Leak sealer

[mattmctree]

I was at a supplier the other day and noticed a product called leak freeze that comes in a syringe type package which you inject in the low side of the system and it chemically welds the leaks. A few people at the supplier said they liked it. Does anyone have any experience with it? I get on some calls where the customer doesn't want to keep the room vacant long enough for me to work or my supervisor wants me in and out as quick as possible as some of the contracts I guess we are loosing money on. Another stupid question is encountering a system that is low on gas and if I were to use this product how will I know how much gas to add if I don't recover what's left and see how much I'm missing. I'm assuming I would charge to a clear sight glass and around 15 to 18 degrees superheat on the suction line?

[walker]

I don't believe in any of these products, it just seems to be a bandaid solution.  A good leak detector or a boat load of nitrogen and soap and you'll find that leak eventually.

Anyhow it would depend on the type of system you're working on whether or not you'd charge to superheat or subcooling and also would depend on the indoor and outdoor conditions at the time, especially on a piston system.  Most TXV systems will give you an expected subcooling based on the outdoor conditions somewhere in the manual.

If you're charging to super heat a good formula to get a target super heat is to use this formula:

{(indoor wet bulb x 3) - 80 - OAT} / 2

[rmuntz]

A good employer will let you leak check until the leak is found. It's the right thing to do!
Remember, it's your ODP # on the line.
Leak checking can be frustrating. If you've been at it for a while with no results, call in a second pair of eyes, or walk away for a bit and clear your head then go back to it. Sometimes you don't see things because you've been staring at the same thing for hours.