Nova Products Gas Leak Detector

The behavior of this device is erratic. It beeps for no good reason and it does not stop beeping even though I am standing outside. The start-up time various greatly also. On my first try (with fresh batteries), it took about 1 minute to warm up. The second time took a lot longer, perhaps 2 times. The third try an hour later took so long that used rubber band to hold down the button while I worked on something else. I think it was nearly a good 5-10 minutes before it warmed up. Frankly, I could not tell if this device worked or not. Perhaps I just received a defective device. In the end, it only wasted time and did not tell me anything useful.

I got this device after reading alot of reviews... I was a little worried & a lot hopeful. But I was pleasantly surprised when it passed my first test over my unlit stovetop. After that I used it to detect a leak I had suspected on a gas shutoff valve (a VERY small leak). This little device worked great!! But a few words of caution that really aren't in the description: First, the packaging Clearly States: "Do Not subject device to shock." I'm thinking this is what happened w/ the people who had problems. Second, you have to move the device VERY SLOWLY around the ENTIRE joint/area. The leak I eventually found I actually passed over twice b/c I was moving too fast. Lastly this will not last forever (another possibility for problem reviews). The packaging says its rated for something like 12-24 hours of use. I Do Not mean 1 day, obviously, but that many hours of 'On' time. I used about a half hour of my time. After that, I lined a 1 gal. ziploc bag w/ bubble wrap to prevent it from being knocked around... & before I use it again, i'll do the stovetop test again just to make sure. OVERALL EXCELLENT BUY, ESPECIALLY FOR UNDER $25!!!

This handheld gas detector does what it's supposed to do, which I suppose is the bottom line. There's not too much to complain about with a device that claims to detect gas leaks and does. For the extremely casual do-it-yourself handyman, this is a useful gadget to have on hand for those moments when you think you might smell gas in the utility room or the kitchen or the garage. For anything more than very casual use, however, this little toy is way too flimsy. When I first unpacked the detector, I was surprised at how light and cheap-feeling it was. It did not come with batteries, so I had to dig out my own AAAs. When I got the batteries installed, it device wouldn't turn on. Assuming the batteries were dead, I put in some new ones. Still nothing. It turned out that the springs that are supposed to make contact with the battery terminals were so flimsy they were being pushed aside by normal battery installation. With a little prodding and coaxing, I managed to get them into proper position, and then finally the unit turned on. Then I put the battery cover on, and it died. Even the slightest bump or nudge throws something out of alignment, apparently. I took the cover off again and poked and prodded some more, and it turned back on. So I ran my tests without touching the battery cover, and it did seem to work. I tested it on the stove burner without any flame, and it did register gas. Then I took it downstairs to where my wife thought she had smelled gas near the furnace, and I did not get a reading anywhere. So I assume I'm fine and the detector is working, but it's constructed so cheaply, it's hard to know for sure. At the end of the day, it seems like it works, and that ought to be good enough for most home users. For this price, it's not worth griping too much about. But you definitely get what you pay for with this thing. Keep it away from the kids, and don't bump into anything while you're holding it, and it should be fine.

I bought this to add to my business testing gear and it works great. I would have given it 5 stars but it takes so long to warm up before you can use it. You have to hold down the green button which activates the buzzer. Hold it until the buzzer goes off. Now it's warmed up and ready for testing. It takes sooo long to warm up with that buzzer going, it's 1) annoying and 2) probably sucks the life out of the battery just warming it up. I have no idea if this it typical of all devices of this type but, in any event, it could have been designed better so the biggest power-drainer, the buzzer, doesn't have to stay on continuously while it's in warm-up mode. Perhaps an led warming light would be better on the battery.

THis is very difficult to use. You have to hold it while it beeps for well over 5 minutes. It's really touchy to set off again even when it's not near any possible propane. Then you have to hold down the button again for another 5 minutes while it's beeping. Eventually I got it to work properly (properly detects a propane leak in old camper appliances and - I think - properly tells me when there is NO propane leak), but the waiting while it stops beeping thing is ridiculous. Why isn't there a reasonably priced leak detector for average folk instead of expensive ones for industry professionals?

I hate to say this tool is very very cheaply made, it belong in the tool section of a 99 cent store, the detection is very weak, if you want a gas detector spend the money and get a good one, this portable gas detector did not locate the leak under my house, the on and off button is located in front of the unit and in the middle of the handle, when you are crowling inder the house holding this delicate piece of equipment a small touch to this button put the unit off. The seller Wizard Industries shipped the unit in a timely matter, however I had to purchase from Amazon the Tif 8800A to be able to locate my gas leak. the Tif is a keeper.