Water level down several inches in a few hours?

[caliking]

I left for work in the morning, and when I came home in the evening, noticed that the water level was down several inches. The pump runs from 12pm-5pm daily, and I know that the pool was full when I left in the morning.

The pool water level was just below the skimmers when I returned. The skimmer pot for the pump motor was nearly empty. Couldn't run the the pump to see if there was an external leak since the water level was too low. Also, I can't tell if there are any wet or boggy patches in the yard, since it has been raining all day and the yard is a soggy, squishy mess to begin with.

I'm filling the pool now, so i can try to trouble shoot during daylight tomorrow. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[ajw22]

Pool School - Leak Detection

Please Read This BEFORE You Post and put details of your pool in your signature. It will help us help you.

 

[Jimrahbe]

c,

To drop that much, in that short of period of time, it sounds like a plumbing leak that should be obvious..

Once you get the pool filled back up,and it is light enough to see, turn on the pump, and I suspect you will be able to spot the problem.

The very first thing I would check, assuming you have a multiport,or backwash valve, is that you did not leave it open.

Also make sure that water is not coming out your backwash pipe when you are in the filter position.

Tanks,

Jim R.

 

[caliking]

c,

To drop that much, in that short of period of time, it sounds like a plumbing leak that should be obvious..

Once you get the pool filled back up,and it is light enough to see, turn on the pump, and I suspect you will be able to spot the problem.

The very first thing I would check, assuming you have a multiport,or backwash valve, is that you did not leave it open.

Also make sure that water is not coming out your backwash pipe when you are in the filter position.

Tanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for the recs. I am hoping it is a plumbing leak that should be readily seen. The pool is filled now, so I will tackle this in the morning.

I did check the multiport first, but that was in the correct position. I replaced the spider gasket a year or so back, because there was steady flow out of the backwash pipe even when the multiport was set to "filter". I don't recall seeing such a drastic decrease in water level when that original 10+ yr spider gasket wore out though.

Also, the water level seemed to drop below the skimmers and stay there. The pump lost prime, and my fingers are crossed that I don't have other issues because the pump was running dry for some time.

 

[caliking]

So, the front housing volute cracked and spews water when the pump runs.

When searching for a replacement, I found a few different part numbers, which to my eye all look the same. I'll start a new thread re: replacement.

As always, much thanks for the help.