Sniff Leak Testing

Atmospheric ‘Sniff Leak Testing’ is a basic method of tracer gas leak detection. Atmospheric sniff systems 

use a sniffer probe to detect the presence of tracer gas and pinpoint an area that is leaking. Sniff leak locating is a manual process, where the sniffer probe is physically moved close to the area being checked for leakage.

Highlights of Sniff Leak Testing:

• Low cost tracer gas testing method
• Can detect leaks in the range of 1.6 x 10-1 to 1x10-5 scc/s
• Works best in an environment that is well ventilated, free of trace-gas
• Effectiveness is limited in environments where background noise (air flow) reduces the concentration of the tracer gas, or in areas where there is a high concentration of helium in the air near the test site

CTS’ Sniff Leak Test Application

This system utilizes CTS’ TracerMate, a hand held probe and an Inficon mass spectrometer.  The hand held probe is moved close to the area being checked for leakage.  The sniffer probe draws in the air sample from around the part test area and into the mass spectrometer where it is analyzed for tracer gas concentration. The leak rate setpoint is set in the TracerMate, when the mass spectrometer detects a tracer gas concentration that exceeds the leak rate it signals the TracerMate and the part fails the leak test. The TracerMate test program can be programmed to perform up to 20 sequential tests, each initiated separately, and saved as a multi-point leak test as one test record.  

Custom sniff systems are also available and can be designed to provide automated ‘hands-free’ sniff leak testing for a single or multiple locations using one test program. The system shown here provides a custom fixture to position the sniffer probe and circuitry perform progressive leak testing at multiple locations using one part setup.