August 29, 2025
Locating Leaks: Helium Tracer Gas Testing
for Emergencies and Turnarounds
When Everything Stops
First comes a pressure drop. Then product escapes—onto the ground or into the air. Left unchecked, these issues can cause equipment damage, safety risks, and environmental harm. Whether you’re dealing with a suspected leak in an exchanger or trying to bring a vacuum system back online, the urgency is the same: find the issue fast, fix it even faster.
Your team needs answers — not theories. That’s where Alliance’s helium tracer gas testing comes in.
When You Need Us Most — Planned or Not
Many of our clients find us in two key situations:
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Unplanned emergencies — A system crash, suspected exchanger leak, or unexplained pressure drop sends your team scrambling for answers fast.
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Planned turnarounds or shutdowns — You're proactively validating equipment such as exchangers, vessels, piping, and instrumentation before bringing them back online.
The need is the same in both cases: leak testing that’s fast, reliable, and sensitive enough to catch what others miss.
When you call, we respond. For emergency situations, we can have a crew on-site within 12 hours. For planned outages, we’re ready to quote, schedule, and support testing as part of your overall outage plan — from weeks to months out.
What Is Helium Tracer Gas Testing?
Helium tracer gas testing is a non-destructive method used to locate and measure even the smallest cracks or holes in equipment. By introducing helium — a stable, inert gas — into the system and using a helium mass spectrometer, we identify leak paths with unmatched accuracy. Our instruments can detect leaks as small as 5 x 10⁻⁸ atm-cc/sec.
To put that into perspective, that’s like:
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Detecting a leak smaller than a pinhole
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Finding a crack thinner than a strand of hair
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Spotting a flaw smaller than a grain of salt — divided a thousand times
This level of sensitivity is ideal for critical systems in petrochemical, energy, and industrial settings.
How to Find a Leak
There are two primary test methods, based on whether the system is in or out of service:
Detector Probe Method (most common)
The detector-probe helium leak test is conducted by pressurizing a component with helium gas and then scanning the component by “sniffing” for the presence of helium with the detector probe. The mass spectrometer is monitored to verify the presence of helium leakage.
Tracer Probe Method
The tracer-probe test is conducted by placing the component under a vacuum and connecting it to the mass spectrometer. The tracer probe is then used to “spray” helium around the component under test. If a leak is present, the helium will be drawn into the part due to the differential pressure. The mass spectrometer is monitored to verify the presence of helium leakage.
Note: While some systems can be tested during operation, exchangers and pressure vessels typically require shutdown to ensure accurate results.
Why Helium Compared to Other NDT Methods?
Helium offers key advantages over traditional Non-Destructive Tests (NDT) methods like X-ray, PT (penetrant testing), UT (ultrasonic), MFE (magnetic flux leakage), and MT (magnetic particle testing):
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Inert and non-toxic – Won’t react with hydrocarbons or pose personnel hazards
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Non-condensable – Ideal for systems that can’t tolerate moisture or contamination
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Ultra-small molecule size – Flows through micro-cracks that water or dye can’t reach
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Minimal atmospheric background – Easy to detect even trace amounts
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Safe and non-flammable – Unlike hydrogen blends or pressurized gases
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Cost-effective – Compared to shutdowns, lost product, or premature tear-downs
Helium allows us to find problems without risking additional damage or downtime.
Why Test Proactively?
Leaks that go undetected aren’t just annoying — they’re expensive. Product loss, safety hazards, environmental liability, and unplanned downtime all add up. And in critical systems, even a small leak can snowball into a full-blown operational risk.
Proactive helium testing helps you:
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Validate repairs before re-commissioning
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Avoid repeat outages from missed defects
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Protect against emissions or safety violations
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Reduce risk of unplanned shutdowns or catastrophic failures
In short, it’s a small step that prevents big problems.
Why Choose Alliance for Locating a Leak
Alliance’s process is grounded in ASME Section V, Article 10, ensuring we follow best practices for helium mass spectrometer leak testing.
Unlike vendors who offer helium testing as a secondary service, we have a dedicated team solely focused on tracer gas testing. That means:
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Faster response times — Mobilization typically begins within 2–4 hours, with on-site arrival within 12 hours for emergency jobs
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Deeper technical expertise & comprehensive planning
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Purpose-built equipment maintained to the highest standards
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Smoother coordination on jobsites during outages and emergency repairs
You’re not getting generalists. You’re getting a specialized helium testing team that knows your environment, your schedule constraints, and your goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We can align with your planning window or mobilize quickly in unplanned situations. Mobilization typically begins within 2–4 hours, and we aim to arrive on-site within 12 hours when needed.
A field report is provided immediately after testing. Final, formal documentation is emailed shortly after the job is complete.
Yes. We follow ASME Section V, Article 10 and can send our procedures ahead of time or while on-site.
Test times vary based on system size and complexity. We also accommodate your facility's access and safety protocols.
We don’t perform repairs, but we can remain on-site at your request to retest any areas after repair work is completed.
Just plant air, nitrogen, and 110V power. Our crews are otherwise fully self-sufficient.