No refrigeration system is completely leak free, but all refrigeration and cooling units must be tested to ensure their coolant leakage is below a specified limit. This slow loss of refrigerant is one of the reasons it is important to have your central air system checked and charged on a yearly basis by companies such as Apple Valley Eagan Appliance, Heating and Air. Granted that this loss of refrigerant is rather small, but over time it can add up quite a bit and the missing coolant can affect the systems condenser resulting in a loss of cooling efficiency.
In the case of refrigeration systems a leak is defined as a crack, hole or porosity in the pipes or tubing of the system or a failure in the joints or other materials designed to contain a specific fluid or gas, in other words a closed system. There are three basic functions of Leak detection in Apple Valley. The first is determining the existence of an actual leak. Second is the measurement of the leak rate and third is determining the location of said leak. While it seems they should be inclusive, it is possible to determine a leak exists by loss of pressure of reduction in coolant levels without knowing where that leak has occurred.
During the manufacturing of many products the most common leak test is an underwater bubble test. In this simple test the pressurized air or other gas will leak out of the system leaving gas bubbles in the water which are easy to see. Many old timers may remember performing such a test on inner tubes and others may recall performing a similar function on their bicycle wheels. Performing an in home Leak detection in Apple Valley can be a bit more difficult once the initial pressure test has failed.
For simple testing of seals and surfaces it is possible to use a soap bubble test. This is a mixture of soap and water that traps the gas as it exits the system, however, these tests aren’t always effective with very minor leaks. For those difficult to find leaks a tracer material can be introduced into the system which will quickly show where those tiny failures are located. The so called ‘sniffing’ test is the simplest method of leak testing. It employs a detector probe to check for chemicals which leaked from the closed system.
