[Greenbuilding] concrete radiant floor leak

[Chris Green]

Dick Gallien wrote:
>   I heat the building with an uninsulated outdoor woodboiler inside the building and have plenty of heat, but has anyone heard of a way to pinpoint the break, so I can saw through the concrete and splice the dead loop?
Use Infra red thermography.
Basically, you take a picture of the floor with a special infrared 
sensitive video camer or film and the different temperature zones show 
up like they've been painted.
 You can perhaps rent an infra red  camera, or if you have a 35mm film 
camera and can find a supplier who has the proper film available (fresh 
stock, since it doesn't keep well)  and also find a firm to develop the 
film, you can take a photograph of the floor and the hot spot where the 
leak is should show up.
 
That is probably a lot of fuss, bother, and expense, and it probably 
requires special training to be confident of your accuracy, so perhaps 
calling in a professional would be a better idea. And not cost more 
since these cameras are expensive.

You can hire an infra-red thermography service, perhaps by looking 
through your local Yellow Pages or by contacting one of the training 
companies listed below. .

There happens to be a company which offers training in this obscure but 
useful field in Kamloops, B.C. The folks  might be able to direct you to 
any certified graduates of their training programs who live close to you.
The director of this company, Ron Newport, has been in the field since 
the 1970's which is probably when this field started. .

The Institute of Infrared Thermography,  (IRT)
http://www.infraredinstitute.com/
An overview of the IRT
http://www.training-classes.com/course_hierarchy/companies/594_institute_of_infrared_thermography_irt.php

The Academy of Infrared Thermography seems to be his (Newport's) 
original company, and is still in operation.
http://www.infraredtraining.net/

A third company operates out of N. Billerica, MA., which might be nearer 
to you.

Infrared Training Center,
http://www.infraredtraining.com/

There appear to be others like this as well.

I should point out I don't know anyone involved with these companies.

Some of the equipment these folks use is quite sensitive and can detect, 
for example, a dry bearing in some machine long before the bearing has 
heated up enough to be noticeably warmer to the touch than other metal 
around it. So it should be able to detect a leaky radiant tube.

In the meantime, a quick and dirty experiment might just be to quickly 
mop the floor with a damp mop and watch to see which part dries up first...

Cheers,

Chris Green.