Filled pool on Friday and there’s a LEAK somewhere!

[Heather32]

I do not think you understand what I am asking you about.

The pipes were laid in the ground early in the build. They should have all been caped, tied together and pressurized with a pressure gauge showing that pressure was maintained. This lets any leaks be identified before the pipes are buried under dirt, gunite, and decking. It also lets you see if and trades damaged a pipe during their work.

Once almost all the other work is done, and the pipes still holding pressure, then the pipes are uncapped and equipment installed.

This is different then any building inspections. The inspector does not care if your pipes will leak.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hang in there Heather. Not much you can do at this point so late in the evening. Thanks for all the pics. As you said, your husband should be there soon and you two can discuss everything noted here. Not an ideal way to start your pool adventures. Hopefully the water loss is not from something too critical. Other than the plumbing itself, water would only leak from a few other places like the hydrostatic valve in the drain, behind the light (niche), sometimes around the skimmer(s), or multiport valve at the filter (water flowing to waste). A good leak detection company will have a variety of tools to pinpoint such a problem (dyes, ultrasound, scopes, etc). Hopefully it's not too big a problem. Keep us posted!

 

[jimmythegreek]

I'm late to the thread. What's the basis for the leak and how much water are you losing? Does it matter if pump is on or off?

 

[Heather32]

I'm late to the thread. What's the basis for the leak and how much water are you losing? Does it matter if pump is on or off?

it doesn’t matter if the pool pump is on or off, still leaks.
Night one I filled the pool mid tile line and I ran my pump over night.. when I woke up the water level was under the skimmer.. lost 3-4inchea. Second night I made sure the pool was to tile mid line shut off the pump completely and woke up in the morning to another 3-4 inches lost. During the day I’m leaving the hose on constantly. Hopefully we can get a leak detector out tomorrow. ?

 

[bdavis466]

Did you ever say what the multiport setting is?

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

I am going to ask the question that has been unasked. That's a fair amount of water.. is there any wet spots in your yard yet? Maybe that's hard to tell in Florida, but with you losing that much water there is a possibility if you can trace where the plumbing is buried and look in those areas you might get an idea to where you are leaking.

It's beating a dead horse, honestly, but if there was a pressure leak and it was repaired, the system should have remained pressurized for several days before claiming it was good. You might want to contact the plumbers and ask them where it was repaired and start from there. But it could be all of what has been previously listed above as well.

Man, I would have had an aneurysm if my pool did that! I hope it's something in the plumbing above ground or outside of the deck area and pool. Wish you the best of luck.

 

[jimmythegreek]

I think it's a good idea to reach out to the plumbing sub. If it's not above ground or a visible wet spot its gonna be hard for a novice to figure it out. Double check the filter handle isn't to waste or partially open

 

[Heather32]

Good news, the leak has been repaired!!!
The leak detection company came out yesterday and found that there were two holes in the plaster behind the main drain system in the wall. It’s been over 24 hours since the repair and the water is staying where it should be! ??
as for the plaster company... that said it wasn’t their problem when we told them about the leak.. I’d say it was their problem. We have a video to prove it as well. We will for sure be deducting the $500 leak detection service and a portion of our water bill off the top of money we will still owe them.
now I feel like we can finally enjoy the pool! well the view. Burr it’s been chilly in FL.
We have a gas heater.. anyone use theirs within the first month? It’s not recommended... the pool cleaning service people said they don’t see why we can’t. ??‍

 

[mguzzy]

Yeah! nice job persevering! Good luck on the claim against the plaster Co... good job on having a vid. Now you are going to have to post some pics of the finished pool!

I don't see why you couldn't heat your pool up to take off the edge... if you filled the pool in the summer it would have been warmer anyway.

 

[Texas Splash]

Great news. Good to hear. Now you can focus on other things like ......... turkey!

 

[ajw22]

We have a gas heater.. anyone use theirs within the first month? It’s not recommended... the pool cleaning service people said they don’t see why we can’t. ??‍

With new plaster there is a lot of plaster dust in the water and the pH is usually very high. When you heat water the potential for scale formation in the heater increases significantly.

The actual timeframe for waiting to use the heater has no real merit. As long as the plaster dust is under control and the pH is in range there is no reason not to use it. Your risk of rushing to use the heater is scale clogging up the heater coil.

 

[Heather32]

Yeah! nice job persevering! Good luck on the claim against the plaster Co... good job on having a vid. Now you are going to have to post some pics of the finished pool!

I don't see why you couldn't heat your pool up to take off the edge... if you filled the pool in the summer it would have been warmer anyway.

I’ll for sure post some pictures!
That was my thought on just taking the edge off but my paper talks about the plaster dust being an issue. Which I’m not seeing much plaster dust any more. Very little to none. I may try it out.

 

[Heather32]

With new plaster there is a lot of plaster dust in the water and the pH is usually very high. When you heat water the potential for scale formation in the heater increases significantly.

The actual timeframe for waiting to use the heater has no real merit. As long as the plaster dust is under control and the pH is in range there is no reason not to use it. Your risk of rushing to use the heater is scale clogging up the heater coil.

yes, I read the plaster dust can clog the heater... at first their was a good amount of plaster dust.. now there is hardly any.
I’m not sure I really wanna risk messing something up. ??‍

 

[bdavis466]

Can you post the video of the leak?