When I opened my gunite pool for the summer, I was having to add way more water than usual. Did a bucket test and confirmed that my CYA was dropping too, so I definitely have a leak. I let the water drop to see how far it go and it seemed to stop once it reached the bottom of the skimmer.
After examining the skimmer and doing some dye tests, I wasn't able to find and obvious leaks. However I did notice that the bottom of the faceplate had separated from the pool slightly so I figured the leak must be behind there. I wanted to just pull the faceplate off and replace it, but the screws are pretty stripped so I don't want to cause any more damage. I ended up jamming a bunch of pool putty in but it didn't seem to stop the leak. I did another dye test but didn't see anything obvious.
My other theory is that maybe it's the main drain? I have an old combo skimmer, but have never had a diverter, so I don't use it. When I do a dye test in the skimmer, some of the ink seems to want to go into the main drain as opposed to the skimmer, but it could just be the way way the ink is sinking.
So my next steps are either try blocking the off the main drain, or replace the faceplate and gasket entirely. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Am I missing anything?
After examining the skimmer and doing some dye tests, I wasn't able to find and obvious leaks. However I did notice that the bottom of the faceplate had separated from the pool slightly so I figured the leak must be behind there. I wanted to just pull the faceplate off and replace it, but the screws are pretty stripped so I don't want to cause any more damage. I ended up jamming a bunch of pool putty in but it didn't seem to stop the leak. I did another dye test but didn't see anything obvious.
My other theory is that maybe it's the main drain? I have an old combo skimmer, but have never had a diverter, so I don't use it. When I do a dye test in the skimmer, some of the ink seems to want to go into the main drain as opposed to the skimmer, but it could just be the way way the ink is sinking.
So my next steps are either try blocking the off the main drain, or replace the faceplate and gasket entirely. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Am I missing anything?
