Hi all - We've had a heck of a time with our 20x40' vinyl in-ground this summer. Opened Easter weekend and over the next week figured out we had a leak somewhere....water level visibly declining over several days and it's not that hot in Kansas City in April for evaporation. Plugged the skimmer line and circulated water from the main drain and water levels held...which told us the leak had to be in the skimmer line itself. Called pool companies around town and on 6/13 (two months later!) we finally got someone to come out and do a pressure test / listen for bubbles with that high powered microphone thing. They found the leak in the skimmer line...hooray....except the company doesn't want to bust up our pebble tec deck. Later that day I went out to make sure the system was running properly and I couldn't get the pump to prime to save my life plus lots of bubbles at the returns. I checked and cleaned o-rings, checked plumbing joints, did the soap & water test, etc. Had a different pool company come out to take a look (absolutely worthless.) Called the leak detection company several times and they won't return calls now. So now I have a confirmed leak and I can't circulate from the main or skimmer or both because I can't prime. So frustrated.
At this point we've researched PipeFuze and Fix-A-Leak but the PipeFuze system is $1K and has to ship from California....Fix-A-Leak is $40 and availabel locally. We decided to create the PipeFuze plumbing set up ourselves to isolate the skimmer line and followed the Fix-A-Leak SUCTION SIDE REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS to the letter - taking care to have the water flow in the the reverse direction of normal operation. Before adding the Fix-A-Leak product, we let the submersible pump run in our closed-loop setup for about an hour in a 10-gallon container of water. Within 30 min we were down to 8 gallons. Leak confirmed.
We added 32 oz of Fix-A-Leak, topped off the container back to 10 gallons, and let the pump run. Checked again in 30 min....down to 9.5 gallon....a big improvement. As I type this, we're 2.5 hours into circulating and the plan is to let the system circulate for 6 hours (manufacturer recommends 4-6 hours.) Here's my question....Fix-A-Leak instructions below in italics....
Circulate the product for 4-6 hours or until you are comfortable the leak has stopped. Once the leak has stopped allow at least 72 hours of cure time before returning to normal operation. You can flush your lines by emptying the drum of the Fix A Leak mixture and running fresh water through.
I *think* I'm supposed to basically turn off the submersible pump in the bucket and walk away for 72 hours and THEN flush clean water through? Anyone have guidance? We've done so much to get to this point I just don't want to mess it up! Thanks in advance....will update with whether/how Fix-A-Leak holds up!
At this point we've researched PipeFuze and Fix-A-Leak but the PipeFuze system is $1K and has to ship from California....Fix-A-Leak is $40 and availabel locally. We decided to create the PipeFuze plumbing set up ourselves to isolate the skimmer line and followed the Fix-A-Leak SUCTION SIDE REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS to the letter - taking care to have the water flow in the the reverse direction of normal operation. Before adding the Fix-A-Leak product, we let the submersible pump run in our closed-loop setup for about an hour in a 10-gallon container of water. Within 30 min we were down to 8 gallons. Leak confirmed.
We added 32 oz of Fix-A-Leak, topped off the container back to 10 gallons, and let the pump run. Checked again in 30 min....down to 9.5 gallon....a big improvement. As I type this, we're 2.5 hours into circulating and the plan is to let the system circulate for 6 hours (manufacturer recommends 4-6 hours.) Here's my question....Fix-A-Leak instructions below in italics....
Circulate the product for 4-6 hours or until you are comfortable the leak has stopped. Once the leak has stopped allow at least 72 hours of cure time before returning to normal operation. You can flush your lines by emptying the drum of the Fix A Leak mixture and running fresh water through.
I *think* I'm supposed to basically turn off the submersible pump in the bucket and walk away for 72 hours and THEN flush clean water through? Anyone have guidance? We've done so much to get to this point I just don't want to mess it up! Thanks in advance....will update with whether/how Fix-A-Leak holds up!
