So now what- I have a leak

[ptjackson]

Just finished building the pool and I have verified that I have a leak. Bucket test etc. I am about 95% sure it's in the returns in my plumbing (six returns). When the pump is running and the returns are the only outlet are on I get about 1" of loss every 24hours. This translates to about 500 Gal. With the pump off I lose about half of an inch.

There are muliple points around my pool where the water is showing up on the surface. It's an inground, vinyl pool about 30,000 gal. The pool builder mentioned something that if it was a small leak just putting a couple of quarts of "fix a leak" in there. This doesn't sound like the greatest solution to me. I'm going to guess this group feels the same way, however if you all thought it to be okay I might just go ahead and let him do it to prevent digging up, and potentially busting out concrete.

I called a American Leak detection and cost will be about $500. I offered to split this with the builder and he agreed if I wanted to go this route although he said he could do the same thing they do.

Looking for feedback as to what the best route is. Right now I already have vermiculatie that will need to be repaired because some of it washed away when the liner floated due to the leak. And the builder has agreed to fix

 

[JohnT]

IMO, don't spend a dime. It's the builders responsibility to leak test the returns before burying them. There's no way to fix a leak that bad without digging. If he has to cut out all of the concrete and replace it, that's the price of not doing the job right. If it's leaking several places now, it's not going to get better, but it will probably get worse.

 

[Poolidiot]

I have to agree 100% with JohnT, YOU should not have to spend one red cent to "fix" the PB's problem.

 

[EskimoPie]

I'll 'third the motion'... if your pool is leaking, you shouldn't have to pay a cent to get it fixed. I've never heard of this "fix a leak" product, but I can't believe it would be a good solution...

 

[vincent]

You would want a permanent fix, not one to tie your PB over the warranty period only.

 

[ptjackson]

I can't believe it's two weeks later and we still don't have a fix. On Monday the PB came out and pressured all the lines and sealed the lights with some stuff and checked skimmers etc. What is bad is my wife was here the PB put this magic fix a leak in there. Basically he was trying everything at once. He put in a "ultrasonic leak detector" in and said the leak was somewhere in the liner but couldn't find it because it was too windy. Short story he doesn't know.

So he has left and I think the liner has stopped floating some. The bottom seems a lot more solid and the areas by the drain etc are not floating. However it still seems to be losing water. I think IF the leak is fixed the water loss might be due to evaporation because the wind is blowing about 40MPH non stop here (I'm not kidding). AND i figure if the liner is settling back down I will need to put more water in as the liner falls into place. That being said there are still places the liner is floating and it's been over 50 hours.

I think the PB will be back out Monday but my question is how long do you think it will take for the liner to go back down if it's really fixed?

My gut tells me the leak is better but not fixed. I've ordered the Check-a-Leak gizmo so that i can do accurate reporting with a digital camera.

 

[ptjackson]

I'm going to bump this up just one more time b/c I am at the end of my rope.

We still don't have a fix. PB tried plugging the skimmers, no luck. Today the ENTIRE pool has been drained and he went looking for the leak in the liner and in the main drain. He still couldn't find it.

Does anyone at all have any ideas? Leak detection companies said they wouldn't be able to find it (even though it's 250 Gal a day). PB wants me to fill it 1/2 way and see if the leak is at the top or on the bottom. I'm just sick and starting to make me wish I hadn't ever started this project. Any suggestions at all would be helpful.

 

[JasonLion]

Did you try out the Check-a-Leak or do a bucket test to see how much is evaporation and how much is the leak?

 

[ptjackson]

Yes I purchased a check a leak system and it seems to be about 1/2 of an inch every 24 hours. that is about 250 Gallons of water given my size pool. The check a leak system works best for me as the bucket test was somewhat subjective on where to measure from (just had a hardtime marking the watermark). PB has came out every 4-6 days to try something. Here's a recap.

1. pressure tested all returns.
2. Plugged returns
3. Plugged skimmers.
4. Resealed the lights
5. Rechecked return fittings
6. Drained pool looked for seams that were loose and holes in liner.
7. Pressure checked main drain.

The Leak detection company I called was American leak, which has been highly recommended by some other members. They said anything under 1" was not findable. that is hard for me to believe given the gallons of loss but alas they basically said good luck.

Help me obi-one you're my only hope.

 

[waste]

Sorry you are having this problem ! You didn't mention them pressure testing the skimmer (s). Also, main drains often have a hydrostat valve in them, was that checked? Did they even bother to do a 'vessel' test? There is a post in the Pool School section that may help you figure out the source of the leak, please read it and respond