Brand new DIY IGP has a leak - strategies

[jguy]

I've been cautiously adding water to my new DIY inground vinyl pool. Water level is still 12" below the skimmer and returns (which have not been gasketed/cut-out yet). Last night (cool night here in Texas about 45degF) the pool lost about 1/4" of water. I'm no expert but I believe there's a leak. A bit frustrating after all this work! Only options for location are: gaskets around steps, wet niche or drains. My main concern is that I damaged something during backfill.

Ideas on where to start?

 

[dmanb2b]

Welcome to TFP

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm sure some folks more experienced than me will chime in soon, but I would start with a bucket test to confirm the leak and then move on to finding the source, if applicable.

Here is a helpful link

pool-school/leak_detection

 

[Bama Rambler]

Start with a bucket test. It's easily possible for 1/4" loss to be evaporation even in cool weather. There are times when I lose more water on cool days than I do on hot days.

Dman and I were typing at the same time from the same page!

 

[MajorDIYer]

The liner will have shrunk a bit and tightened up as it cooled overnight. If you were measuring the water against it at any point that will have changed. 1/4" could be due to evaporation too. Anyway, even if it is a leak it's a very minor thing to fix in comparison to building a whole pool. It looks great, congratulations you're almost there!

 

[jguy]

OK. I'll try the bucket test just to be sure. I worry that the leak is in the main drain plumbing. I was very careful with my connections but I did use the flex pipe (kanaflex) that came with the kit for some plumbing Possibly a big mistake, especially now that I hear talk about termites eating it.

 

[jguy]

Got home to find the pool had lost a full inch since this morning. All the seams in the liner look ok (from the surface anyway), so I took a 5ft length of rebar and found a few selective spot where I could get it down to the concrete collar (and avoid directly hitting the plumbing). It came up dry in several locations but was slightly damp right by the wet niche. 20 minutes of digging and I found the conduit at the top of the niche. The joint at the first bend was loose (despite glue) and dripping slowly. Yay!

Rather than try to reglue the joint and concerned about the plumbing skills of the electrician on the rest of the conduit, I picked up some pool putty to seal the the cable from inside the niche.

I've re-set the level indicator (and bucket) and will check in the AM.

I don't understand why the wet niches don't come with a seal for the cable entry :?: :?: :?:

 

[JasonLion]

The conduit is supposed to be wet and not sealed so you can pull the cable out easily should you need to replace the fixture someday. It is normally much easier to seal the conduit than to make a good seal cable that is easy to remove later.

 

[jguy]

Unfortunately the pool is still loosing a little over 1" each day. I now have the pump up and running (electrician had run the green wire too close to the centrifigal switch and it had jammed it). Pool is a little over half full and with the pump pulling from the main drain the leak has stopped (or at least slowed a lot). I guess that means the leak is in the suction plumbing.

:?: :?: Is there a chance that fix-a-leak or similar product will fix the leak? :?: :?: I'm worried I'll damage the liner if I empty the pool.

Part of me wants to just plug the main drains, fill the pool and start swimming and worry about it later.

 

[zea3]

Try plugging the main drain and see if it stops the leak. Do not use fix a leak! It will plug things you do not want plugged, including your filter! It will be much easier to properly fix the leak now than to wait and have to dig up concrete.