# Finding air leaks -



## Alan H. (Dec 12, 2017)

I hate air leaks and chase them with a vengeance.   We have all used soapy water chasing leaks.

Soapy water is okay in a pinch but it is a marginal leak detector for small leaks.  _Snoop_ works far better and has helped me find leaks where soapy water failed.  I used to keep a spray bottle of soapy water handy but now I keep this handy.  

If I notice an air tank dropping down over a period without use, I chase the leak down and kill it asap.


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## dlane (Dec 12, 2017)

Is it the same principle as soapy water squirt on fittings , how dose it work ? never heard of it


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## Alan H. (Dec 12, 2017)

Yes, you squirt it on connections and suspect areas.  It will raise very apparent bubbles over time for even a tiny leak.  It hangs on the surfaces far better than just soapy water.  Out of the bottle it seems to become a bit viscous, stays put, and will generate bubbles over a long period of time.  Obviously this a big advantage for finding small leaks. 

The bottle has a dip tube in it that you pull out that lets you put the liquid where you need it.   So the bottle is always used in the vertical position and you use the flexible tube to squirt the liquid on the spots you are investigating.   

For the chemists in the crowd, here's a snippet from the MSDS showing the two active ingredients it uses.


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## Vacuum (Dec 12, 2017)

Disclaimer first. I have no affiliation with them.
Have used Snoop for years. Best I have ever found, but it is not cheap. Last gallon purchased, Feb 17, was $65.00. It is a Swagelock product and they are very proud of it, hence the price point. Even tried to reverse engineer it but never got something as good.
When in business it helped me make a lot of customers happy.


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## markba633csi (Dec 12, 2017)

Basically surfacants (soaps) of a speciallized type that you wouldn't put on your skin


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## talvare (Dec 12, 2017)

I also used Snoop for many years working on refrigeration and HVAC systems. Definitely works better than soapy water.
Ted


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## Groundhog (Dec 12, 2017)

I think I posted this before elsewhere, but an easy and surefire method of finding air leaks is just to hold a piece of (approximately) 1" tubing or hose to your ear and the other end to areas of suspect (joints, fittings, etc.). For me it works a lot better than soapy water.


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## ch2co (Dec 12, 2017)

Groundhog

Your shop must be a lot quieter than mine ( or my tinnitus ).  In my younger days, maybe, but not anymore.


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## dlane (Dec 12, 2017)

I've had good luck with dawn soap 25-75 water, I sealed my air lines and can hold 100 psi for months


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## Silverbullet (Dec 12, 2017)

I like powder too , plain old talcum  powder. I use a brush to apply


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## Groundhog (Dec 12, 2017)

ch2co said:


> Groundhog
> 
> Your shop must be a lot quieter than mine ( or my tinnitus ).  In my younger days, maybe, but not anymore.


I have terrible hearing. Tinnitus too. But this method works for me!


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## dulltool17 (Dec 12, 2017)

Snoop's good stuff.  Actually, Swagelok doesn't make anything remotely shabby.  In my business, we use 25 to 30,000 of their fitting annually.
They've got the closest thing to a bullet-proof system on earth.


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## Terrywerm (Dec 12, 2017)

I have also used Snoop in the past and it is great stuff. But back when I worked on large compressed air systems, we had to come up with something that was faster and easier and just as good at detecting of very tiny leak. We found a device manufactured by Ametek that works very very well. It is called an ultrasonic leak detector. It can locate a pinhole leak from 20 ft away. This was really handy for following pipe runs along the ceiling or up on a wall without having to get out a manlift or a ladder. If you located a leak from a distance, you could then use a ladder or man left to access the piping and examine it more closely to determine where the leak really is. It was also a great tool to detect steam traps that did not work properly, and it was not affected by ambient noise. It was a very remarkable device, but had a hefty price tag to go with it. If I remember correctly that device had a price tag of over $300 20 years ago.

I know that such a device is out of the price range for us hobbyists, but thought that it would be a good idea to at least mention it for any of you that happen to work with that sort of thing professionally. For a company that wants to keep their air system in Tip-Top shape, this detector is well worth the money. I was able to survey the entire plant air system (approximately 5000' of pipe) in a matter of just a few hours, making quarterly surveys very cost effective. Air leaks are very expensive when it comes to wasted energy, especially in larger systems.


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## kd4gij (Dec 12, 2017)

Being cheap,  I steal the granddaughters bubble stuff.


