After what seems weeks of trying to find a considerable leak I think I finally won. Now I'm not sure how I fix it. It is the bottom of the skimmer bucket. I had stopped putting water in the pool after reading a few tips from another place. I was hopeful that once the water dropped below the skimmer line that it would stop dropping and the skimmer bucket would continue. To my surprise tonight I looked at the bucket and it was empty as could be, except for a little bit in the bottom. It looked weird so I grabbed my leak detector and dropped some in there. The weirdness I saw was water draining around the outside of the bucket, pretty much flush with the bottom; almost like the bottom is popping off the rest of the assembly. It doesn't look like a natural place for the bucket to split at. I believe its two pieces but that is further up. Short of putting some pool putty down there as a temporary fix, whats the best way to tackle this? I have a feeling I am going to have to pull some decking out to get to it and replace. I have attached pictures just taken. Hard to see the leak but its just to the right of the pipe hole in the bottom. Well, I'll attach the pictures if I can figure out how to delete the ones from a previous post that are using up my quota. for the mean time I think the post should do.
Leak Found! Now what?
- Thread starter tpabrad
- Start date
Sounds like a mess if you need to saw out the deck and all. I can't use photos very well here on my phone either My photo bucket doesn't work
Figured out how to delete the old ones. Here they are. Looking at skimmer assemblies I didn't account for the fact that the opening to the pool is part of it, so it seems like major work. Hoping some pool putty along the bottom edge will get me by cause its looking like a pro to fix this one 
Did it freeze? You could try cutting up pvc pipe and saving the shavings. Prime the area with pvc cleaner. Then mix the shavings with pvc cement and apply very quickly. (worked for me but was lower pressure area).
3M 5200 marine sealant. Seals underwater. Worth a shot before major construction. Beware...that stuff is no joke. Once hard, it will not come off without major work.
To banditig, no it didn't freeze, luckily freezing isn't usually an issue in central florida Its almost like something shifted and the bottom of the assembly started separating from it. We recently bought the place and I've been working through issues. A few weeks ago I finally noticed that the water level was dropping way too fast. I hit the pool with leak detector and found a decent one around one of the returns. It was newer than the other so it seemed like an obvious point to check. After monitoring for a day or two it didn't really help much. I hit every crack and small hole around the pool after that with no luck. I also pulled both lights out and checked in the niche (believe thats the right term) with no issues there either. I suspected a pipe leading to the skimmer under the deck but was having problems proving it. So I stopped putting water in and turned the valve off for the skimmer once it got low. Today was the first day the water line dropped just below the skimmer inlet. In no time the whole bucket was empty except for a little bit of water in the bottom.
redfishray, thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to see if I can find some. After thinking about pool putty I feel like that wouldn't adhere to the skimmer surface. I may be able to force some in the crack if there is one but it probably wouldn't last long. Based on some other posts I found on here through Google, others have paid up to 1200 for replacement of the assembly. This was a couple years ago and I'm still skimming through the posts. Thats a tough pill to swallow since I already have resurfacing on the things to do. It needs it bad and hoping I can get it done during tax return season.
Its almost like something shifted and the bottom of the assembly started separating from it. We recently bought the place and I've been working through issues. A few weeks ago I finally noticed that the water level was dropping way too fast. I hit the pool with leak detector and found a decent one around one of the returns. It was newer than the other so it seemed like an obvious point to check. After monitoring for a day or two it didn't really help much. I hit every crack and small hole around the pool after that with no luck. I also pulled both lights out and checked in the niche (believe thats the right term) with no issues there either. I suspected a pipe leading to the skimmer under the deck but was having problems proving it. So I stopped putting water in and turned the valve off for the skimmer once it got low. Today was the first day the water line dropped just below the skimmer inlet. In no time the whole bucket was empty except for a little bit of water in the bottom. redfishray, thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to see if I can find some. After thinking about pool putty I feel like that wouldn't adhere to the skimmer surface. I may be able to force some in the crack if there is one but it probably wouldn't last long. Based on some other posts I found on here through Google, others have paid up to 1200 for replacement of the assembly. This was a couple years ago and I'm still skimming through the posts. Thats a tough pill to swallow since I already have resurfacing on the things to do. It needs it bad and hoping I can get it done during tax return season.
+1 on 3M 5200 marine sealant. Great stuff, sticks to anything and watertight. Get the fast cure version.
If I'm looking correct a chunk is missing around skimmer right at pool level? Maybe it's just dirt Hard to tell. I'm no expert. But if it leaks below skimmer bottom connection your digging it up I'm afraid
Definitely a last resort option but if the putty deeps not work they do make pvc welders basically a soldering iron for pvc some are like glue guns google it you will see products from tens to hundreds of dollars. I have never tried it but would if it might avoid plaster and deck work.
I see that now, might be worth trying, it's up to you. I hope you reply back so I know if it works! Thanks!
If your looking at the black area at the bottom of the picture its a piece of electrical tape. I was reaching in to mark the line so I could watch it against another i put on the side of the pool. When I put the tape on I realized my eyes were fooling me and it was completely empty! Had a feeling about the whole thing. I'm hoping I can seal up the area thats leaking to get me by until after the holidays. We will see tomorrow.
I wish I could swim for the holidays! I wonder if you can draw from main drain if you have one? Putting a smaller pipe in skimmer temporarily? Or don't want you to damage your equipment with too much loss to your pump
I have a port on the wall for the vacuum and I have an insert in it so it stays open and can pull in water. I have other problems with the amount of water coming in vs going out which I discussed in length on another thread so right now the main drain is off. This leak sidetracked me completely on those issues; never ending.
Just figured I'd report back to those who responded. The marine sealant appears to have done the trick and I'm not losing water from that spot anymore. I'll have to keep an eye on it though as I feel it will eventually open back up again. Thanks for the suggestion and help here!
When you get bids on the re-surfacing ask about replacing the skimmer as well. You could probably do it yourself after you cut away the concrete deck around the skimmer if you want.
I thought about doing it myself. My concerns are tying it back into the side of the pool properly. Will see how it goes once I get more information on how much it will cost me. It will likely be easier to do it all together.