sold for this price is beyond my comprehension. It is perfect for checking for potential leaks in residential gas appliances. I was smelling a slight odor of gas after a new water heater installation and couldn't trace the source. The meter was immediately able to track it down to a poorly fitted pipe union. In another instance, a faint gas odor around a 50 year old gas boiler was traced to behind the regulator. In both instances, it was impossible to locate the source without using this handy meter. However, you must keep in mind what this meter is intended for. It is not a $2,000 professional combustible gas detector that provides digital readouts in parts per million, has an air pump, and can be safely used in confined spaces. Rather, it is a qualitative tool that allows you to find the source of the leak in an otherwise well vented area. Since it does not have an air pump it must be held in one spot for a period of time on the order of 1/4 minute. The negative reviews for products such as this are typically from people that waive it around like a wand and are disappointed that it doesn't instantaneously pick up the leak. The receptor on these budget detectors without an air pump takes time to sample the immediate environment. Take your time and this unit can, and will, find your leak. IF YOU HAVE A STRONG SMELL OF GAS, DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT - RUN AWAY AND CALL THE GAS COMPANY. Save your life and let the professionals deal with the problem. Lives were lost at a local school when it exploded during natural gas plumbing work over the summer recess. Tools like this are for situations where you are confronted with a very faint hint of gas and where you have good ventilation. If in doubt, get out.

Great safety product to have in your house. Sometimes I might smell gas and I get concerned if there's a leak. This is a great device to pinpoint the source of a leak. At ~$40, it's much cheaper to get this device than to have the fire department or natural gas utility company make a service call and give you a service charge. I installed a grill to a natural gas line and it was my first time doing it. I tried soapy water on the gas lines but I wanted to be 100% sure that there was no gas leak. I bought this device for peace of mind. I tested by turning on my gas stove for a few seconds and putting the detector near the gas and it worked flawlessly. Highly recommend. I can't comment on the battery life but it worked as expected.

Very sensitive and effective. Easy to use and intuitive to understand. Helped me discover the gas line to my dryer was loose. I didn't think I was going to need the gooseneck but it was actually extremely helpful for getting behind things.The downside is that it takes a long time to start up and shuts off automatically a little too quickly even if it's actively detecting gas, although you can disable auto-shutoff per power-on. Also note that on power up, it zeros itself to the ambient levels so you need to be careful to start it up somewhere well ventilated or you might miss a leak.