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Typically Good Fieldpiece Quality
5.0
Perhaps I should start by saying that I'm not a full-time technician, but I have completed an associate's degree in HVAC. In class, we used heated-diode leak detectors from time to time, and to be truthful, I never was very impressed with them. Using this on my home system was my first experience with an infrared leak detector, and the difference was dramatic. Admittedly, this might not be a fair comparison, since the ones at school were not brand new, probably suffered some abuse at the hands of students, and may not have been terribly well-maintained. Nonetheless, the sensitivity of this unit was much greater than anything I had worked with before.
It includes a blow-molded case, and mine arrived partially charged. The included USB-C charger took a couple of hours to get it to a full charge. I haven't timed it, but the warm-up seems to require about 30 seconds or so, then detection begins. As I moved the inlet toward where I suspected the leak to be, it began "chirping" and flashing its indicator about 8 inches away. It automatically re-zeroes periodically after finding a leak, to enable further pinpointing without manually changing the settings. Judging from some HVAC forum discussions, some technicians may prefer to disable this feature (which can be done). I liked the flashing LED near the inlet, and it could be a real plus for those who routinely work in a noisy environment. The filter tip for the inlet is replaceable, and several are included. I've noticed that replacement tips are also stocked in at least one of our local supply houses.
Someone with more experience might have a different take on this, but to me it seems that refrigerant leak detectors are somewhat like stud finders. A particular one might make short work of finding a leak (or stud) in one situation, while it might prove essentially useless in another. There are other methods of leak detection, and I'm sure each has its strengths and weaknesses. Again, as with stud finders, there probably isn't a single leak detector, including this one, that can serve as "The One."
As a brand, Fieldpiece products have always struck me as good, reasonable choices for technicians who are going to use them regularly. There may be products with more features or even more capabilities, but usually this comes with a premium price. For example, there is a leak detector on the market with a color display that indicates concentration in parts per million, but it costs almost three times as much as this one does. Fieldpiece tools are reasonably priced for their level of performance and build quality. This is not my first Fieldpiece tool purchase, nor do I expect it be my last.
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Carl Wallace on
May 31, 2022
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