MechAcc

Here are some articles that I have located that are concerned about refrigerant leaks.


Illustrated Guide to 13 Common Leaks

Refrigeration Leakage and Emissions- Zero Project

Real Zero an IoR Project Supported by the Carbon Trust and Industry

Leakage Matters: the equipment owner’s responsibilities

Leakage Matters: the service and maintenance contractor’s responsibilities

Designing Out Leaks: design standards and practices

A Guide to Good Leak Testing

Refrigerant leak detection is regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Bacaharach Methods of Refrigerant Leak Detection

Successful Leak Detection Using Ultrasonics

Big Blu Leak Detection Manual

A Guide To Refrigerant Gas Leak Detection

What to look for in leak detection equipment

Pros And Cons Of Leak Detection Methods

Leak Detection Methods

Choosing chemical leak detectors

In search of the right leak detector

Complying With The Section 608 Refrigerant Recycling Rule

British Refrigeration Association Code of Practice for Refrigerant Leak Tightness in Compliance With the F-Gas Regulation

How and When to Use Refrigeration System Sealants

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flashheatingand

The technique of submersing a coil into a tub to check for leaks sounds interesting. Never did that, has anyone tried that before? I worked as a tire jockey once and thats how we found the source of a leak with tires, but never with a coil.

NickTech

yeah, we'd do it on a refrig. coil, or an A coil sitting aroung the shop, or on a leak that was too much of a bear to find on the job. cap an end off and braze a schrader fitting on the other end. the coil usually gives the lowside test psi. otherwise i use 150

flashheatingand

Maybe I will try that some time during the offseason. There have been several calls this year in time constraints have not permitted me to do a thorough leak check.

I know my electronic leak machine works alright, but there have been several times in which I was unable to find the leak within the hour aloted by the home owner.

NickTech

those are real bitches! ive yanked out a coil, and capped off the liquid and suction, then pressurize it with nitro. took the coil back to the shop to pressure test. if i get back to the job and the pressure is where i left it then the rest of the system is good. just easier and less aggrivating sometimes

MechAcc

Some electronic leak detectors come with a leak reference. Unfortunately these only come in one flavor test refrigerant.


In one of the IOR articles they made reference to an LS-4 leak reference. You attach it to the refrigerant cylinder open the cylinder valve then test your electronic sniffer. Has a 5 gram per year reference which is slightly more than 0.1 ounce per year.

The advantage is that you can attach it to the type refrigerant that is in the system and test your detector to make sure it works.

Have been hearing stories that some have had detectors that would detect R-22 but not R-404A.

Unfortunately at this time the only source for the LS-4 is wholesalers and manufacturers in the United Kingdom.

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NickTech

the epa allows for use of a trace charge. a deminimus amount or r22 pressurized with nitrogen. the nitrogen pressure pushes the refrig out of a leak and the leak detect picks it up. the combo can be used in any type refrig system. 410a 404, 407 etc but you're only allowed to use r22 as the trace charge. the epa allows the venting of the mix as well.

DaveHTP

Hello all,

I represent the manufacturer of the LS-4 reference leak, HT Products based in Sussex, UK. You are correct that we don't have a distribution network in the US but this is something we are investigating, it's helpful to hear people making reference to our products.

The introduction of our reference leaks come in response to EU regulations on HFC leakage which specifiy a minimum acceptable leak of 5g/Yr from a charged system. Engineers can check their detectors against the reference leak which has a known + calibrated value and compare the readout to the value registered on a real leak in a system, even on a cheaper leak detector with no numerical display the engineer can get an idea of how a leak under investigation compares to the minimum acceptable leak under current regulations.

As to the questions over the sensitivity of different leak detectors to different gases then the use of reference leaks can provide information on this relationship e.g. sniff one reference leak for 5g/Yr R134a and one for 5g/Yr R404a and see how the display on the leak detector compares.

some more information on our other products is available from our website, type htproducts into a search engine.

many thanks for reading
Dave Percival
HT Products