New Build - Tucson, AZ
- Thread starter Qwijib0
- Start date
Late to the party on this pool, but love the retro tile! What a great pool this will be.
And plaster day... YAY!!!!!
And plaster day... YAY!!!!!
schatz
0
Looks good, Pro plaster would have been my choice but our pool guy used Stewarts and it all turned out good. What color plaster is that?
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2,400
- Pool Size
- 22000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Cover's installed, shade structure is up, water is balanced..
...and there's a small leak somewhere. I'm losing about a half to 3/4 inch more than evap per day. So that investigation begins Tuesday.
...and there's a small leak somewhere. I'm losing about a half to 3/4 inch more than evap per day. So that investigation begins Tuesday.
schatz
0
Leak detection is ongoing-- loss rate appears to be ~100gal/day. We've ruled out most of the easy stuff at this point, and there's no visible water anywhere around the pool so next week they're sending in the diver to do dye around all the in-floors, and if that doesn't find it, re-cap and pressure test the plumbing.
It's frustrating for sure, but the pool builder is committed to getting the leak to zero, the guy coming out each day agrees that with the cover, loss should be negligible.
I definitely was a bit envious of all y'all saving money by doing it yourself and organizing the subs, but at this point I'm super happy with having someone who is responsible for the whole project.
It's frustrating for sure, but the pool builder is committed to getting the leak to zero, the guy coming out each day agrees that with the cover, loss should be negligible.
I definitely was a bit envious of all y'all saving money by doing it yourself and organizing the subs, but at this point I'm super happy with having someone who is responsible for the whole project.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,733
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I just did a quick BOE (back of envelope) calculation and 100 gallons of water in your pool is roughly 1/4" of water for your surface area (assuming I got your surface area right - 35' x 18' or ~630 sq ft). 630 sq ft multiplied by 1/4" gives approximately 13.125 cubic feet of water and that is 98.2 gallons.
So isn't your water loss from evaporation? Are you losing the water even with the cover on?
I live in Tucson like you and I can tell you for sure that uncovered pools here (mine is one of them) lose A LOT of water to evaporation. Given the year-round low RH, moderate afternoon breezes and high temperature differentials between water and air, Tucson averages almost 100" of water evaporation based on pan evaporation data (U of A runs two Class A evaporation pans).
So isn't your water loss from evaporation? Are you losing the water even with the cover on?
I live in Tucson like you and I can tell you for sure that uncovered pools here (mine is one of them) lose A LOT of water to evaporation. Given the year-round low RH, moderate afternoon breezes and high temperature differentials between water and air, Tucson averages almost 100" of water evaporation based on pan evaporation data (U of A runs two Class A evaporation pans).
Cover hasn't been opened in a week, and I'm down ~740 gal since then. The cover seals pretty well so there's really only a 6 or so inch area around the perimeter where the cover isn't in direct contact with the water. Water loss is pretty steady day or night.
So, update on the leak since I hate when people ghost forums and don't end stories. (though this isn't the end yet, sigh).
They put a water meter on the autofill and it's been giving really strange readings-- we'd go a week with no usage, then use another 130 gal in a day.
Turns out my leak rate is riiiiight at the minimum flow rate of the meter, so I've still been using water, but it hasn't been tracked, so all the valve and cycle testing has been basically worthless. I've put a hose timer (18 off, 6 on) on the autofill to solve this measuring problem so that the water level will drop enough that when the hose turns on it's at a rate that starts the meter spinning.
Total house usage is low enough that the ~4ccf/mo usage is only costing me a few bucks, and I'm able to use the spa, so I'm getting enjoyment out of it.
But the last month or so of testing was a waste because of useless data. Moral of the story make sure you're using the right instrument to test your conditions.
They put a water meter on the autofill and it's been giving really strange readings-- we'd go a week with no usage, then use another 130 gal in a day.
Turns out my leak rate is riiiiight at the minimum flow rate of the meter, so I've still been using water, but it hasn't been tracked, so all the valve and cycle testing has been basically worthless. I've put a hose timer (18 off, 6 on) on the autofill to solve this measuring problem so that the water level will drop enough that when the hose turns on it's at a rate that starts the meter spinning.
Total house usage is low enough that the ~4ccf/mo usage is only costing me a few bucks, and I'm able to use the spa, so I'm getting enjoyment out of it.
But the last month or so of testing was a waste because of useless data. Moral of the story make sure you're using the right instrument to test your conditions.
Thanks for the follow up. That is a good lesson for us all 
sorry it was one you learned it the hard way.
Kim
sorry it was one you learned it the hard way.Kim
An actual end?
American Leak Detection did a bucket test and couldn't measure any non-evaporative loss.
Salt was added, and based on the concentration dropping there's water going somewhere, but it's at a rate that even my city water meter can't detect.
So I've decided to stop caring and just enjoy the pool/spa for now
I am very happy with this decision.
American Leak Detection did a bucket test and couldn't measure any non-evaporative loss.
Salt was added, and based on the concentration dropping there's water going somewhere, but it's at a rate that even my city water meter can't detect.
So I've decided to stop caring and just enjoy the pool/spa for now
I am very happy with this decision.
@triptyx @Big Will I've got heating data now if you're still around-- Cover off, the evap cools it way more than the sun can heat it up, so when I want to heat it, I leave the cover on.
Pulling from the drain and doing overflow in the spa, so the water has to touch the underside of the cover, I can get the pool to about 10 degrees below the average high for the week. This means, of course that when we are in the mid 100s, I absolutely do not like this. So at the edges of the season, I run spillway all day at low speed to get the temp up, and in the summer, I run high speed from 3-6AM to get circ from the cooler water, since the bottom of the deep end likes to stay right at about 84.
Pulling from the drain and doing overflow in the spa, so the water has to touch the underside of the cover, I can get the pool to about 10 degrees below the average high for the week. This means, of course that when we are in the mid 100s, I absolutely do not like this
. So at the edges of the season, I run spillway all day at low speed to get the temp up, and in the summer, I run high speed from 3-6AM to get circ from the cooler water, since the bottom of the deep end likes to stay right at about 84.Also, final leak update, It's slowed to less than a gallon per hour-- and most of that is probaly refilling splashout so whetver it was, it's not a thing anymore.