Leaky spa - narrowing down source - skimmer?

[pgershon]

My spa has been leaking water, about 2 inches/day, masked well by the autofill but obvious by loss of salt, CYN, borates and calcium. I have repaired or replaces leaky pipes, 2-leaky spa Superpumps for spa jets, and a leaky cartridge filter such that teh pool equipment area is now dry. But the spa still leaks. I turned off the autofill and the pump and watched the water fall precipitously the fist 24 hours, then seem to stabilize over next 24 hours at the skimmer line. I do not see any cracks in skimmer however - certainly not at the level where the water is (their may be a small repair made 1.5 inch higher). What would be the next step? Do I look for a leak in the shell at the level of the spa (seems unlikely and difficult to find), do I try to dye-test the skimmer (do I add water first since the water seems to have stopped leaking at this level?), or might I best look at the junction where the skimmer attaches to the spa? Please see photos. Showing skimmer from top and where water enters from spa.

Spa is a 3000 sf standalone "mini-pool" next to pool with its own plumbing. Leak happens with pumps on or off.

 

[cowboycasey]

Where the water stops is always where the leak is or just above it... Because you have water in the skimmer the leak is not in the pipe, that is a great thing..

have you done the die test around the skimmer, 2 inches a day should be easy to find.. The next step would be a leak detection company, with these microphones they easily find the leaks...

 

[pgershon]

On further checking, I believe I found a prior repair which is highly likely to be the problem (of course I paid for a new replacement skimmer a few years ago, but this seems to be what I got)...

The photos show that one side of the skimmer where it joins to the end has some sort of compound applied going up towards the top, but there also appears to be a gap at the bottom corner - which may be where it is leaking. Assuming I can confirm with dye (should be easy given the leak, but the angle is tricky). how would I fix? Can I use "Leakmaster Pool Repair Putty"? And do I remove the existing patch or leave it?

 

[pgershon]

Just a little more clear - I believe my skimmer is a Hayward SP 1080 Auto-Skim Series. The weir flap has been removed, and it looks like the damaged the skimmer on one side taking it out (based on the crack repair). Unless someone suggests otherwise, I will try the pool repair putty to fix. It is a difficult spot to access because the pool shell has a 3-4 inch cutout leading to the skimmer, and the weir hinge area where the leak is is 6 inches from the skimmer.

 

[cowboycasey]

It has to be better than what you have now

 

[pgershon]

I slowed it down, but am going for a second round. After patching the side I thought had crack, I still lose about 2 inches of water the first day getting down to skimmer line, then water loss stops - slightly above skimmer. I am going to patch the joint between skimmer and pool in case that is leak spot. Dye test was not revealing . But something just above where skimmer joins spa is causing my leak.

 

[pgershon]

Trying to re-activate this old thread. I had the spa refinished this year and the installer sealed around the skimmers with fresh concrete. Unfortunately, as I review my notes, I believe my leak is inside the skimmer, right by the faceplate. A prior pool company removed the weir door and I think cracked the skimmer in the process. They patched the area (see photo above) but it started leaking again. I tried to use pool putty last year and I slowed the leak, but its pretty bad now. I lose 300 PPM of salt concentration each day, and when I shut off the autofill, I lost 2 inches of water every 12 hours or so. Leaking stopped at the skimmer line. Here are pictures from today looking in from the spa and out from the skimmer.(shot when water level was down - I have since refilled and reactivate the pump and autofill)

My question is, what is the best way to deal with this leak. I wish I had them chisel out the skimmer before refinishing, but too late now. I would prefer to simply patch at this point, at least for the season. But I dont want to have to add chemicals every other day just to keep parity all summer (I lose salt, calcium and CYN). The fill water is pretty acidic / low TA so I have few pH issues.