Honest evaluation of these tools will hopefully persuade the companies to build a better product plus it helps the rest of us to decide if on the fence about a product.
Lt. Riley has his own built in sniffer and he's hard at work covering the property with his nose; meanwhile someone else we know is not too happy with his sniffers from Fieldpiece. Another day in the Georgia spring sunshine, with informative commentary by Curtis. 😎
I am looking for a good detector. I gave up on my Inficon a long time ago and it wasn't cheap. I've resorted to looking for oil, which usually gives me an idea, but I recently had a 10 ton Daikin package unit that was empty. I knew that it must be a good leak but saw no oil anywhere. Fortunately, I was able to spray both ends of the condenser plates and found a leak in the tubing right where it goes through the end plate. No oil whatsoever around d the joint. I think I may go with ultrasonic but unsure of brand. Thanks for the review!
That's a shame because FP seems to be a good company and I see you use their products all the time. I'm thinking those "sniffers" are just not that great in general. They have a problem with sensitivity, I don't think they have the science down pact yet. You don't need it if the freon is blowing in your face. The dye is a pain, but is more reliable IMO, but it has to be in an area that you can see. That may be the way to go, but I understand your dilemma.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I love videos like this. You save the techs & us DIYERS many dollars and much time on the job. I hate expensive top tier equipment that does NOT live up to the hype! Love the channel and keep on doing what you do best Stay Safe my friend. BC
Good Video ! Yep , totally agree with you. Leak detectors are not cheap. They need to work well for at least a few years. Thats why i ONLY Buy & Use the H10G Leak detector !!! Period !!! Best leak detector on the Planet 🌎 Hands down. Nothing Compares to the H10 !!! Been using h10's for over 40 Years !!! Tried a lot of others - all junk compared. I've Got a 40 Year old H10 that STILL Works !!! i've Bought 4 in 43 years. i Keep 2 on the truck. only way to stop a H10 From Working is Suck up a bunch of water - Been there done that ! that's why i carry 2 on the truck. H10 will go off just opening a Walk in cooler Door if thiers a Leak in a cooler. Then u can hunt from there. i Must have wasted 10 years with crap leak detectors in the 80's. Tif Leak detectors were the absolute worst !!! H10 FTW - NOTHING BETTER !!!
The H-10 is hands down the king on CFC. Not so much on HFCs. Unfortunately, its days are numbered. The manufacturer has gone on record stating the H-10 is not to be used near the new refrigerants due to the combustion risk. 🙁
What you are looking for is the H10, you can run it on auto or manual,and different size leaks.I had the r 22 for years,changed it when i went to the new refrigerants.
Curtis - i'd recommend u Get a D-tek select. i Think you might be real happy with that one. i've never tried it but i see alot of people using it with good results. it's smaller than the h-10 & im thinking you'd like it alot. If you don't mind the size of the h-10 Get that too. Those 2 Leak detectors i think could make a winning combination. D-tek select for portability , H-10 for accurate diagnoses & Verification.
If you're taking suggestion for the next review, you should do a review on your meters I know you have a video comparing the fieldpiece 680 and 480, I don't know if you have more meters, but I think that a review on those meters and the others that you may have, I think that would help a lot of technicians specifically younger technicians that are on the fence about buying or upgrading to those meters
I've been loving the prowler for the last month or so. Found literally every leak I have attempted to search for because of it. Before I was using the dr58 for about a year, and it was ok, but the problem with it is that once you get a tiny drop of moisture on that tip, it's useless. Even after changing the tip out, it will still be going crazy because of the diode. I did my own little tests with both leak detectors once I got the prowler, and there is a world of difference when it comes to finding a leak. And honestly I couldn't really trust my leak diagnosis with the dr58 towards the end of it's reign, which is why I went to the prowler.
I’ve used the H10 w mixed results. I have a Stratus, I watched the video on yours but I have had great success with it. I don’t care for the one u r using now but personal preference matters. I wish you luck in your continued search.
The Stratus by Inficon from my experience is the most useful detector. One of the other guys has the fieldpiece and they always call me in for the tougher finds.
I know you smashed your Inficon with a hammer but I’ve had excellent luck with my Inficon D-tek 3. I never owned the Stratus like you had but they are basically the same leak detector. The D-tek 3 just doesn’t have the ppm display but they use the exact same sensor. The Inficon is the best detector I’ve ever owned and is still going strong after 4 or 5 years. I totally agree with you on the DR58. I own one but I took it off the van because of the issues with the auto-zero. Thanks for the honest review!
