Hydro-Lok™
Hydrogen Tracer Gas Leak Detector
The ultimate underground water pipe leak detector
Locate hard-to-find leaks in underground water lines, irrigation systems, industrial piping, fuel lines, and residential plumbing — without costly excavation. Using a safe 5% hydrogen / 95% nitrogen tracer gas, Hydro-Lok delivers industry-leading sensitivity at the lowest cost on the market.
Locate underground leaks faster, without the guesswork
Hidden water line leaks waste thousands of gallons, drive up utility costs, damage foundations, and lead to expensive repairs. Hydrogen tracer gas has become one of the most accurate, non-destructive ways to find underground leaks in residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal water systems.
Unlike acoustic leak detection, hydrogen tracer gas can pinpoint leaks even in the conditions that trip up conventional methods: background noise, plastic piping, deep burial depths, saturated soil, or low water pressure. Whether the line is PVC, HDPE, PEX, copper, galvanized steel, ductile iron, or cast iron, Hydro-Lok delivers fast, precise results while minimizing unnecessary excavation.
Companies that pair Hydro-Lok with ultrasonic equipment for a second check before digging have reported location and verification success rates as high as 92%.
Key features
Built for professional leak locators who need precision in the field, every day.
Ultra-sensitive detection
Hydrogen sensing down to the ppm level, catching leaks other methods miss.
Safe, non-flammable tracer
5% hydrogen / 95% nitrogen blend — non-combustible and safe for pressurized lines.
Succeeds where acoustic fails
Purpose-built for buried, plastic, or low-pressure lines that defeat listening equipment.
Second-check verification
Use ahead of excavation to confirm a leak location found by other methods.
Fast response time
Under 1 second response for efficient, methodical ground walking.
Bright digital LCD
High-contrast display readable in direct sunlight and low light alike.
Rugged, field-ready build
Constructed to hold up to daily use on job sites and in the field.
Field-replaceable parts
Swappable H2 sensor and flexible probe keep the unit running with minimal downtime.
Common applications
Hydrogen tracer gas leak detection is used across residential, commercial, municipal, and industrial water systems.
Residential water services
- Main water service lines
- Yard water leaks
- Slab leaks
- Irrigation systems
- Pool plumbing
Commercial facilities
- Office buildings
- Shopping centers
- Apartment complexes
- Hotels
- Schools & hospitals
Municipal water systems
- Water distribution mains
- Service connections
- Transmission pipelines
- Valve installations
- New main pressure testing
Industrial facilities
- Process water piping
- Cooling water systems
- Underground utility piping
- Manufacturing facilities
How Hydro-Lok works
A straightforward, repeatable process for locating buried leaks.
Pressurize the pipe with the 5% hydrogen / 95% nitrogen mix to a safe level that won’t damage piping — pressure affects leak rate.
The tracer gas escapes at the leak and rises straight up through dirt, gravel, asphalt, and even concrete.
How fast the gas reaches the surface depends mostly on burial depth — shorter for shallow pipe, up to overnight for deeper lines.
Slowly walk the pipe route with the Hydro-Lok probe near the ground until a signal is detected by sound or display.
Use the 3 sensitivity levels to broad-search first, then narrow sensitivity to pinpoint the exact leak location.
Under concrete slabs, drill small pilot holes to verify the exact location before committing to excavation.
Advantages over acoustic leak detection
Acoustic equipment still has its place — hydrogen tracer gas often succeeds where it struggles.
Hydro-Lok excels when:
- Plastic pipe doesn’t transmit sound effectively
- Background noise interferes with listening equipment
- Water pressure is too low to generate detectable leak noise
- The leak is extremely small
- The pipe is buried deeply
- Soil conditions absorb leak sound
Best practice
- Many professional leak detection companies run acoustic and hydrogen tracer gas together
- Acoustic narrows the search area quickly on accessible lines
- Hydro-Lok confirms and pinpoints where acoustic alone falls short
- Combined use has produced location/verification success rates up to 92% for some contractors
Technical specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Brand | H2Leak |
| Tracer gas | 5% Hydrogen / 95% Nitrogen |
| Detection sensitivity | 1 × 10⁻⁵ cc/s (H₂/N₂) |
| Response time | < 1 second |
| Display / signal | Progressive ramp with sound signal to leak rate |
| Probe | Flexible sniffer probe |
| Screen | High-contrast digital LCD |
| Power | USB-C charging, 12-hour battery life |
| Operating temperature | 10°C to +50°C |
| Dimensions | Height 55 cm, width 5 cm, depth 4 cm |
| Weight | 0.350 kg |
What’s included
Everything needed to get started locating underground leaks out of the box.
Ready to stop excavating blind?
Talk to H2Leak about adding Hydro-Lok™ to your leak detection toolkit.
Contact H2Leak