Pool Leak

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mg0698

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Dec 9, 2011
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Hey guys, I'm new to pools I had my pool for almost a year I have been maintenance it on my own. But now I'm losing about an inch of water a day until it hits about an inch below the tile mark and the water stays at about that area. I have tried searching for the leak a few times using the dye test with no success, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and still haven't found a solution. Today I came across an idea to plug one of the skimmers which can be the problem area from what I have been told by a neighbor. My idea would be to fill up the pool; plug the possible problem skimmer and turn the skimmers on and see if the problem persists I got a 1 1/2 inch plug from Home Depot , I have two skimmers. My question is would this be a bad idea? Is it safe to have a plugin the skimmer while having the skimmers on? My goal is to try to isolate the problem.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you
 
I do not understand how plugging the skimmer (where exactly) and having it on would help find the leak. Maybe I misunderstand, but that would be bad for the pump to be trying to pull from a skimmer that is plugged.
 
Maybe I don't need to have the skimmers running, But would it hurt it to have them running(I have 2 skimmers, not sure if that makes a difference)? My thought process is that maybe it's a plumbing issue in the skimmer itself. And if that skimmer is plugged then there wouldn't/shouldn't be any water loss. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Everyone tells me 9/10 leaks are located around the tile/skimmer lines and is not a major problem, But I'm worried it might be a major problem. If it is the actual skimmer pvc for some reason then it would be a big problem. By plugging the skimmer I may be able to find out if that is the problem.

Anyways any advice is appreciated.
 
Do you not have any valves to turn the skimmer(s) off? When you say the water has reached the "tile mark" what exactly is this? Does the water drain down below the skimmer(s)? I would say that unless the water goes below the skimmer(s) you do not have a leak in the slimmer line or basket.
 
ps0303 said:
Do you not have any valves to turn the skimmer(s) off? When you say the water has reached the "tile mark" what exactly is this? Does the water drain down below the skimmer(s)? I would say that unless the water goes below the skimmer(s) you do not have a leak in the slimmer line or basket.
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I do have valves for the skimmers, Right now I only run the main drain. I have tiles near the top, The water gets below the tile line about 1 inch below it. The water does drain below the skimmers
 
I have a 3 port valve one that closes the Main Drain, one that closes the skimmers, I usually leave it on the middle which runs both of them.


If my pool only leaks when it's running what would that tell you?
 
In my pool the bottom of the tile lines up with the bottom of the skimmer. Is it the same with your pool? If so then that leak is most likely not in pipes that go from the skimmer to the pump (as you mentioned that the water drains about an inch below the tile line). If this is the case the leak is either from the main drain pipe to the pump or from the pump to the pool returns (either at the pump, filter, heater, or any other inline equipment or in the pipes leading back to the pool).

If you already have not done so check your pool equipment such as the pump, filter, and heater for any leaks. Based on the amount of water lost I would guess the ground around your equipment would be wet if the leak was coming from your equipment. In my case I have a DE filter where the top half of the filter housing comes off to access the DE grids. If the top half is not put on correctly this can be a source of water loss. The second item for me that I have found to leak is the plug at the bottom of the filter, due to its placement I cannot see it so I have to screw it back on using touch only. Sometimes it is not screwed in enough to create a good seal and leaks.

If you do not see any leaks from your equipment and the ground around your pool equipment does not appear to be wet, then most likely the leak is somewhere in the pipes returning back to the pool.
 
Rocco said:
In my pool the bottom of the tile lines up with the bottom of the skimmer. Is it the same with your pool? If so then that leak is most likely not in pipes that go from the skimmer to the pump (as you mentioned that the water drains about an inch below the tile line). If this is the case the leak is either from the main drain pipe to the pump or from the pump to the pool returns (either at the pump, filter, heater, or any other inline equipment or in the pipes leading back to the pool).

If you already have not done so check your pool equipment such as the pump, filter, and heater for any leaks. Based on the amount of water lost I would guess the ground around your equipment would be wet if the leak was coming from your equipment. In my case I have a DE filter where the top half of the filter housing comes off to access the DE grids. If the top half is not put on correctly this can be a source of water loss. The second item for me that I have found to leak is the plug at the bottom of the filter, due to its placement I cannot see it so I have to screw it back on using touch only. Sometimes it is not screwed in enough to create a good seal and leaks.

If you do not see any leaks from your equipment and the ground around your pool equipment does not appear to be wet, then most likely the leak is somewhere in the pipes returning back to the pool.
Click to expand...

If my leak would be in the main drain pipe wouldn't that mean that the leak will be constant? and keep going beyond the inch tile line? I checked the pump area there isn't any sign of wetness. I had a leak once before coming from my backwash line, I changed the spider gasket and ever since then it has been fine.
 
This is what my tile line and equipment look like.

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mg0698 said:
I have a 3 port valve one that closes the Main Drain, one that closes the skimmers, I usually leave it on the middle which runs both of them.


If my pool only leaks when it's running what would that tell you?
Click to expand...

When you say it only leaks when it's running, does that mean that you have turned the pumps off while the water line is high and the water does not lower below the skimmer?
 
If you have a light you could have an issue with the light conduit. The pool will leak down until it would equalize with the conduit. If it is the main drain it would be less likely to leak down and stop at that level. Your best bet on checking skimmers is if you can isolate each one.
 
relling2245 said:
mg0698 said:
I have a 3 port valve one that closes the Main Drain, one that closes the skimmers, I usually leave it on the middle which runs both of them.


If my pool only leaks when it's running what would that tell you?
Click to expand...

When you say it only leaks when it's running, does that mean that you have turned the pumps off while the water line is high and the water does not lower below the skimmer?
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe that the water leaks only when the pool pumps are running (meaning turned on).
 
swimcmp said:
If you have a light you could have an issue with the light conduit. The pool will leak down until it would equalize with the conduit. If it is the main drain it would be less likely to leak down and stop at that level. Your best bet on checking skimmers is if you can isolate each one.
Click to expand...


I do have a light, should I open the light and check inside for leaks? The water never really gets to the light though, It is usually above the light... How would I isolate the skimmers?
 
You need to do the bucket test and there is certainly an explanation of that test on this site. When your chasing a leak, good accurate information is critical. You need to know how much water your losing in a fixed period of time with the pump on and the pump off. Guesses and assumptions will take you on a tortuous path.
 
Do as carolina pool suggests and get a comparison of the loss with the pump on and the pump off.

If the water drops below the tile and skimmer ... to me that eliminates the skimmers as the problem.
If the water drops more with the pump on ... that seams to point toward a leak on the pressure side of the plumbing.

The light conduit is designed to fill with water, so looking behind the light will not show anything (although some people try to plug it up). If the leak is in the light conduit or part of the pool itself, then the leak rate would not change whether the pump was on or not. But, if the drop stops at a certain point, that would indicate a leak around that level ... so right now you are giving conflicting information I think ... thus the need to start to be accurate and quantify the loss rates, etc
 
If the water level stops going down once it gets lower than skimmers then most likely there is the leak. With dual skimmers you going to need to block one off at a time to determine which one is the culprit.

Definately do the bucket test.. Also, i would suggest adding a separate valve for your skimmers.
 

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