Leak helpipe

[bd1000]

Continued to test days and days, Called the pool service people and over the phone said I would need to dig up concrete and tiled decking...gonna be too expensive for me. Turns out I did continue to lose water even with that cleaner line closed. So then it proved it was in the return of the skimmer, by the way these are called Aqua Genie skimmers, been around since the sixties. I did as you stated in a few earlier posts, I took of the trim to the skimmer and really the large outer trim does nothing, the small slitted one goes to a chamber where the return line comes to it. Without this it does not pressurize and shoot the water across the pool and since the water was not restricted with this slit I ran everything and apparently NO water loss, been doing this for at least a week or more to verify and without this trim there is no water loss. BUT I lose the skimming effect and circulation of the water genie and the surface stuff have a hard time making it back to the skimmer, specially on a windy day. So I got a boroscope I had in the closet and stuck in this chamber but too tight to get into the hole under neath. but i can see what ever glue was used seems foamy, almost like the gorilla glue. cant even get a hand into this chamber its only an inch thick. Obviously to get to whatever is not connected or leaking under very high pressure when the slit is on going to be impossible without cutting out the side of my pool and skimmer. I just leave this plate off and no leak and maybe there is a solar powered device that can go around and clean the surface garbage...is there such a thing. OR i am thinking of making a jig to close of this chamber and lead it to a pipe. Get some other pipes and create a loop over to the opening above ground and get some kind of circulation pump and pour that FIX A LEAK garbage in my own closed system in this pipe,, I know sounds hard. BUT digging up the skimmer is not an option as it will destroy the concrete and tile over the pool. Dang those people that did not glue this thing right or whatever was done wrong.

 

[Bama Rambler]

There have been a few reports of people sealing off the return piping and routing one above ground.
Since it only leaks under pressure it seems reasonable that it's a weak joint. Sealing it off and routing a new one is probably the easiest way to fix the problem.