Hose connection leak!!!

[iSmile]

Hi pool friends. I have a problem escalating quickly. The connection at the return end of my filter was dripping yesterday. When I got home last night, it was a small stream, so I shut off the pump overnight, even skipping my daily chlorine dose. Called installer this morn.

Background: The pool has been in since June 30, and this same leak had been present when we had enough water to fire it up. The installer returned July 7 to fix, stating he had to replace the nipple, to which the excessive heat contributed failure. He also said he has had to replace a higher number of them than normal.

I waited all day to hear back from installer. Left another message this afternoon. Of course this would happen on a Friday. No response from him. But even off, I have a steady and constant drip. When on, I have a mini splash zone (see pic).

I have not been able to run the pump for over 24 hours, and at this point I cannot expect to even hear from the man until Monday. I can't imagine how bad it might be by then.

Can someone baby step me through trying to fix this? I have got to learn to be comfortable with working with this thing, I know... I just picture loosening the thing and 17,000 gallons flooding at me through a 2 inch pipe.

It might be worth noting that winter is cold here so I will be disconnecting some places in order to prep.

[attachment=0:15og8wlv]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1342841757.763202.jpg[/attachment:15og8wlv]


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[MoreSparkle]

I'm still a newbie here, but is the hose long enough to raise it above the water level in the pool and tie it off to something? We disconnect ours and tie it off to a support, (nearby wooden fort leg) at the the level we want it to be inside the pool when we have a trop storm or hurricane, have done this a number of times over the years and works fairly well for us.... The unhooked hose then acts as an overflow... But ours is a diff beast than yours... Isn't there some way to shut off the hose inside or just outside the pool?? Valves, or caps, or something... Of course not the "answer". But it might make you feel better than to have water running everywhere.... Good luck,

 

[MoreSparkle]

Also, I would probably hit it with some chlorine if I couldn't run the pump... Not sure what a good cl level would be, but sure some others with way more exp and knowledge can advise on that.... I just like my chlorine at the higher end... Have cleaned up enough in my short career good luck...

 

[techguy]

Ok. This is pretty easy but it requires some planning and the "hose dance"

First, take the basket out of your skimmer, place you vaccum hose on the ground outside by the skimmer and place your vacuum hose into the outlet of the skimmer. I use an adapter like this on my AquaBug and one section of segment hose

but if you don't have one of those you can use one of these

If you don't have either... do the best you can to seal the hose into the skimmer. Maybe even thick cotton pony bands. If you have a skimmer adapter plate, that may work also but you will need someone to hold it down to seal tight.

OK, now it should look something like this. When it's like this, no water can leave the pool via the skimmer.

You can remove the suction line from the skimmer like this if you would like and hold the end above the water line. The water can flow from the return hose thru the filter and pump to this hose if you don't keep the end up.

Decision time.. if your return hose is long enough to reach between the return fitting and the base of the skimmer, like this 12 foot silver hose, you can do what I call the "hose dance". You remove the return hose from the filter's exit fitting, and quickly lift it above the water line to stop the rushing water and then quickly and smoothly move over to the skimmer (while keeping the hose end above the waterline) and put the return hose on the skimmer outlet fitting on the bottom of the skimmer. This last step can get you very wet if you have any challenges getting the hose on the fitting. Extra people as Hose tenders and tool-tenders might be helpful but mine are never handy when I need them.

If the return hose is too short to go to the return fitting, you can couple them together using the blue coupling above or you can lash them to the top of pool.

When you get the return and skimmer connected (my first choice as I know the fitting wont fail and the hoses cannot fall off the top of the pool) you can fix the fittings without any water in the way or move the pump to a convenient location for fixing. I guess with a sand filer...your not going to move it..

 

[tpcorr]

Or you could just remove your skimmer basket and use one of those black rubber plugs with wing nuts on them to plug up the skimmer. You can get those plugs at a pool store, or hardware store.

Tom

 

[duraleigh]

Excellent posts on how to stop your pool water from escaping.

Once you have that planned, that connection that is leaking looks like a half union. They most commonly leak that badly because the O-ring inside of them fell out during assembly.

If they are assembled properly, not much more than hand tight will usually make them waterproof.

 

[iSmile]

Thanks so much for responses. I did douse it with enough chlorine last night to put it on the high side, and ran the pump for about 15 mins to mix it up a little.

So the filter must be disconnected entirely before attempting to fix the connection on return, and I most likely need no additional materials? Should I be ready to replace the o-ring, just in case? No Teflon type tape or anything? I really won't know what I'm dealing with until I take it apart (assuming the cause will be obvious once inside).

Also, before the first repair there was silicone looking stuff there. I wasn't here when he fixed it but if he used something, it didn't ooz out this time.


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[duraleigh]

That fitting should never be teflon taped or caulked in any way. If the O-ring is still there, it is likely the caulk caused the two surfaces to not join properly and is a testament to the inexperience of the installer.