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## Alan H. (Dec 13, 2017)

markba633csi said:


> Basically surfacants (soaps) of a speciallized type that you wouldn't put on your skin


Not sure if they are both surfactants but I must admit I have not researched it adequately.   Somehow they have created a viscous behavior that benefits it clinging to vertical surfaces.  

Being a bit silly, one could conclude that you wouldn't want Dawn on your hands either if you look at their SDS.  Here's a snippet.


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## markba633csi (Dec 13, 2017)

Dawn has sulfuric acid? Maybe you could rejuvenate car batteries with it!


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## aliva (Dec 14, 2017)

Just a word of caution concerning Snoop do not use it on oxygen systems as it not compatible. If you are looking for an O2 leak there are products out there designed specifically for that purpose. Cantesco is one such product


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## Alan H. (Dec 14, 2017)

aliva said:


> Just a word of caution concerning Snoop do not use it on oxygen systems as it not compatible. If you are looking for an O2 leak there are products out there designed specifically for that purpose. Cantesco is one such product


Thanks, but can you help me out on this?  The data I see says that it is.   Perhaps you have something more definitive?


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## chips&more (Dec 14, 2017)

I guess I’m missing all the fun? Soapy water has always worked for me. But that ultrasonic leak detector. I don’t have one of those! I wonder if I can make an addition to my XMAS list?


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## cvairwerks (Dec 15, 2017)

We use some stuff called Leak-Tec at work. It seems to be the best stuff out there and they have versions for working with almost any gasseous piping. Supposedly capable of finding leaks at the rate of 10^-6 cc/min. We buy it in gallon jugs and have 4 or 6 oz squirt bottles of it too.


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## Bi11Hudson (Dec 15, 2017)

So whatever happened to using a broom? When the broomstraws got cut off, you had found your leak.


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## Alan H. (Dec 15, 2017)

cvairwerks said:


> We use some stuff called Leak-Tec at work. It seems to be the best stuff out there and they have versions for working with almost any gasseous piping. Supposedly capable of finding leaks at the rate of 10^-6 cc/min. We buy it in gallon jugs and have 4 or 6 oz squirt bottles of it too.


Thanks for the tip.  Here's their website and it is interesting.  

Looks like they have numerous formulations depending on the application.  The one for compressed air is Leak-Tec 372E.   It but can be bought direct from the manufacturer and a few other sources I found but appears to not be widely available.

Looked to see what was in it and the old MSDS listed Ethylene Glycol.  The newer SDS doesn't say.   Their website indicates they also put some corrosion inhibitors in it as well.  The newer Safety Data Sheet system was put into place in 2012 and unfortunately doesn't have the level of detail as the older Material Safety Data Sheet system had.   Their website indicates they also put some corrosion inhibitors in it as well.


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## Terrywerm (Dec 15, 2017)

Bi11Hudson said:


> So whatever happened to using a broom? When the broomstraws got cut off, you had found your leak.




That's a great way to find high pressure steam leaks, for sure!  Something tells me that it may not work so well for a tiny leak on a 150 PSI or less air system though.


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## woodchucker (Dec 15, 2017)

Bi11Hudson said:


> So whatever happened to using a broom? When the broomstraws got cut off, you had found your leak.


??? more info, I have no idea what that means.


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## Alan H. (Dec 15, 2017)

A very old industrial trick in noisy work areas.  You hear the leak but not sure exactly where it is so you use a broom to run over the area and when you see the straw cut or moving, you have found the leak.  BTW, this saves cut hands and/or burns.


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## cvairwerks (Dec 15, 2017)

Alan: We use the 16-OX at work, as we deal with oxygen systems and ECS ductwork on the airplanes. It works well and works fine for air only. It also cleans up easy and doesn't leave any residue.



Alan H said:


> Thanks for the tip.  Here's their website and it is interesting.
> 
> Looks like they have numerous formulations depending on the application.  The one for compressed air is Leak-Tec 372E.   It but can be bought direct from the manufacturer and a few other sources I found but appears to not be widely available.


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## Firestopper (Dec 15, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> ??? more info, I have no idea what that means.


 Jeff,
I think he was referring to a high pressure steam leak. Back in my Navy days, the old timers would talk about locating these leaks using brooms.
I could be wrong but that all I can come up with. Not sure how it applies to this topic though.


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