Leaking pool (guess is underground plumbing at skimmer)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

blissbernard

0
Apr 21, 2017
7
addis
So we have been losing about 2 inches of water with both the pumps running AND the pumps being turned off in a 24-hour period. It stops at the skimmer.

We plugged the skimmer hole up with a rubber expansion plug and lost no water. I'm assuming this means that there is a leak in the plumbing? We plan on digging on our own where we can access it to see if we can find the leak, but if we can't is our only option to call a leak detection company to pinpoint the leak and then remove concrete and plumbing?

Is there something we may have overlooked?

Vinyl pool, new liner April 2018. New filter July 2018. Pool is about 15 years old.

Thanks
 
jimmythegreek said:
what is your plumbing situation on the pool. what do you have for returns and what are the suction lines. is it just a pool or spa combo? give us some information
Click to expand...

Sorry if my pool lingo isn't quite up to date. I'm learning.
The skimmer is the type that has two holes, but the other hole is threaded and closed off.
It's just a pool. I have two pool pumps, one for the actual pool and one at the steps. The pump for the pool has two suctions (skimmer and one in the pool), it has two returns. I didn't plug any of the returns or the other suction, i just plugged the skimmer intake hole and that's when i stopped losing water.
 
OK that helps. so you have a drain at the bottom of pool possibly in deep end? if so where does the second pump get its water from? if you plugged the skimmer then the drain would be the only other source. post some pics of the equipment pad you may be able to isolate things a little more. To be sure its the skimmer only you need to be able to run pump and simply just bypass the skimmer line. Im guessing the leak is happening while the pumps are off
 
jimmythegreek said:
OK that helps. so you have a drain at the bottom of pool possibly in deep end? if so where does the second pump get its water from? if you plugged the skimmer then the drain would be the only other source. post some pics of the equipment pad you may be able to isolate things a little more. To be sure its the skimmer only you need to be able to run pump and simply just bypass the skimmer line. Im guessing the leak is happening while the pumps are off
Click to expand...
I will take some pictures of the set up when i get home today. My guess is since the leak stopped once i plugged the skimmer hole, that there would be a leak in that line right? I don't think we have a drain at the bottom of the pool. Is it ok to run the pump with the skimmer plugged? The loss of water is happening with and without the pump running.
 
Do NOT run the pump with the skimmer plugged unless you are certain you have a main drain, it works, and is open.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blissbernard
Allen from the Northern part of the Garden State is 100% correct - you don't want to have to buy another pump...pls examine your pool and look for any drains or covers [on bottom of pool or sides]. your second pump should have a separate drain/suction line as well
 
blissbernard said:
Sorry if my pool lingo isn't quite up to date. I'm learning.
The skimmer is the type that has two holes, but the other hole is threaded and closed off.
It's just a pool. I have two pool pumps, one for the actual pool and one at the steps. The pump for the pool has two suctions (skimmer and one in the pool), it has two returns. I didn't plug any of the returns or the other suction, i just plugged the skimmer intake hole and that's when i stopped losing water.
Click to expand...

I don't think we have a drain at the bottom of the pool.
Click to expand...

I am lost with which pump suction is plugged and if there are other suction sources to that pump.

Pictures of both pool and equipment and valves would help a lot.
 
Ok here are some pictures. The first picture is when my new pool liner was getting put in, so the holes werent cut yet; however, i drew a diagram on it. "S" stands for skimmer. Across from it is another suction, and there are two jets with arrows pointing out. The second picture is my equipment set up, as i started digging to see if there was a leak. I stopped because we found a small leak in the chlorinator. We fixed that, but it is still leaking. Plus the amount of water we were losing could not have been JUST from this tiny leak. The third picture is just from the appraisal when we bought the house 5 years ago, just to give an idea of the entire set up. We see no water on our equipment pad indicating a leak there, the liner is brand new. I dont know where else to check.
 

Attachments

  • Pool Diagram.jpg
    Pool Diagram.jpg
    125.2 KB · Views: 18
  • Pump.jpg
    Pump.jpg
    110.3 KB · Views: 21
  • back3.JPG
    back3.JPG
    121.4 KB · Views: 16

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
ajw22 said:
Do NOT run the pump with the skimmer plugged unless you are certain you have a main drain, it works, and is open.
Click to expand...

Ok here are some pictures. The first picture is when my new pool liner was getting put in, so the holes werent cut yet; however, i drew a diagram on it. "S" stands for skimmer. Across from it is another suction, and there are two jets with arrows pointing out. The second picture is my equipment set up, as i started digging to see if there was a leak. I stopped because we found a small leak in the chlorinator. We fixed that, but it is still leaking. Plus the amount of water we were losing could not have been JUST from this tiny leak. The third picture is just from the appraisal when we bought the house 5 years ago, just to give an idea of the entire set up. We see no water on our equipment pad indicating a leak there, the liner is brand new. I dont know where else to check
 
PS, the pump on the right side is what controls the pool, the one on the left leads to two jets at the pool with one suction near the bottom of steps. The filter is new, as you can see the old filter in the picture on side of it.
 
If you can pressurize the lines with about 5 to 10 psi, you can determine if the lines are leaking.

You should also be able to find the leak by listening for air bubbles by pressuring the lines to about 5 to 10 psi with air.
 
You can hire someone to pressure test the lines.

If they're leaking, it should show up as pressure loss.

If you have a leak, you can alternate between water and air pressure to generate a bubbling sound near the leak that is often audible when you listen to the ground directly over the leak.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply