Bacharach H-10PM Owner's Manual

H-10PM

Congratulations! You have just
purchased the most versatile, high
performance service leak detector
available in the industry today. It
will detect refrigerants with a sen­sitivity to effectively pinpoint both
small and large leaks quickly and
efficiently.
We encourage your review of this
manual to assure satisfac­tory performance and a long
service life.

Refrigerant
Leak Detector

WARNING: This deviceis not to be
used in any application that is beyond its
intended purpose or beyond the scope of its
specifications. For details on appropriate
use, refer to the rest of this manual. Before
risking equipment damage or personal
injury, contact Bacharach if you are unsure
of the validity of a particular combustion
analyzer application.

How the H-10PM Works

The sensor in the H-10PM uses positive
ion emission technology, commonly known
as a heated diode. It is very sensitive to only
halon substances (refrigerants) making this
product highly resistive to false alarming,
while retaining superior sensitivity for pin­pointing the most difficult to find refriger­ant leaks.
A pump inside the unit draws air through
the sensor. Any presence of halogen gases
(such as refrigerants) causes an ionized
current to flow that sounds a speaker
and illuminates a neon light in the probe.
Sensitivity to pinpoint both large and small
leaks can be controlled by setting the three
position Leak Size switch.

Battery
Charge

Light

Calibration

Reference

Bottle

2

Charger

Plug

Power

Switch

Low Battery

Indicator

Leak Size

Switch

Adjustment (turn

to increase heat)

Manual Balance

Panel Operating Controls

Heater

clockwise

Mode Switch

MANUAL /

AUTO

Sensor

Heater Adjust

LEDs

Control

Before you use the unit the first time . . .

1. Remove the sticky-label disc from the
cap of the Calibration Reference Bottle.
This disc can be reused to help seal the
vial when the leak detector is not in use,
or it can be discarded. DO NOT attempt
to unscrew the cap, you may damage the
bottle! It is filled with enough refrigerant
to last approximately six months.

2. With the Power switch in the OFF posi­tion, charge the internal battery using the
furnished wall adapter. Charge time is
8–10 hours or, until the red Full Charge
LED turns green.

Adjusting the Sensitivity

Set the Leak Size switch as follows:
SMALL switch position is the highest sen­sitivity. The unit will indicate 0.1 ounce or
greater leak rates and is used for fluorine
based gases like R134a and SF6. This posi­tion also assures highest repeatability for
locating 0.5 ounce or greater R134a leaks
(per SAE Std. J1627 moving probe test con­ditions). It must always be used to verify
performance and calibration when using the
Calibration Reference Bottle.
MEDIUM switch position is used for
chlorine and chlorine based gases like R12,
R22, R123, etc. and will indicate a 0.1
ounce per year or greater leak rate. This
position supports finding a 0.5 ounce or
greater leak during the moving probe test as
defined in SAE J1627. It is also useful for
locating larger R134a leaks of one ounce or
greater.
LARGE switch position is used to zero
in on large leaks of any refrigerant. If a
large leak is suspected, switch unit to its
Manual mode. Adjust the Manual Balance
control for 2-3 ticks per second and slowly

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approach the test equipment/area. Adjust
the Manual Balance control counterclock­wise as necessary to maintain 2-3 ticks
per second. As you approach the vehicle
or equipment, the gas concentration will
increase, causing an alarm condition. Each
time an alarm occurs, readjust the Manual
Balance control. Continue this process until
the leak is located. Blowing out the test site
with shop air may enable you to locate the
leak more quickly.

NOTE: After the large leak is located and
repaired, blow out the area again with shop air,
set the unit on the small leak sensitivity and
double check equipment for small leaks.

Operating Instructions

1. Slide mode switch to AUTO position.

2. Slide power switch to ON position and
sensitivity switch to SMALL position.

3. Check Low Battery LED. If it glows red,
the battery needs charging, or you may
operate the unit from a 12VDC source, or
with optional AC Adapter of the correct
voltage and current.

4. Check for sufficient airflow by pointing
the probe tip toward the floor, covering
it with your finger, then releasing your
finger. If proper flow exists, the red ball
should noticeably rise up into the probe
when you uncover the probe tip. Note
that the actual height and final resting
position of the red ball are not important.

If the airflow ball does not rise:

- Tap the probe lightly to ensure the

ball is not sticking.

- Check the filter in the probe tip, as

described in the Maintenance
section.
If the flow is still insufficient, then the

unit should be forwarded for repair to the
nearest Authorized Service Center.

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5. Allow two minutes for the sensor to
warm up, after which the flashing probe
light and sound indicator will idle at 2-3
clicks per second.

6. Test operation by quickly touching the
top of the calibration reference bottle
(make sure sticky label is removed). The
unit should respond with a rapid flash
rate and sound verifying correct opera­tion and optimum sensitivity for detecting
all refrigerant leaks. During product life,
if unit does not respond correctly, see
“Heater Adjustment” section.

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WARNING: Personal Injury Hazard
Do not use the H-10PM in an explosive or com­bustible atmosphere. The ambient atmosphere is
drawn through the probe and through the sensor,
which operates at approximately 1472°F (800°C).
The resulting hot mixture of air and combustible
gas could explode.

YOU’RE READY TO FIND THE LEAK !

(You have a choice of two modes)

Auto Mode

This mode is preferred because the unit
effectively auto zeros to block out back­ground levels of refrigerants and changes
in background contamination. This greatly
reduces and/or eliminates false alarms
while retaining sensitivity to quickly locate
small or medium size leaks. Pinpointing
leaks in this mode requires continuous
probe movement. (We recommend 2 inches
per second as specified in SAE J1627
and J1628). If the probe is held station­ary over the leak the unit will zero out the
leak, going into the idle 2-3 ticks/second
condition. Briefly moving the probe away
from the leak, for 1-2 seconds, permits the
unit to re-establish sensitivity. Returning
to the leak site, the unit will alarm again.
Continuing this procedure will reliably and
repeatedly pinpoint the leak with each pass
over the leak site.
If a large leak is present, the auto zero cir­cuit may reduce sensitivity to an unaccept­able level to find small and medium sized
leaks. If this condition exists, the manual
mode will enable you to pinpoint the large
leak. The manual mode is also an effec­tive means to determine if a large leak of
any refrigerant exists prior to searching for
leaks (see “Adjusting the Sensitivity”).

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