Filling our new pool and it's been one thing after another. New thing is we have discovered a solid 4" section in one of the wall seams where it appears to have not been sealed at all. I used the two vinyl repair patches that came with the pool and that seems to have mainly fixed it but there is still definitely still a slight trickle. If I push inward on the exterior of the pool where the seam is, it stops the trickle. I was wondering if it's a good idea to use something like Flex Tape on the exterior of the pool around the seam to stop the trickle? Or should I use something else?
New Summer Waves Pool Has Leak on Seam - Flex Tape on Exterior?
- Thread starter Yick
- Start date
Gahh, please help. I used both vinyl patches on the inside which slowed the leak to a trickle. I bought another vinyl repair kit with the adhesive and strips, and put a big piece on top of that (no help), put an even bigger piece from there, all the way up the seam to above the water level (still no help), put a strip on the outside of the pool up the seam (trickle changed places but still coming), and then put some Flex Tape across the bottom edge of that vinyl patch, and not the trickle has slowed to a couple of drips a second.
I don't know what to do!
I don't know what to do!
When I had a small tear on the bottom of our AGP. I used the clear gorilla tape to fix it. (Not packing tape) It worked well even under water. Every year, at the beginning of the season, I replaced the tape and it held up for almost 3 years. After that we were finally able to replace the liner.
Water always finds a way to squeeze through the smallest places. Unless the patch is totally wrinkle free and flush, there is another tiny little leak.
Don't give up!!!
Water always finds a way to squeeze through the smallest places. Unless the patch is totally wrinkle free and flush, there is another tiny little leak.
Don't give up!!!
So maybe try using the Flex Tape in conjunction with the vinyl patch on the INSIDE of the pool as well? From what I've read (online, for what it's worth), the Gorilla tape and the Flex Tape are equally effective.
No luck. And in fact it's back to a trickle again. I'm at my wits end. I have no frickin' idea what to do...
Wobblerlorri
Bronze Supporter
- Apr 16, 2019
- 2,010
- Pool Size
- 4024
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Liquid Chlorine
Have you called Summer Waves and asked for a replacement liner?
They don't have any liners in stock until at least September due to demand from COVID.
If you don't mind me asking, how did you find the leak? Is it super obvious, like you can see water dripping out from the outside? I'm driving myself crazy trying to find the leak in a Summer Waves liner. Last year when we took it down it was wet underneath so I wasn't surprised to see that it's clearly losing water this year but I cannot for the life of me find a hole to patch. It may be whole parts of the seam, but I can't prove it with the food coloring trick and I don't know where to start patching.
Mine was super obvious; water was gushing out. I probably exaggerated when I said the rip was 4" but it was definitely at least 2".
The one optimistic point I have is that I think, me being a noob to all of this, I think I did a Crud job applying the vinyl patches. I probably rushed the process since I was panicking. I'll try to do a better job tomorrow.
The one optimistic point I have is that I think, me being a noob to all of this, I think I did a Crud job applying the vinyl patches. I probably rushed the process since I was panicking. I'll try to do a better job tomorrow.
Last edited:
stringer77
Well-known member
You can buy a kit at Lowes that you patch on the inside with water in the pool called Aqua EZ pool repair kit. It has epoxy and vinyl you cut to size. With a patch on the inside and flex tape on the outside you should be ok.
So I've gotten it down to one drop every, on average, 57 seconds. Basically, my hypothesis was right: I did poorly the first time taking my time with the patches and there was too much room under them for water to keep getting through. I've discovered that the vinyl patches with the brush-on epoxy are no bueno for me. It might be because the area I'm patching is just too big that the adhesive is not staying uniform under the patch, especially once it goes underwater. The self-sticking patches have proven significantly more effective.
I believe I'm at my final roadblock. I did the dye test to see where the water is coming from still, and unsurprisingly, it's along the seam. A very, very slow trickle is getting under the patch right where the seam is, through a gap I would estimate at no more than half a millimetre (if you know your metric). I tried endlessly to get the patch flush against the seam but I think the gap is just too small. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've seen some YouTube videos of folks using stuff like WaterWeld (the waterproof putty), anyone think that might work? Is there anything else that is viscous or malleable that would work underwater that I can apply along the top and bottom of my patch where the seam is and the miniscule amount of water is sneaking through?
I believe I'm at my final roadblock. I did the dye test to see where the water is coming from still, and unsurprisingly, it's along the seam. A very, very slow trickle is getting under the patch right where the seam is, through a gap I would estimate at no more than half a millimetre (if you know your metric). I tried endlessly to get the patch flush against the seam but I think the gap is just too small. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've seen some YouTube videos of folks using stuff like WaterWeld (the waterproof putty), anyone think that might work? Is there anything else that is viscous or malleable that would work underwater that I can apply along the top and bottom of my patch where the seam is and the miniscule amount of water is sneaking through?