The Leak Detector
SkillsOne chats to Travis Rudowski, the director of Aquasearch, a leak detection company. He takes us on the job to show us just what's involved in his work, and how they find water leaks without needlessly damaging property.
About Leak Detectors:
The job of the Leak Detector is to locate water leaks in a basic way, meaning no destruction to the building, no damage, no removing of tiles and no digging to find the location of a leak. It saves people money, saves damage to properties, saves time for the plumbers.
Travis started off as a plumber and became dissatisfied with causing damage to properties just to find leaks in pipes.
With Leak Detectors, plumbers can let property owners know what's involved with a particular job rather than 'ripping out a whole bathroom' to find a problem. Travis sourced the technical electronic equipment and taught himself the skills involved with being a Leak Detector.
Mainly relying on his plumbing knowledge, Travis uses a radio frequency to locate the position of the pipes in a wall or floor. An electronic box is connect onto a pipe which sends a frequency into the pipe and Travis monitors a receiver which picks up signal in the ground or wall (high and low). Then he marks up a map of the pipes with a crayon and then he sends nitrogen gas down a pipe and uses an utrasonic sound device to listen to the gas escaping thus determining the severity and location of the leak.
Apartment blocks from the 60's and 70's have to the most 'dodgy' pipes for inspection. And Travis supplies his service to up to 350 plumbing companies.