If your company was wasting thousands of dollars a year on compressed air or steam trap leaks would you even know it? What would you do with an ultrasonic leak detector that could save your company tens of thousands of dollars a year?
Leaks Can Be Costly and Widespread
From food processors to power generation plants to oil and gas companies, steam, compressed air and gas are frequently used as part of
the production process. Unfortunately, where you have steam, compressed air and gas, you also have leaks. Research indicates that up to 30% of compressed air and steam traps leak. If they had an ultrasonic leak detector, solving these costly maintenance issues would be much easier. But there’s more…
Leaks are costly. For instance, compressed air leaks can comprise up to 40% of the energy costs associated with compressed air equipment. That means if you’re spending $10,000 per year on compressed air, as much as $4,000 of that is an unnecessary expense.
Not only do leaks needlessly waste money, but they can also pose safety risks and adversely impact the environment by consuming more energy than they have to. Operations and maintenance managers know all of this and yet the leaks persist. Why?
Past Methods of Leak Detection: Slow & Impractical
Until someone comes up with an automatic leak detection alerting system, you’ll have to detect them manually by conducting regularly-scheduled systematic checks using an ultrasonic leak detector. But, some companies are reluctant to do so because the equipment to detect leaks isn’t fast and easy to use. And if isn’t being used, it isn’t doing much good.
Detecting a compressed air or steam trap leak is a two-step process. First you have to be aware that there is a leak and then you have to be able to pinpoint where it’s coming from. The solution is an ultrasonic leak detector diagnostic tool that combines both of these steps in a single unit. Ideally, it’s easy to use and quick to spot a leak. Otherwise, the tests won’t get performed on a regular basis. And if the tests don’t get done, the leaks will persist and the money will continue to flow out the door.
The Fast, Easy & Reliable Ultrasonic Leak Detector Solution – The LEAKSHOOTER
To make it easy and fast to use, what you want is an ultrasonic leak detector with two properties: high sensitivity and visual cueing. You want high sensitivity to be able to detect the smallest leak, even in a very large room. Then, once you detect it, you want a way to visually hone in it so you can find it quickly.
The LEAKSHOOTER® V2+ and V3+ are new ultrasonic leak detectors from Synergys Technologies which have high sensitivity and point-and-shoot capability to help you quickly and easily detect and locate leaks.
The V2+ and V3+ include many new features and benefits, compared to the previous generation of ultrasonic leak detectors V2 and V3, which make them even faster and easier to use.
LEAKSHOOTER V2+ & V3+ – Ultrasonic Leak Detector Technology
The V2+ and V3+ have increased ultrasonic sensitivity, enabling them to “hear” a leak the
size of a pin hole up to 20 meters away. That’s equivalent to detecting a leak anywhere in a 13,000 square foot room. And with the built-in gain control, the V2+ and V3+ can be adjusted to detect leaks in noisy industrial environments.
Both models come with dynamic on-screen targeting which enables practitioners to use the tool as a guide to visually pinpoint the precise location of a leak. The V3+ additionally comes with a embedded infrared thermal imager which provides an on-screen color-coded picture of steam traps, which gives an indication of how well they’re operating.
When used in conjunction with STRAPSHOOTER® Steam Trap Software, the V3+ can automatically diagnose your steam trap’s operating condition state, including the input and output pipe temperature of steam traps.
The new, extra-large 5.7″ LCD (640×480) on both models displays the following real-time information on screen to give a quick indication of the severity of a leak:
- The decibel rating of the ambient noise (dB)
- The ultrasonic decibel rating of the leak (dB)
- The flow rate of the leak (m3/hr)
- The LEAKSCORE (on a scale from 0 – 100)
- The built in cost calculator displays the cost of the leak per year (based on $20/kg)
Each LEAKSHOOTER ultrasonic leak detector has a built-in camera to capture the image showing the precise location of the leak. Every captured photo includes the recorded decibels, flow rate, estimated annual cost of leak and the LEAKSCORE. The photos are numbered and date and time stamped for ease of documentation. They photos can be uploaded directly via a USB cable (included) for easy attachments to reports. The devices can store up to 1,000 images.
For users who want to locate leaks the traditional way by listening for them, both units are equipped with Bluetooth for use with wireless headsets.
How the LEAKSHOOTER Works
The V2+ and V3+ accomplish the two-step ultrasonic leak detection and location processes by seamlessly integrating ultrasonic detection with on-screen visual locating. When turned on, the V2+ and V3+ immediately begin to measure the ultrasonic sound in the environment in an attempt to detect a leak.
When a leak is detected, a target with cross hairs appear on the screen. The target is usually large and white at this point, filling up most of the screen. You’ll move the unit around in a 360 degree circle to try and find the leak. When the source of the leak is detected, the target on the screen turns orange. As you move closer to the leak, the target shrinks and turns red. Now you can document the leak by pressing the camera button to take a picture.
A Multi-Purpose Tool
The new LEAKSHOOTER® V2+ and V3+ ultrasonic leak detectors can be used to detect more
than just air, gas and steam leaks. They can also be used in bearing monitoring, as well as electrical applications like partial discharge, corona effects, punctured isolators and electrical tracking detection.
The units are ergonomically designed and lightweight. They require no setup time, are ready to use right out of the box and can run up to six hours on a single charge. The units come with professional headphones, a rugged carry case and a two year warranty.
Pays for Itself with One Detected Leak
Companies that use compressed air, steam or gas in production have leaks. Leaks that are both costly and time-consuming to detect. When companies are vigilant about regularly checking for leaks, the effects are substantial and beneficial to everyone involved. To minimize leaks companies must be vigilant about regularly checking for leaks, which means they need an affordable diagnostic tool like the ultrasonic leak detector the LEAKSHOOTER®. Finding just one relatively small leak would pay for the LEAKSHOOTER® V3+ in less than a year.
If you’d like to learn more about ultrasonic leak detectors like the LEAKSHOOTER V2+ and LEAKSHOOTER V3+, and how it can save your company money with effortless leak detection, contact a sale’s engineer at Berg Engineering by calling 847-577-3980 or email info@bergeng.com.
Sources
Impact of Failed Steam Traps on Process Plants – White Paper
Tinker Works to Conserve Air Supply – U.S. Air Force
Compressed Air Article – Wikipedia
Synergys Technologies – Manufacturer of LEAKSHOOTER®