Go to HD, Lowe's, Ace, etc. and take a union apart and look at it or talk with someone there and ask them to explain how unions work. You will see the O-ring is the ONLY seal needed.

 

[iSmile]

okay, as proud as I am of myself for getting into this thing (thanks, especially, to techguy and his pic tutorial!), it just isn't working. I also described the location incorrectly. It isn't on the pressure side, but the intake side, where the water enters the filter. We took it apart, cleaned out the silicone type stuff, and tried repeatedly to re-seat the thing. It is almost as though the hose between the two is too short, actually pulling it out of line. I almost wonder if it isn't worse since jacking with it . Thoughts?

 

[zea3]

Is there no slack in the hose between the pump and the filter? You may need a longer hose,too. Inspect the fitting and the filter to see if there are any hairline cracks in either. You can also try taking the hose with the fittings on it to a pool or hardware store and see if they have a replacement fitting.

 

[techguy]

Those hoses are standard above ground hoses. Take the one you have in to a pool store and buy one three feet longer or couple two shorter ones. This way you are sure to gt the correct size. They are not really expensive but I prefer the ones with a cuff as opposed to the plain flex. The cuffs are a littler more expensive and harder to find in stock.

 

[techguy]

It the hose is too short, it will put too pressure on the union and case a leak or failure. Bill the installer for whatever you buy or chalk in up o learning and move on. If he cheapskates out, Karma will catch up to him.

 

[iSmile]

Busy few days but I wanted to post an update. Sorry so long, but I'm soooo frustrated. I am aware, though, my mess is nothing compared to what others on here have endured.

The installer came (or sent someone) with replacement part yesterday. I had been unable to figure out a way to leave the pump hose unattached with only the vacuum plate to seal the skimmer, and i had expected to hear from him Monday anyway.

We were out of town all day, so I did not see what was done, or how, or when. I am interested in watching more for the sake of my own learning than to keep an eye on these guys. But I have missed both repairs, and yesterday I should have been watching!

First off I didn't even know someone had come at all until we returned home at 1 am, when my mother in law, who was here, reported what she understood about the repair. I asked if he ran the pump to insure it was good. She said yes. We sent her home, and we went to bed feeling relieved our new pool was finally in working order.

I get up this morn and go out to the pool to fire it up... Except I could hear the gurgle of the skimmer as I approach. While we were leaking so much water I had not bothered to add more since I had no idea how long the dude would take to get here. So fix-it guy had turned on the pump and left it running, even though my water level was low.

I was rolling-my-eyes kinda irritated but since the water was getting in there I figured it would be okay. I cranked on the hose and went to switch off the pump. That's when I noticed that I still had serious, fresh puddles. That's right, a NEW leak. This time the pump is the source, right in the middle where tank and motor meet (sorry for bad pic):
[attachment=0:j1lc99x5]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1343191843.331091.jpg[/attachment:j1lc99x5]

So now I'm disgusted. At this point my sand under the pavers holding the whole filtration system has largely washed away, and I stood there staring at the mess and now unlevel pump. That's when I noticed a backswimmer thru the clear lid of the pump tank. At first I was like "YES! Drown, you ***!" but then my senses returned and I noticed that not only had Mr. Fix-it left the pump on with low water (and maybe with a new leak), he also ran the thing without the skimmer basket, sucking Lord knows what into the pump that had not circulated the water for days. Brilliant.

I don't know if his repair dislodged something (he'd replaced the hose from the pump to the filter), or if something too large passing through could have done it, or if the water level could play a part, or if I merely bought a certifiable P.O.S., but this seems ridiculous to me. Am I just a brat here? Don't answer that

Now the real questions:

Isn't a brand new AG install supposed to be simple, or is this typical? Does this likely mean a new pump, or can you repair such things? And who would you call about this? The seller? The installer (who has been here a total of 3 times, yet I still can't run the pump without washing my sand away with my perfectly balanced water)?

The installer is actually subcontracted by the pool store's installation subcontractor, and I do not have the middle man's contact info. And in the installer's defense, the first leak (both times) truly may have been because of a bad part in the first place, although he just comes across as shady to me now.

And all this wasted water, by the way, does NOT come easy for us! We have a rain-fed cistern and have been suffering a drought. The next problem will be that my family runs out of water because I have fed it all to the swampy construction zone in the back yard. Grrrrr!

Mostly, thanks for just letting me vent all this.


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[techguy]

I wish I had a kind word but I will keep quiet...Good Luck.

Call your attorney, stop talking here.

This is part of the public record.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I know it's tough, but just call them back and tell them what's happened. The pump leak could have been caused by the repair guy letting it run without water in it but if there was any water flowing that wasn't likely it. Just a rash of issues that you'll be done with soon.

 

[iSmile]

Update: installer must have shown up yesterday while we were gone, or the filter fairy. I shall see how dry it all is after running all night, but we could get storms. I'm hopeful we have an uneventful end of swimming season

QoTD: (my five year old at dinner, completely serious) "Daddy, you should try skinny diving. It's AWESOME!"


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