Infusion Q&A

Thanks for the great advice you have always given online and am looking forward to your evaluation of Airtechs current product line.

 

I will see if I can borrow a VPE1000 from Airtech. Do not want to buy it (too expensive) and do not want to buy-and-return it for their 15% return fee.

I guess the only option is that they just give me one...

 

Accutrac VPE

I have found the VPE works fine even in noisy environments. However we have broken 3 in a year so they need to be looked after. I dont know what Airtech charges but we now get ours direct from Superior Signal Co the manufacturers. They are $319 US which is half the price that we paid before from NZ or Singapore.

 

I have not had a broken unit yet, unless it has been dropped. Their shock resistance is below par.

 

Talked to the Airtech rep yesterday.

Seemingly the Accutrak VPE 1000 is more sensitive than the VPE. Airtech will deliver me a VPE 1000 on "buy or return" basis, so I can compare.

 

Looking forward to hear about your experience with it .............

 

Herman,

I did not realize we are still nibbling at the cheaper end of the Accutrak product line; The VPE-2000 sells for almost $2000 US, and their VPE-WR is close to $4000. Looks like the WR may have the advantage of frequency adjustment and a broader range; 20-100kHz. I would have a heart attack if I ever dropped one of those on the shop floor

 

I am brainstorming about a test procedure for these units.

-leak test (long range). Stand next to a large project, and see if you can determine wheter the leak is on the left or right side.
-leak test (medium range). Detect leaks from some 2ft (60 cm) from the part, to scan large areas quickly
-leak test (close range). Exact pinpointing of the leak.

Above is what I have.

Next is:

-drop test (4 ft) 120 cm.

 

The proper test is to throw it down with no predujice from shoulder level, at the prices they are charging they should be Nuke proof

In my dreams I get this reponse. But maybe I have a bad unit; Fibre-Glast, Graingers, and Johnstone supply sell this Amprobe as their only ultrasonic in my area. I have not found anyone online with an opinion positive or negative which seems weird.

I will run a fabricated leak tomorrow with my unit try to pick up on subtle earphone related sounds I may have missed, and will let the forum know the results.

 

With the VPE the above is possible. When standing in a boat, halfway, you can hear whether a leak is in front or in the back. This makes pinpointing the leak much easier and faster. Of course there are limits, in the given example (which I tried last tuesday) I still needed to walk around the boat to check the flanges (which did leak...)

 

The first one we got in ,that toy looking plastic tube almost made me send it back,But it proved to be a good and sensitive unit, fairly directional,The ease of use (sensitivity slide) allowed me to teach the crew how to use it quickly and they liked it, I will say this ,after years of working without "electronic ears" it spoiled me and I have not tried another brand.

 

It went the same as I remember. I typically have my pump running within a few feet of the mold, but if I issolate it with a wall of foam it seems not to be an issue. If the pump is running and I do 360 degrees of rotation within 3 meters holding the detector it will recognize the pumps location on any of the three sensitivities. Shielded on the mold side with a block of foam I cannot locate it. In a noisy shop it could be helpful finding big leaks, but even on the highest sensitivity I seem to get no hits or inconsistent hits on smaller leaks.

I found and joined the "compositescentral" forum recently, for those of you doing infusion it has many good threads with helpful advice from Herman and others. I may have to mention the Amprobe there, I would like to find one or more users who loves or hates it. It does not seem like rocket science, but it could be operator error

 

What is the price and a good source for an Amprobe? I would love to do a side-to-side comparison with the 3 units. Any more units that are popular?

 

I hunted around and got the Amprobe for $300-$350 US but that included the transmitter which is not useful for composite work. Still not going to find it much cheaper than $300 bare. My searches show a couple guys like the Inficon Whisper at about $200 US and of course the Accutrak VPE. I have not found any opinions on the expensive Accutraks. Lots of others available (high prices) but I do not see chatter online. If you were in the US I would ship this to you for an opinion but I think UPS ground gets expensive across the Atlantic. I am surprised those brown trucks float with their doors open

 

The end where the probe screws in seems to be a weak area,I sold one off and the guy broke it there, I suspect he got it caught in a fan belt, He was a AC tech.