We were recently hired to detect a nitrogen leak in a cold store using the infrared thermal imaging camera. The purpose of this cool room was to slow the process of fruit ripening.

How does the system work? They pump nitrogen into the coolroom which then pushes oxygen out to reduce the speed of the produce in the room ripening. These nitrogen levels are monitored daily to ensure there isn’t a drop in the amount of nitrogen required at all times.

Taking into account the oxygen is getting pushed out of the room at a very low temperature, we inspected the external walls from the outside (from an enclosed walkway area) , which allowed us to clearly see where the oxygen was escaping. The reason the infrared camera could pick up the leak so quickly, was because the cold air escaping was blowing onto a much warmer external wall.

It turns out some of the roof bracings which extended from the walkway roof across to the cool room roof were not sealed at the top of the coolstore external wall.

If you’ve been wondering how to detect a nitrogen leak without cutting holes in walls, or aren’t sure if there’s a breach in the pipe work feeding the room, give us a call. We have the right infrared cameras for the job, and can produce a report if required which would include all infrared images etc.