Pool Leaking, rapidly, please help!!!

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OK,

Sorry did not update sooner. Still on a learning curve :lol:

Looks like the problem is with light fixture. I let the pool leak/evaporate for the last 2 weeks and now it is down to the bottem part of light fixture and holding. No other apparant sources of leakage. I went to dissemble the light fixture and encountered a stripped phillips screw. Only one screw securing outside of light fixture. I took photos, but have not uploaded them yet, hope they will help. In the meantime, I am having a buddy look at the stripped screw, any suggestions?

Have not bought the submersible pump to circulate chemicals yet due to lack of funds, but still up there on my list of things to buy. Pool still is not close to going green. I'll get in the water and kick some butt before that happens. Please advise, and thank you!!!
 
OK, today I removed light fixture, and looking into the niche, I again see nothing obvious. Pool level has not dropped any further. I see what may be a small crack around the edge of the niche and will do a dye test and hope to finally post some photos.
 
Even a small crack around the edge can be a pretty big leak source. Another place that can be a leak source is the conduit in the back of the light niche where the power cord goes out the back and up to the deck box. If the conduit is cracked, you wont see it. They make a rubber plug you can use to stop up the conduit. You take out the light fixture and run the cord thru the rubber plug and work the rubber into the conduit. The messy way to do it is to put some epoxy putty around the light cord where it exits the back of hte light niche. Of course, this is a little hard to get out if you ever need to replace the light.
If you think there is a crack around the edge of the niche housing, get some 2 part epoxy putty and seall the inside edges of the niche.
Your dye test at this point may not show a lot. The water pressure has probably equalized enough that no more water will be pulled though even a decent size crack.
 
BK, thanks for that info, I hope to follow up on your suggestions today. Yesterday I plunged into the freezing cold water (by Phoenix standards, mind you :wink: ) to remove light fixture, and am less inclined to do so today, but it's inevitable.

Before I do that I have another question about pool chemicals. The pool temp is well below 60 degrees and I will be manually vacuuming pool and getting all the leaves and grit out today. The pool has about 2' of water left in it. Is it still important I upkeep chemicals and if so do you think a 1/6 HP submersible pump would do the job of circulating?

Thanks again to all and have a very Happy New Year!
 
My friends,

I finally uploaded some photos of my pool, but do not know how to post them here. According to FAQ, I need to do a little more work.

In the meantime, with the help of a knowlegable friend, we determined that again it is very likely the light fixture is the source of the problem and that it is very likely that the leak is possibly a combination of unsealed conduit around power cord, and deterioration around the light fixture niche itself.
My plan at this point is to add a couple inches of water, do another dye test, drain the pool a few inches, seal leaks with silicon and ???(whatever anyone can suggest), refill pool a few inches and test again....

Still working on fotos, please let me know if anyone has any further suggestions. Thanks!!!!
 
> Still working on fotos, please let me know if anyone has any further suggestions.

334n6ut.jpg
 
Roger that on the photos, thanks Susa!

OK, here's another roadblock I've run into and can't seem to find a clear answer: What is the best way to drain a few inches of water from my pool??

My understanding of my options is this:

1. I can use a submersible pump
2. ???

Thanks!
 
don't use kodakgallery.com or post the actual picture link, not thumbnail address

simplest way to preserve 'normal' size it to upload to tinypic.com and it even gives you a link with the IMG tag (2nd link of the 4 links after upload) which you can copy/paste here.
 

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Bought a sub pump and drained about 3" of water to just below the light fixture niche. Will let it dry out a day or so and then try applying some epoxy or silicon, filling pool up a little bit to dye test, and proceed.....

In the meantime, I started cleaning up leaves and debris.

Could really use the manual vacuum for this job. Is it possible to prime pool pump and get vacuum working??

Thanks!
 
> Is it possible to prime pool pump and get vacuum working??

Don't see you having a valve in the picture to turn on just the bottom drain and shut off the other lines. I have that option on my pool for just this purpose and can pump out the entire pool from the bottom line.

You can rent a pump from your local supply store for a day or you could simply visit your local harbor freight store and pickup this or this
 
I've finally sealed most of the possible leaks. I sanded, caulked, cleaned, etc. In the process of sanding I uncovered a few tears in the fiberglass lining. Seems my "pool expert" used plaster to cover them, although I don't think that is the source of my leak. I'm still convinced the source of leak is around the light housing which I have hopefully taken care of. What is the best way to deal with the 2 to 3" horizontal tears in the fiberglass?
Thank you for all replies?
 
I find it interesting that there is no comprehensive answer for how to spot repair a fiberglass pool liner tear. I've perused all the data on this site and no one seems to have or wants to commit to a definitive answer. I guess it's just the nature of the beast. :twisted: My game plan is then to consult my local pool store and/or just wing it with some form of epoxy and paint/gel coat. All comments appreciated!
 
BelLa's Pond said:
I find it interesting that there is no comprehensive answer for how to spot repair a fiberglass pool liner tear. I've perused all the data on this site and no one seems to have or wants to commit to a definitive answer. I guess it's just the nature of the beast. :twisted: My game plan is then to consult my local pool store and/or just wing it with some form of epoxy and paint/gel coat. All comments appreciated!
Click to expand...

Not too many of us are on the forum at 0100. Might hold off a bit and see if someone can help you find an answer during the daytime when most folks are awake and on the forum. :wink:
 
It sounds like your situation is pretty rare. I don't know how you would spot a previous repair unless it would be to look for a change in texture of the surface. If they redid the whole pool surface in the past it would be very hard to tell where the old damage was. I hope you are able to find some satisfactory solutions to your problem. A marine or even an automotive body shop (maybe one that speciallizes in Corovettes since they have a lot of fiberglass body components) may be able to help with the basics of fiberglass repair. I know there are forums for boat and car fans and they might be a source of information as well.

Let us know what you find out and next time something like this comes up we will have a little info to share.
 
I need a picture of the tear.

Upload the pic to a Photobucket album. Each pic will offer you 4 choices of code. Copy and paste the 4th option into the message box, one per line. White space between them is good for in line descriptions and as a separator.

Scott
 
Not too many of us are on the forum at 0100. Might hold off a bit and see if someone can help you find an answer during the daytime when most folks are awake and on the forum.
Click to expand...
If you read this thread, you will see I'm a very patient person, not expecting instant answers, but thanks for reminding me that patience is a virtue and very definitely the solution to my pool problems! :wink:

Guamguy Thanks for suggesting a marine shop, I have thought of it but simply don't have the funds, and, there aren't too many of them here in Phoenix. I do have a buddy who has worked on Corvettes, so maybe he can help me. Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!

Lea I know about previous repair because when I bought the house/pool it was in a state of disrepair and did have tears in the same spots that I'm working on. And you are exactly right about the change in texture, that's why I was resanding them in hopes of resealing and repainting. Thanks for your input!

Scott, thanks for your valuable input. I did read a post where you provided a link for some fiberglass mesh, maybe that's what I need. My problem is that I need to get this done within the next 2 weeks and would like to figure out where I can source product locally, do it myself and do it for around $100. I know you get what you pay for, but spending a lot of money on this is simply not an option.
Pics are on their way!!!
 

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