Been running the DR58 for about 8 months now and it's been great narrowing down the leak. Hopefully that continues. I ran the dtek for about 6 years and it started to become less effective, probably age. I'd love to buy the Inficon Stratus but that is a lot of coin.
I have the DR82 and i noticed that your detectors pump sounds very different in comparison, also yours seems to be 10 times slower. Maybe you got one with a faulty pump? This would also explain the poor detection rates.
I mentioned the same thing. It seems like a lot of those Fieldpiece detectors seem to have a drag on the pump. They sound very sluggish. I've gone through several of them also. One of them whenever I put it in manual mode you can actually hear the pump speeding up and slowing down. I videotaped it and sent it to Fieldpiece but they didn't seem overly concerned. You also have to be very careful how you hold the instrument. Because if you cover up the small vent hole in the bottom of the detector, next to the charging port, with your hand then it won't work properly. 😎👍
Question not related to the video, what camera do you use for your videos, But relating the video, i use to work for a company and they provided those, personally I never trusted them, lots of the techs knew they were faulty but they would read leaks but most likely wasn't a leak and then not read a leak when there most likely isn't a leak , personally i felt like I was doing the homeowner wrong whether there wasn't a leak or was , great vid !
Oh man what a bummer ! I thought the Fieldpiece was very good but now I don't think I would risk it . If you have to be on tip of the leak it kind of defeats the purpose really ... If money was not an issue i think I'd get the Inficon Status , reviews seem to agree that it's really good once you learn how to use it and all the features . Inficon is expensive but they've been tried and trialed over the years ...
Great video, i want to happy with the DR82 either. Shame you didn't like the DTek Status, I've loved it. But my favorite has become the ultrasonic. I have the H10 but i just can't get used to it, think I'm going to sell it. This tool thing is an expensive habit😢. Let's hold them accountable on TH-cam with reviews!
I have had good luck with the Inficon brand, but my problem with Inficon is when you charge the battery and don;t use it for awhile the battery is dead and that is on two of the same units.
@@HVACGUY hey we’re all on your side the company I work for have over 80 residential hvac service tech and we all hate the dr58 . I personally like and used the older fieldpiece leak detector I Agee with you on the fact the 58 don’t pick leaks up a fast as the other detectors. Look forward to see you hammer video and what’s your thoughts on there new core removal tool that coming out I believe next month
But the best way to find leaks on evap.,is to pump it down,leave a bit of refrigerant and use nitrogen to 300 lbs,then leak search,only way to find micro leaks,do not just use refrigerant.2 cents.
I have this detector and so far it does what it's made to do, find leaks. Not all leak detectors work the same. As long as the detector goes off then it's doing it's job.
Out of curiosity, I dropped the name of this tool in my favorite search tool and found many results for prices generally ranging from $300 -$400...except one. Walmart is selling this thing for nearly $500 through an independent seller online. I always assumed those independant sellers are rippoffs....but damn.
I returned my DR82. Just could not find leaks in tight areas. Just could not trust it. It was waisting my time on jobs. I replaced the filter and still no help.
I've been thinking of getting one of these leak detectors to upgrade my old inficon. Thankfully I didn't buy one yet. Seems like fieldpiece still has a few kinks to work out. Maybe they should get themselves an old cased coil or something and set up a more realistic test station instead of just poking the end of the leak detector on the port of a jug of 410a or whatever their "test source" is. 🤣🤣
So I use the DR58 and it’s great to me, buuutttt I’ve found two different gas meters leaking and the DR58 found them. I confirmed with the gas company and their equipment also confirmed a gas leak on both meters. My only problem is that I can’t find anything that says it can detect natural gas aannndddd tech support told me no but the gas company confirmed my findings, anybody else run across this
I see too many very good techs using the DR82 to believe it is a bad product. Yours was a lemon. That being said, ive had a bunch of different ones, infrared and heated diode and none of them were very durable, not to withstand the realities of bringing them into a Georgia attic in late summer.
I would suggest contacting your field piece engineer support tech not call voice help center support asking about this sensor issue and techniques? because i’m sure they do test there products for potential problems and if the sensors are faulty then they should fix them but you have to be the one who calls them out on it not the other way around you will be waiting a long time! and smashing it with a hammer is beneath your standards ?
