I think the backstory is important here because it might answer a few questions. Last year we had our vinyl liner replaced and had lights installed in our pool for the first time. Our house was a foreclosure and the lights were one of the items that disappeared before we bought. I had noticed that the deep end niche had some very small cracks and mentioned this to the pool guy. He said if the pool ends up leaking water then it will probably be the result of that niche leaking, although the pool was not leaking before and we had nothing covering the niche. He said he sealed the niche and then he installed the lights and we have a dedicated GFCI for the light.
I noticed the pool was losing water, but realized that I had not seated the clamp (not sure what it is called) on the cartridge filter properly and I was losing water there. Sometime between last season and this season, my husband reseated it and it the filter stopped leaking, but the pool did not and I know I am losing water because I am having to replenish salt. Fast forward to two three weeks ago, my kids coming screeching in the house and say there is an electrical current in the pool. I do not know how they discovered this but if you stand in the water and touch your tongue to the metal handrail or ladder (seriously, I have no clue how they came to figure this out) you can detect about the same level of current as you do licking a 9V battery. We turned off every breaker in the house--we have four panels--and the mains and you could still detect a current in the pool. I called the pool guy three times over the course of a week and half and finally asked my husband to call him. I add that because it might help you understand why I am working to fix this myself. He finally called me and told me he thought the niche was leaking, and he mentioned for the first time that this was from a bad batch of niches. He told me to mark the water level every 24 hours for two days with and without the pump running to eliminate something having to do with equipment. There was no change, I am losing about 3/16-1/4" of water a day. While draining the pool, I would stop draining and wait 24 hours marking the amount of water that was leaking out. It was always the same even when the water level was right at the very bottom of the silver part of the light cover. Ultimately the pool guy asked me to lower the water level to six inches in the shallow end so he could come out and look at the lights. I did all that and called the pool guy, but did not receive an answer or a call back. I lowered the water to below the lights because I have two issues, the leaking pool and the electrical current.
I was going to have a reading today on the leak, but I don't because it rained like cats and dogs last night so I had to reset my level this morning. However, there is still an electrical current in the pool, but it seems weaker than it was before. The water is not touching anything but liner and the floor drains. This tells me I might still have a leak somewhere in the pool that doesn't involve the lights. I am basing that on the idea of the LeakTrac system where they put a current in the pool and the ground in the yard to complete the circuit, and then electricity "leaks" out of the hole to the pool. The pool guy says he has no idea. One electrician I talked to said the pool isn't bonded, but it is however the grounding wire is not connected to the pump. I finally found the grounding wire that is supposed to be attached to the pump, but it is not attached and is 1" too short to attach it. This is likely because the original pump was also one of the items missing when we bought the house.
Lastly, the seam between two wall panels (that is behind the vinyl liner) is cover with what looks like duct tape. It has failed and water that goes into the ground is coming through that seam and leaving sand between the liner and the wall. When the pool was full this made it appear as if the wall had cracked. I pulled the liner back and did see that it is erosion.
No one has been in the pool since the discover of the current except me and I know I am taking a big risk. My electrician won't be back for another week and then it is going to take us probably another week to get on his schedule.
So, in summary, my issues are:
1. Possibly leaking niches... Can I use some sort of sealant to seal the niches if they are in fact leaking? And since there is still an electrical current does that mean there is still a hole in the liner?
2. Any ideas on the electrical current?
3. On the erosion and the seams, do I just remove the old tape, clean the walls, and apply new tape?
I appreciate any and all help. I am headed to a dental appointment but will be back to answer any questions. I thank all in advance for their help.
I noticed the pool was losing water, but realized that I had not seated the clamp (not sure what it is called) on the cartridge filter properly and I was losing water there. Sometime between last season and this season, my husband reseated it and it the filter stopped leaking, but the pool did not and I know I am losing water because I am having to replenish salt. Fast forward to two three weeks ago, my kids coming screeching in the house and say there is an electrical current in the pool. I do not know how they discovered this but if you stand in the water and touch your tongue to the metal handrail or ladder (seriously, I have no clue how they came to figure this out) you can detect about the same level of current as you do licking a 9V battery. We turned off every breaker in the house--we have four panels--and the mains and you could still detect a current in the pool. I called the pool guy three times over the course of a week and half and finally asked my husband to call him. I add that because it might help you understand why I am working to fix this myself. He finally called me and told me he thought the niche was leaking, and he mentioned for the first time that this was from a bad batch of niches. He told me to mark the water level every 24 hours for two days with and without the pump running to eliminate something having to do with equipment. There was no change, I am losing about 3/16-1/4" of water a day. While draining the pool, I would stop draining and wait 24 hours marking the amount of water that was leaking out. It was always the same even when the water level was right at the very bottom of the silver part of the light cover. Ultimately the pool guy asked me to lower the water level to six inches in the shallow end so he could come out and look at the lights. I did all that and called the pool guy, but did not receive an answer or a call back. I lowered the water to below the lights because I have two issues, the leaking pool and the electrical current.
I was going to have a reading today on the leak, but I don't because it rained like cats and dogs last night so I had to reset my level this morning. However, there is still an electrical current in the pool, but it seems weaker than it was before. The water is not touching anything but liner and the floor drains. This tells me I might still have a leak somewhere in the pool that doesn't involve the lights. I am basing that on the idea of the LeakTrac system where they put a current in the pool and the ground in the yard to complete the circuit, and then electricity "leaks" out of the hole to the pool. The pool guy says he has no idea. One electrician I talked to said the pool isn't bonded, but it is however the grounding wire is not connected to the pump. I finally found the grounding wire that is supposed to be attached to the pump, but it is not attached and is 1" too short to attach it. This is likely because the original pump was also one of the items missing when we bought the house.
Lastly, the seam between two wall panels (that is behind the vinyl liner) is cover with what looks like duct tape. It has failed and water that goes into the ground is coming through that seam and leaving sand between the liner and the wall. When the pool was full this made it appear as if the wall had cracked. I pulled the liner back and did see that it is erosion.
No one has been in the pool since the discover of the current except me and I know I am taking a big risk. My electrician won't be back for another week and then it is going to take us probably another week to get on his schedule.
So, in summary, my issues are:
1. Possibly leaking niches... Can I use some sort of sealant to seal the niches if they are in fact leaking? And since there is still an electrical current does that mean there is still a hole in the liner?
2. Any ideas on the electrical current?
3. On the erosion and the seams, do I just remove the old tape, clean the walls, and apply new tape?
I appreciate any and all help. I am headed to a dental appointment but will be back to answer any questions. I thank all in advance for their help.
