broken pipe

[tatscg]

Hello,
We just moved to a house with a 2006 gunite (small) pool (17x25x4 kidney shape), 1 skimmer, 2 return jets, and main drain. As first time pool owners we are terrified by all the things we don't have any idea about.
Two days ago we open the pool and found a really low water level, and we tough it was "normal" or just due to possibly the former homeowners not opening the pool during many years.
We decided to put some water on the pool before doing anything else but what happened was that after the water reached the level of the returns we saw the pipe from the main drain to the pump was leaking everywhere.

any idea how much it could cost to repair it and if there's a way to stop the water from rapidly draining from the pool while this can be done? or anyway is necessary to drain the pool to do the repair? sorry but no idea what to do while someone can come and check it out.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

You have a cracked pipe. Probably from poor winterization and freezing. Anyone familiar with PVC work can tix it. That area is a bit tight to work in. PVC work is just cutting pipes to size and doing proper gluing. A plumber or homeowner can do it.

Cost should not be too bad. Maybe 2 hours of labor. Make sure schedule 40 pool fittings are used. Not the type sold in the big box stores for indoor plumbing.

You can stick a plug or even a potato in the return to stop losing the water until you get it fixed.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Odd that there is a plug in the Tee right where you now have a leak. I am speculating that the plug is there to allow the pipe to be completely drained of water for winter. And that it was not properly drained, so the water froze and split your pipes.

Can you zoom out a bit on the plumbing situation? It may not be too hard of a job to replace those PVC fittings.

While we are trying to figure out the plumbing fix and get the pool up and running, please order one of the recommended test kits so you have it when the pool is running: Test Kits Compared
I recommend the TF-100 with XL option as your best values. Do not start going to pool stores and trusting their testing ... we have found it to not be reliable.

Also, start reading up on Pool School to start learning about the chemistry and the methods we teach starting with ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Have you tried to adjust the valves to bypass the main drain suction until you can get it repaired?