Get an H-10 and an extension cord. The battery pack is not reliable and even when I changed the battery it still was not effective without plugging it in.
![ILLSLICK - THE KING'S LANDING [Freestyle]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/feIJJnNkTfk/mqdefault.jpg)
I think folks will enjoy and appreciate these videos. There's nothing like real experience in the field for an honest review.
Honest evaluation of these tools will hopefully persuade the companies to build a better product plus it helps the rest of us to decide if on the fence about a product.
Lt. Riley has his own built in sniffer and he's hard at work covering the property with his nose; meanwhile someone else we know is not too happy with his sniffers from Fieldpiece. Another day in the Georgia spring sunshine, with informative commentary by Curtis. 😎
1) accutrack ultrasonic
2) H10
2) Prowler (cheaper than h10)
I'm not an HVAC guy, but I still find your content interesting. Please keep making your videos. Give Reily a treat for me.
I'm tired of junk... 2 gas pressure tools, recovery machine, 6 schrader tools, 2 meters, 2 nitrogen purging tools....in the trash now😢😢😢
Thanks Curtis, you tell em Fieldpiece will be listening 😉 👍 Au
Thanks for the honest review
I am looking for a good detector. I gave up on my Inficon a long time ago and it wasn't cheap. I've resorted to looking for oil, which usually gives me an idea, but I recently had a 10 ton Daikin package unit that was empty. I knew that it must be a good leak but saw no oil anywhere. Fortunately, I was able to spray both ends of the condenser plates and found a leak in the tubing right where it goes through the end plate. No oil whatsoever around d the joint. I think I may go with ultrasonic but unsure of brand. Thanks for the review!
I think this will be a good series.
That's a shame because FP seems to be a good company and I see you use their products all the time. I'm thinking those "sniffers" are just not that great in general. They have a problem with sensitivity, I don't think they have the science down pact yet. You don't need it if the freon is blowing in your face. The dye is a pain, but is more reliable IMO, but it has to be in an area that you can see. That may be the way to go, but I understand your dilemma.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I love videos like this. You save the techs & us DIYERS many dollars and much time on the job. I hate expensive top tier equipment that does NOT live up to the hype! Love the channel and keep on doing what you do best Stay Safe my friend. BC
Good Video ! Yep , totally agree with you. Leak detectors are not cheap. They need to work well for at least a few years. Thats why i ONLY Buy & Use the H10G Leak detector !!! Period !!! Best leak detector on the Planet 🌎 Hands down. Nothing Compares to the H10 !!!
Been using h10's for over 40 Years !!! Tried a lot of others - all junk compared.
I've Got a 40 Year old H10 that STILL Works !!! i've Bought 4 in 43 years. i Keep 2 on the truck. only way to stop a H10 From Working is Suck up a bunch of water - Been there done that ! that's why i carry 2 on the truck. H10 will go off just opening a Walk in cooler Door if thiers a Leak in a cooler. Then u can hunt from there.
i Must have wasted 10 years with crap leak detectors in the 80's. Tif Leak detectors were the absolute worst !!!
H10 FTW - NOTHING BETTER !!!
The H-10 is hands down the king on CFC. Not so much on HFCs. Unfortunately, its days are numbered. The manufacturer has gone on record stating the H-10 is not to be used near the new refrigerants due to the combustion risk. 🙁
What you are looking for is the H10, you can run it on auto or manual,and different size leaks.I had the r 22 for years,changed it when i went to the new refrigerants.
Curtis - i'd recommend u Get a D-tek select. i Think you might be real happy with that one. i've never tried it but i see alot of people using it with good results.
it's smaller than the h-10 & im thinking you'd like it alot.
If you don't mind the size of the h-10 Get that too. Those 2 Leak detectors i think could make a winning combination. D-tek select for portability , H-10 for accurate diagnoses & Verification.
Yes the dtek select is great. Im still using one
Thanks curtis for telling it like it is very helpful
Happy to help
Good review Curtis.
Thanks!
I'm excited for this series
Yeah, he is saying it is not as dependable as the previous models. Replacing brand new ones. Time to go to another brand.
