MQ-5 Liquefied Petroleum Gas / Methane Natural Gas Sensor Module

Here is a breakdown and key information for the MQ-5 Gas Sensor Module, commonly used in electronics and IoT safety projects:

Key Features & Specifications

• Target Gases: LPG, Natural Gas (Methane), Town Gas / Coal Gas. (Also has lower sensitivity to Alcohol, Smoke, and Hydrogen).

• Operating Voltage: 5V DC (Requires a 5V supply to run the internal heater element).

• Current Consumption: ~150mA (Heater draws significant current; do not power directly from a weak microcontroller 3.3V pin).

• Output Types:

  • Digital Output (DO): High/Low logic output based on an adjustable threshold (set via the onboard potentiometer).

  • Analog Output (AO): Voltage level (0V — 5V) proportional to the concentration of detected gas.

• Preheat Time: Requires ~20—40 seconds to warm up after powering on before reading stable values (for high precision, a 24-hour burn-in is recommended).

Pinout Reference