Using hydrogen to leak test

Hydrogen has been used as a tracer gas for many years in a wide range of leak detection applications, but what is a tracer gas?

A tracer gas is simply a gas that is pumped into a leaking system or product.
If there's a leak, a gas leak detector can be used to pinpoint where the gas is escaping from.

So why use hydrogen? Hydrogen is both plentiful and low cost as it is easy to produce.

It’s great for leak detection as its tiny molecular size allows it to find its way out though tiny leaks more easily.

Hydrogen is explosive as it burns in concentrations between 4 and 75 percent in air, but when diluted into Nitrogen it no longer poses a threat.

As hydrogen leak testing is so common, equipment to detect it varies considerably.

When purchasing a handheld leak detector, there are a few things to look out for.

Some low-cost detectors can’t be serviced, when the sensor dies, the product is discarded.

Some detectors only detect Hydrogen. There may be applications when a much smaller leak needs to be found.

If so, Some leak detectors can also detect helium.

As helium isn’t combustible it can be used up to 100% concentration so can offer much higher sensitivity than the H2/N2 mix.

Many low-cost leak detectors can’t actually measure the leakage they are detecting.

Being able to measure leakage can help establish if the system has multiple leaks.

Some sales channels don’t even specify the products minimum sensitivity.

The Panther is a robust, sensitive and fully serviceable leak detector.

It has a traceable calibration and can detect low level Hydrogen, Helium and many other gases down to low levels.

It can quantify leakage, measure ppm concentration, and download data for report writing.