Update: I should have stated that the plan was to repair the leak and continuously monitor the pressure to detect any future leaks. A recent decision was made to replace the heatpump. Installer indicates a pressure range of 20-120 PSI.
I would like to measure the pressure to determine a refrigerant leak in the heat pump. In the summer, a leak manifests itself as low pressure and causes the evaporator to freeze up.
I am considering adding a bluetooth pressure transducer, however at $200 it seems expensive and I am wondering if it would be simpler (more reliable and less expensive) to use a wired transducer.
The plan is to request that the AC tech install the fitting on the high side of the garage to measure pressure to detect drops in pressure (leaks).
Question: Have pressure measurements been used to detect leaks and shutdown the system to prevent icing? If yes, is there any reason why this will not work by measuring pressure on the high side (in my garage and out of the elements)?
Any lesson-learned are appreciated.
Best Answer
Holy cow if you are willing to spend this much get a quality leak detector not a cheeeeep one they are crap. Adding a gauge to connect to your system creates a loss in freon every time It is connected! I have quality detectors that cost around this much that can find a leak were bubble solution will not. I think my oldest one is an Inficon TEK-Mate. I have better models that cost way more, and have tried some internet crap at 1/2 the price that could not find a leak that a bubble test solution was blowing huge bubbles.