Texas Freeze Effects on New Inground Pool

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kchoate71

Member
Feb 26, 2021
6
Driftwood, Texas
Hello,

Our pool was victim of last week long deep freeze here in Texas & I was not prepared for what this would do to our pool. After going many hours with out power, my pool pipes did freeze up. The initial result was one broken pipe, which has been fixed. Since this pipe was fixed, the pool has started back up & all seems to be running smooth. We have not tested the heater, as we are low on propane, due to said freeze. Once I get refilled, I will be checking that. However since it has gone back online (Wed Evening) I have noticed a couple of things, there seems to be a small leak at the bottom front drain of my Tagelus High Rate Sand Filter. The fitting is not loose. Also, there seems to be a small leak at my Mastertemp 400 Pool & Spa Heater - I can't seem to see where this water is coming from, it is in the front right side of the heater, where the front right leg is? My pool is only 10 months old & I am a first time pool owner. I am trying not to worry too much about this, but it is hard to do when the equipment is all brand new & of course my pool company is very busy, so I am on a wait list! Any ideas what might be the issue with these two leaks?

Any advise would be great!

kchoate
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: As you can expect, your issues are common this year following the winter storm, especially for new pool owners who didn't know to drain all water from equipment. For the filter, look closely underneath to see if it's just the drain plug/cover, or if the vessel itself is actually cracked. If the vessel is cracked, it will need to be replaced. You can't seal a filter on the outside. Hopefully it's just the drain plug. For the heater, you might actually have to open it up to try and see exactly where the leak is coming from. Do you have a heater bypass installed? Basically plumbing that allows you to bypass the heater so that you can run the system without water going through the heater? That would be ideal until you can resolve the issue.

As always, you are welcome to post some pics of the equipment so we can see better. Also be sure to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. We'll do what we can to help.
 
Thanks for your quick reply, I inspected the filter & it looks like the water is dripping out of the black plastic nut . In my inspection, I did not see any cracks on the vessel, would they be pretty noticeable? I am not sure if I have a bypass on the my heater, but I will be sure to inquire on that. Is it not wise to run the pool while these issues are going on? Should I turn it off until we can get it resolved?
 

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Water moving with the small drip at the filter is not a big issue. You should have time for that repair. The heater is a little more delicate, and it would be good to find out where the leak is and how bad. If you don't have a bypass heater line and confirm a new heater (or internal element) is required, we can come back to that later.

Below is a pic that I believe mimics your current filter. You can see there's only 3 parts - an O-ring, the stem, and the cap. With the freeze, I suspect one of those must've been compromised.

_filter.JPG
 
kchoate71 said:
could this be the bypass?
Click to expand...
I doubt it. Depends on how everything is plumbed. You can post a pic of your pad if you like. But there's no mistaking a bypass. Look at the pipe going into your heater. Is there just one pipe? No alternate (bypass) route? Not all builders install them.
 
Everything is packed pretty tight on that pad. Not much room for work. No bypass either. Using the owners manual and with power off, someone is going to need to remove a panel or two and look in that heater to see where the leak is coming from and if it's something simple. If it's cracked inside (i.e. manifold), then a repair will likely take a while. If you look at the other many Texas freeze posts, there are many heater problems and a parts shortage. If that's the case, you have two options while waiting to repair:
1 - Leave as-is if the leak is small, not getting worse, and not invasive to other parts that could pose a problem
2 - Try to slide that heater out of the way (if possible), disconnect the in & out fittings to the heater, and create a loop or connection back to itself (in & out pipe connected together) thereby creating a bypass.
 
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