bucket test inconclusive?!?!

[nlindelldc]

I suspect that I might have a very slow leak, but I can't be sure.

The first time I did the bucket test, over 2 days: bucket lost 3/4", pool lost 1 1/4"

Second time I did the bucket test, again over 2 days: bucket lost 3/4", pool lost right at 1"

Am I in denial?

 

[pooldv]

LOL! The good news is that if you do have a leak it is a small one. No soggy patches around the pool? Give it a week and see what happens, might be a bit more definitive.

 

[Patrick_B]

If in doubt try again. It sounds like a good possibility of error somewhere with that much variance.

 

[nlindelldc]

Okay, so I'm going to do the test again but try for a longer test (ie, four days). I filled the pool extra full so I can go that long (hopefully) without having to add. I marked my line inside the bucket which seems to be easier to do because the water level goesn't fluctuate with wind and waves as much. The line outside the bucket is always trickier due to wind and waves the line can fluctuate half an inch or so. I decided to watch the fluctuation for several minutes and ended up marking the line at the LOWEST I saw the water level go. In my mind, the water level can show higher with wind and waves but I wouldn't think it would go much lower than that (the lowest point) if it was windier, etc. So I suppose the key will be when I take my official measurement to make sure I do it the same way again (lowest point I see the level go).

Thoughts?

 

[pooldv]

Good plan! Let's see what happens.

 

[nlindelldc]

Okay, it too me awhile to do it because of heavy rains, kids swimming, etc. But I did the bucket test for 3 days (was gonna do 4 but the water level got low quicker than I thought)

So the bucket dropped an inch and the pool dropped 2 inches! But here's the kicker--I usually only run my pump for an hour or two a day and I manually dose with liquid chlorine. I did this for the first two of my bucket tests which were inconclusive. But I wanted to bump up my CYA a bit and had some Trichlor pucks on hand, so I filled my puck feeder and began running the pump 8+ hours a day to chlorinate. It seems this made all of the difference as my pool level dropped big time.

So my thoughts are that the leak has to be somewhere between the pool and the equipment, or perhaps the equipment itself. Thoughts?

 

[borjis]

I was just going to say, try the bucket test WITHOUT running the pump during that time.

Then run it again...then you should know for sure.

 

[jblizzle]

If it drops faster with the pump on, that would likely mean the leak is on the pressure side of the pump.

 

[pooldv]

Yep, the leak should be somewhere between the pump and the pool returns. An inch of water in a 15x30 pool is about 300 gallons. If there were a leak at the equipment pad you would probably notice it.

 

[nlindelldc]

thanks guys, that just confirms what I have been thinking. Leak on the pressure side.