Is skimmer repairable, and what did I do wrong?

[TDK_WPG]

Summer #2 with our AGP, and thanks to TFP I opened to a perfectly clear and beautiful pool. I did however find a minor issue, where the skimmer has a split in it, resulting in a minor leak (literally a drip per minute or so).

Two questions:
1) Is this repairable, or am I needing to replace the skimmer? My feeling is that this will keep until fall drain, unless it gets significantly worse...
2) What did I do wrong? I assume this is a result of a winterizing failure, but I believe I followed the process well. Pool was drained to ~9" below the bottom of the skimmer, all lines were drained, blown out, gizmo was installed, pool was covered, top of skimmer was covered with plastic so no snow could get in. The cover was new and water-tight, as I had zero infiltration from what I could tell. Even with snow melt, water level was about the same as where it ended last year, ~9" below skimmer bottom when I removed the cover.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Texas Splash]

Sounds like you did everything right to try and prevent the crack. It's a bit odd. Perhaps a quality defect of the item itself? Did you have the bottom hose disconnected as well so any residual water could drip out?

Regardless, if you were to apply a silicone or epoxy on the exterior, it should help to seal the leak since it's more of a suction issue anyways with no pressurized water pushing outward. Depending on the product used, you might need to dry the skimmer first, but it can't hurt to try.

 

[TDK_WPG]

Thanks, I was thinking of silicone on both sides once it is dry. The hose was sealed in place at time of install so I can’t easily remove it, but I figured with a roughly 4’ drop it would take a lot of seepage to fill it up, if the bag covering the top tore and leaked for example.

 

[Floorguy]

or use the jb weld made for water areas

 

[pinelands]

You could probably plastic weld it with a soldering iron plus some clear cable ties. Google/Youtube it.

If you only want to use a waterproof silicon you should open up the crack a little more on each side, so they have a V shape. That way there is more surface area for the silicon to hold.

The waterproof jb weld epoxy would be better than silicon if you can't plastic weld it shut.

 

[Saturn94]

I’ve had good luck with this product as well.

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[TDK_WPG]

Thank-you all, excellent suggestions and a few options for me to play with. Much appreciated