Had to go old school to find leak

[monkeyman#1]

Was working on a walk-in cooler yesterday that had a leak. Pinpointed the leak to the evap with my D-tek, but couldn't find the exact leak point. Sprayed entire end of evap ( u tubes, TXV, distributor) with super blue bubbles, no bubbles. Reduced pressure from 110 pounds to 35. Again sprayed bubbles, no bubbles. Down to 5 pounds, again no luck:gah:
Alright, enough of this. Cranked pressure back up to 110, went to my truck and grabbed my buried halide torch (cant remember the last time I used it), to evap, and bingo, found leak asap! Im thinking that I may start using my torch a little more often.

[jpsmith1cm]

I wonder how many apprentices even know what you are talking about.

[VTP99]

Good for CFC & HCFC only yes or no ?

[yellowirenut]

ive had my boss tell me about them..better than a leak detector he said. Google laughed at me when i tried searching for one in the shopping section

[Heavyevans]

They can have my halide when they pull my cold dead fingers from it.:eek2:

Or when all my favorite refrigerants are gone.:nopity:

[pdrake65]

Does anyone still sell those?

[jpsmith1cm]

I haven't actually used one in a long time.

Less and less CFC/HCFC stuff out there.

[VTP99]

Uniweld

[yellowirenut]

http://uniweld.com/catalog/refrig_hvac/leak_detector/leak_detector.htm

found one..how do u get it in tight places????

[VTP99]

Use end of probe house.

[VTP99]

Sorry hose

[yellowirenut]

see i dont even know how to use the damn thing...i would be trying to stick the flame near the leak

[VTP99]

One more tool to buy.

[pdrake65]

One more tool to buy.

Only if you have CFCs and HCFC systems that are leaking. I have had that situation but always have been able to find leaks with what I already have.I learned about these in school back in 2004 just haven't seen one since then.

[acjourneyman]

Thats funny, I texted one of our apprentices a pic of my halide the other day when I was leak checking and asked him if he knew what it was.

[pdrake65]

Thats funny, I texted one of our apprentices a pic of my halide the other day when I was leak checking and asked him if he knew what it was.

And ?!?

[Pneuma]

Was working on a walk-in cooler yesterday that had a leak. Pinpointed the leak to the evap with my D-tek, but couldn't find the exact leak point. Sprayed entire end of evap ( u tubes, TXV, distributor) with super blue bubbles, no bubbles. Reduced pressure from 110 pounds to 35. Again sprayed bubbles, no bubbles. Down to 5 pounds, again no luck:gah:
Alright, enough of this. Cranked pressure back up to 110, went to my truck and grabbed my buried halide torch (cant remember the last time I used it), to evap, and bingo, found leak asap! Im thinking that I may start using my torch a little more often.

I thought old school was just gassing it up every few months, actually finding leaks came way later. :anyone: Good old halide, I liked when they hit a big one and turn all greenish purple and start putting off black smoke. :LOL:

[marvin]

i still have a couple of these laying around & have a couple of new copper discs for them if the old ones ever brrn up. not sure if they will operate on mapp gas or not. never tried it. they work good with butane/propane tho.

[tombeaux]

Well I have one ( its not ready for the museum of American History). You may try stepping up your N2 testing pressure . On old 12/22/500 type sytems I will run up to 350 psi and this usually does the trick. On 410a systems I pressurize N2 up to 500 psi. Your current regulator may not be " MEDIUM PRESSURE " so prepare for a new purchase.

[Randy S.]

I had one many moons ago where the electronic couldn't find the leak, but the good ol' halide torch could.

Electric defrost on an ungrounded 240 volt delta was arcing a small hole in an evap tube in a walk in. Had been chasing the leak for a week with a TIF detector, as I recall.

In the modern day, I'm surprised the D-Tek couldn't find it.

[maxpower]

those do work good.. Nothing hi tech about it. I always have that in the van. Sometimes when I have to find a leak in a walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer, I charge it up 100%. I shut the condenser fan off to jack up the pressure, then compressor. I shut myself inside the cooler or freezer turn off the evap fan and listen. If its quite enough you can find a small leak like this too. Feel with your hands when possible. I've found leaks on U bends like this. You hear the differance in sound when your fingers go across the leak. No matter how small..

[coolperfect]

https://www.mythermadyne.com/thc/en/US/images/thc/products/0386-0443_TT-LP_hi.jpg This one works great

[theycallmethefireman]

The Halide is very accurate on certain gases. The heck of a lot more accurate than the electronic BS detectors.

[Joe Harper]

i still have a couple of these laying around & have a couple of new copper discs for them if the old ones ever brrn up. not sure if they will operate on mapp gas or not. never tried it. they work good with butane/propane tho.


Yes, it works with MAPP gas

[BKS60]

I'll keep mine on the truck as long as 22 or similar is around for trace charging.

[BKS60]

HA!

Had a leak on a 120K btu freezer coil today, low temp soap would't find and electronic went off on low about two feet away.

Brought in old faithful and got to within 3" of a tiny pinhole. Old but tried, tested and proven!!

[monkeyman#1]

HA!

Had a leak on a 120K btu freezer coil today, low temp soap would't find and electronic went off on low about two feet away.

Brought in old faithful and got to within 3" of a tiny pinhole. Old but tried, tested and proven!!

That is exactly why I had to break mine out!!!:patriot:

[Doesn'tPhaseMe]

I thought old school was just gassing it up every few months, actually finding leaks came way later. :anyone: Good old halide, I liked when they hit a big one and turn all greenish purple and start putting off black smoke. :LOL:

Yep, way back when R12 was $1.00/lbs :whistle:

I still use one and always will, just another tool in the arsenal. What is great about them is they won't send you on a wild goose chase like an electronic can and give you consistant false positives. Their only short commings are bright sunny rooftops and clearing your sinuses when you hit a good leak :stinks:

[BKS60]

Monkeyman you could have saved me the trouble of freezing my left XXX off and found mine while you were at it!!

[uniservice]

Had one called a "Spy 5." Bought it back in the mid 70s. best detector I ever owned nest to the H-10. In those days the H-10 was line voltage and the spy 5 was easier to drag around in a tool bucket. Used it up and can't find a place to buy new reactor plates for it. Haven't thrown it away yet.