After our in ground gunite pool rehab we have a pretty significant leak. With the pump on 24h/day I was losing 1.5-2" of water per day. I switched to 12h on, 12h off, and am still losing over 1" per day. PB came out to check for leaks. He claims the shell is fine, no sign of leaks at the returns, light niches, main drain, hydrostatic valve, capped Polaris fitting, or inside skimmers. No visible leaks above ground in the equipment, no water bypassing the multi-valve in the backflow pipe. During the rehab, PB claims to have pressure tested main drain, returns and sklmmer lines and claims no leaks there.
PB has come out twice for a dive service. First time he found 2 small leaks which he fixed, but the numbers above are from after that repair. Second time he found no leaks and confirmed the repairs were holding.
We're at a loss. We have now closed all valves and turned off the pump. Seem to have lost 0.5-0.75" in 24h. Still leaking, but less than with pump on. Of note, the water level is lower now as well (1" above skimmer mouths vs 4" above skimmer mouths).
The plan is to record the water loss after 48h and report back to PB. I am thinking that after that:
Does that sound watertight (pun intended...)? Am I missing anything? Should I just plug the returns with winterizing plugs if it goes lower than skimmer mouths to rule out that it is return lines (and save some water...)?
My money is on a poor connection from tile to skimmer mouth, with the lower rate being caused by less weight on the leaking area as well as less flow of water across the leaking area.
PB has come out twice for a dive service. First time he found 2 small leaks which he fixed, but the numbers above are from after that repair. Second time he found no leaks and confirmed the repairs were holding.
We're at a loss. We have now closed all valves and turned off the pump. Seem to have lost 0.5-0.75" in 24h. Still leaking, but less than with pump on. Of note, the water level is lower now as well (1" above skimmer mouths vs 4" above skimmer mouths).
The plan is to record the water loss after 48h and report back to PB. I am thinking that after that:
- if we confirm there is a leak (which I think we have done already), the leak has to be below the current water level: I won't have to worry about pump, multivalve, filter, heater or chlorinator
- if we confirm the rate is lower than with the water level higher or the pump on, it points to a leak close to the water level outside the plumbing (eg skimmer mouths) or in the pressure side plumbing (ie return lines).
- if we let the water continue to drop (I will add liquid bleach to keep chlorine levels OK and use the robot to keep pool clean), the level where it will stop will tell us what the problem is:
- if it stops at the skimmer mouths, it is the skimmer line or connection from skimmer to tile
- if it stops at the returns, it is the returns
- if it goes lower than my returns, it is one of the shell items that the PB has now checked twice. In this case I will refill and use my pool for the rest of the summer and address this when we winterize.
Does that sound watertight (pun intended...)? Am I missing anything? Should I just plug the returns with winterizing plugs if it goes lower than skimmer mouths to rule out that it is return lines (and save some water...)?
My money is on a poor connection from tile to skimmer mouth, with the lower rate being caused by less weight on the leaking area as well as less flow of water across the leaking area.
