Gas Leaks Testing Methods

Contractors Conduct a Test for Gas Leaks

During the Heating Safety inspection the technician should test all exposed gas piping in the mechanical room for gas leaks. Leaks are typically found at the flare fittings, mechanical joints and at regulators. Below are two common techniques to test for gas leaks.

Electronic Gas Leak Detection

Allow the tester to warm up. Trace all mechanical joints slowly with probe, watching for the LEDs to indicate a leak.

Advantages

Fast for testing a large number of joints
No mess

Disadvantages

Very sensitive and often has false positive test results.
Difficult to identify specific leak location.
Expensive

Bubble Solution

Soak all mechanical joints with testing solution and look for air bubbles gas leakage out of the part.

Advantages

Can be fast for larger leaks on small parts when testing multiple at one time.
Can be fast for testing extremely large parts with larger leaks; few areas for possible leak.
Best method for detecting exact leak location detection.
Low equipment cost.

Disadvantages

Less sensitive than electronic methods.
Slow: Detecting small bubbles on typical parts can take longer than other methods.