Fixed Refrigerant Leak Detector
What is the refrigerant leak detector?
The fixed refrigerant leak detector is one detector designed for detecting fluorine and chlorine ions and triggering an audible or visual alarm to identify a leak, which is normally and widely applied in the HVAC industry.
You may hear about the freon detector or a refrigerant gas detector, which is used to control the presence of refrigerant gas in an environment and easily help you to locate the leakage in pipes, automobiles, air conditioning systems, and other industrial equipment linked to HVAC. (Heating, Ventilation, Air Condition)
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Why do we need the fixed refrigerant leak detectors?
1. To prevent people from facing the risk of severe asphyxia and potentially lethal when many industrial companies or configurations do the installation of a fixed refrigerant leak detection system.
2. Experts or engineers cannot detect refrigerant gases in cold storage warehouses or air-conditioned houses and buildings with HVAC systems by human eyes or noses. Because the refrigerant gases are colorless and odorless. That is why they need the fixed refrigerant leak detector to use in refrigeration system detection. You can see the detector is very essential.
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3. Refrigerant gas leaks for R22, R123, R134a, R404, R407, R410a, R514a, R1234yf, and many others, are expensive and dangerous. These gases are used in freezers and air conditioning for chiller plants and plant rooms. Moreover, these gases are toxic even at relatively low levels. Long time exposure to these hazardous environments will result in serious health risks. So, the detectors for the detection of these gases at very low levels should be applied.
Refrigerant gases are usually non-flammable, noncorrosive, and nontoxic. But they replace breathable air, particularly in poorly ventilated or confined spaces. so you can never tell that they are not harmful
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How many kinds of refrigerant leak detectors are in Aprvtio?
There mainly are three to four basic kinds of fixed refrigerant gas leak detectors you can find on the market. They are equipped with different sensors and technology to home in on leaks in your working area. I will list them below:
1. Corona Suppression (Negative Corona)
Corona suppression technology is one of the basic types of electronic fixed leak detectors to test refrigerants. The main principle is creating a high-voltage dc spark from one point to another in the sensor. Establishing a current between the two points. A drop in current indicates the presence of insulating gas. The greater the current drop, the higher the concentration of gas.
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2. Heated Diode (Semi-conductor)
Heated diode leak detection involves heating a refrigerant to the point that the molecules are broken apart. This reaction results in the presence of positively charged concentrations of chlorine or fluorine, chemical elements.
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3. Infrared
Non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors, or infrared absorption sensors, offer excellent performance for explosive gas detection and CO2. These fixed refrigerant leak detectors operate in oxygen-deprived environments, have a long lifespan, fast response time, are immune to interferers, as well as require low maintenance. These fixed refrigerant leak detectors are very accurate in detecting any refrigerant gas at very low concentrations.
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4. Ultrasonic
This technology detects the noise refrigerants and other gases make when they are leaking. As a refrigerant leaks from an HVAC-R unit, it makes an ultrasonic noise that can’t be heard by the human ear. An ultrasonic fixed refrigerant leak detector reacts to that noise and pressure.
Is there any fixed refrigerant leak detector recommended?
Aprvtio LD-200 refrigerant leak detector will be the ideal choice for any who works in the HVAC industry.
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4 Benefits of Aprvtio Fixed Refrigerant Leak Detector
1. Advanced Heated Diode Sensor: The fixed leak detector is equipped with High-precision heated diode sensor with less interference from other gases (compared to the corona sensor). It can quickly identify all halogenated refrigerants including CFCs, HFCs, HCFCs, HCs, HFOs, and mixed refrigerants such as R11/R22/R404a/R410a/R600a/R1234yf
2. Easy to Operate： With a five-key design and it allows to fast reset, mute, power on/off, adjust sensitivity, mark the peak value of leakage, and makes the LED screen visually display the leakage level and device status in one simple click.
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3. Three Sensitivity Adjustments: The fixed refrigerant gas leak detector can detect all kinds of halogen gas leakage in three sensitivities(L-M-H) adjustments and respond to the results in real-time.
