Pool leak

[bajagirl]

Hi everybody - I'm hoping for some guidance with my pool leak. This is what I have done so far.
skimmer drain closed, bottom drain open, all returns open, pump on - water into pool off. The water level dropped about 2" below the skimmer in about 2 days.

I epoxied around the skimmer thinking this was the leaking area - did exactly the same as about and got the same results.

next - filled pool, closed bottom drain, skimmer drain, turned pump off, plugged all returns (4), water into pool off. very little water loss - (evaporation) so I'm assuming leak not in pool but piping

so I filled the pool, pump off, closed everything but one return, and lost water.

am I crazy to think that I can isolate a leak one return at a time??

I have no idea how the return lines run - - and my pool is in Baja - no leak detection company available -
any suggestion? comments? advice? offers to come down and fix??? :-D

 

[Isaac-1]

Ok, I have to ask how did you "close off" the drain and the skimmer?

Now for a couple of things to try to narrow it down. Using the bucket test (placing a bucket filled with water level with the surface of the pool on a step) determine if your loss rate is higher with the pump running or pump turned off. (the water in the bucket will evaporate at the same rate as the pool so any relative change will be accounted for as water loss.

Suction side pool leaks tend to only leak if the pump is off (also air will tend to show up in the system, but not always as there can be cases where the leak seals itself under suction), leaks in the pool will leak at a constant rate regardless of pump being on or off, and pressure side plumbing leaks will tend to be faster when the pump is running and those lines are in active use (pressurized).

Ike

 

[bajagirl]

I closed the skimmer and bottom drain at the pipes just before the pump.

 

[jblizzle]

Well that does not isolate the pipes from the pool. They could still be leaking anywhere between the valve and the pool. If you want to eliminate them as a leak source, you have to seal them up inside the pool.

 

[bajagirl]

Hi Jason - sorry I put the black rubber plugs in all the returns that are in the pool -

 

[jblizzle]

Ah. Well, unless you have separate valves for each return, they are all tied together underground, so you can not learn anything by leaving 1 return line open and close the rest.

 

[bajagirl]

everything open skimmer and bottom drain lines, all pool returns and pump is on - with bucket on steps - I'll post results

that is the conclusion I came up with too jblizzle, but needed confirmation thanks -

 

[bajagirl]

pump on for 6 hours - lost 1" of water - pump off - lost 4" - and will continue to go down slowly for about another 2"

 

[jblizzle]

how long was the pump off to lose 4"?

If it is losing it faster with the pump off, then that points to a leak on the suction side ... although I am surprised you would not see air being drawn into the pump while it is one.

 

[bajagirl]

I can refill the pool to the original water line late afternoon and by morning it will be down the whole 6" about 2" below the skimmer opening to the pool- then it stops loosing water

 

[bajagirl]

One thing I didn't mention is that I had a stair rail installed and I'm now wondering if they could of hit the return pipe? The water stops leaking out just above the returns

 

[swimcmp]

when did you start losing water. Before the handrail or after. Possible but not likely they drilled to deep with the hole for the pool end of the handrail. Do you have a light? Where does the water stop at on it if so? There are alot of possibilities as to where a pool leaks. We had a pool leaked for two years before we found it. A 90 on the main drain suction line cracked under ground the was enough hydrostatic pressure that it would push water out and not suck air.

 

[bajagirl]

I receive a water bill every 6 months - Jan-Jun - July Dec - the Jan Jun bill was up - and the rail was installed August - I have done a dye test around where the rail was installed in the pool - and the water level stops way before the rail install in the pool - no light in pool. Next I will let the water seek it's own level. Then perhaps do some test digging to see if I run into wet soil -

 

[bajagirl]

YEAHHHHHH looks like we found the leak -it's the skimmer pipe -

 

[marty]

Cool, how did you find it?

 

[bajagirl]

dig dig dig or should I say dug dug dug

 

[Darby_s]

If it was the skimmer line why would the water line drop 2" below the skimmer?

 

[Isaac-1]

The water can flow backwards through the inlets to the level where the leak is, or through the main drain if they are plumbed together.