Well, Have not needed to post in a while but I am completely stumped. Losing an inch a day. Did bucket test and only lost 1/16 of an inch in bucket. This is my 4th season with a pool and I have never lost water like this. Plugged skimmer and main drain at different times and still lost water. My skimmer only has one hole leaving the center of the bottom. Plugged return jets and lost water. Paid a scuba diver to come and he found one small hole in liner and repaired it for $150. He guaranteed me that it was the only hole in the liner. The liner is only 2 years old so I believe it. No bubbles in pump basket. No visible water around pool. I have concrete around the pool and it makes me sick to think I might have to tear that up. I think I would consider filling it in if I cant find the leak and it comes to that. Pool was built in 1985. The underground pipe is black poly. Any other ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Can't find leak.
- Thread starter mtw826
- Start date
If you plugged up all the inlets and outlets then it's in the shell and you don't have to worry about digging up the ground. Scuba is old school, you need to get someone out there with an electronic leak detector. I can find all the holes in an hour, I can even tell you if there are areas of the pool where the liner is thinner and not necessarily a hole; it works that good.
http://www.americanleakdetection.com
This is the only chain I know of that does this kind of work.
they should be in your area and they do have an electronic leak detector and will probably pressure test your lines anyways.
http://www.americanleakdetection.com
This is the only chain I know of that does this kind of work.
they should be in your area and they do have an electronic leak detector and will probably pressure test your lines anyways.
You should plug all the plumbing and see if that stops it. You should definitely plug the skimmer and main drain at the same time.
didn't see that part about plugging at different times. You need to plug up everything so no water can get to the underground plumbing to verify it's only in the shell.
Okay. I am about 4 inches below skimmer right now. I will plug everything tonight. Another thing I thought was strange is that if I pour water into the skimmer right now, it disappears. There is no water in the skimmer basket because the water is below the skimmer. If I fill it about half way full, it will be gone and down into the pipe within 5 minutes. This tells me that there is a leak down in my skimmer pipe right? Although I don't get bubbles in my pump basket when the pump is on. Are the bubbles always present with a suction side leak?
It could be that the main drain is "tee'd" into the skimmer line and the water is just going down with the pool level because of that.
Do you have a separate Main Drain valve at the pad?
Do you have a separate Main Drain valve at the pad?
Yes, I have pipe for the floor drain and a pipe for the skimmer at the pad with a valve to control which one I want to use.
Well that eliminates that.
Do you have an equalizer line or a vacuum port under the skimmer?
Do you have an equalizer line or a vacuum port under the skimmer?
No, I use the hole in the bottom of the skimmer for vaccuuming. No equalizer line. I assume it goes from the bottom of the skimmer to the pad. If this is the case the water shouldn't disappear when I fill it, right? I have the skimmer line shut off at the pad and I am only running the main drain right now. Thanks again for helping me troubleshoot this.
Here is a video of my pump running. There are some bubbles but not what I imagine when people say it to be "sucking air" with a suction side leak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLyl0jl5 ... ata_player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLyl0jl5 ... ata_player
If it's a separate line from the skimmer to the pad, and you lose water out the skimmer when the waterline os below the skimmer then it has to be a plumbing leak in the skimmer line. I'd check the piping close to the pump first. It could be a loose or broken fitting right under the dirt there.
When I do a pressure test and find a broken line I like to show the customer the leak by (if the plumbing allows) having the line plugged off at the pool and near the pad I'll fill the broken line to the brim with a garden hose and then take the hose away and watch the water in the broken line go down by itself.
Pool guy is coming at some point to pressure test my lines. I have another suspicion that my main drain line could be leaking as well because i think this leak started over the winter when everything else was plugged. Pool guy says he isn't concerned about the main drain and says it is highly unlikely that this is leaking. He is going to test skimmer and returns. He will fix anything he finds by tearing up the concrete and fixing the leak and replacing concrete for $600 per leak. With my luck, he will find a small leak, fix it and my main drain will still be leaking. What do you guys think?
It's unlikely that the main drain is leaking. However, if you want more evidence you can let it leak below the skimmer and returns and see if it stops. If it does, it's most likely not the main drain.
Pool guy is too busy to come out anytime soon. Thinking I'm gonna shut her down sunday and worry about it in the spring. I will leave the loop loc off a couple of weeks to see how far the water ends up going down. I have been brainstorming ways to figure this out on my own and one of the ideas I had was this: Since I think one of my leaks is where the pipe meets the bottom of the skimmer, I could drill a 1/4" hole in the concrete with a hammer drill on the side that I believe it to be leaking, about 2 inches from the skimmer, then stick a piece of grid wire down to at least that depth which would be about 18 inches, then pull it up and see if it is wet. There is concrete all around the pool so there should be no moisture there? This would tell me if it is leaking where I think it is, right? Then I could put some sand in the hole and nobody would ever know its there. My water level is below the skimmer and when I put water into the skimmer it drains down into the pipe about an inch. Where it stops, it feels like there is a crack in the pipe. I could drain it down and try to push some JB waterweld into the crack. Then I would avoid having to break out concrete. This is a little farfetched I know, what are your guys thoughts? Thanks in advance.
If you think you might have a leak in the skimmer line
plug the skimmer line near your pump (rubber plug)
then fill your skimmer line with water until it's full, then mark the water level to see if it starts to lose water. If it's any kind of descent leak you should actually be able to see the water level drop before your eyes.
If you have a leak in the skimmer line you will probably have to dig as if it's really leaking at the connection of the skimmer it's most likely a cracked fitting which putty will have a hard time fixing not to mention it will make it difficult to winterize the pool in the future with all that putty down there.
plug the skimmer line near your pump (rubber plug)
then fill your skimmer line with water until it's full, then mark the water level to see if it starts to lose water. If it's any kind of descent leak you should actually be able to see the water level drop before your eyes.
If you have a leak in the skimmer line you will probably have to dig as if it's really leaking at the connection of the skimmer it's most likely a cracked fitting which putty will have a hard time fixing not to mention it will make it difficult to winterize the pool in the future with all that putty down there.