4. High Efficiency: The fixed refrigerant leak detector warms up in the 30s and responds in 3s; Maximum sensitivity up to 0.14oz/yr. The built-in 3000mAh rechargeable battery provides continuous 6 hours of working time.
Why install a fixed refrigerant detection system?
Nowadays so many people are involved in the specification, design and installation, and operation of multi-point fixed refrigerant detection systems to monitor hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC), hydro-fluoro olefin (HFO), HFC/HFO blends, and hydro-chloro-fluorocarbon (HCFC). Many of the principles and associated benefits of fixed leak detection systems also relate to hydrocarbon (HC) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) refrigerants.
The refrigerant gas is regulated under a specific regulation as follows:
- EU 517/2014 F-Gas Regulation
- BS EN 378:2016 Refrigeration Systems and Heat Pumps – Safety and Environmental Requirements
- EC2037:2000 Substances that Deplete the Ozone layer
- BREEAM P02 – Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
- EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits
To meet the requirement of the regulations, the fixed refrigerant leak monitoring system is highly recommended to use as well.
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Which industry do you need to use the fixed refrigerant leak detectors?
Fixed refrigerant gas detection equipment includes the gas detector that can be used in many fields like commercial refrigeration, industrial cold, air conditioning, and onboard refrigeration.
Reduction of refrigerant loss – An early warning alarm at the first stage of the development of a leak may enable the operator to initiate a repair procedure before a significant portion of the system charge is lost and so system efficiency is maintained, energy costs are minimized and downtime is reduced.
To achieve a reduction of refrigerant loss, a fixed refrigerant leak detector with a low Minimum Detectable Level (MDL) is required to enable the early detection of small leaks. These systems typically have an MDL of 1 ppm – 25 ppm, use infrared sensor technology and can be used for detection of all HFC, HFC/HFO blends, HFO, and HCFC refrigerants. The lower the level of detection, the more effective the system will be in alerting to a leak and reducing refrigerant loss. A lower level of detection alone will not make detection of loss more effective; the number and location of the sensors will also greatly affect this.
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2. Maintaining cooling capacity and efficiency – To maintain the system’s design capacity and efficiency it is essential that the optimal quantity of refrigerant charge is contained within the circuit. An early indication of a leak and its subsequent repair may prevent the refrigerant level from falling below this minimum amount and thus maintain the system's cooling capacity and efficiency.
3. Tracing the location of a leak – A fixed refrigerant monitoring system will help to narrow down the location of a leak to a particular area or zone and a particular time, e.g., defrost cycle if it is an intermittent leak.
4. Pro-active maintenance – A fixed refrigerant leak detector should be considered as an asset protection system, by utilizing different alarm strategies for large and small leaks the system can alert maintenance personnel of any minor leaks and provide escalation alarms in the event of a major release.
5. Legislation and standards – There are several regulations and standards requiring the use of fixed leak detection systems. For compliance purposes, detectors alarming at levels typically in the range of 100 ppm – 1,000 ppm are suitable. These detectors are designed for the detection of gross leaks before a safety threshold is surpassed.
What are the refrigerant gas categories?
Refrigerant gas, also known as freon gas, can be classified into several categories:
1. Organic compounds: water, carbon dioxide
2. Hydrocarbons: butane, pentane, propane, propylene…
3. CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons): R11, R12, R113, R115, R502
4. HCFC’s (hydrochlorofluorocarbons): R21, R22, R123, R124, R401a, R402a, R408a, R409a
5. HFC’s (hydrofluorocarbons): R32, R125, R134a, R15a, R143a, R152a, R404a, R407a, R410a, R507
6. Unclassifiable refrigerant gases: R630, R631, R12b1, R12b1 and so on
Why Choose Aprvtio?
Established in 2002, after year’s growth, Aprvtio is quite confident to offer you a series of fixed refrigerant leak detectors with excellent quality and competitive price. So far, Aprvtio has served thousands of customers around the world, and won a high reputation among them, want to own your fixed refrigerant leak detector? Contact us now!