Hi everyone,
A little over a week ago, I noticed my pool had a leak. I'm losing about 5/8" each day! I've tried a few things, which I'll outline in a post below for anyone interested in helping me troubleshoot the leak, but the main point to this post is I'm trying to find out if it is safe to continue running my pump when the water level is below the skimmer entry. The water level in my pool is already several inches below the entry for the skimmer, and it is getting close to the return outlets.
I've contacted a leak detection company, but their first appointment isn't until November 24th! I have no interest in keeping my pool full until then, primarily due to the hefty fines imposed by my city for water usage (due to the California drought). Even though I don't want to keep the pool full, I still want to keep the water sanitary. Mainly because that is required by the leak detection company, in order for them to do their job (divers don't want to get in a slimy pool).
I imagine the answer to my question depends on how the suction lines are plumbed, and unfortunately I'm not 100% sure. I'm also a little confused on how to figure that out. Here is what I can tell you: I have two outlets in the bottom of my skimmer. When everything is working normal and the pump is on, I can only feel suction from one outlet. From what I've read elsewhere on TFP, that is normal and the other outlet may or may not be plumbed to the "main drain". I also don't know what my "main drain" would be considered, because I have two large drains in the floor of the deep end of my pool, AND two large wall drains, also down towards the deep end of the pool. I also have suction line for my pool cleaner, which comes out of the wall like normal.
I have the ability to plug one or both holes in the bottom of my skimmer, but I wasn't sure if I should do that. Would it be okay to plug both holes, and just let the pump draw water from the suction-side cleaner line? I have an adjustable valve where I could completely shut off the skimmer, but didn't know how safe "full suction" would be for the cleaner line. If I don't plug both outlets in the bottom of the skimmer, and assume that second hole is plumbed to a "main drain", will that continue to work once the water level in the pool drops below the level of those two outlets?
I'm not the original owner of the pool and home, but I do have a few pictures from when the pool was being constructed. They are not the best quality, but I included a few pics in case it helps anyone make sense of my set up. I'm not sure if the four drains would be all tied in to one line, that then ties in to that other outlet at the bottom of the skimmer, or the outlet would only be plumbed to one of the drains, and the other drains would just be connected to the pump on their own. What would a "normal" set up be?
Thanks in advance for any help provided!
- Eric
A little over a week ago, I noticed my pool had a leak. I'm losing about 5/8" each day! I've tried a few things, which I'll outline in a post below for anyone interested in helping me troubleshoot the leak, but the main point to this post is I'm trying to find out if it is safe to continue running my pump when the water level is below the skimmer entry. The water level in my pool is already several inches below the entry for the skimmer, and it is getting close to the return outlets.
I've contacted a leak detection company, but their first appointment isn't until November 24th! I have no interest in keeping my pool full until then, primarily due to the hefty fines imposed by my city for water usage (due to the California drought). Even though I don't want to keep the pool full, I still want to keep the water sanitary. Mainly because that is required by the leak detection company, in order for them to do their job (divers don't want to get in a slimy pool).
I imagine the answer to my question depends on how the suction lines are plumbed, and unfortunately I'm not 100% sure. I'm also a little confused on how to figure that out. Here is what I can tell you: I have two outlets in the bottom of my skimmer. When everything is working normal and the pump is on, I can only feel suction from one outlet. From what I've read elsewhere on TFP, that is normal and the other outlet may or may not be plumbed to the "main drain". I also don't know what my "main drain" would be considered, because I have two large drains in the floor of the deep end of my pool, AND two large wall drains, also down towards the deep end of the pool. I also have suction line for my pool cleaner, which comes out of the wall like normal.
I have the ability to plug one or both holes in the bottom of my skimmer, but I wasn't sure if I should do that. Would it be okay to plug both holes, and just let the pump draw water from the suction-side cleaner line? I have an adjustable valve where I could completely shut off the skimmer, but didn't know how safe "full suction" would be for the cleaner line. If I don't plug both outlets in the bottom of the skimmer, and assume that second hole is plumbed to a "main drain", will that continue to work once the water level in the pool drops below the level of those two outlets?
I'm not the original owner of the pool and home, but I do have a few pictures from when the pool was being constructed. They are not the best quality, but I included a few pics in case it helps anyone make sense of my set up. I'm not sure if the four drains would be all tied in to one line, that then ties in to that other outlet at the bottom of the skimmer, or the outlet would only be plumbed to one of the drains, and the other drains would just be connected to the pump on their own. What would a "normal" set up be?
Thanks in advance for any help provided!
- Eric