Case Studies & Testimonials
"Water Loss Solutions is very pleased to be using the Ferret Leak Detection system. It's an invaluable piece of our equipment and has helped us locate water leaks numerous times over the last 3 years. The principles behind the system are genius, the equipment itself is well engineered and in experienced hands can be impressively accurate.
Clients are always interested when they see the Ferret in action and staggered by its pinpoint accuracy. The inbuilt flow meter is very helpful in itself when looking for leaks over large areas, being able to eliminate lines from the investigation can save a huge amount of time. If you are running a Leak Detection Company, then you need to have a Ferret system."
The leak location challenge
Locating leaks on supply pipes and service lines is a real challenge. Leaks rarely show up at the surface. There’s often no logic to the pipe route. The pipe might have been laid around buried infrastructure, or with other services that start and finish in different locations. Pipe depth can vary over a wide range. In some instances pipes will run under building slabs or extensions. Excavations through decorative finishes such as flooring, block paving and coloured tarmac can be expensive to reinstate. The advent of plastic pipe, leaks from which tend to make little or no noise, has made established acoustic location techniques unreliable.
Keyhole surgery
Leaks are located so accurately with the Ferret that only one small excavation is required to expose the leak. Excavation and reinstatement costs are kept to a minimum, with the added benefit of reduced time on site.
Half inch black alkathene supply pipe, approximately 35m long, route unknown and undetectable.
Ferret used to pinpoint exact location of leak and map line of pipe under flower bed and paved area.
Chalk mark-up showing line of plastic pipe and sonde peak line at 90 degrees to it. No leak noise audible at ground surface.
Single 40x40cm (16"x16") paving slab removed to expose 2 litre/minute leak from brass fitting.
Location, spot repair and full reinstatement completed in under 2 hours.
Small leaks
Customers with very small leaks, equivalent to a dripping tap, still demand a solution. These problem jobs make no noise and often only appear when the full mains pressure is applied to the pipe. The Ferret can be operated at mains pressure to locate these tiny pinhole leaks. It is virtually impossible to locate this type of leak with acoustic and gas detection systems.
18m long 3/4" lead supply pipe.
Mark up showing leak location between house and garage.
Leak located just downstream of side branch, which the Ferret proved was not leaking.
Pinhole leak in old repair.
Dig deep
Sometimes you have to dig deep and throw well back to get a leak fixed!
Accurate leak location is key to keeping time on site and costs down when the pipe is deep.
3/4" black alkathene supply pipe, approximately 42m long. Ferret introduced to leaking pipe through meter box using Adapter.
Mark up on front lawn of property.
It's down there somewhere!
The leak right in the middle of the hole.
Commercial leaks
The Ferret works in pipes with internal diameters up to 45mm, such as 50mm OD blue mdpe pipe and 2” Class C black alkathene pipe with an OD of 60mm.