How Does A Heated Diode Refrigerant Leak Detector Work?

Refrigerant leak detectors for heating diodes are becoming the most common type of detector in the field. Of course, there are other models, such as corona suppression and infrared, but most of the tools are heating diodes. the question here is how the heated diode detector works. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this product? Should you buy a heated diode or look at an infrared or ultrasonic detector?

Type of Refrigerants

This type of detector heats the refrigerant to break down the molecules. When the molecule is destroyed, positively charged chlorine or fluorine ions appear. Heated diodes detect these ions and emit sound, visual or two alerts.

This means that a heated diode detector can smell almost any refrigerant used today. Why is that? Most refrigerants contain chlorine or fluorine. Let's take a look at some of the most popular refrigerants and types on the market today.

CFCs - Chlorofluorocarbons are now phased out worldwide because of the chlorine they contain. Chlorine was found to destroy ozone when released or discharged. Common refrigerants in this category are R-12 and R-502.

HCFCs - Chlorofluorocarbons are almost identical. It also leaked recently because it contained chlorine. The most popular refrigerant in this category is the R-22. (R-22 has been the standard refrigerant for home refrigeration for more than two decades.)

HFCs - Hydrofluorocarbons are slightly different. Chlorine has been removed from these new refrigerants to save ozone. The only constant chemical left is fluorine. (Remember, this is another chemical that heating diodes recognize.) HFC is the most popular and most used refrigerant in the world, such as R-134A, R-404A and R-410A. The name is included. You may be using HFC refrigerants while working on the device.

HFOs - Hydrofluorolefin is a new refrigerant designed to replace HFC refrigerants. Like its sister, HFC contains fluorine. These refrigerants are currently developed in laboratories by Honeywell and Chemours and can already be found in practical applications, such as B. working on new cars or using FO-1234YF instead of R-134A. There are also.

Perhaps you have noticed that each refrigerant class contains one of the most important chemicals, namely chlorine or fluorine. Most refrigerants contain both chemicals, but not everyone does.

It is worth noting that your heating diode detector cannot find a class of refrigerants, namely hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are natural refrigerants, such as ammonia, propane and isobutane. If you are a housing engineer, you may never meet them. However, if you are a refrigeration or freezer technician, you may have encountered this in a supermarket or freezer. In these cases, a hydrocarbon detector is required.

Advantages and Disadvantages

As with all products, there are advantages and disadvantages to purchasing refrigerant leak detectors for heating diodes.

Advantages

The heating diode sensor is also very sensitive to minimal leakage. Some top-of-the-line models can detect a leak of 0.006 ounces per year. Try to achieve this recognition level by corona suppression model!

This type of detector allows you to move the probe precisely to the leak point and then hover the mouse over it to detect very small leaks. Infrared detectors should always be swept back and forth, not kept in one place.

One of the most popular leak detectors for engineers is the heating diode. B: yes. Wjl-6000 is a heating diode model.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of these types of detectors is the lifetime of the sensors. Most diode sensors should be replaced after about 100 hours of operation. The equivalent infrared detector sensor has a lifetime of several years.

Working in a closed area filled with refrigerant can overburden the sensor and shorten its service life.

The heated sensor takes some time to warm up before it is used. Depending on the model, this may take 30 seconds or two minutes or more.