Evaporation in cold or leak

[lardo5150]

I will admit, I am hyper sensitive to what is happening with my pool.
I am one of the few who never lost power and was able to keep my pump running and waterfalls running 24/7 since last week.
Pump has been running at 2900 RPMs.

How much evaporation is there really in this temp, with the falls running 24/7.
Tonight I marked my water line and will check it tomorrow.
I know my equipment pad is dry. Other than snow melt, I don't notice an abnormal amount of water around the pool.
Again, this could be paranoia, but I am pretty sure I lost almost an inch in a day. At least I think I did.
I never had ice except on the rock around my falls. Skimmers never froze.

 

[mknauss]

Quite high with your cold air temperatures.

 

[Newdude]

^^^^^ +1. Especially with your cold nights. Has the same affect as a warm pool on a cool fall night. Lots of evaporation. Is it steamy/foggy at times ?

 

[EAnton]

I haven't been able to keep enough water in the pool this month either.

 

[Dirk]

You can determine if it's evaporation or a leak with the bucket test:

Leak Detection

A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.

www.troublefreepool.com

The bucket test would only work if the water in the bucket doesn't freeze...

 

[lardo5150]

I marked the skimmer yesterday.
I can see in the past 12 hours I lost 3/4 an inch.
Does that seem normal with these temps and pump/falls running non stop?

 

[ajw22]

You don’t say what water temperature, air temperature, and wind speeds you have during the day.

Evaporation of Pool Water - Further Reading has tables and links to a spreadsheet to calculate expected evaporation.

 

[lardo5150]

Let me take a look at that.
My water has been between 35 and 40 the past few days. Obviously Monday through Wednesday was the coldest with air temps in single digits. Air temp right now is about 30.

 

[ajw22]

Water temp 20+ degrees above air temperature can give evaporation you are seeing. I would not worry about it until air temperature is above water temperature.

 

[Newdude]

And lots of wind. Think blowing on a hot cup of coffee or soup. Gets lots more steamy, right ? The wind(or you)makes all the little waves which all but doubles the surface area of the coffee/soup/pool. All those little peaks and valleys would stretch much further than the pool if laid flat. The more surface area you have, the more is exposed to the temperature change (delta ? IIRC) and the more evaporates.

Probably all normal but the bucket test will help you sleep better.

 

[washcycle]

Just to add a data point for you peace of mind. I ran my waterfall and spillover the whole time. I was losing 1" every 12 hours. It was insane. My spigot froze eventually and I ran a hose from my washer machine water line out the window into the pool. Fun times.