Need help ASAP - we have a leak in our liner - brand new pool

leilag

0
May 11, 2015
5
Orangevale, CA
I have an Intex 12x24x52 metal frame pool. We bought it May 2015, but due to temps over 100 and lots of issues with leveling the ground, the pool didn't get installed last year. It wasn't even removed from the box.
We started again last week (in much cooler temps) & finally got the ground level & the pool up. (I would like to reiterate this is the first time out of the box - it's brand new) It is about 3" from being full right now. I went out this morning to inspect before adding the last bit of water & starting up the pump, only to discover we have a leak. It is coming from the seam at the corner, at the bottom of the liner. I also see that the pool liner is not making contact with the foam boards under it on this corner, which means the ground is low. The legs are on 18x18x2 cement blocks & they are level within 1/2". Not sure how we ended up with this low spot.
I called Intex & of course their warranty is 90 days & they refuse any kind of help.
I would love some advice from folks knowledgeable in Intex pools. Thanks.
Pool leaks.jpg
pool gap.jpg
 
This or any vinyl pool repair kit works great on leaks. You have to patch it from the inside and it's not easy to do it underwater, but it works. No for the end being off the ground, that's a tough one. Unfortunately, those pools are designed to distribute the weight evenly between the entire bottom with the frame holding up the sides. If you leave it like that, I'm afraid it could put too much strain on the floor and corners over there and cause a failure. Safest thing would be to drain it and level it properly. Sorry for your trouble.

Forgot the link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZZG3HY
 
I know it can be patched, we've done it on past Intex pools. I fear because this is brand new & on a corner seam, that the integrity of the liner is in question. What are the odds that it would split? There are at least 2 leaks so far on this one seam. Now possibly another corner has a tiny leak, I'm watching it.
As to the lifted corner, I think this might be normal? All four corners look like this, with part of the corner lifted. All of our previous pools were round, so a lot of this is new to us.
Thanks!
 
Call Intex. A guy just had his seam blow out and Intex sent him a brand new liner.
 
The fact that there are multiple leaks on a seam is troublesome to me, otherwise patching seems to work fine - I had a leak at set up and the patch is still holding almost 3 years later.

If you read negative reviews of intex pools you will find a number of mentions of bad seams. You might mention that in another call to them, offer to meet halfway nicely and see if they won't send you a new liner for a big discount or something?

If it was me I would try patching but watch it really close - for one thing it is harder to patch on seams and for another if more develop things could become unsafe pretty fast.

As for the corner off the ground I have a round so I don't know either, expect it is normal if all 4 are like that. Look around at images on this site to see if you can tell others look the same.
 
Update: there are 2 leaks on one seam, & another spot on the same seam that looks kind of like lace :mad:. And a leak on the corner seam across from this one. This is a defective liner.
Our very first Intex, 14 years ago, this happened & they replaced it. Unfortunately, we purchased this pool 5/9/15 & it has sat unopened for a year. Called Intex & got a person who barely spoke English, she just kept saying "90 day warranty, so sorry for your upset". I asked for a supervisor & was informed it would take 24-48 hours for a response, & they will say the same thing. I asked for it anyway. Needless to say I was very upset, this was $1200.
Next I called Amazon, which is who we purchased the pool from. They said warranty is 30 days & suggested I contact Intex. I told them Intex's response. At this point they asked if I would hold for a minute. Guy came back & said that he has been authorized to either sell me a patch kit at a discount, or replace the whole thing, no charge. If the hole was anywhere but a seam, I would have patched it & saved that 8500 gallons of water. But on seams, I feel that is dangerous. A few rambunctious teens & we could have a blow out. So we are draining & taking this one down, Amazon has arranged an exchange, we give them this one back & they leave a new one. We are very fortunate that Amazon is such a great company & that we are long time frequent flyers with them.
Lucky me, a supervisor from Intex did call me the next day. Customer service & integrity do not seem to be their strong suits. After I explained the whole situation & that the pool has sat unopened for a year, & I can prove it, she asked if the leaks were actually on the seam, or next to it. On the seams I replied. She then told me so sorry, out of warranty, can't help you, but leaks on the seams are dangerous, we advise you to disassemble the pool. If it were next to the seam we would give you a free patch kit. On the seam is not advisable. We went back & forth a bit about Intex selling a defective product, she told me they can't change their "policy". The rest of the call did not go well, & she was pretty argumentative. I thanked her for adding insult to injury & hung up. Then I thanked God once again for Amazon.
This pool has been nothing but a nightmare from the beginning. If I had it to do over again, I would have just replaced our 16'x48" with the same. This is our last purchase from Intex. I know it cost Amazon more to replace it than it would have cost Intex to just send us a new liner.
Now we pray that the new one works out. Fingers crossed. :swim:
 
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