5 Warning Signs Your Condenser Has an Air Inleakage Problem

Air inleakage rarely announces itself with an alarm. It shows up gradually, in trends operators may not connect to a single root cause. Here are five signs worth investigating.

1. Rising Condenser Backpressure

A gradual upward trend in backpressure at similar load and cooling water conditions is one of the clearest indicators of increasing non-condensable gas in the shell.

2. Vacuum Pump or SJAE Running Harder

If your vacuum pumps or steam jet air ejectors are cycling more frequently, drawing more steam, or struggling to hold vacuum, they're compensating for a growing air load.

3. Elevated Dissolved Oxygen

Rising dissolved oxygen in condensate is a strong signal of air ingress, since incoming air brings oxygen with it directly into the cycle.

4. Unexplained Heat Rate Drift

When heat rate creeps upward without an obvious equipment cause, air inleakage should be on the short list of suspects, particularly after outages, valve work, or expansion joint replacements.

5. Increased Corrosion in the Condensate System

Persistent air ingress accelerates corrosion in condensate piping and feedwater heaters, showing up as more frequent tube failures or water chemistry excursions over time.

If any of these sound familiar, a helium tracer gas survey can identify the exact leak points in a single outage window. StrongForce performs air inleakage testing across the power generation and industrial sectors — reach us at 833-735-3257 or info@StrongForceInc.com.