Hi,
Hoping for some advice here as we head towards the end of the season in Ontario. I feel like I'm losing my mind and filled with constant stress checking the water loss constantly and worrying about interpreting the results and what will happen over winter (major water loss, damage to structure, damage to safety cover, etc). Please help me regain my sanity
Sorry for the long explanation. I'm trying to give you everything I know so you can help me determine what to think/believe.
My pool is covered every night. It has pretty good coverage, but definitely not perfect. It's one of the clear/white covers. There are gaps at the edges, and then the full first step is uncovered. There's also a couple of very small holes in it.
After our most recent fix/repair by the leak detection expert (see background below), I ran the bucket test. Night 1, I saw approx 0.5cm loss in the pool, and 0.1cm in the bucket. Pool is covered, bucket is mostly covered except for a minor gap to try recreate the pool gaps. So I say definite leak. Over the next few days I continue to monitor. During the day (approx 12 hours) pump on (as it is overnight), they both lose about 0.1cm. Some nights, they both lose about the same 0.1cm. But then some nights the pool loss is back up at 0.5cm and bucket stays around 0.1-0.2cm. There's full 24 hour periods where they both lose the same and then certain nights where the pool is more as above.
Bucket is submerged on second step with a brick in it to keep it down. It's filled from pool water, fairly close to the top. We do have a mesh pool fence surrounding the pool, and the steps probably have it closer to them than the rest of the pool. They're also closer to our covered deck and house than any other point on the pool. And somewhat close to the wood fence with the neighbour. So you could definitely argue more wind shelter than the pool in general. Our days have been up and down in temperature, but nights certainly on the cooler side now. Humidity has also been up and down according to what my wife has noticed, but not checked the actual readings. The water is also circulating in the pool where it's not in the bucket. Pool is kept warm, at about 85F. I can imagine it's possible on nights with the right environmental conditions, the pool could lose more to evaporation than the bucket, even with the cover mostly covering both.
On one hand I say definite leak given that initial reading, and that has happened on some nights since. But on the other hand, I say if it's a leak, the pool should always be consistently more loss than the bucket, especially given I've recreated the same pool managed conditions (pump on etc), as the environment/weather wouldn't change how much loss a leak causes. So given some nights (and I think pretty much every day) see them both lose the same, then surely it isn't a leak because otherwise the pool should consistently lose more. Some daytime measuring was done with cover off and loss was consistent if I remember correctly. But you'd still get the other outside factors that could affect the bucket differently, especially overnight.
I also spoke to a step specialist in the area and showed him pictures. Yes we have plenty of normal cosmetic damage from steps of this age and areas where the fibreglass has been exposed. I also told him how I saw the dye the leak expert used being pulled out through a hole. Obviously he can't guarantee without seeing in person, but in his opinion, based on his nearly 30 years experience and what he knows of our type of step, he thinks the step "leaks" aren't actually leaks. He explained water does get pulled in when the top layer is damaged, but it's just going between that layer and the fibreglass, not actually draining from the pool. If we had a fibreglass crack, he'd expect to see different things. He thinks it's just a misunderstanding from the leak detection guy as to how steps behave. I'm inclined to believe him as he specializes in steps, and he could have easily sold me on something in a rush.
After that first reading, I booked the leak detection guy to come back as I was convinced and no one had been in the pool since his repair so no further damage could have taken place. But now I'm wondering what to do. He's due in a week and this is my last chance to have him out before I close for the season. It's free for me, but I don't want to waste his time if these results actually suggest not a leak. He's about 45 mins to an hour away. He's a great guy and seems very knowledgeable. I'm thinking of taking what advice I get here, explaining what I'm seeing in full, telling him what the step specialist said and asking what he'd do in my shoes, ie come out or not. I do want him to be an option in future and not annoy him with a wasted trip. He was very thorough the last time so I'm not sure he'd have missed something.
Please help. I'm absolutely losing it with the pool right now and it's not fun now. I have no doubt I'm trying to find a leak, and I could therefore be imagining it. But the results, on certain days, could be showing there is one somewhere. But maybe those differences are due to environmental conditions that impact the larger, more exposed, moving, body of water more.
Thanks!
------------------------------------
Some further background of our journey this summer with leaks if you're interested...
We had a leak earlier in the season in the plumbing. That was fixed and the water level then held pretty much solid for a while (I didn't run bucket tests as it had noticeably improved). Later in the summer in August (still warm during the day, nights starting to get a bit cooler and humidity changing), the water level appears to not hold quite as solid, and this is with the cover on overnight. I do the bucket test one day, find approx 0.5cm loss in the pool, and about 0.1cm in the bucket. I get the leak detection guy we had earlier in the year back out because it's free in the same season if there still appears to be a leak. He discovers a leak in the steps, patches it and away we go. Honestly didn't then get a chance to monitor it closely as we were away here and there, but it looked ok. I did a bucket test, and similar difference again (0.5cm vs 0.1cm). He comes back out, finds 3 more issues in the steps and patches them. Fast forward to a week or so later, which is now, in what I described above.
