Spa losing water

[Nberry]

Good Evening,

I have a pool/spa combo that is around 4 years old. The spa is raised probably 18” higher than the pool. Recently, my wife and I noticed that the pool water appeared low (and we were putting more water in than normal). Since Sunday, March 19, I’ve had my equipment OFF. What we have noticed is that the spa is dropping at a rate of 2-3” in a 18 hour period, but it STOPS approximately .25” on the tile and doesn’t drain any lower. The pool does not drop (or go up).

I’ve tried the dye along the tile lines and joints and am not seeing any obvious leaks. Could this be a check valve issue? I’m trying to prevent having a leak detection specialist over to test everything.

PLEASE HELP!

Thank y’all!

 

[Ahultin]

Good Evening,

I have a pool/spa combo that is around 4 years old. The spa is raised probably 18” higher than the pool. Recently, my wife and I noticed that the pool water appeared low (and we were putting more water in than normal). Since Sunday, March 19, I’ve had my equipment OFF. What we have noticed is that the spa is dropping at a rate of 2-3” in a 18 hour period, but it STOPS approximately .25” on the tile and doesn’t drain any lower. The pool does not drop (or go up).

I’ve tried the dye along the tile lines and joints and am not seeing any obvious leaks. Could this be a check valve issue? I’m trying to prevent having a leak detection specialist over to test everything.

PLEASE HELP!

Thank y’all!

Does the spa have a spillway, could very well be a check valve issue but that would not account for using more water than normal. Post pictures of the equipment pad

 

[Jimrahbe]

N,

Show us several pics of your spa and point out were the water stops draining down.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Nberry]

I hope some of these pics help. I’ve got them all over my phone. Just to help clarify….

The water typically starts out by cutting the “diamond” on the pool tile in half almost exactly. With all of the equipment off, my water level in the spa will drop to approximately.25” or so from the bottom of the tile. This is probably a good 2” or so below the spillover. So far, the spa has not dropped any lower and I’ve left the equip off for a couple of days.

Let me know if more pics are needed and I’ll repost. Thanks for the responses.

Show us several pics of your spa and point out were the water stops draining down.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Nberry]

And also…. I have a VS pump running my pool, a booster pump running my cleaner, and another pump running my water features.

 

[Jimrahbe]

N,

Thanks for the pics...

It is odd that the pool drains down and stops where it does. But sometimes the layout of the plumbing can determine where it stops.

Logically, either your spa is draining into the ground or it is draining back into your pool.

If it were draining into the ground, you'd think it would have an obvious hole, or crack or missing grout that you would see about where it stops draining down.

If this were my pool, I'd want to do as much troubleshooting as I could before calling a leak detection company.

1. I'd want to make sure the no water was leaking up past the spa return check valve. I'd manually move the automated return valve so that it blocks the spa return pipe. Then fill the spa with a hose and see if the leak continued.

2. I'd remove the spa drain cover and plug the spa drain pipe. This would tell you if the Intake valve is leaking or if the spa drain line was leaking into the ground.

3. I'd remove the spa eyeballs and plug them and see if the spa still drains. This would tell you if one of the returns was leaking into the ground.

If you did the above three things, and it still leaks, then it has to be a leak in the plaster/tile.

My guess is that one of the three plumbing lines is the problem.

Let's see if anyone else has some better ideas..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Ahultin]

Am I seeing it correct in the photo with the pool and spa in view that the spa I draining down to a point that the water is level between pool and spa?

 

[Nberry]

Am I seeing it correct in the photo with the pool and spa in view that the spa I draining down to a point that the water is level between pool and spa?

It never drops that low. The spa is significantly higher than the pool itself.

It basically almost to the bottom of the tile line and won’t drain any further.

 

[Nberry]

N,

Thanks for the pics...

It is odd that the pool drains down and stops where it does. But sometimes the layout of the plumbing can determine where it stops.

Logically, either your spa is draining into the ground or it is draining back into your pool.

If it were draining into the ground, you'd think it would have an obvious hole, or crack or missing grout that you would see about where it stops draining down.

If this were my pool, I'd want to do as much troubleshooting as I could before calling a leak detection company.

