Best Leak Approach?

[rockyboy]

Hi all.....Looks like several have been dealing with leaks lately and I think you can add me to the list. I have suspected a leak for some time but nothing that I would consider major. Interestingly, we didn't add water at all over the winter (we do not close) but the last month or so I have been adding water about once a week. PB came out two summers ago and pushed some putty into the light niche by leaning over the edge and reaching...never got in....and problem never totally went away. I am hoping that maybe he didn't do a great job although not sure why we never added water over the winter. Question: While the water temp is still in the 50's and nothing is growing, should I just let the level drop until it stops? At about 3" per week, it could take some time to drain down to the niche. I suppose I could still circulate by using only the main drain and pool sweep. It will be a while before it will be warm enough for me to get in and do a dye test of any kind. BTW....plans for our pool says surface area is 771 sf which means I am losing roughly 1200 gallons per week. Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Bump - anyone???

 

[zea3]

Check around the pool for suspiciously swampy or wet areas that could indicate a leak in underground plumbing. Check around the equipment pad for leaks. There is a chance that the pool was cold enough over the winter for contraction of materials to seal a small leak. Warmer weather would cause the material to expand and open up the leak again. Also evaporation combined with a small leak would make the water loss more noticeable. You could do a bucket test to see how much is leaking vs how much is evaporation. Here is a site that explain how to do the test better than I can. If the bucket test determines there is a leak then you can let it drain and see if it goes down past the light. Anyway, that's my 2 cents!

 

[rockyboy]

Thank for your two cents! No squishy spots around the pool that I can tell but sure makes you wonder where that water is going. I am a bit nervous to let the water drain down too far because I do not want to float the liner. I am going to be out of town for a week and I chickened out and added water today. Understand that leaks can be tricky but this one has to be more than a drip and the air temp around OKC this time of year can't produce that much evaporation....can it? I guess I will keep the level up until I can get in and take a close look at both light niches. I am hoping it is that simple and thankfully water is not too terribly expensive here We did have two times over the winter where the pool froze on top even though the pump was moving. I should take a good look along the water line and see if maybe the ice damaged the liner. I don't see how considering the water was above the skimmer and we were still losing water even though water line was at the bottom of the skimmers. BTW...thanks for the bump!!!!

 

[zea3]

If you could create a signature with your pool info in it that would be very helpful. With a liner pool you will need to check all the seams and cutouts as well. The bucket test should give you a good idea how much you are losing to evaporation at this time of year.