leak testing methods?

[stuntryder]

Was wondering how many people are using uv dye for leak checking.My shop uses it on about every leak check lately.Usually the guy who filled the system adds dye.Then we return on a scheduled date.The returning tech can use any checking method they wish,but the dye is in there.The stuff makes a mess,gauges always coated inside with dye.Makes for a good time if you dont have a low loss fitting .lol.

[psychometric]

UV dye is still my favorite leak check method. I'm the only tech in a company of about 22 that feels that way. I put 2 ball valves on either side of the cartridge, and a 6" low loss hose for the service valve. I lose no dye, and get none of it in my manifold. The first time I used it, it was in my hair, but that was 10 years ago. I'll still take it over the d-tek on my van, soap bubbles, or super high nitrogen pressure. I've shot the light into the condensate pump on a suspect system, and actually found oil/dye floating on top. Easy way to condemn a coil.

[dec]

hummm ..... well thats my last resort. If I cant find it any other way, I resort to that.


Ya wanna glow in the dark ..... use that stuff. Now if you never were going to work on it you would be ok. Problem is from that point on any time you work on it....... everything that oil touches will glow under your light.

[azdwight]

I will take my Ultrasonic over anything I have tried so far.

[fridg]

UV dye is great for diagnosing a leak , but if the person has exposed it to the atmosphere and got it all over what you are working on , you could be there all day trying to find the source.

Also with the dye if you do not keep it wet or in refrigerant , and even if you do , it will settle to the bottom of your cylinder as a powder form , and it won't all mix back through.


I find N2 , d-tek select and straight detergent is the best method.

[len]

i do it like this ,clean up all joints,if lineset or tubing is covered with insulation,take as much off as you can get to,soak all joints down with bigblu,and hit with some nitro(150lbs) and wait about 5 mins.you'll find that baby. spray some of the line set with it as well,you never know tubing could be porous in some places.

[akpunkacr]

all I do is bust out the good ole tek mate, and start sniff'n forget pullen off the insulation if it's a leak on the suction line the refrigerant will be kept inside the insulation, just put a split in the insulation and stick the tek mate in...and Bam if theres a leak it'll pick it up..

[refrigeration mafia]

Was wondering how many people are using uv dye for leak checking.

I thought dye was the stuff to use at the beginning of last summer, by the end of the summer I had decided that I never wanted to see another dye stick ever again. LOL

[kevin1313]

TIF ZX-1 better detector than any other in many side by side tests. I always thought only 2 things belong inside of a refrigerant system....refrigerant and oil. Dye is not one of those

[oloenneker]

TIF ZX-1 better detector than any other in many side by side tests. I always thought only 2 things belong inside of a refrigerant system....refrigerant and oil. Dye is not one of those

I agree. I also really hate working on a system that has been dyed... What a pain in the rear that dye makes. I'll usually get it all over the place.

[phinncraft]

i have found that the die will find a small leek where a snifer will not.i find this to be true in most cases where there is wind or a very small leek

[hvac maniac]

I use it as a last resort, after the bubbles and the sniffer. But when you have those hard to find leaks, dye is the only way to go.

[penderway]

I used to use dye for small hard to find leaks. On the next service, it would show faint yellow streaks where each micro leak was in a coil. Once I made the mistake of putting it in a system with a rub leak and when I came back, the whole inside of the AHU fluoresced! Ended up finding the leak using Big blue. http://www.refrig.com/bigblumanual1.html
I now use a ZX1 to find the leak within a few inches and Big blue to pinpoint it.