Fixed skimmer leak with sealant; how long should I wait before refilling?

[otherchuck]

Greetings!

I had a leak in my pool skimmer, so I lowered the water below the leak and used Boss 801 to repair it. I know the tube says "cures and bonds in 24 hours. Optimum strength is achieved in 7 days;" it has now been about 2.5 days since the sealant was applied. Is it okay to refill the pool now (such that the sealed section would now be submerged) or is it recommended that we should wait a full 7 days ("optimum strength") before refilling the pool? Thanks!

Chuck Mullin

 

[Texas Splash]

I would think it's safe by now, but let's give this thread a for some additional replies. Thanks for posting.

 

[1poolman1]

Where was the leak? Silicone is not usually the best product for a skimmer repair. Silicone cures in the presence of humidity. Are you using it a a glue? That's when you worry about its "strength."

 

[otherchuck]

Greetings!

Firstly, forgot to mention this is a fiberglass pool. The suspected leak was in the vicinity of where the skimmer meets the skimmer face plate. Some sealer that had been originally applied there in 2006 was peeling off, and the gasket was really badly eroded. We took the face plate and the gasket off, and sealed where the pool side hits the skimmer. Then we put on a new gasket and a new face plate (the old one was was discolored), and sealed again where I have indicated with red lines in the attached photo. Not the most illustrative photo (I was scared of dropping phone in pool if I tried to get a better angle), but the photo is looking at the skimmer from above. You can see that the skimmer is slightly yellowed compared to bright white new face plate. We are not using the sealant as a glue. It happens now to be about 3.5 days since we applied the sealant. I am inclined to think it is okay to refill above the (hopefully) former leak, but can wait a full week if people advise that. Only real drag about waiting is that I can't cover the pool when the water level is this low, and thus we are getting tons of debris in the pool from trees, and I also have to constantly keep an eye on my dog (to make sure he doesn't fall in).

Otherchuck