Lost a foot of water, no prime

[bobdobalina]

Ok. This is actually about my fountain, which is plumbed just like a pool. It's 6*8ish, about 3' deep, 1.5" PVC, has a Whisperflo pump and a brominator etc etc. Pump is 30 feet away and 8 feet above the fountain.

It has always had a small problem pulling or holding prime; sometimes (before I replaced the old pump with the 1HP Whisperflo) I would have to hook a hose to the return in the bottom and plug the other drain to essentially force feed the pump. But after I would get it running, it would stay running.

Last week it stopped (pump still ran, but no circulation, no prime) and today as I got around to fixing it, I couldn't get it to prime at all. Then I noticed that the autofill was on pretty much nonstop. So I killed the water, came back 2h later and the water level dropped a foot. After another 2h there's maybe 6" of water left in the bottom.

My hypothesis is now that I used to have a small leak and now I have a very big one that is probably going to be expensive to find.

That about right?

Also if there are any pros in CT, feel free to message me.

 

[Texas Splash]

So you have lost the ability to prime, and are also losing water. When you say, "So I killed the water, came back 2h later and the water level dropped a foot.", are you saying you turned-off the pump so water was not circulating? It's starting to sound like there's a leak on your suction side - somewhere from one of the suctions spots (main drain(s) and/or skimmer(s)) up to the pump. When the system is on and pulling water, the system could be sucking-in air which makes the pump loose prime if it's too bad - like trying to drink through a broken straw. But when the system shuts down, water can then leak from than same spot. If you have valves before the pump that allow you to isolate different suction lines (main drain versus skimmer), you might be able to by-pass the bad line until you can get it inspected/repaired.

 

[AftonJeeper]

Check the fountain for cracks before you dig anything up. Look for wet/soft spots between the fountain and pump.

 

[bobdobalina]

When I say I killed the water, I mean that I stopped the autofill. Yes, I turned off the pump as well, so no water was circulating. Despite this, the fountain essentially drained until it was dry.


I think that also means that the leak is below the level of the fountain's drain (or in the base of the fountain, indeed)-- somewhere in the return plumbing but well beneath the pump.

Thanks folks.

 

[raynesci]

You can hire people to do pressure tests for pools. I would imagine plumbing is plumbing, regardless of a fountain or pool, so you might want to contact a pool repair company to do a pressure test. However, if you turn off the pump completely and the entire fountain drains, you may have a bigger leak than just the plumbing. Maybe take the earlier suggestion and look for wet or soft spots first.