I'm pretty confident my pool is losing water faster than it should, though my wife thinks I'm crazy. This past Friday before leaving to go camping for the July 4th weekend, I filled the pool because it was at the minimum point for the skimmer to work, and I didn't want to have to worry about it. When we return Sunday evening, the water level is back at that minimum point, roughly 2 inches of water loss. Yes, it was a warm sunny weekend, but that seems like excessive loss in New England.
So I did a bucket test. With the filter running normally, the pool's water level dropped roughly twice what the bucket's level did. With the filter off (and a cloudy day) neither water level moved much at all. This points me to the pressure side of the equation. The trouble is I cannot find signs of water anywhere, which leads me to believe the problem may be underground.
Until a few minutes ago when I shut everything down. I heard a noise coming from the pump. There are small bubbles entering the pump housing from the motor side. I have an older 1993 Jacuzzi pump, but the model number is completely worn away. I also have no contact with the previous owner or any service records, so I have no idea what was done to this pump or when.
What bothers me is I STILL cannot see where the water is going. In an effort to isolate the issue, I've sealed everything as if I'm winterizing - though I didn't drain the lines. I want to be sure that with everything closed, the pool does not lose water. So I know the water from the pump housing can't be making its way back into the pool. And since the multiport is closed - and physics - it can't be getting sucked into the filter. The water basically seems to be vanishing.
I've confirmed the two plugs at the bottom of the pump are good. They're brand new actually, nice and tight, even put some teflon tape on them. They aren't the issue. Well, the housing one definitely wouldn't be, but the motor side could have been. This sounds like a gasket issue inside the motor housing.
I'm basically just looking for some confirmation on my findings. What are my possible problems? Where could my water be going that I can't see it leave the pump?
So I did a bucket test. With the filter running normally, the pool's water level dropped roughly twice what the bucket's level did. With the filter off (and a cloudy day) neither water level moved much at all. This points me to the pressure side of the equation. The trouble is I cannot find signs of water anywhere, which leads me to believe the problem may be underground.
Until a few minutes ago when I shut everything down. I heard a noise coming from the pump. There are small bubbles entering the pump housing from the motor side. I have an older 1993 Jacuzzi pump, but the model number is completely worn away. I also have no contact with the previous owner or any service records, so I have no idea what was done to this pump or when.
What bothers me is I STILL cannot see where the water is going. In an effort to isolate the issue, I've sealed everything as if I'm winterizing - though I didn't drain the lines. I want to be sure that with everything closed, the pool does not lose water. So I know the water from the pump housing can't be making its way back into the pool. And since the multiport is closed - and physics - it can't be getting sucked into the filter. The water basically seems to be vanishing.
I've confirmed the two plugs at the bottom of the pump are good. They're brand new actually, nice and tight, even put some teflon tape on them. They aren't the issue. Well, the housing one definitely wouldn't be, but the motor side could have been. This sounds like a gasket issue inside the motor housing.
I'm basically just looking for some confirmation on my findings. What are my possible problems? Where could my water be going that I can't see it leave the pump?