PHD-4 Portable Sniffer Leak Detectors
Datasheet
PHD-4 Sniffer/ Portable Leak Detector
Features and Benefits
Versatile
- Suitable for many different applications
– Wide range of uses: replaces or can be used with existing methods such as bubble test or
pressure decay
– Able to detect both very small and large leaks
– Can operate either on battery power or connected to a mains power supply
– Displayed messages can be viewed in several languages (English, French, German, Italian)
– Standard Analog and RS232 Serial I/O
Dependable
- Long term operation
– Automatic backflow valve helps prevent helium saturation, ensuring fast recovery time as well
as long life of sensing element.
– CE, CSA/US approved for global standardization
High Sensitivity to Helium
- Can detect very small leaks
– High Sensitivity (2 ppm) to helium, three orders of magnitude better than industry standard,
due to SIPD (proprietary and patented Selective Ion Pump Detection)
– Excellent selectivity for helium allows you to read helium leaks and ignore all other gases
– Helium sensitivity can be adjusted as required to minimize test costs and helium consumption
– Autozero function allows leak detection even in unstable helium background environments
Easy to Use
- No training required
– State-of-the-art microprocessor control allows great simplicity of operation
– Fully automatic start-up with auto-diagnostics
– Ready for test in less than 3 minutes
– Intuitive display screen
– Visual and audio indicators (standard headphone connection)
– No tuning required
Truly Portable
- Compact and light
– The PHD-4 weighs only 2,6 Kg (5.7 lbs) including the battery
– Its compact size allows it to be easily carried anywhere
– Its ergonomic design allows comfortable use for extended periods
The PHD-4 is a portable compact leak detector which includes a battery for autonomous use in the field and uses helium as a tracer gas. It allows detection of very small leaks in objects where a slight helium pressure has been introduced.
Principle of operation
The PHD-4 principle of operation is based on an Agilent patented technology, Selective Ion Pump Detection (SIPD).
The sensor incorporates a quartz capillary tube maintained under high vacuum by an ion pump. The quartz tube is heated with a platinum filament and becomes permeable to helium. As the partial pressure of helium in the ion pump increases, so does the current drawn by the ion pump, proportional to the pressure, indicating the helium concentration present in the test probe of the PHD-4.
Features and Benefits
Versatile
- Suitable for many different applications
– Wide range of uses: replaces or can be used with existing methods such as bubble test or
pressure decay
– Able to detect both very small and large leaks
– Can operate either on battery power or connected to a mains power supply
– Displayed messages can be viewed in several languages (English, French, German, Italian)
– Standard Analog and RS232 Serial I/O
Dependable
- Long term operation
– Automatic backflow valve helps prevent helium saturation, ensuring fast recovery time as well
as long life of sensing element.
– CE, CSA/US approved for global standardization
High Sensitivity to Helium
- Can detect very small leaks
– High Sensitivity (2 ppm) to helium, three orders of magnitude better than industry standard,
due to SIPD (proprietary and patented Selective Ion Pump Detection)
– Excellent selectivity for helium allows you to read helium leaks and ignore all other gases
– Helium sensitivity can be adjusted as required to minimize test costs and helium consumption
– Autozero function allows leak detection even in unstable helium background environments
Easy to Use
- No training required
– State-of-the-art microprocessor control allows great simplicity of operation
– Fully automatic start-up with auto-diagnostics
– Ready for test in less than 3 minutes
– Intuitive display screen
– Visual and audio indicators (standard headphone connection)
– No tuning required
Truly Portable
- Compact and light
– The PHD-4 weighs only 2,6 Kg (5.7 lbs) including the battery
– Its compact size allows it to be easily carried anywhere
– Its ergonomic design allows comfortable use for extended periods
Applications
Large Vessels and Bioreactors
The PHD-4 offers unmatched accuracy and repeatability, presenting a unique solution
that is cost effective and very well suited for the leak range specifications of this
application. Biotech and pharmaceutical industries used to rely on pressure decay
and bubble test methods for finding leaks in their large bioreactors. The PHD-4 has
established a new standard of quality, significantly increasing production yields.
• Fermenters • Sterilizers • Freeze Dryers
Underground Pipes and Storage Tanks
The portability and light weight of the PHD-4 plays a major role in this application.
Underground pipes and storage tanks (UST) are slightly pressurized with helium
which, due to its high mobility, can escape through small leaks and migrate to the
surface, where it can be easily detected by the PHD-4. The accuracy, portability
and light weight of this unit greatly simplifies this process, particularly in difficult
construction sites or rough terrain.
• Gas distribution lines • Under and above ground containers and storage tanks
• Telecommunication and high voltage underground cables
Water Heating and Cooling Pipes
The PHD-4 allows leak location without interruption of the normal operation, by mixing
helium with the water in the circuit. Until recently, the precise and rapid location of
leaks in buried pipes has been very difficult. In the event of a leak, helium desorbs
from the fluid and diffuses to the surface, where it is easily detected. Leaks in pipeline
systems such as district heating systems, drinking or chilled water systems and
steam pipe networks incur high costs due to losses and corrosion damage.
• Heater exchangers and steam condensation lines • Water pipes
• Radiant heating systems
Airplane Fuel Tanks and Lines
PHD-4 technology is approved worldwide by airplane manufacturers and operators as
the standard for the location of leaks in aircraft fuel tanks and in oxygen distribution
lines. Agilent works with an exclusive distributor for aircraft applications. Please
contact your local Agilent office for more information.
• Fuel tanks • Oxygen distribution lines
Other Applications
The PHD-4 is in daily use in many other applications. Its portability makes it ideal for
factory and field maintenance. Here is a partial list of other applications:
• Components and systems for the Chemical and Petrochemical Industries
• Compressed air components and delivery systems
• Process gas delivery lines in Semiconductor fabrication industry
