Light niche leak?

[schoolpoolboy]

On a 15yr old IG, Typically is main drain plumbing encased in gunite/concrete? I know the skimmer and about first 3' or 4' is encased(I have that part exposed) I just wondered if that is the case all the way down to both my main drains?

If so?, hypothetically, If pool was to drop/sink, wouldn't main drain plumbing drop with it?

Has anybody ever heard of main drain plumbing(from drains to skimmer, not from skimmer to equip) leaking do to pool sinking?

Also, Whats the best way to test light nook for leak?

 

[JasonLion]

Re: Light nook leak?

Main drains often develop leaks at some point. Most commonly this is due to a badly glued joint or failed hydrostatic valve. The pipes are typically run just below the pool shell and only encased in concrete in areas where concrete is being used for some other reason. On a gunite pool the is frequently the whole way along the bottom and up the side, while on a vinyl pool that might only be near the main drain fitting and again where the collar is poured.

Ground settling can put stress on pipes, which can cause them to leak, but that is fairly rare in practice.

You can use a dye test to search for leaks in a light niche, or allow the pool to drain until it stops draining and see if it stops at the high of the niche, or just below the niche. Doing a dye test is tricky and it is easy to get false negatives, especially on slow leaks. To do a dye test you release small amounts of dye around places which might be leaking and watch to see if the dye is drawn into the supposed leak. The water needs to be very still for this to work, the dye has to be released very close to the leak, and the leak needs to be fast enough to create a visible current.

 

[schoolpoolboy]

Re: Light nook leak?

Thanks for the fast response Jason,

Yeah I tried using food coloring, but results were inconclusive. I removed fixture,water was very calm but, I was hanging over edge and maybe wasn't precise enough, especially if its a slow leak?

Heres the thing, after digging around skimmer I found a badly broken fitting just outside of gunite at skimmer. I repaired and everything looked great, but after 24hrs the hole i dug began to fill up with H2O, Is there a chance that said water is just residual from the huge leak? The native soil is clay so.... It just seems like it barely trickling in, until i dig right close to gunite, separating clay from shell? and then its as if i just broke a dam, Not a huge amount of water? but definitely a release of water takes place?
Plus I never did find any visible saturated area anywhere on property. Could all that water just be trapped in the soil?