Do Ultrasonic Leak Detectors Work For Refrigerant Leaks?
What is an Ultrasonic Leak detector?
Before we get into if ultrasonic leak detectors work or not, let us first outline what an electronic ultrasonic leak detector is. An ultrasonic leak detector is an electronic leak detector that detects the sound waves that are emitted by a fluid or gas being pushed through a tiny passage. Due to the nature of how this detector functions, it is not limited to certain types of gasses containing particular molecules. Traditional Electronic leak detectors use a heated diode to detect halogenated gasses or a solid-state sensor which is used to detect changes in conductivity.
Are Ultrasonic Leak Detectors Reliable and Do They Work?
Yes! I have found ultrasonic leak detectors to be much more reliable locating refrigerant leaks on HVAC equipment than the other styles of electronic leak detectors mentioned. As manufacturers continue to engineer new refrigerants that are safer for the ozone, electronic leak detectors seem to have a harder and harder time detecting these refrigerants. Ultrasonic leak detectors especially excel outdoors. The reason is that ultrasonic detectors are not reliant on detecting specific chemical makeup. A refrigerant leak on an outdoor piece of equipment can easily become diluted by fresh air or carried away altogether by a slight breeze rendering other types of electronic detectors almost useless. Because ultrasonic detectors are detecting sound only, they tend to be more effective in this type of scenario.
Ultrasonic leak detectors tend to struggle a bit more in extremely noisy environments. Although they do a pretty good job filtering out background noises, they still occasionally can become fooled. As seen in the video above, most of these detectors include a cheap set of headphones. I’d recommend using a set of over-ear noise-canceling headphones to help mitigate background noises and help the effectiveness of the tool. Using a set of headphones is the recommended method by most manufacturers.
You can use the tool without headphones if you would like. In this scenario, the tool will emit flashing lights, as well as audible beeps, to indicate the strength of the leak detection as you begin to move closer and pinpoint the leak location.
I hope the video helps you to get an idea of what to expect when using this type of leak detector. If you are interested in checking one out for yourself, you can find it here on Amazon.
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