Anyone with experience with methane detection and the U10 payload?

Wanderlost · Feb 7, 2024

I can't seem to find much information about use in the field with the U10 methane gas detector by AiLF.
I'm trying to find out if it can be used to scan a wide area like my M3E/M30 doing surveys and mapping.
We have an interest in our county where there are a lot of wells - many of which have been capped and lost over the years. A nearby town suffered a devastating explosion from a leaking unknown well and there is a lot of anxiety about others that may exist.
I sent a request to DJI asking for someone to contact me about this to discuss how it works in the field and if there is an application besides checking gas pipelines but they haven't reached out to speak to me about it.
It would be great if anyone with experience in it's use could point me in the right direction.

Norstar · Feb 10, 2024

I do methane leak detection with a drone. I have done this since 2016. I generally do pipeline right of way patrols, but to do a specific area wouldn’t be a problem. I am located in Alberta. www.currentsurveillance.ca.

Wanderlost · Feb 10, 2024

Norstar said:
I do methane leak detection with a drone. I have done this since 2016. I generally do pipeline right of way patrols, but to do a specific area wouldn’t be a problem. I am located in Alberta. www.currentsurveillance.ca.

Thanks for the link - very informative! Which sensor package do you use for UAV methane detection? The Flir, Falcon, etc.?
What is the width of the corridor that you survey? I'm trying to get a feel for how much overlap would be required for a flight, or if I'm just dreaming that I could do this with a U10 payload for example. While the U10 has great sensitivity (5 PPM at 100m) I can't figure out what the width of it's detection beam might be.

Norstar · Feb 11, 2024

Once you understand gas plumbs or clouds you can determine what you will need for an overlap. The laser beam only covers a small area of about 2-3 cm, but the gas will occupy an area over several meters or more. This is what gives the accuracy of detection. Where are you located?

Wanderlost · Feb 11, 2024

Norstar said:
Once you understand gas plumbs or clouds you can determine what you will need for an overlap. The laser beam only covers a small area of about 2-3 cm, but the gas will occupy an area over several meters or more. This is what gives the accuracy of detection. Where are you located?

The whole Essex County area in Ontario here is covered with capped gas and oil wells. Some have been lost over the years.
The gas seeps are variable from small to some large ones that they couldn't locate the source of until there was an explosion that blew up a portion of the downtown core in Wheatley. Hence my interest in finding a way to scan the area a bit at a time to locate lost wells and other leaks.
Here's a Youtube video of the aftermath:

Norstar · Feb 11, 2024

For those type of gas detections it should be no problem to use a laser detector like the U10 or Falcon and fly a grid pattern eliminating areas like you would in a search and rescue operation. Good luck. If you need a hand let me know.

Wanderlost · Aug 19, 2024

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AMann · Nov 16, 2024

Wanderlost said:
The whole Essex County area in Ontario here is covered with capped gas and oil wells. Some have been lost over the years.
The gas seeps are variable from small to some large ones that they couldn't locate the source of until there was an explosion that blew up a portion of the downtown core in Wheatley. Hence my interest in finding a way to scan the area a bit at a time to locate lost wells and other leaks.
Here's a Youtube video of the aftermath:

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