Leak during pressure test - is this acceptable?

[greenwood207]

Out of curiosity, was anyone able to assess the cause of that small leak? Except for screwups, pipes generally don’t leak. What went wrong? Can that fault be extended to other leaks, like the apprentice was sloppy and did x which resulted in leak(s)? Prep the pipe, prime and glue the pipe — not rocket surgery.

Yes, the PB confirmed there was a leak at one of the pipe joints that went into the spa. This was the reason I have been concerned about the other slow drop in PSI as I want to make sure there isn't the same situation elsewhere in the system. Since it is a closed system, my understanding is that there should not be any overall drops in PSI since with temperature changes, the PSI will go down but then come back up during the warmer time of the day.

 

[greenwood207]

My remarks to pressurizing the plumbing is in regards to new pool construction, all the pipes are capped off.
Spray a soap solution on the the two pipes that thread into the skimmer and look for bubbles.
On a manifold system the pressure may change during the day but recovers.
5 lb. loss over 3 days is a concern.

I thought to provide an update and also a follow up question (thank you!). They did identify a compromised area through the threads/nick in the pipe loop for the skimmer and the pressure now has been holding relatively consistent over the past 6 days (PSI 30, 28, 27, 28, 28, 27).

However in the meantime, two manifolds (spa drain, spa return) have been trending down since the manifolds were put in (30 PSI baseline and now 21.5 and 21 PSI at day 9). I brought this up to the PB that while this is a slow decline, it continues to hit a new "low" each day. Please note that for both, it held for 1 day (28, 29 PSI) but then on day 2, dropped to 26 and continued to trend downwards since then. The PB noted this is likely due to the gauges themselves as they are designed to hold pressure for inspection purpose only and not for long duration. The PB does not find any leaks on the exposed pipes nor see water spots in the concrete. Could the drop in two separate manifolds (down trend/pressure is comparable between the two) be due to the gauges?

As we've run into two separate occasions where a joint had a minor leak and the threading wasn't glued properly on the skimmer, I am a bit hesitant to defer to the reason of the gauges (especially as they are separate manifolds but going to the same location) however am not an expert so don't want to overthink if it this is normal/expected.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

I would purchase a high end oil filled gauge and ask for the builder to install on the manifold.
Was any work being performed around the pool during this time.

 

[greenwood207]

I would purchase a high end oil filled gauge and ask for the builder to install on the manifold.
Was any work being performed around the pool during this time.

Thank you for the quick reply. I believe there was some coring done in the bottom of the pool shell to address some rebar concerns but no work on the spa. The other pressure on the other manifolds (4/6) held and it is only the two that goes to the spa that has been continuously dropping. I thought it was unusual that 4/6 of gauges were functioning fine and two going to the same location were not holding but again, I am not an expert to say the least.

I will ask the builder about the high end oil filled gauge for both pipes.