Electronic Leak Detectors

[Freecool]

Hi All, Want to purchase electronic leak detector,can any of you recommend one. As I have always found them to be unreliable in the past.

Freecool

[The Viking]

Tek-mate for me, every time and for all my guys.
It's reliable, robust, easy to use and find the leaks, not much more you can ask for in a leak detector.

Just remember, whichever leak detector you go for you will need to practise a lot with it, get used to using it if you prefer. Electronic leak detectors will be set off by other things than leaks, like draft/humidity/dust and so on, the more you use it the better you will know if it is a leak or something else setting it off.

[Andy W]

I use a Javac Tek-Mate which I purchased about 8 years ago, it is the longest a leak detector has ever lasted me and I will buy the same again when it packs up.

[davej]

i agree with the the Viking, tekmate is a good brand and i have been very well assisted by them when i had a problem with one. we have about 6 now and they are as good as any for the price range. having said that i always end up with soapy water to try to see the leak , cant help it old habits!!!!

[cool#9]

Hi
Tek-mate too, reliable, simple, i send it to my supplier once a year (50€ charge) to check everything
rgds
cool#9

[Latte]

Oh Well, That ones unaminous, Javac Tech-mate for me too, when working in supermarkets it was to only one that could accuratly pick up a gas leak on the case air offs. Unfortunatly, i currently have a cps LS7808, goes off all over the place. Its the only piece of CPS equiipment i have come accross that doesnt work properly

Regards

Raymond

[chillyblue]

Hi

Sounds good. What sort of price are they ??
i might invest, anything that makes leak detection easier is got to be worth the investment, what a ball ache.
Bit concerned about your comment though Davej "having said that i always end up with soapy water to try to see the leak , cant help it old habits!!!!"

CB

[davej]

you never used soapy water then chilliy blue?
always nice to be able to see the bubble to be sure dont you think.

[chillyblue]

Hi Dave

I always use bubbles, or on R22 a gas lamp coz i have no confidence in electronic leak detectors, i have a CPS electronic leak detector collecting dust in my van, i've put new heads in it and had moisture tips, but it seems to go off very randomly, especially near drafts and banna skins, at least with bubbles you can see it. Saying that it would be nice to use a electronic to find the area quickly.

[Andy W]

Nothing wrong with a little washing up liquid and water in a spray bottle, very satisfying to see a bubbling leak on an evaporator, this is the quick method I use on Fosters to pin point the actual leak.

Regarding costs of the Tek Mate I think they are about £140, most wholesalers have them including SRW which can be checked on line.

[analog]

Hi

Sounds good. What sort of price are they ??
i might invest, anything that makes leak detection easier is got to be worth the investment, what a ball ache.
Bit concerned about your comment though Davej "having said that i always end up with soapy water to try to see the leak , cant help it old habits!!!!"

CB

Hi, my name is mike, can you say mike? I have a cat named bubbles. Can you say bubbles? I sometimes give her a bath, and I use soap.


Sometimes, when me and my cat are chasing ***** leaks, we plug in the Johnson Controls model RLD-H10G-1.


Then I give her a plate of tuna, job well done.

[kiwireeferman]

CPS leak detectors use the corona discharge system which has long been superseded by the heated diode, triode or pentode type.
TEK-MATE and D-Tek use a heated diode. Much less prone to false alarms.
The D-Tek SELECT uses new infra-red technology.

[Andy AC]

Don't buy a robinair - they're pants, I've never found a leak with my one, even when you can see the stuff leaking out! I prefer to use my eyes, ears and bubble spray.

Andy

[MechAcc]

A good manual on leak detection from Refrigeration Technologies. Haven't had 15 posts yet so I can't post url to their site. Just do a search for Big Blu

[ARNL]

Does anyone have any experience with the ultrasonic leak detectors ?

Just thinking of buying one but not sure if they are reliable, any information apreciated

[Dan]

We service mostly supermarket type installations. I equip our techs with Tif ZX-1 electronic heated pentode detectors which are the best by far for detecting HFC leaks. They have a useful software that decreases sensitivity accurately as you home in on the leak. I find them superior to All Detek, CPS, and H-10 type detectors.

We also use Accutrak and Amprobe ultrasonic leak detectors which are invaluable to home in on tricky to pin down leaks, such as in a condenser slab or backside of an evaporator, or where the refrigerant level is too intense to home in on.

[chweber]

I use an Infinicon D-Tek Select, which I am very happy with. It is very sensitive and does not get many false positives - the one exception being green copper oxide. Of course, still can't do without soap bubbles to pin point the leak. Price about $350 here in the US.

