Finding a leak on a Chiller System 9.12.2025

The Rockwell manager Jim mentioned in a meeting that two of their chiller systems (2 & 3) have experienced leaks.

This is after I presented to their management our Condition based monitoring activities in the facility.

Chillers usually don't need to refill R134 for a decade. But 2 & 3 are relatively new.

These are around P5000 each and there's 25 of them. A P125,000 purchase to keep in stock so they can refill their tank when it runs low. This is called reactive maintenance.

But how can you fix something when you don't know where the problem is?

As Choy and I scanned Chiller #3 (which was offline), we were given permission to step on top of compressed tank to check the likely areas of leak and we found it.

We determined the location, its intensity, recorded the data with our SDT340 (just for presentation purposes) and Sona Vu, and then compared this finding to the adjacent Chiller #2. There were no leaks. This makes our finding indisputable.