Got a small leak...

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M

mrramsey

0
Jul 19, 2014
169
Hudson Ohio
Hey fellow TFPers, I’ve got a small problem. I my 4 year old pool seems to have sprung a leak. It is a very slow leak since I haven’t detected any significant loss. I know there is a leak though due to some standing water in the yard. Recently we had a stretch of heat on the mid 90’s with no rainfall and still had standing water.

Tried looking at the liner with goggles today and couldn’t see any visible areas of concern. Any advice would be appreciated!

Mike
 
I've had three pinholes in our liner over the last two years. Each of them I only spotted due to the reflective foam I put under the pool on setup. I happened to spot the last two on a bright sunny day just "inspecting" the pool liner with a mask and snorkel. I suspected a leak as we had water loss, but it was a so little it could also have been evaporation.

I've tried the dye in a syringe game, and even when I knew where the leak was, it was so small that the dye barely got sucked into the hole so it could be hit or miss.

Because you have pooling water, the dye may work well for you. I used red food colouring which was visible enough for my water depth.

First I would check all plumbing to any obvious leaks. The I would try some dye and with the pump turned off and water perfectly still (if possible) check around returns and skimmers--basically anywhere there is an entry to the liner. Watch for the dye to be "sucked" into a crack or hole. Then I would check any and all seams in the liner. From there I would break the pool,into small sections and look for any holes. I found holes are often covered by bits of dirt and grime on the bottom as the water pushes it in there.

I rigged up a large syringe and attached about 2 feet of airline tubing to it from an aquarium store or the pet department at Walmart). I then fed the tubing through a length of PVC to act as a reaching "wand" then stuck an airline check valve on the end of the tubing. This let me put dye at the bottom of the pool without being in the water stirring it up and the check valve stopped the pool water pressure from running up the tube and diluting the dye. Let me know if you'd like to see a picture of the contraption.

-Ashton
 
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Looks like about a 1/2” lost since Sunday.
 
Measured loss since 9:30am yesterday til 10am today was 1/2” or ~150ish gallons. In 5 seasons I have only had to add water two times. Usually enough rain to keep it topped up. Enquiring around for replacement liners and installers has been frustrating and to the tune of ~$900. Really questioning weather or not to continue. Pretty disappointed with the idea of replacing the liner after 4+ years and we went with an upgraded liner to start with.

Kind of at the stage of wishing we never installed a pool or at a minimum wishing we installed a different one.
 
Any luck sourcing the leak? That's a lot of water so you may be able to spot it. I agree that after 4 years the liner shouldn't be leaking, however things can happen that create holes beyond just wear and tear. Hopefully if it's just a patch that's required you can buy yourself another 4+ years.
 
Did you try using food coloring? There is even specific "leak detection dyes" you can purchase - maybe at a pool store, or at least on line. Here - Leak Detection and Locating Dye - Available from PoolCenter.com

Your pictures aren't showing how your skimmer/returns might be located in relation to the wet spot, but that would be the most obvious place to start, then all around that part of the wall and floor as well. Also floor area where ladder or stairs are in contact. Then seams.

Did you install the pool yourself? Does it have any kind of warranty? If it was installed buy somebody they might be of some help if you contacted them. ???
 
Pv2 said:
Did you try using food coloring? There is even specific "leak detection dyes" you can purchase - maybe at a pool store, or at least on line. Here - Leak Detection and Locating Dye - Available from PoolCenter.com

Your pictures aren't showing how your skimmer/returns might be located in relation to the wet spot, but that would be the most obvious place to start, then all around that part of the wall and floor as well. Also floor area where ladder or stairs are in contact. Then seams.

Did you install the pool yourself? Does it have any kind of warranty? If it was installed buy somebody they might be of some help if you contacted them. ???
Click to expand...

My son found the hole last night. It is actually in the center of the floor. There was sand on the floor. Picking up a patch kit this morning and then deciding what we want to do long term.

With the location of the hole I think the patch will not last. Thinking of going with a fiberglass or concrete pool.
 

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The boxer vinyl patch kit is excellent. I too just today in fact noticed a small rust spot mid way down in the wall of our pool. After wiping over the rust area water started seeping out the tiny hole. I got in with my mask and snorkel but couldn't see anything wrong with the liner let alone a hole.

Once the sun got over to that side where it shown on the wall I could then actually see the liner and the pin hole in it but only because the sun was illuminating it.

To my surprise, the clear patch material and the supplied can of glue is amazing stuff. It's a chemical reaction and it adheres pretty quick, even under water!! Then a larger patch was put over the initial one. Same, it adhered really fast with out much holding.

So Yea, even though yours is on the floor, if you get enough adhesive smeared all over the patch and especially the edges it shouldn't be an issue. It'll stay in place really well. Plus you have the benefit of putting a weighted object on it to really hold it down. Don't really have that option on the wall but I still am amazed at how quick it all adhered.

Give the boxer vinyl pool repair kit a shot!
 
I have had a small hole patched at the edge of the wall and floor from day one. It was a cheap clear paper-backed peel-off patch that came with the pool. I live out of town and didn't have a real patch kit yet so it was just a quick fix. I fully expected it to come off really fast and had planned to redo it with a better glue-on one. Well the edges have peeled up just a little but it is still there 5 years later, holding fine so...
 
I am a one year pool owner...due to home purchase. The liner is 9+ years old and has at least 8-10 patches from the previous owner. I think their dogs used to swim in it. Any way...the patches seem to be holding very well. Especially the ones on the liner floor. I recently had to repair a bad patch this summer. The patch looked to be installed poorly so that might be cause of the failure. I would not deter away from vinyl AGPs just yet. All pool types come with pros and cons. Make the repair and keep enjoying it.
 
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