pinehole leak in side wall on the seam-1 ft from the bottom

[bettyboop]

I have a 24' x 52" Intex that I've had up for almost two months now. Suddenly, it has sprung a small pinhole size leak on the side wall on the seam. What could have caused this?
I know I have to patch this, but can this be done without draining the pool? I would have to drain 3/4 of the water & it seems like such a waste.

 

[frogabog]

Re: pinehole leak in side wall on the seam-1 ft from the bot

There are underwater patch kits available. We found ours at Lowes but it's not the same brand that is usually recommended here.

Search the forums for "patch" and you'll find some excellent advice on patching, some of it from a professional patcher dude/TFP member (can't remember ID). With the small pool you won't need scuba gear but I would proceed with caution because going down and getting the patch on underwater isn't easy. It has to be pressed tightly and securely for at least two minutes, if not longer. It may curl on the edges anyway. Last underwater patch we did I had my kid with nice flat Fred Flintstone size 13 feet stand on the patch... it still curled. Also, patch both the inside and the outside.

Actually your pool should have come with a patch kit. No?

Not easy, but doable. You might want to fashion yourself a ninja style bamboo breathing tube or a really long snorkle for the job :~}

 

[EJohnson]

Re: pinehole leak in side wall on the seam-1 ft from the bot

There are underwater patch kits available. We found ours at Lowes but it's not the same brand that is usually recommended here.

Search the forums for "patch" and you'll find some excellent advice on patching, some of it from a professional patcher dude/TFP member (can't remember ID). With the small pool you won't need scuba gear but I would proceed with caution because going down and getting the patch on underwater isn't easy. It has to be pressed tightly and securely for at least two minutes, if not longer. It may curl on the edges anyway. Last underwater patch we did I had my kid with nice flat Fred Flintstone size 13 feet stand on the patch... it still curled. Also, patch both the inside and the outside.

Actually your pool should have come with a patch kit. No?

Not easy, but doable. You might want to fashion yourself a ninja style bamboo breathing tube or a really long snorkle for the job :~}

The last time I patched a sidewall I used two very strong flat magnets (one inside and one outside) to hold borh the inside and outside patches in place until they set - worked like a charm.

 

[bettyboop]

Re: pinehole leak in side wall on the seam-1 ft from the bot

I went to Home Depot & they didn't have underwater patches so I guess I'll go to the pool store & see if they have them.
Great idea with the magnets. Where would I find those?

 

[EJohnson]

Re: pinehole leak in side wall on the seam-1 ft from the bot

I went to Home Depot & they didn't have underwater patches so I guess I'll go to the pool store & see if they have them.
Great idea with the magnets. Where would I find those?

I don't recall where I got the set I have (2"x 1/8" neodymium discs) - you can probably get them off eBay, but they'll probably be somewhat expensive. You might also find a set at Home Depot or Lowes in the hardware section, though a strong set of speaker magnets might also work just fine.

Depending upon how small the patches are, you might only need a several smaller ones (neodymium/rare earth magnet strength can be increased by stacking several on top of each other on either side, and you can put something flat between the magnets and the patches to increase the pressure area somewhat).

However, you have to be very careful with these things. Rare earth magnets of this type over a even a half-inch across are incredibly powerful - if you pinch skin between a couple of them them in the wrong way, you won't be removing them without loosing that skin. For some of them, powerful is really an understatement - I can place the ones I have on the back and front of my wrist and they'll stick to each other easily even with my wrist bone in between. You definitely wouldn't want to leave any of these laying around for your kids to play with, that is for sure.

As it was, it took me and a helper to put them on and later remove them (by sliding them in opposite directions simutaneously).