Maybe a Leak?

[Adamphotoman]

I have owned 2 pools for 4 and 3 years and never seen this. My level is going down faster than I think it should. 1 1/2 inches in 11 days. Solar cover on most of the time, but it is heated between 85°F and 89°F. Air temp has been between 44°F and 82°F.

When I opened the water was just below the coping [with rain and snow melt], so I think the vessel is in okay shape. It is an old pool - maybe 25 years old and the liner was replaced just before we purchased the home. The first thing I did was to undo the waste line fitting and leave it for a day or two to see if I got a puddle. Nope - Dry! The piping is flex and some of it is buried under a pile of small to medium rocks just at ground level. This will be my next job to get rid of the rocks. It is maybe 4 or 5 feet between the pool shed and the heat pump. I figure sand would be a better choice.

So my question is this a lot or about normal?

 

[AndyTN]

Dropping only 1.5 inches in 11 days is not much at all. Most people with a leak/hole in their liner will lose an inch per day. I realize you have the solar cover on so there shouldn't be much evaporation but your water temperature is much higher than your average air temp. Hard to do the bucket test with the solar cover on but I would just keep an eye on it over the summer. Do the bucket test without the solar cover on and make sure the bucket of water is sitting down in the pool water to stay the same temp.

 

[Adamphotoman]

Found my leak. There is a pinhole in a pipe IN THE HEAT PUMP. Or is it a loose nut. See picture in next post. The Heat Pump is working as it took the pool from 85°F - 90°F just yesterday. but I looked at the workings through the stopped blades and there was a spray of water. That accounts for the drop. And just as I found that I also found the level had dropped enough to starve the skimmer. Okay then. Everything off and the hose in the skimmer to bring the pool level up. Oh it is going to rain so I won't bring it up that much.

At least I don't need to dig up concrete.

 

[Adamphotoman]

Not sure what part of the heat pump this is. I am thinking maybe part of a flow switch. I am moving this discussion to the everything else section. Here is one pic though.