Possible Pool Leak -- New Pool Owner Here

[CarlsonDDS]

Hi Guys-
First time posting, long time "learner" from this forum! Just got my pool installed in Sept 2014. (16x32 Vinyl Liner In Ground)

I think I have a leak in my pool. We are definitely concerned, but luckily it does seem to be very slight, so I cannot decide if I am just crazy. Here are two pictures of water levels from 18 hours after I marked them. I did some looking on this forum and you all discussed evaporation (could be up to 1/4" without a cover) and fountain usage (more evaporation) as two causes among others. So I decided to stop using the fountain completely, and cover the pool 100% during the testing to eliminate those two variables. Our cover is a safety cover that fully seals the pool with the exception of about a square inch on two corners.

So yesterday at 1:00 I opened the pool, marked the skimmer faceplate, the skimmer inside, and also did the bucket test and closed everything back up. Already this morning I went out, and we were down about 1/4" in about 18 hours. The bucket test did show some evaporation in the bucket, but not the same loss as the pool. As I said it was a small change, but I do think it might be a leak! Yesterday, before I started the bucket test I inspected some things like the equipment pad, and skimmer faceplate and skimmer, and I did find a crack in the skimmer wall itself! This crack can be seen on the picture. It almost looks like a long hair stuck to the side. I did the food coloring test on this area and did not really see any dye being pulled into the crack however.

I have out pool set to 80 degrees and right now the temps in North Dakota vary from 40 degree lows to 70 degree highs, which I know can add to evaporation, but we have had the pool closed up during the entire test, so I am not sold on it being the evaporation thing.



I am going to seal the skimmer crack with some JB Water Weld on Wednesday once I allow the test to go a little more and really convince myself I am not crazy. Does that seem like a decent fix? Any other words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated!




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September 2014 Water Officially Added to a 16x32 Vinyl Liner In-Ground Pool with Auto Safety Cover in North Dakota

 

[prs]

One thought is that you could continue the leak test until the level stops going down. That would confirm you do have a leak and also tell you the level of the leak.

 

[swimcmp]

Pre not entirely correct. The water level will go down until hydrostatic pressure equalizes.

 

[stev32k]

Since you are located in North Dakota the first question that comes to mind is - is you piping below the frost line or is the water heated year round? I fought a small leak in my in-ground vinyl pool for four years and had three separate pool companies out to look for leaks and no one could find them. I replaced the liner last month and there were about 10 pin hole size leaks in the bottom of the liner. You could see where they were when the old liner was removed.

I kinda doubt that is your problem because the liner is so new. I was told that wall fittings could leak if they were cracked or do not have a gasket under them. The guys checking for leaks also spent a lot of time looking at the liner seams for small splits or cracks, but didn't find any. The pin holes in the bottom of my liner were so small they could not be seen, but there were enough of them to cause the water level to drop about 1/8" to 1/4" per day.

 

[CarlsonDDS]

Would any of you accept a 1/8" to 1/4" daily water loss with a safety cover in place when not in use? This is a new pool, and I am not sure if I should just let it go if it really is only an 1/8". What happens if I do have a leak in the plumbing underground? I am not interested in ripping up brand new stamped concrete! Also, I don't think the liner is the issue or fittings since all winter water was in the pool and we did not have any water loss. Which makes me think it is either the skimmer crack or plumbing. They are coming today to fix the skimmer crack and I guess I will keep a close eye on it after that. However, my biggest fear is that the water loss will still be present and we will have to figure out what is going on with the plumbing.