Originally Posted by
copperteeth
Every truck at our company gets a leak detector paid for on the company account. Half the guys are using the Accuprobe II, other half uses the Dtek select, me included. Loved the Dtek, used it for a few years and i have usually been impressed with its ability to find leaks constantly. Every once in awhile you run across a small system with saddle valve access ports brazed on that's low, but your unable to find any leak.
I had one of those calls, couldn't find any leak but i knew it was there. Had replaced the evaporator (on a true sandwich table) without finding any leak after a 30 min search the week prior, just because experience shows its in the evaporator. I was not comfortable with this. I was concerned i might get a callback and warranty.
I went out and bought myself an H10 Pro (after having talked to the wife first of course lol)
Brought the evap home, pressurized it to 40 psig R134a and started searching. Found it in 2 min with the H10 pro on the smallest leak setting. It was dead smack in the middle of the evaporator. Powered up the Dtek, found it again, but only when i was almost right on top of it holding the wand completely still, and even at that it wasn't going off every time. Soaped it after cutting away the aluminum but even with bubbles it was extremely hard to detect after sitting soapy for a good 5. Extremely small leak. Its worth noting that i was checking this in the back of my truck, in my driveway which is fenced and between 2 houses and there was no wind to throw off readings.
My thoughts are this, being that i have used both of them now. 90% of the time, Dtek will find your leaks, in fact its a very good leak detector, one of the best, especially for the money, low maintenance costs, and i have trusted it with no false positive readings that come to mind. Having said that, every once in awhile i have calls for small systems that are only down a few oz, and im unable to find a leak. Also, i have never had to find a leak in 410a systems so i don't know how well it does there, but it usually has no trouble with 134a, and that im told is the hardest to find. I will still use the Dtek on occasion, especially because of the reach of the flexible wand and how easy it is to throw in my bag for a rooftop call. It still has its place for me, and its especially great to have 2 detectors on the truck in case one goes down.
With the H10 Pro, its sensitive. Very sensitive. I got within 2 inches of the smallest pinhole leak ever and it started indicating a leak. at that same distance the Dtek did not even notice. i had to be right on top of the hole for it to beep and that didn't even happen every time...
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