UEi Test Instruments CD100A Combustible Gas Leak Detector

I am an HVAC service tech. This combustible gas detector is a professional quality tool, it works exceedingly well and is unbelievably sensitive. It’s sold at a number of HVAC parts houses. It detects basically any combustible gas at levels at least as low as 50 ppm (parts per million).It is not auto-zeroing which I actually prefer. That means it doesn’t automatically desensitize itself with exposure to combustible gas. You can adjust the sensitivity yourself as needed meaning you can decrease sensitivity as the area is saturated with gas and you zero in on the leak and at ANY point you can crank the sensitivity back up without having to wait a long time or restart the detector & move back outside. It also means when you initially start it up you have to adjust it to the required baseline. Give it a minute or two to warm up & adjust it to a few clicks per second.I’ve used this detector at least 8 or 10 times so far. It pick up instantly with no delay & recovers very quickly. On both accounts it is MUCH better than my previous detector. It is also INSANELY sensitive and I mean CRAZY sensitive. A funny experiment, it’s so sensitive that it will detect methane when you put it close to anyone’s rear end and that’s when they are not passing gas.The point being, don’t let the extreme sensitivity of this detector drive you crazy. It WILL pick up on the most insanely small “leaks”. I would suggest confirming all leaks found by this detector with a bubble solution. Not because of the reliability of the detector but because the leak could be so small as to be insignificant. Gas lines typically hold no more than 2-3 PSI of gas (on your side of the gas meter). They are tested & passed at 10 PSI. By their nature, gas lines are not exceptionally tight. Most gas lines, if pumped up to 10 PSI & left for a week, will have lost a good amount of pressure. My point being, if you find a leak with the gas detector but it won’t show up with a bubble solution PROPERLY ADMINISTERED it’s too small to worry about. You could search the entire gas line on a small old house & probably find over a dozen “leaks” that small and it could still pass the pressure test.Here’s another pointer, sometimes it’s normal to smell a little gas. What? That can’t be right? Your gas meter has a pressure relief on it. It will, from time to time, purge a little gas, especially when gas appliances are turning on & off. Just because you smell gas when you walk by the meter doesn’t mean there’s a problem. When your gas furnace shuts off the gas valve closes and the gas inside the distributor equalizes to the ambient pressure, but it’s inside an enclosed tube so not every last bit gets blown out of the flue by the inducer motor. Everything shuts down and over minutes that tiny amount of gas slowly dissipates. If you pull the door off the burner compartment of your furnace at the right time you’ll smell gas. This detector will pick up on it. It’ll hit big right at the orifices where the gas comes out. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.What I’m getting at is, be safe with gas but understand just how sensitive this detector is and if you’re not sure what is or isn’t normal call a professional. The professional would be more than happy to have this detector in his arsenal of tools.

This device has 2 primary uses: finding a leak, and insuring that there is no leaking gas! It will give you the confidence in both functions. I just replaced a tank with a tankless water heater and had to re-plumb the propane line. Afterwards there was a faint oder of gas, but extensive soap testing gave no hint of which of 20 joints might be leaking, so I purchased this.Within seconds of using it, a minute leak was located down to which side if the joint had the leak. After removing the valve from the fitting, adding more tape and reassembling, the tester assured me that there was no more leaking gas anywhere along the system. Gas leaks can be dangerous and, unlike electrical systems, there are no safety circuit breakers or GFCIs to trip.This is a very sensitive instrument, easy to use, nothing complicated to understand or intrepid. Just turn it on with a rotating click rate thumb wheel, wait 10 seconds for the sensor to stabilize, adjust the thumb wheel for about 2 clicks per second, and move the long probe around the pipe joints listening for a noticeable increase in the clicking rate - more gas, faster click rate. The red LED in the tip gives some light into the space you are probing, I'm just not understanding why the LED isn't white, but it works fine.

When I received the detector, I tried to turn the switch on, and it only spun, did not click on or off. Also, there were no instructions that come with the device, just a bubble pack cardboard advertising a few features. Since I need this, and it has been rated higher, I sent this one back to Amazon for a refund, and ordered a new one. I am hoping that I just received the bad 1 in 1,000 on the first go-around, and the next one works as advertised.[Update - 1 week later] I did receive the new detector, and it was in proper working order. The unit had a battery already installed, and also included instructions. This makes me conclude that the first unit I received was someone else's return, and they simply put it back on the shelf.Now, as far as the operation and my observations using this unit, it appears to be pretty good. I was able to identify the location of a propane leak in my RV, which I verified using the soapy water test to see where the bubbles formed. I was able to disassemble the connection, add the proper gas (yellow Teflon) tape, and determine the leak was no longer present. Using the wand detector, I quickly verified the integrity of the rest of the connections.I did notice, it is so sensitive, that when I hold the sniffer tip in my hand, my personal gases make the detector tick faster. Also, just breathing on the tip does the same thing. Hold it near some plastics also has the same affect. Overall, I am changing the rating from 1 to 4 stars. This is for the equipment. Amazon disappointed me by sending me a used item, but they were very fast with crediting my account for the return, which UPS picked up from my house the next day, at no cost to me.

10/10 would buy again

Exactly as described. Quick shipping. Works great. Definitely recommend this meter.

I just have had this product for a couple weeks now. I started smelling a gas smell in the basement, so I purchased this and it came quickly in 2 days. When I started using testing for gas, it started beeping more and more, until I found the leak at the manifold. I then got soap and water , and sprayed it to the suspect location and sure enough it started to bubble. I called the gas company and they came and changed the manifold and now no more smell. The only thing that would have probably made this better would be a numerical readout, but those ones probably cost thousands of dollars and also a small case for it. For the price, this is a must for a homeowner to have. I also own a RV and this can help determine if I have a propane leak. Awesome product.

Works awesome

Excellent tester. I use it on my camper propain system. Easy to use and very sensitive. Highly recommended.