I receatly came across a leak that could not be pressurized, even with 100 psi. I thought it might be because i had to fill 150 to 200ft of pipe but
it wasn't. The leak was at a tee that the pipe had come completly out about 1 1/2''. The way I eventually found it was by digging around, the leak
was big enough to suck your hand to the wall at the jet closest to the leak.
I looked for other ways to find leaks like this in the future and found the helium detector and was wondering if anyone else has it?
I would like to know if you like, does it work well, would you by it again, would you recomend it to some else?
I dont mind spending the money as long as its worth the money. Thank you reading and any input is appreciated. 
We have had a helium unit for about 3 years. We rarely use except in a situation like yours. It does confirm an area for the leak but is not precise.
For the amount we use it I am not sure I would buy it again.
Rob
Thank You. Thats why i havent purchased it yet but i dont want to scramble to get one when i accually need it.
I believe that if you put air and water into that plumbing than you would have seen a very erratic gauge on you pressure tester as the water would allow some pressure to build and then as the water got to the opening the pressure would rapidly decrease. A Fisher leak detector would have allowed you to hear this and zero in on the location. Did one last year that we were putting 100 psi into the plumbing and at the other end we had another tester connected just as a second gauge. Well, we were only getting a max of 8 PSI at the other end. There were several feet of cracked pvc in the return line. But, the moral of the story is we were able to locate it and make repairs because we could hear it underground even though we were not building a lot of pressure.
| Quote: |
| Originally posted by simplybluepools I receatly came across a leak that could not be pressurized, even with 100 psi. I thought it might be because i had to fill 150 to 200ft of pipe but it wasn't. The leak was at a tee that the pipe had come completly out about 1 1/2''. The way I eventually found it was by digging around, the leak was big enough to suck your hand to the wall at the jet closest to the leak. I looked for other ways to find leaks like this in the future and found the helium detector and was wondering if anyone else has it? I would like to know if you like, does it work well, would you by it again, would you recomend it to some else? I dont mind spending the money as long as its worth the money. Thank you reading and any input is appreciated. |
the helium detector is great for small leaks that are hard to hear using ultrasound but otherwise it will just give you a general area not an exact location which does get you going in the right direction. using a hammer drill is a must with the helium detector I think I pulled mine out about three times all summer but did save the day
Thank You for your input, it is greatly appriecated. I am still thinking of getting one because now i have a job were the pipes are just under the
surface but there is a 1 foot gap between the ground and the deck so I can't locate the leak. Normally I would have pulled up the deck because i know
which line it is but the home owner refuses to pull the deck up do to the cost of pulling up and putting it back down so I think it might be worth it
now. (the deck is not screwed in it has biscuit joints almost like a floating deck.) I have charged anyway but I would like to know where it accually
is.
Any one else with input please reply.
A one foot gap, a small child comes to mind !
Have you had any success? We occasionally come across this sort of gap when the base has shrunk away from the oversite and I have pondered using a
soap mix to create a bubble sound although never yet tried it because customers may not appreciate soap in the pool if you foget to flush it out.