Digruntled First Time Pool Owner

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M

Mooseman51

Member
Jul 24, 2023
7
New York
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Autopilot Digital Nano+ PPC2
Hi everyone,

I recently bought a house with a pool a month ago and have been super excited to get it up and running (first time pool owner). Unfortunately, it's been a rough string of events since we moved in with the pool. Ultimately, I'm looking for some advice/guidance on what's transpired so far, and where to go from here.
  1. 18X36 inground free form pool; ~20k gallons, Vinyl liner, SWG; pool built in ~2005
  2. We knew the pool liner needed to be replaced (was 18 years old) as we were losing multiple inches a day of water - so that was the #1 thing to be done
  3. Purchased a new Dolphin M400 for the pool before the new liner went in (so we could clean and use the existing pool/liner in the interim)
  4. New liner went in from local company installer, Merlin 20 Mil Aquamax
  5. We were still losing nearly an inch a day post liner. I let the liner company know and they came out and they tightened the skimmer boxes
  6. After a few days, we were still losing about the same amount of water (even after I had plugged the skimmers and return jets) - so the liner company sent a 3rd party leak detection/diver company to have a look.
    1. The diver came in and noticed there was a leak around some of the return jets, so he sealed those up
  7. After a few days, we were still losing about half an inch of water
    1. Leak detection team came again and found 2 small HOLES (??!!) in the brand new liner. He patched
  8. After a few days, we were still losing a similar amount of water
    1. Leak detection team came again and found ANOTHER HOLE in the liner, and I also had them plug the 2 main drains as some dye was being pulled there. For now, I plan to leave the MD plugged and off, and use the skimmers.
    2. Leak detection guy asked if I had a robo pool cleaner - inferring that could be creating the holes. His logic made sense - he said he wouldn't have missed the holes in the previous pass (and the robot had been in there once since he had left)

It's now been a few days, and we seem to be within the 1/8th-1/4th of an inch a day normal evaporation threshhold - which I'm relieved about. That said, I have no idea where to go from here. My brand new liner has 3 patches in it, my $1500 robot (now out of return period) is the main culprit for said holes, and clearly I have a main drain leak?

Hoping for some advice and expertise from you all:
  • Could I have a faulty liner, or a faulty robot? In my opinion, it is completerly unacceptable that the robot could be the casue of this in a BRAND NEW liner. Can I demand a new liner from the company? It's legitimately 2 weeks old.
  • I plan to leave the plugs in the main drain and just operate from the skimmers - are there consequences to that?
  • Please tell me it gets easier from here?
Thanks all.
 
Unless there’s something stuck to the robot rollers or it’s got something wrong with it (sharp edges) there shouldn’t be any damage caused. You should inspect it to be certain.
Where the holes are is there anything sharp underneath the liner? What kind of bottom is the pool? Pool crete? Vermiculite? Sand? I assume they smoothed this out prior to installing the new liner?
When it’s very hot out you can also have a bit of water lost to evaporation.
The bucket test would help you determine how much that is factoring in to the equation.
www.google.com

Bucket Test

This is a simple method of leak detection is done by marking water levels on … Read more…
www.google.com www.google.com
 

Dolphin Pool Cleaners -- Can They Rip Pool Liners?

I bought a Dolphin Pro 2011 for our pool almost a year ago and since about the second week it has been causing us problems. I noticed the water level dropping substantially every day, more than what could be contributed to evaporation. So, I called out the pool company to take a look and they...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Chrissykr said:
I had a Dolphin Oasis within four months I had 22 holes in my brand new liner. After months of going back and forth with Maytronics they agreed to swap mine out for a S300i. I have not had an issue since.

Dealing with Maytronics is not fun and I would rather walk on a bed of hot coals rather than deal with them ever again.
Click to expand...
 
James, thank you for the links. I have a Dolphin M400:

www.maytronics.com

Dolphin M400 Pool Cleaner with Wi-Fi | Maytronics

Are you ready for a sparkling clean pool season? Explore the Dolphin M400 robotic swimming pool cleaner for a remarkably clean pool.
www.maytronics.com www.maytronics.com

I'd be really, really dissappointed if the robot was the issue.
 

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I have seen enough reports to make me believe that it is possible for a robot to cause damages.

Vinyl liners are thin sheets of vinyl and they can be damaged easier than people think.

People with plaster pools do not have the same worry because their surface is extremely durable.

Anecdotes are not science and they do not prove causation, but enough reports can establish a possible correlation.

In any case, I don't know if the robot is causing the holes or not.

It's a new liner, so it should not be leaking, but maybe the liner was put in over sharp debris or some other defect in workmanship.

Maybe the liner material was defective from the manufacturer.

At this point, all we have is speculation and conjecture about why the pool is leaking and why the liner seems to be springing leaks.
 
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Jimrahbe said:
There are also reports of Space Aliens
Click to expand...
I have this and it goes off all the time, so I know that aliens are real.

Actually, I have two to verify and they both go off at the same time, which proves that aliens are real.

https://www.amazon.com/UFO-Detector-magnetometer-interfaced-microcontroller/dp/B000796XYQ

71qekohqDPL._AC_SX569_.jpg
61+EBjMs+-L._AC_SY879_.jpg
 
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The main problem is that you might want to go after the robot manufacturer, the liner installer or the liner manufacturer, but you do not have a clear cause of action that points directly to a responsible party.

You probably need to make claims with all three and try to come to some sort of resolution.

If it is the robot, then there will probably be an ongoing problem.

You need to try to find out for sure because if you replace the liner and it is the robot, then you are right back to square one.
 
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JamesW said:
You need to try to find out for sure because if you replace the liner and it is the robot, then you are right back to square one.
Click to expand...

No doubt that is true... :goodjob:

I certainly have no prove that a robot will not damage a liner...

But logic says that there is nothing on a robot that has a sharp point that could poke a hole in a liner. I can see if it got stuck and ran for a long time in the same spot it might wear a hole in a liner, but that should be pretty obvious..

That said, I do not have any experience with liner pools, so what do I know.. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Start a log of your experiences to date. Including the following. Stop using the robot. Wait for the next hole. If one develops, your log will be proof the liner or its installation are at fault. If no holes develop for a month, put the robot back in. If a hole develops shortly after, your log will prove it’s the robot.

You can buy a manual vacuum set up relatively cheap to clean your pool for a while.

Once you can prove the cause, then we can talk next steps.
 
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