Hi all,
Glad to be back in pool season now here in Ontario and out of my trouble free pool hibernation!
I have a potential leak, but the bucket test results are so confusing...
Yesterday morning, I filled the bucket with pool water, submerged it on the 2nd step (it's about 2/3 submerged), marked the inside and outside. I've attempted to put the bucket in the least sheltered part of my steps. The pump has been running 24/7.
After the first approx 10-12 hours during a warmish sunny day, I checked the levels and they were almost the same. In fact, bucket loss was 0.6cm and pool loss was marginally less at 0.5cm or just under.
I checked again this morning at about 8am (approx 22 hours after I started the test) and the results confused me. Bucket loss total is approx 0.7cm and pool loss is approx 1.2cm. So the pool loss has continued (even sped up a little) and the bucket loss has slowed down. I've run this test previous nights (albeit not as accurately, bucket not as submerged, not quite in the middle of the steps, etc), and saw similar results in terms of greater overnight loss in the pool.
If I hadn't looked at the 10-12 hour results and only at the 22 hour results, I'd look at the difference between the two of 0.5cm and think there must be a leak. But having seen the first set of results and the fact the difference was negligible (in fact in favour of the pool), I'd have expected the same overnight.
Can someone explain what on earth is going on here? Is this a leak? Or just some weird overnight conditions that affect the pool much worse than the bucket? I have tried to place the bucket in the least sheltered part of the steps possible, but it is more sheltered than the rest of the pool (the steps are like a semi circle so it is somewhat protected on each side, and there's a mesh pool fence that wraps round the steps) but I don't know if that'd have as much of an effect on wind, etc.
Before I pay for a leak detection company, I'm hoping for some thoughts on this as I'm very confused and don't understand why the overnight comparison is so different to the daytime.
Thanks all!
Graham.
Glad to be back in pool season now here in Ontario and out of my trouble free pool hibernation!
I have a potential leak, but the bucket test results are so confusing...
Yesterday morning, I filled the bucket with pool water, submerged it on the 2nd step (it's about 2/3 submerged), marked the inside and outside. I've attempted to put the bucket in the least sheltered part of my steps. The pump has been running 24/7.
After the first approx 10-12 hours during a warmish sunny day, I checked the levels and they were almost the same. In fact, bucket loss was 0.6cm and pool loss was marginally less at 0.5cm or just under.
I checked again this morning at about 8am (approx 22 hours after I started the test) and the results confused me. Bucket loss total is approx 0.7cm and pool loss is approx 1.2cm. So the pool loss has continued (even sped up a little) and the bucket loss has slowed down. I've run this test previous nights (albeit not as accurately, bucket not as submerged, not quite in the middle of the steps, etc), and saw similar results in terms of greater overnight loss in the pool.
If I hadn't looked at the 10-12 hour results and only at the 22 hour results, I'd look at the difference between the two of 0.5cm and think there must be a leak. But having seen the first set of results and the fact the difference was negligible (in fact in favour of the pool), I'd have expected the same overnight.
Can someone explain what on earth is going on here? Is this a leak? Or just some weird overnight conditions that affect the pool much worse than the bucket? I have tried to place the bucket in the least sheltered part of the steps possible, but it is more sheltered than the rest of the pool (the steps are like a semi circle so it is somewhat protected on each side, and there's a mesh pool fence that wraps round the steps) but I don't know if that'd have as much of an effect on wind, etc.
Before I pay for a leak detection company, I'm hoping for some thoughts on this as I'm very confused and don't understand why the overnight comparison is so different to the daytime.
Thanks all!
Graham.