[chweber]

Apologies, that should read Inficon D-Tek Select. Too many glasses of wine this evening already!!

[gas_n_go]

I like my techmate which is inficon technology never had a problem with it. I have found finding them is an instinctive thing as well as a good detector. I find them with lil cheapo techmate then pinpoint it with good ole soap bubbles. I will say actual leak dector soap bubbles are supioer to dish soap. Nice thick sticky substance and is easier to work with.

[setrad7791]

Hi there! I use a cps leak detector with a variable display on the strength of the leak (led light indicating from 1-6) Never fails and is sensitive enough to pick up gas residue in oil! It also doesnt have that annoying squeal that j-vac and tec mate. I have also given it a hard time and it never misses a beat!!

[setrad7791]

Does the tekmate and d-mate have the diode in the tip of the detector or built into the body?

[kiwireeferman]

Does the tekmate and d-mate have the diode in the tip of the detector or built into the body?

Tekmate has the sensor in the body of the instrument, fan draws sample in.

D-Tek has the sensor plugged into the end of the wand with an air pump in the body.
D-Tek is no longer manufactured and has been replaced by the Infra-red model.
These detectors use the same heated diode sensor.

D-Tek select has the infra-red sensor in the body with an air pump to bring the sample through.

[kiwireeferman]

Has anyone used a Chinese leak detector
#WJL-6000. Around USD$40 on Ebay.
It is a Corona discharge type but it is the most sensitive instrument I have used. It found a tiny leak on the sight glass of my service manifold that was not found by any other leak detector I could try.
I filled the sight glass with Big Blu and found that after quite a long time there was a tiny amount of foaming.
Even when you flood the sensor with refrigerant it just reacts and then carries on as per normal.
Does not seem to have a pump and the other great feature is that it does not false alarm.
I don't know how they have managed it at this price but I am so impressed. I purchased it just to have a look and honestly thought it would be absolute cr*p.
Maybe it wont last but at $40 it is less than the price of a Inficon replacement sensor. Power is by 4 AAA batteries.

[paul_h]

Has anyone used a Chinese leak detector
#WJL-6000. Around USD$40 on Ebay.
It is a Corona discharge type but it is the most sensitive instrument I have used. It found a tiny leak on the sight glass of my service manifold that was not found by any other leak detector I could try.
I filled the sight glass with Big Blu and found that after quite a long time there was a tiny amount of foaming.
Even when you flood the sensor with refrigerant it just reacts and then carries on as per normal.
Does not seem to have a pump and the other great feature is that it does not false alarm.
I don't know how they have managed it at this price but I am so impressed. I purchased it just to have a look and honestly thought it would be absolute cr*p.
Maybe it wont last but at $40 it is less than the price of a Inficon replacement sensor. Power is by 4 AAA batteries.

Yep I bought one, and it works.
I never bothered with electronic leak detectors in the past. I've always used heaps of nitrogen and soapy water on a system that has lost it's refrigerant. Or a halide torch and a bit of r22.
I've had a few times where I don't need to take the gas out, so can't use nitrogen, and when the leak is suspected to be on the dicharge only when it's running, so can't use soapy water.
So I bought one of these cheap chinese detectors, and they work, It's found a leak on a r410a system, and on a r134a system.

[robin r33 gtr]

I use a cps leak tester and find it realy good for use on cassettes and ducted units to save time instead of stripping them down. The only thing i wish is it had a volume as the beeps are very loud. I have found leaks with it in areas you cannot get to with soapy water.

[truckee]

Hey guys, does anyone know if there is anything differnt from a Inficon TEK-Mate and a Javac TEK-Mate?

[Brian_UK]

Hi Truckee and welcome to the forum.

Haven't used these bits of kit myself but a web search gives the following details of each, spot the difference - well they look different

http://www.professionalequipment.com...qx/default.htm

http://www.javac.com.au/category.php?id=29

[truckee]

Thanks ive been browsing these forums forums since last month, just never posted. I'm a 2nd year apprentice and i just like reading about different kinds of situations in the industry that i may not have come across in my field yet.

But any who i also found this website for the Javac one

mmm.ferret.com.au/c/Javac/Tek-Mate-leak-detector-available-from-Javac-n670074
(turns i cant post links till at least 15 post, i guess to stop spammers, so thats why there is mmm)
Looks very similar and all the specs seems the same thats why i was curious. I have noticed it quite a bit with refrigeration tools that the exact same tool will be for sale in a shop across the road but with a different brand name.