Hoping for some advice here as we head towards the end of the season in Ontario. I feel like I'm losing my mind and filled with constant stress checking the water loss constantly and worrying about interpreting the results and what will happen over winter (major water loss, damage to structure, damage to safety cover, etc). Please help me regain my sanity
Sorry for the long explanation. I'm trying to give you everything I know so you can help me determine what to think/believe.
My pool is covered every night. It has pretty good coverage, but definitely not perfect. It's one of the clear/white covers. There are gaps at the edges, and then the full first step is uncovered. There's also a couple of very small holes in it.
After our most recent fix/repair by the leak detection expert (see background below), I ran the bucket test. Night 1, I saw approx 0.5cm loss in the pool, and 0.1cm in the bucket. Pool is covered, bucket is mostly covered except for a minor gap to try recreate the pool gaps. So I say definite leak. Over the next few days I continue to monitor. During the day (approx 12 hours) pump on (as it is overnight), they both lose about 0.1cm. Some nights, they both lose about the same 0.1cm. But then some nights the pool loss is back up at 0.5cm and bucket stays around 0.1-0.2cm. There's full 24 hour periods where they both lose the same and then certain nights where the pool is more as above.
Bucket is submerged on second step with a brick in it to keep it down. It's filled from pool water, fairly close to the top. We do have a mesh pool fence surrounding the pool, and the steps probably have it closer to them than the rest of the pool. They're also closer to our covered deck and house than any other point on the pool. And somewhat close to the wood fence with the neighbour. So you could definitely argue more wind shelter than the pool in general. Our days have been up and down in temperature, but nights certainly on the cooler side now. Humidity has also been up and down according to what my wife has noticed, but not checked the actual readings. The water is also circulating in the pool where it's not in the bucket. Pool is kept warm, at about 85F. I can imagine it's possible on nights with the right environmental conditions, the pool could lose more to evaporation than the bucket, even with the cover mostly covering both.
On one hand I say definite leak given that initial reading, and that has happened on some nights since. But on the other hand, I say if it's a leak, the pool should always be consistently more loss than the bucket, especially given I've recreated the same pool managed conditions (pump on etc), as the environment/weather wouldn't change how much loss a leak causes. So given some nights (and I think pretty much every day) see them both lose the same, then surely it isn't a leak because otherwise the pool should consistently lose more. Some daytime measuring was done with cover off and loss was consistent if I remember correctly. But you'd still get the other outside factors that could affect the bucket differently, especially overnight.
I also spoke to a step specialist in the area and showed him pictures. Yes we have plenty of normal cosmetic damage from steps of this age and areas where the fibreglass has been exposed. I also told him how I saw the dye the leak expert used being pulled out through a hole. Obviously he can't guarantee without seeing in person, but in his opinion, based on his nearly 30 years experience and what he knows of our type of step, he thinks the step "leaks" aren't actually leaks. He explained water does get pulled in when the top layer is damaged, but it's just going between that layer and the fibreglass, not actually draining from the pool. If we had a fibreglass crack, he'd expect to see different things. He thinks it's just a misunderstanding from the leak detection guy as to how steps behave. I'm inclined to believe him as he specializes in steps, and he could have easily sold me on something in a rush.
After that first reading, I booked the leak detection guy to come back as I was convinced and no one had been in the pool since his repair so no further damage could have taken place. But now I'm wondering what to do. He's due in a week and this is my last chance to have him out before I close for the season. It's free for me, but I don't want to waste his time if these results actually suggest not a leak. He's about 45 mins to an hour away. He's a great guy and seems very knowledgeable. I'm thinking of taking what advice I get here, explaining what I'm seeing in full, telling him what the step specialist said and asking what he'd do in my shoes, ie come out or not. I do want him to be an option in future and not annoy him with a wasted trip. He was very thorough the last time so I'm not sure he'd have missed something.
Please help. I'm absolutely losing it with the pool right now and it's not fun now. I have no doubt I'm trying to find a leak, and I could therefore be imagining it. But the results, on certain days, could be showing there is one somewhere. But maybe those differences are due to environmental conditions that impact the larger, more exposed, moving, body of water more.
Thanks!
------------------------------------
Some further background of our journey this summer with leaks if you're interested...
We had a leak earlier in the season in the plumbing. That was fixed and the water level then held pretty much solid for a while (I didn't run bucket tests as it had noticeably improved). Later in the summer in August (still warm during the day, nights starting to get a bit cooler and humidity changing), the water level appears to not hold quite as solid, and this is with the cover on overnight. I do the bucket test one day, find approx 0.5cm loss in the pool, and about 0.1cm in the bucket. I get the leak detection guy we had earlier in the year back out because it's free in the same season if there still appears to be a leak. He discovers a leak in the steps, patches it and away we go. Honestly didn't then get a chance to monitor it closely as we were away here and there, but it looked ok. I did a bucket test, and similar difference again (0.5cm vs 0.1cm). He comes back out, finds 3 more issues in the steps and patches them. Fast forward to a week or so later, which is now, in what I described above.
