The Real Cost of Compressed Air Leaks
Leaks are often treated as a minor maintenance issue. The numbers tell a different story.
A single 3 mm leak at 7 bar can waste thousands of dollars a year in electricity, for one hole. Multiply that across a plant with dozens of fittings, valves, couplings, hoses, and quick-connects, and the losses add up quickly. Leaks also drop system pressure, which forces your compressor to run longer and work harder to maintain setpoint. That drives up wear, maintenance, and energy costs further.
Typical findings on a first leak survey:
- 20 to 30 per cent of total compressed air output wasted through leaks
- 5 to 40 individual leaks identified on a medium-sized plant
- Payback on repairs usually measured in weeks, not years
Fixing leaks is one of the highest-return maintenance activities you can run. The challenge has always been finding them.
What Is Ultrasonic Leak Detection?
When compressed air escapes through a leak, it creates turbulence as it passes through the opening. That turbulence produces sound across a wide frequency range, including ultrasound well above what humans can hear – which is around 20 kHz. Compressed air leaks produce significant sound energy between 20 and 100 kHz, completely inaudible in a noisy plant but easy to detect with the right instrument.
An ultrasonic leak detector uses a directional microphone to pick up these high-frequency signals, audio filters to remove background noise, and sensitivity controls to zero in on the source. The detector shifts the ultrasonic sound down into a frequency range the technician can hear through headphones, allowing them to pinpoint the exact location of each leak, even across a busy factory floor.
Modern ultrasonic devices can also quantify the leak. The instrument measures the intensity of the ultrasonic signal at a known distance and, combined with the system pressure, produces an estimated loss in litres per second or CFM. That quantification lets you prioritise repairs by severity and calculate the annual cost of each leak.
The technology is well established, non-invasive, and does not require shutting down the plant.
Ultrasonic vs Traditional Leak Detection Methods
Soapy Water
The classic method. Spray soapy water on fittings and look for bubbles. It works, but only where you can reach, , only on connections you already suspect, and only when the plant is shut down or depressurised enough to work around. On a large site with thousands of connections, it’s impractical and misses leaks in overhead pipe, inside equipment, and anywhere awkward to access.
Listening For Leaks
Some leaks produce an audible hiss, but in an operating plant the background noise drowns them out completely. Walking around trying to listen for leaks rarely finds anything smaller than a major fitting failure.
Ultrasonic Detection
An ultrasonic leak detector finds leaks from several metres away, works while the plant is running, isolates individual leaks in high-noise environments, and gives a quantifiable reading of severity. It’s the only method that scales to an entire plant in a reasonable time.
For most industrial sites, ultrasonic detection is now the default approach, with soapy water kept as a back-up for confirming a specific leak in close proximity.
Ultrasonic Leak Detection Services
How Our Leak Detection Survey Works
Our process is straightforward and keeps your operation running throughout.
A structured air leak prevention program focuses on identifying leaks, photographing and tagging each location, verifying the severity, and calculating the true annual cost to your operation.
At Mobile Compressed Air, our Ultrasonic Air Leak Prevention Program is designed to deliver exactly that. We begin with pre-survey scoping to understand your site, system size, and access requirements, ensuring the approach suits your operation.
Our technicians then carry out an on-site ultrasonic survey while your plant remains in normal operation, identifying leaks across the compressor room, distribution network, and point-of-use connections. Each leak is photographed, tagged with a unique identifier, and documented with key data including location, pressure, estimated loss, and repair priority.
You’ll receive a detailed report outlining every leak, its severity, and the estimated annual cost, giving you clear visibility of where losses are occurring and where to act first.
Repairs can be completed by our team or managed internally using the report as a guide. Once complete, we conduct a verification survey to confirm all leaks have been addressed and quantify the improvement.
The result is a more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective compressed air system, with reduced ongoing run costs.
What Repairs Typically Involve
Most leaks are simple to fix once they’re found. Common culprits include:
- Worn or incorrectly sized push-fit couplings
- Loose or damaged threaded fittings
- Perished hose at tool drops
- Faulty quick-connect couplings
- Failed pressure regulator and valve seals
- Cracked or porous distribution pipe
Larger leaks and those in high-usage zones are prioritised for the biggest immediate return. Smaller leaks are fixed progressively during scheduled maintenance. A well-run leak management program typically keeps total system losses below 10 per cent, compared with the 20 to 30 per cent seen on untreated sites.
The Benefits of a Leak Detection Program
Running ultrasonic leak detection on a regular cycle is one of the most cost-effective ways to maintain a compressed air system. The benefits are measurable and essential to keeping running costs under control:
- Lower energy costs. Less energy waste means a direct reduction in electricity spend.
- Better system efficiency. Compressors run less, cycle less, and hold pressure more easily, extending their working life.
- Longer equipment life. Reduced load and run-time extends the life of compressors, dryers, filters, and downstream equipment.
- Improved production reliability. Stable system pressure means tools and equipment perform consistently.
- Lower emissions. Every kilowatt saved reduces your operational carbon footprint.
- Better data for decisions. Quantified reports give you real numbers to justify investment and protect profits.
Leak detection is one of the few maintenance activities that pays for itself almost immediately. On most sites, the fixed leaks recover the cost of the survey within weeks.
When to Schedule a Survey
We recommend an ultrasonic leak survey at least once a year as part of a structured compressed air management program. We also recommend additional surveys:
- After major plant changes, pipe extensions, or equipment additions
- When compressors are running longer or more often without an obvious cause
- When tools are underperforming because of pressure drop at the point of use
- Before adding extra capacity, because reducing losses is usually cheaper than buying more compressor
- As part of an energy efficiency or sustainability audit
Industries where we regularly run leak detection programs include manufacturing, food and beverage, defence, mining, and agriculture, each with its own access, safety, and air quality requirements.
Why Mobile Compressed Air
Our leak detection service is part of a complete compressed air offering. We don’t just identify problems. We fix them, verify the results, and help you maintain a reliable, efficient system long-term.
- Authorised Kaeser Compressors distributor for South Australia
- Nearly 40 years of field experience across manufacturing, food and beverage, defence, mining, and agriculture
- Qualified technicians who detect, tag, repair, and verify, all under one team
- Parts stocked at our Salisbury South head office for fast repair turnaround
- Transparent reporting with quantified losses and itemised costs
- Service coverage across Adelaide metro, regional SA, and the Northern Territory
We’re ready to come to see you
If compressed air is critical to your operation, leak detection is one of the fastest ways to reduce running costs and improve reliability. Contact Mobile Compressed Air to book an ultrasonic leak detection survey for your site. We’ll walk you through what’s involved, confirm the scope, and provide a clear quote with everything itemised.
