New pool owner. Questions on bubbles, leaks, equipment, decking and covers

[coopooc]

I have lots of questions so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible!

- The jets seem to be spitting out a lot of bubbles, small ones constantly, bigger ones ever 2-3 seconds. I'm worried one of the pipes has a puncture or something allowing air to seep in like a cracked straw.

- The pool equipment sits on a concrete pad in a shed. I haven't been able to locate the leak but the lawn downhill is saturated with water. We aren't actually in the home yet so I haven't been able to determine if the pool is losing water but the grass has to be getting wet somehow. There's a minor leak somewhere that is causing the pad to be wet but I don't think it explains that amount of water in the lawn. Ideas?

- Speaking of equipment, I was able to identify a Haywood pump and a "Sta-Rite" Diatomaceous Earth Filter and a Pentair MasterTemp 300 heater. So far, that's all I know but could anyone tell me anything I absolutely need to know about them? I've done some Googling but so far nothing about the setup seems especially notable.

- The pool decking has large cracks. Some appear to be cosmetic but others are very concerning. One on the corner appears to be near falling into the pool, the other goes right through the skimmer. Can these be filled or is there the possibility of a very serious structural issue?

- The owner left behind a very nice winter cover but the summer cover was tossed. How do most folks handle the reel? Do you permanently affix the reel to the decking or do most of you prefer the kind on wheels? The wheeled ones I've seen look cheaply constructed but I certainly wouldn't want anyone nailing their foot on a permanent one.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Patrick_B]

Hey coopooc, Welcome to TFP!

It's all different as the solar covers go. I think you'll find an even mix of people who roll or mount they reels, depending on their taste and situation.

 

[coopooc]

Thanks Patrick. I did some more research on Amazon on the covers. Hopefully that's a good place to get information. I think I found one that will work. Still tackling lots of the other issues I mentioned with the best Google-fu I can muster.

 

[Aloha76]

I'm guessing this pool is fairly old. The cracks don't look too bad to me for old concrete. You could just use a crack filler on them for now and decide later if or how you want to remodel the decking. It is typical for concrete decking to crack and it doesn't mean anything is structurally wrong with the pool itself.

 

[duraleigh]

The bubbles coming from the return are likely from a suction side air leak.......probably not related to your wet ground.

Once you get in to the house, tell us how much water you are losing on a daily basis. You can read about suction leaks in Pool School.

 

[coopooc]

Thanks Aloha76. That makes me feel a lot better. I've done some research on filling cracks in decking, feel pretty confident that we can get them taken care of.

Duraleigh - So would it be fair to say I probably have two leaks? One on the suction side and one in the pump house? If I might ask, what makes you think the one in the pool house isn't causing the bubbles?