Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine September 2023

HVACR NewsMagazine September 2023

Tech News

An ultrasonic leak detector is used to detect any leaks in the tubing in an evaporator coil (see photos below) . Note: Ultrasonic leak detectors work even better when the coils are wet, such as on this wet evaporator coil. To get the evaporator coil wet, simply turn the system on in air conditioning mode for a few minutes and then turn it off, prior to leak searching.

Leak Location #5: In the Middle of the Tubing Run in the Evaporator Coil

There may be a leak in the middle of the tubing run behind the fins (see first photo below) . A leak can develop here, if the copper tubing was made too thin (It may have been designed too thin, for energy efficient reasons, i.e. energy transfer), (see photo showing the inside of the tubing) . Grooves can be put on the inside of the tubing to increase the surface area. The grooves may be in a circular pattern in the tubing, or straight down the tubing run (see photo showing the inside of the tubing) . The grain inside the tubing can cause a leak. (NOTE: The leak was found in the middle of the coil, using an ultrasonic leak detector.)

I cut the aluminum fins back to pinpoint the leak on the copper.