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Identifying Leaks In A Vacuum System

One of the main causes of slow evacuation time in a vacuum system is a leak . There are two types of leaks: the one where gas/fluid flows into the vessel (known to be the "outside in leak") and the one where it exits from the inside of the specimen (known to be the "inside out leak").

There are two aspects to leak technology that you should be aware of: leak detection (i.e. Locating the leak and measuring the total leak rate of the entire device. Learn how to identify the root cause of malfunctions in your vacuum system and improve its operational capabilities through a vacuum seal tester.

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Leak Detection In Vacuum System

There is no one method that can meet all requirements and every situation in vacuum systems. Leak detection is no exception. There are four main methods: bubble test, pressure decay test, pressure rise test, and helium sniffer mode/helium vale mode tests.

These four tests correspond roughly to the "simplistic", bubble test (for low vacuum pressures), and the "high-tech" high-vacuum helium tests (for higher vacuum pressures).

You can illustrate the Bubble test by either placing a punctured tube of bicycle under water and marking the source of the bubbles or by placing washing-up liquid around an active water/gas line and watching for bubbles. These are both reliable methods to detect low-pressure leaks. The bubble test can be used up to vacuums of 10 4 bar.