Water Loss?

[jwp]

I live in Florida and the temperature has cooled down a bit (for Florida). Where I am we're having low 40° nights and high 60° days.

It seems that we're losing up to two inches of water per night lately. Is this normal?

I've found no visible leaks anywhere.

 

[boston62]

I live in Florida also 2 " a day is not normal, I would start looking for leak. I lose about 1/4" a day..did you try the bucket test?

 

[jwp]

I live in Florida also 2 " a day is not normal, I would start looking for leak. I lose about 1/4" a day..did you try the bucket test?

I've done the bucket test in the past but not recently. I've looked for leaks and have not found anything.

I will do the bucket test today, thanks.

FYI...we have solar panels on the roof. Maybe that could add to the water loss...evaporation, etc.?

 

[boston62]

Someone else will reply shortly they are great here, but 2" of water loss is to much, might be underground, solar panels would not account for that unless there is a leak in it.

 

[duraleigh]

You have a leak. anything in excess of 1/4" daily is too much.

 

[ps0303]

2" water loss is not right. Leaks can be in spots not visible, underground. You can do the bucket test and then use some dye to test around your returns and skimmer. Best to get in the pool to test around the returns.

 

[jwp]

2" water loss is not right. Leaks can be in spots not visible, underground. You can do the bucket test and then use some dye to test around your returns and skimmer. Best to get in the pool to test around the returns.

Do you mean that water could be leaking out around the fittings?

 

[duraleigh]

It could be leaking anywhere, but it is leaking. There is a tendency to assume the worst and think it is the underground piping. It can be that but it VERY seldom is.

It is very difficult to diagnose over the internet and, if you can't find it on your own, you will likely need to call a professional.

 

[jwp]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'm doing the bucket test right now. I'll post the results as soon as I have them.

 

[ps0303]

What I have seen is a portion of the finish around one of your returns is missing allowing water to freely escape. I'm in Tampa and after the last rain we had here my pool was over the line where it should be. I am still way too high as I haven't dumped any water out of it. So you should be in the same boat and not be losing water.

A dye test while the pump is off would be the next thing to do if the bucket test shows water loss.

 

[jwp]

What I have seen is a portion of the finish around one of your returns is missing allowing water to freely escape. I'm in Tampa and after the last rain we had here my pool was over the line where it should be. I am still way too high as I haven't dumped any water out of it. So you should be in the same boat and not be losing water.

A dye test while the pump is off would be the next thing to do if the bucket test shows water loss.

Thanks for the help.

After completing the bucket test over night...8pm to 8am...the pool lost just over an inch. So, it seems I have a leak somewhere.

Is this an expensive repair?

I'm feeling a bit frustrated as we have now had a Trouble Free Pool for a few months now due to this website. Now, I've got a leaking pool and don't have a lot of extra funds.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JVTrain]

How much it will cost to repair depends on where the leak is at. To try to figure that out on your own will take time. What you need to do is isolate different parts of your pool and continue the bucket test while doing so. Was your pump running overnight during this most recent test?

What I would do is perform the bucket test, but before doing so, turn off the pumping system and plug all your return and suction lines at the pool. That is, cap off returns and bottom skimmer holes with screw in or expandable plugs. What you are attempting to do is isolate the pool from the pumping system. Then do the bucket test. If you lose no water, you know the leak is in your plumbing, not the pool. If you do lose water, you know it's in the pool or skimmer area, not the plumbing. It's much like any troubleshooting procedure. Isolate different parts of the problem system until you narrow down the issue.

 

[jwp]

How much it will cost to repair depends on where the leak is at. To try to figure that out on your own will take time. What you need to do is isolate different parts of your pool and continue the bucket test while doing so. Was your pump running overnight during this most recent test?

What I would do is perform the bucket test, but before doing so, turn off the pumping system and plug all your return and suction lines at the pool. That is, cap off returns and bottom skimmer holes with screw in or expandable plugs. What you are attempting to do is isolate the pool from the pumping system. Then do the bucket test. If you lose no water, you know the leak is in your plumbing, not the pool. If you do lose water, you know it's in the pool or skimmer area, not the plumbing. It's much like any troubleshooting procedure. Isolate different parts of the problem system until you narrow down the issue.

Awesome advice. Thank you.

I performed the test while the pump was not running due to our hot tub emptying in to the pool (gravity) and solar panels, etc. The more stable water level is after and before the pump turns on.

I will start to isolate the areas as you stated and will post results as they come in. Thanks again.

 

[ps0303]

If the spa levels out with the pool water when the pump is off, you have a check valve that has failed. Now that's not the cause of your pool water level drop but you do have another issue to look at. As for the pool leak, if you don't see water on the equipment pad, then you need to do a dye test on the skimmer with the pump off. If you don't see any leak there, dye will usually get sucked into the leaking area, then it's onto the returns. Again, it's really best to dye test these while in the pool. Also look for obvious things like missing pool finish around the returns.

A professional company to test the pool for leaks will probably cost you around $250. They can test everything including the underground pipes. In some cases it's worth it for the professionals to do.

 

[jwp]

ps0303...Thanks for the advice. Yesterday, I walked into the pump room and it was an inch or two deep in water. I could not find a single leaking point in all of the above ground piping. The pool water level was low enough to cause the skimmer to start sucking air.

So, I shut the Skimmer valve Off and the pressure returned to normal and the water level still dropped about two inches pretty quickly.

I think it's time to call a professional.

 

[jwp]

Update...

I'm confused. Yesterday, as posted above, we noticed a lot of water in the pump room. The low water level was causing the skimmer to suck air. We shut the skimmer valve off, swept the pool room of all water and watched the pressure go back to normal.

Afterwards, with only returns and the drain running, we noticed the water level continue to fall. However, the water has not fallen any lower than the bottom lip of the skimmer. This means that all night we did not lose a drop of water. The water is still above all f the returns.

I looked in the skimmer and, even though the water in the pool is just low enough to not go into the Skimmer, the skimmer is holding the water that is in it...down where the skimmer bucket/net is...all the water is there to the top.

I just don't know what to think.

 

[duraleigh]

Well, I am confused as well. I thought you were dealing with a leak. Is that the case?

 

[JVTrain]

That is odd. I'm confused as well. With all the water in your pump room, I would say that you have a leak in the equipment area but you ran the pump all night with no water loss once it got to the bottom of the skimmer. That would indicate a leak at the skimmer mouth area, not a leak at the pumping station...

 

[PAGirl]

Could it be both?

 

[ps0303]

So the pump ran all might and no water loss and no water on the pump room floor. Water is mow below the lip of the skimmer as well. So if you leave the water levels where they are and turn all equipment off for 24 hours, what happens to the level and do you get water back on the floor?

Not sure about the water on floor, sounds like a leak in there some where, but I would suspect the skimmer has a leak in the wall or maybe where it is glued to the pipe underground. Again, a dye test would help confirm this.