Leak detection companies can't find pool leak

[platon20]

I know for a fact that I have a pool leak.

Every 3 days I have to add water to the pool, or else the water in the skimmers runs low, air gets sucked into the lines, and the pump shuts down.

Every day there's a corner of soil near the pool edge that is SOAKING wet. We haven't had rain in the last 3 weeks. The surrounding ground is completely dry.

I've had 2 pool leak companies come out and tell me that they can't find a leak.

I'm starting to get really irritated.

 

[Texas Splash]

I would be frustrated as well. How many companies have you had visit? Can you tell us what methods they used to try and find a leak? Is the damp area near the return jets?

 

[platon20]

They both used some kind of "pressure" method to detect the leak but I don't know enough about it to really comment how they did it.

The wet ground is spaced in between two return jets. I tried to use the dye test on the insde of the pool to see if there was a leak but couldn't detect anything.

I'm thinking that it must be in the pipes outside the pool where the return lines run through.

I'm going to just start digging until I can find the pipes below the surface, I guess that's the only option I have left.

 

[markayash]

Any way to shut down each return one at a time or are they all plumbed together?

 

[platon20]

Any way to shut down each return one at a time or are they all plumbed together?

Unfortunately it's all together

 

[DeSotoSteve]

Did either leak detection company check the light niche? If not, they should have. If all your lines passed the pressure test and you've ruled out any leaks in the liner, that would be my next suspect. The conduit connector in the back of the niche can crack or break. It happened to my brother's pool. We packed it with some pool putty and problem was solved.

Get yourself a dye kit that has a syringe with a long thin tube (like this: Amazon.com : Leakmaster Pre-Filled Dye Tester for Finding Pool/Spa Leaks : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Garden & Outdoor ). Remove the light from the niche--usually just one phillips head screw--and inject some dye near the conduit hole in the back. If the conduit is leaking, you'll see the dye move toward it. Some properly applied pool putty should do the trick ( https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Epoxy-...1593538491&sprefix=pool+leak,aps,1107&sr=8-14 ).

Keep in mind that the location of the wet spot in the yard can be misleading. Regardless of where the leak is occurring, the water will accumulate in the lowest spot. In my brother's case, the wet spot in his lawn was about 20 ft away from the pool on the opposite side from the light niche.

Good luck!