When the leak makes no sound, we make it surface.

A safe, non-flammable forming gas — typically 5% hydrogen in 95% nitrogen — is introduced into the drained, isolated line under test. Hydrogen is the smallest molecule there is, so it escapes through the leak and rises to the surface, where a sensitive gas detector pinpoints exactly where it emerges. Because the method detects the gas itself rather than the sound of escaping water, it finds leaks that make no usable noise: low-pressure lines, small weeps, plastic pipe, and lines under slabs or deep fill.

When the leak is quiet. Acoustic correlation needs a pressurised leak making continuous noise on a reasonably conductive pipe — it struggles on plastic mains, low-pressure systems, very small leaks, and lines buried in soft fill that swallows sound. Tracer gas doesn't care about noise or pipe material: if gas can reach the surface, the leak gets pinpointed. The two are complementary — we lead with acoustics where it works and bring tracer gas to the leaks it can't crack.

Yes. The standard 5% hydrogen / 95% nitrogen blend is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and below the flammability threshold — it's an industry-standard test gas used in occupied commercial, institutional, and healthcare buildings worldwide. The line is drained and isolated before the gas is introduced, and only a small volume is used. It dissipates harmlessly. For ultra-sensitive specialty applications we also offer helium tracer detection.

Pressurised and depressurisable lines of almost any material: domestic water, chilled water and hydronic heating loops, fire suppression lines, glycol and process piping, radiant in-slab heating, pool and water-feature plumbing, and buried service lines. It's especially valuable on the mechanical and specialty piping where a leak is costly, the pipe is plastic or low-pressure, and the line runs through finishes or under concrete that no one wants opened on a guess.

The section under test is isolated and drained so the tracer gas can fill it — so yes, that line is temporarily out of service during the test, which is planned with your facilities team around operations. The rest of the system stays live. For mechanical loops and fire lines we coordinate the isolation window carefully; the test itself is quick once the line is charged.

Very — it's one of the most precise location methods available, routinely narrowing a leak to within centimetres at the surface emergence point. That precision is the whole value: it converts an exploratory dig or a wall-opening guess into one small, targeted repair. We mark the location and document it for your repair crew and your records.