An AFR below 55 after sizing points toward a slow “line-fill” leak. A “Line-Fill” leak occurs when there is a small leak that cannot be visually identified during an inspection cycle.
The lines typically have some remaining pressure and fluid within them so that when the system begins misting, it kicks on immediately instead of waiting to pressurize. With a small leak such as these, fluid drains from the circuit between mist cycles that then must be refilled, tripping Error 3 on the next mist. These are notoriously hard to reproduce or see directly, since tubing can expand under pressure and closes off the leak path while you’re testing on site.
The way to address this problem is to adjust the parameters of the system so that it may run for some time until getting an Error 3 again. At this point, the leak must be large enough where it is visible or obvious and can be easily repaired.
Steps:
1. Determine if it’s a slow leak.
Compare the AFR recorded when Error 3 first occurred to the AFR taken after several manual mist cycles run some time apart. If the AFR trends down or stabilizes without an obvious visible leak, that’s consistent with a slow line-fill leak rather than a large, fixable leak.
2. Adjust TOL to create a wider working window.
Set TOL to 100 in the SETUP menu. This widens the acceptable variance so the unit can continue operating while the leak grows large enough to become identifiable, rather than repeatedly halting on Error 3.
3. Test the System.
Assuming the leak as a small one and the AFR is now within the tolerance window for the system, it should be running fine now without an Error 3. Run a Manual Mist (UP + DOWN Arrows) to confirm. If an Error 3 is still triggering after changing the TOL, refer to Article 2.