I too found the Auto zero to be extremely quick throwing off my results. I've since moved to the prowler and it's much better
If you're taking suggestion for the next review, you should do a review on your meters I know you have a video comparing the fieldpiece 680 and 480, I don't know if you have more meters, but I think that a review on those meters and the others that you may have, I think that would help a lot of technicians specifically younger technicians that are on the fence about buying or upgrading to those meters
Good video, we respect your opinion and experiences 👍 I currently have 2 FP DR82 performing well. Also the NAVAC NML1 heated diode , works good so far
I've been loving the prowler for the last month or so. Found literally every leak I have attempted to search for because of it. Before I was using the dr58 for about a year, and it was ok, but the problem with it is that once you get a tiny drop of moisture on that tip, it's useless. Even after changing the tip out, it will still be going crazy because of the diode. I did my own little tests with both leak detectors once I got the prowler, and there is a world of difference when it comes to finding a leak. And honestly I couldn't really trust my leak diagnosis with the dr58 towards the end of it's reign, which is why I went to the prowler.
Awesome series 👍👍👍
Glad you think so!
The best sniffer period luv mine
I’ve used the H10 w mixed results. I have a Stratus, I watched the video on yours but I have had great success with it. I don’t care for the one u r using now but personal preference matters. I wish you luck in your continued search.
I have used the DR58 for awhile and have never had any issues. In fact it’s been the best one i used so far.
The Stratus by Inficon from my experience is the most useful detector. One of the other guys has the fieldpiece and they always call me in for the tougher finds.
Tool Time!!! Tool Time!!! We Love it!
I know you smashed your Inficon with a hammer but I’ve had excellent luck with my Inficon D-tek 3. I never owned the Stratus like you had but they are basically the same leak detector. The D-tek 3 just doesn’t have the ppm display but they use the exact same sensor. The Inficon is the best detector I’ve ever owned and is still going strong after 4 or 5 years. I totally agree with you on the DR58. I own one but I took it off the van because of the issues with the auto-zero. Thanks for the honest review!
Been running the DR58 for about 8 months now and it's been great narrowing down the leak. Hopefully that continues. I ran the dtek for about 6 years and it started to become less effective, probably age. I'd love to buy the Inficon Stratus but that is a lot of coin.
Don’t buy it it’s not worth it
Have you ever used the H10 Pro? I got one and it was pretty good but for 410a it did not seem to be very good. It was great on R22.
Hammer Time
I totally agree it's not cheap an brand new Curtis
I have the DR82 mine didn’t pick up a leak in the beginning and I swapped the head out on it and ever since then it’s been fine I have had zero issues
My Dr 82 has been dead nuts accurate from day 1.Surprised FP didn't just send you a new one.
3rd times a charm?
I have the DR82 and i noticed that your detectors pump sounds very different in comparison, also yours seems to be 10 times slower. Maybe you got one with a faulty pump? This would also explain the poor detection rates.
I mentioned the same thing. It seems like a lot of those Fieldpiece detectors seem to have a drag on the pump. They sound very sluggish. I've gone through several of them also. One of them whenever I put it in manual mode you can actually hear the pump speeding up and slowing down. I videotaped it and sent it to Fieldpiece but they didn't seem overly concerned. You also have to be very careful how you hold the instrument. Because if you cover up the small vent hole in the bottom of the detector, next to the charging port, with your hand then it won't work properly. 😎👍
Question not related to the video, what camera do you use for your videos,
But relating the video, i use to work for a company and they provided those, personally I never trusted them, lots of the techs knew they were faulty but they would read leaks but most likely wasn't a leak and then not read a leak when there most likely isn't a leak , personally i felt like I was doing the homeowner wrong whether there wasn't a leak or was , great vid !
GoPro
@@HVACGUY which gen?
I also had those same issues with Fieldpiece IR detectors. the sensor is suppose to have a 10 year warranty but fieldpiece would not honor that
Oh man what a bummer ! I thought the Fieldpiece was very good but now I don't think I would risk it .
If you have to be on tip of the leak it kind of defeats the purpose really ...
If money was not an issue i think I'd get the Inficon Status , reviews seem to agree that it's really good once you learn how to use it and all the features .
Inficon is expensive but they've been tried and trialed over the years ...
Great video, i want to happy with the DR82 either. Shame you didn't like the DTek Status, I've loved it. But my favorite has become the ultrasonic. I have the H10 but i just can't get used to it, think I'm going to sell it. This tool thing is an expensive habit😢. Let's hold them accountable on TH-cam with reviews!
I've got 45 hrs on mine and haven't had any issues. Also got the h10 works well
I have had good luck with the Inficon brand, but my problem with Inficon is when you charge the battery and don;t use it for awhile the battery is dead and that is on two of the same units.
can You do one on Your multi meter?? Love the tool reviews,,,i hate being burned on fake claims !!!
