Drip. Drip. Drip. - Help? Encouragement? Advice? Insults?

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Everything should have been dry. I had a towel with me and I dried it several times. There is water in the pool but I was as careful as I could be to make sure the female end was dry where the threads were.

What do you think about the fact that the hose adapter I'm using is the "generic" cheap one from the pool section of lowes? There should be a pic in this thread.
 
I have those same hoses from lowes and mine don't leak Beens.
 
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This is what leaks from the threads. Aqua EZ Hose Adapter
http://www.lowes.com/pd_192069-1003...&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=hose+adapter&facetInfo=
 
laceygirl said:
You have the patience of a saint, I'd just be getting silicone in there to stop the leak, so I admire your determination... :)
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. I hadn't considered silicone, I was thinking more along the lines of a chainsaw. :rant: The frustration level is very high at this point.

It's dried out now. Not leaking with the skimmer going it seems. At least I can sleep without worrying about it tonight.

I'm off until Monday and I am really hoping to actually get in the pool for the first time this season. Supposed to be pretty nice this weekend. It's early. We'll see if it gets the water warmed up enough. 68 right now but a warm day will heat it quickly.

I just wish I didn't have to think about a leak anymore.
 
Enjoy the pool Beans! Mine is way too cold right now but it's going to be in the 80's tomorrow and I have to go back to work!
 
If it's any consolation, I have a few places on my heater plumbing that have constant drips. I quit worrying about them. 1 drip every couple of seconds isn't going to drain the pool. The wet spots on the ground have yet to get larger that 6" around, and that is with heavy clay soil that doesn't allow water to drain very well.

Could it be that you and I have been perfectionists too long? I know how hard it is to change that outlook, but it can be done. Self imposed stress is the worst thing, believe me!

Look at it this way -- the grass gets a bit of extra water there.... just means those spots will be a bit greener than the rest.
 
Charlie, I have wondered about that. After this experience I find it hard to believe that it's even possible to stop this. This one didn't leak at all for what? 2 weeks?

Not until this week when my filter was up at about 16-17psi for about a day and a half and it's not even the first time it's gotten that high since in the past 2 weeks. I don't even know if it's related. The issue now is that it seems to be fine with the hose hooked up for the skimmer but when I take it off it drips quite a bit. When I turned the pump off completely it was a quick drip drip drip that I think actually would have lowered the pool if left alone.

I'm pretty sure I have to take it apart again. I don't like to leave the skimmer hooked up all the time when I can't be there to check that basket.

I have to take it apart because I have to try to fix it yet I don't have much hope for actually being able to fix it. I might go buy the piece from leslie's and then use tape AND sealant. The only thing is, I think the one that they carry in leslie's is the same as the one pictured above and I'd have to cut it like I did the one from lowe's. I can't see having that step down on the hose end where it's made for a 1 1/4" hose. It just makes the hole smaller than it needs to be so I sawed it off mine. (This has no bearing on the threads whatsoever)

I'm thinking of stealing the one from my backwash port on the filter just to see if it works. I could stick the lowes one on there because who cares if that leaks a little when I'm backwashing? (of course this is still me trying to blame the leaking on the white piece from lowes...)
 

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I just don't know. I already used quite a bit of the sealant. I mean, I put enough on that I made sure it was pushed into the threads and then completely covering the threads. It looked solid when I was done putting the sealant on.

It's about impossible to google "how much sealant to use for pvc" because all I get is stuff about brass. Even the tube doesn't say how much. I know the first time I didn't use enough but with the intake fitting it never leaked...until now. So even if I "fix" it, I suppose I'll have to do it again in 2 weeks. I better invest in the sealant company because I'll go through a lot if I have to take it off and redo it every 2 weeks all year. :(

*edit* I just skimmed back through the thread and it's actually been 3 weeks since I did the inlet. So it waited 3 weeks to start leaking. It's been 2 weeks since I used the strap wrench to remove the fitting and fix the return side leak. That one still isn't leaking, but hey, there's still time!
 
Well here's a quick update. I have been leaving the skimmer attached and pump running since my last post so I didn't have to deal with the leak. As long as there was water flowing with skimmer hose attached all was fine.

But...I'm going out of town this weekend and my mom will be coming over to feed the cats, the plants and the pool. lol

I don't think it's a good idea to leave the skimmer attached when I can't be here to check it at least a couple times a day soooooo I had to fix it.

I cut down the hose fitting thing from Leslie's (meaning I can't return it now if it doesn't work!) I hate that they are set up for the smaller diameter and the larger diameter when I only need the larger so I cut the "tip" off just like I did with the lowes one.

I turned off the pump, put in my plugs, removed my hose clamps/hose and took off the lowes threaded hose fitting thing. I wrapped the new Leslie's piece with teflon tape and then smothered it in the sealant.

I very carefully made sure the inside of the fitting was dry. No water at all, although there was still sealant left on it from removing the other fitting. I even stuck a paper towel in it to make sure there was no water while I screwed in the new piece.

Here's what I noticed. This one was much tighter to screw in. I had to have my husband tighten it because it didn't go in as far. I don't know if this is just because of the teflon tape making it "thicker" or if it's because it was a different fitting. The threads looked different on the new fitting although it was the same thread count. (yeah, I counted the lowes one and the leslies and they had the same amount of threads)

Anywho... this one didn't go in "all the way" before it got nice and tight feeling. It was harder to get the hose onto the new one. Had to get my husband to do that too! I only used 1 hose clamp. The other one is still on the hose but I don't think it would fit completely on the barb so I didn't tighten it.

Verdict...it seems to have fixed the leak. I don't know how long it will last but at least I can leave the skimmer unattached without a constant drip.

I hope it's good and done now!

And with that, I'm going to bed! It's late. :)
 
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