What Cambrian Leak Detection does, and why the name

What work does Cambrian Leak Detection take on?

Cambrian Leak Detection takes on four kinds of leak investigation in Wales, covering the water pipes inside a property, the central heating, the buried supply pipe and, for home insurance claims, trace and access.

Water pipe leak detection

Hidden leaks on water pipes inside the floors, walls and ceilings are followed back along the hot or cold pipework until the search narrows to one spot.

Central heating leak detection

A sealed heating system that keeps needing its pressure topped up is checked for leaks in central heating pipes, across radiator, boiler, underfloor and buried runs.

Underground supply pipe leak detection

Buried underground supply pipe leaks are pinpointed on the length between the water company's part and the house, which Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy leave to the owner.

Trace and access leak detection

For an escape of water claim on home insurance, trace and access searches locate the hidden leak and record its position, the access needed and photographs for the insurer.

How are leaks located without needless damage?

Leaks are located without needless damage by narrowing the search with acoustic listening, thermal imaging, tracer gas, pressure testing and moisture mapping, without breaking into a wall or floor first.

Acoustic listening

Acoustic listening relies on the noise water makes as it escapes under pressure from a pipe: a listening stick placed on the pipework, or a ground microphone set down above the pipe's route, brings that noise to the listener, and it is loudest nearest the leak.

Thermal imaging

Thermal imaging maps the temperature of whatever surface the camera faces: hot water escaping from a heating, hot water or underfloor heating pipe shows as a warm area on the floor or wall over it, and evaporating damp can read cooler than the surface around it.

Tracer gas

For a tracer gas test the pipe is drained and closed off, then charged with forming gas, 95% nitrogen and 5% hydrogen; wherever the pipe is broken the gas finds a way out and climbs to the surface, where a detector passed over the floor or ground picks up the strongest trace.

Pressure testing

In a pressure test, a sealed-off system or section is brought up to a set pressure and left for a fixed time with an eye on the gauge; if the reading falls, there is normally a leak somewhere in that section.

Moisture mapping

Moisture mapping pieces together the extent of damp from many readings: a moisture meter is used point by point across whichever surface the leak has wetted, and the spread of readings shows how far the wet area reaches and where it is dampest.

No one method suits every pipe, so Cambrian Leak Detection chooses by the pipe and the leak: a pressure test or a meter check first shows that water is being lost, and the others then narrow it to one spot. From the first signs to who repairs each pipe, the home page explains how leak detection works across Wales.

Where does the name Cambrian come from?

The name Cambrian comes from Cambria, the Latinised form of Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales.

Collins English Dictionary gives Cambria as the Medieval Latin name for Wales, and the word is first recorded in the writing of Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century. As an adjective, Cambrian means of or relating to Wales.

Sources: Collins English Dictionary, Cambria and Cambrian; Wikipedia, Cambria.

Which parts of the country does the business cover?

The business covers mainland Wales: 173 postcode districts from the south coast to the north coast, with pages for Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Wrexham and Bridgend.

Cambrian Leak Detection works on the mainland only. Anglesey, with Holy Island, is not covered, and its postcode districts, LL58 to LL78, are left out. Those five places are the biggest post towns in the coverage by 2011 Census population, and every one of them has a page to itself. The towns page lists every covered town and district under the CF, SA, NP, LL, CH, SY and LD postcode areas.