Given the cost of tools and the amount of tasks involved in HVAC, it’s a shame how often one acquires defective tools at the supply house.
What you waiting on take the hammer to it 😂😂😂
The prowler leak detector you have is a good one
If I get a flagrant failure out of it I will.
@@HVACGUY hey we’re all on your side the company I work for have over 80 residential hvac service tech and we all hate the dr58 . I personally like and used the older fieldpiece leak detector I Agee with you on the fact the 58 don’t pick leaks up a fast as the other detectors. Look forward to see you hammer video and what’s your thoughts on there new core removal tool that coming out I believe next month
@@TNHVACLIFEI have ordered one
The leak detector company gave me diesnt work well . I need buy a new one . What should I buy ?? What do you use ? I need to find leaks faster
The DR 82 hasn’t been to awful for me
But the best way to find leaks on evap.,is to pump it down,leave a bit of refrigerant and use nitrogen to 300 lbs,then leak search,only way to find micro leaks,do not just use refrigerant.2 cents.
I have this detector and so far it does what it's made to do, find leaks. Not all leak detectors work the same. As long as the detector goes off then it's doing it's job.
Out of curiosity, I dropped the name of this tool in my favorite search tool and found many results for prices generally ranging from $300 -$400...except one. Walmart is selling this thing for nearly $500 through an independent seller online.
I always assumed those independant sellers are rippoffs....but damn.
I switch from the DR58 to an Elitech leak detector and it’s a world of difference.
In what way?
Seems like any sort of air testing tool like that would need to be calibrated fairly frequently.
They all suck only one back in the day was GE/MARs in leather case . I have a yellow jacket it lied to me a few times
A reason from a weak current battery even though it has voltages,, you can use two batteries in parallel to get a good current for the device to work
Does different refrigerants effect how accurate the leak detector senses a leak?
Any input on the DR82? I have it and been pretty good so far
Not really. The one I had was a lemon
I returned my DR82. Just could not find leaks in tight areas. Just could not trust it. It was waisting my time on jobs. I replaced the filter and still no help.
Buy a ge h10 and it will never let you down.
I've been thinking of getting one of these leak detectors to upgrade my old inficon. Thankfully I didn't buy one yet. Seems like fieldpiece still has a few kinks to work out. Maybe they should get themselves an old cased coil or something and set up a more realistic test station instead of just poking the end of the leak detector on the port of a jug of 410a or whatever their "test source" is. 🤣🤣
I just started the video,I hope you left the sledge hammer at the other house.
So I use the DR58 and it’s great to me, buuutttt I’ve found two different gas meters leaking and the DR58 found them. I confirmed with the gas company and their equipment also confirmed a gas leak on both meters. My only problem is that I can’t find anything that says it can detect natural gas aannndddd tech support told me no but the gas company confirmed my findings, anybody else run across this
I see too many very good techs using the DR82 to believe it is a bad product. Yours was a lemon. That being said, ive had a bunch of different ones, infrared and heated diode and none of them were very durable, not to withstand the realities of bringing them into a Georgia attic in late summer.
Oh man, no hammer. I was hoping you'd drop the hammer. Maybe next time
Maybe next time!
Actually, I'd rather not see the hammer; it means a useless rip-off, and I think Curtis and his fellow tradesmen deserve better.
I would suggest contacting your field piece engineer support tech not call voice help center support asking about this sensor issue and techniques? because i’m sure they do test there products for potential problems and if the sensors are faulty then they should fix them but you have to be the one who calls them out on it not the other way around you will be waiting a long time! and smashing it with a hammer is beneath your standards ?
Get an H-10 and an extension cord. The battery pack is not reliable and even when I changed the battery it still was not effective without plugging it in.
Do have another hvac company with another name on the truck?
Just the one
All fieldpiece sniffers are like this u need be close to read it
If want go off when u near area get h-10
Is the prowler a ultrasonic? I have an Extech 405 and had great results.
This sucks to hear! I just bought one smh. That’s my luck.
Not hammer worthy I guess 😏
Not this time.
👍👍😊😊
Would you try the elitech tools?
DR58 has been a huge waste of money. I won’t buy anything Fieldpiece anymore.
Best leak detector on the market if use correct
this is the one that i have and it works super good. i did spend a lot but its worth it Superior AccuTrak VPE-GN PRO
Operator error no questions about it.