leak detection

[notsogood]

hello have a few questions and wanted to get some opinions. thanks in advance!!

1 what colors do the leak detection come in?? i know there is red and green any others??
2in your opinion which is the best to use and why??
3 i have had a leak for about 2 years now and have had three diffrent companies look @ it and has not been found?? in your opinion what is the best way to find the leak?
4 last but not least ive been told some leaks are never found is this true??
thanks again

[ptcooper]

hello have a few questions and wanted to get some opinions. thanks in advance!!

1 what colors do the leak detection come in?? i know there is red and green any others??

The only color that I have seen and purchased is yellowish green.

2in your opinion which is the best to use and why??

If I had a "choice of colors", I would choose RED. Why? Because I love the Red & White of the NC State Wolfpacks. Other than that, there is no advantage. (Please tell me you are not speaking of dye.)

3 i have had a leak for about 2 years now and have had three diffrent companies look @ it and has not been found??
in your opinion what is the best way to find the leak?

There is no best way. This is what "I" did to a Rheem gas pack. I completely removed the top and three sides off of the unit. Both coils were 99.9 percent exposed. Each coil was cleaned, the system was evacuated and filled with nitrogen and R-22. The repairable leak was founded in the indoor coil using a liquid leak detect.

4 last but not least ive been told some leaks are never found is this true??

For all practical purposes, with one exception, all leaks can be found. The exception is, all components of a HVAC system may not be exposed. Example, a line-set embedded in a concrete slab. Or, a line-set inside the wall.

thanks again

Now, what you did not ask is important. The answer to your unasked question is; a lot of us are not willing to try hard to find a leak that is not obvious. Why? Because it seem like to much work.

[ItshotinBama]

There is no best way. This is what "I" did to a Rheem gas pack. I completely removed the top and three sides off of the unit. Both coils were 99.9 percent exposed. Each coil was cleaned, the system was evacuated and filled with nitrogen and R-22. The repairable leak was founded in the indoor coil using a liquid leak detect.


Now, what you did not ask is important. The answer to your unasked question is; a lot of us are not willing to try hard to find a leak that is not obvious. Why? Because it seem like to much work.

Let's not forget the expense. How many customers want to or should pay to do what you did in the example above. That is not an inexpensive process. Is it smart for a customer to pay several hundred bucks just to find a leak? In some circumstances, perhaps. But with older equipment, I'm not sure it is worth the time and expense to go through a process that will give you an obvious answer. Just replace it.

Bottom line is, cost needs to be considered. Don't expect a technician to do all of the above for the price of a simple service call.

[CottyGee]

Don't expect a technician to do all of the above for the price of a simple service call.
Boy howdy, I guess not! That'd be like expecting your local automotive repair facility to repair a leaking head gasket included in the cost of doing an lube, oil, filter. I guess such folks do exist...

[ptcooper]

Let's not forget the expense. How many customers want to or should pay to do what you did in the example above. That is not an inexpensive process. Is it smart for a customer to pay several hundred bucks just to find a leak? In some circumstances, perhaps. But with older equipment, I'm not sure it is worth the time and expense to go through a process that will give you an obvious answer. Just replace it.

Bottom line is, cost needs to be considered. Don't expect a technician to do all of the above for the price of a simple service call.


This job was for a Senior Citizens organization. They had the money for the repair but not a replacement. Also, I did not tell you that the heat exchanger was cracked in four places. So, a new heat exchanger was installed.

We use flat rate pricing. My fee for the job was discounted. Heavily...... :(