1. I'd want to make sure the no water was leaking up past the spa return check valve. I'd manually move the automated return valve so that it blocks the spa return pipe. Then fill the spa with a hose and see if the leak continued.

2. I'd remove the spa drain cover and plug the spa drain pipe. This would tell you if the Intake valve is leaking or if the spa drain line was leaking into the ground.

3. I'd remove the spa eyeballs and plug them and see if the spa still drains. This would tell you if one of the returns was leaking into the ground.

If you did the above three things, and it still leaks, then it has to be a leak in the plaster/tile.

My guess is that one of the three plumbing lines is the problem.

Let's see if anyone else has some better ideas..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Ok, so I located a spa eyeball that appears to be sucking dye back in. I have included a picture below. Do they make a tool that I can use to remove/replace the fitting? Could it be as simple as changing that jet?

 

[Jimrahbe]

N,

They do make a tool to remove the eye ball.

AquaStar JO103 Light Gray Flush Retrofit Eyeball

The AquaStar JO103 Light Gray Flush Retrofit Eyeball is an excellent choice for your pool needs! Get yours today from Pool Warehouse!

www.poolwarehouse.com

The jet is located further back in the gunite.

Having water flow backwards is not that odd if one or more of the other jets is clogged.

Is the water flowing backwards when the pump is off???

Thanks,


Jim R.

 

[Ahultin]

Ok, so I located a spa eyeball that appears to be sucking dye back in. I have included a picture below. Do they make a tool that I can use to remove/replace the fitting? Could it be as simple as changing that jet?

That looks alot like mine which is an eyeball only, no jet. It's just a standard tee with an air loop. If yours is like that ot could still be anywhere

 

[Nberry]

N,

They do make a tool to remove the eye ball.

AquaStar JO103 Light Gray Flush Retrofit Eyeball

The AquaStar JO103 Light Gray Flush Retrofit Eyeball is an excellent choice for your pool needs! Get yours today from Pool Warehouse!

www.poolwarehouse.com

The jet is located further back in the gunite.

Having water flow backwards is not that odd if one or more of the other jets is clogged.

Is the water flowing backwards when the pump is off???

Thanks,


Jim R.

Yes, the pool is off and has been off for probably 36 hours now. I wanted to see if the leaking stopped at the tile line, but as you can see, it continued to drop today. What’s my next step?

I’m seeing only one of the five (in my spa) take in water with everything off….

 

[Ahultin]

Yes, the pool is off and has been off for probably 36 hours now. I wanted to see if the leaking stopped at the tile line, but as you can see, it continued to drop today. What’s my next step?

I’m seeing only one of the five (in my spa) take in water with everything off….

Maybe get some plugs and plug the eyeball to see if it still leaks

 

[Jimrahbe]

N,

If this were my pool I would set the Return valve (the one with the actuator after the heater) and set it so the the handle is pointed directly to the right. This will shut off the pipe on the left that is going to the spa, the one with the check valve. With that pipe shut off, I'd see if the leak stopped.

Note that some actuators can be moved manually and some can't. If yours can't be moved manually, then I would remove the actuator and turn the valve by hand.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Nberry]

N,

If this were my pool I would set the Return valve (the one with the actuator after the heater) and set it so the the handle is pointed directly to the right. This will shut off the pipe on the left that is going to the spa, the one with the check valve. With that pipe shut off, I'd see if the leak stopped.

Note that some actuators can be moved manually and some can't. If yours can't be moved manually, then I would remove the actuator and turn the valve by hand.

Thanks,

Jim R.

And if it STILL leaks? I did this when we first realized we were losing water (and before I knew it was this return).

 

[Toxophilite]

Sounds exactly the battle I fought the first year of my setup. Every self-testing method I could come up with gave me no insight. The PB finally sent out a leak detection company, and lo and behold, though my suspicions were correct, the culprit was not what expected. It was one jet over, and not in the external plumbing as I thought. With just a short test with pressure and headphones they found a cracked spa jet fitting right behind the fitting union. Fixed that, and three weeks now no more loss.

 

[Toxophilite]

Ok, so I located a spa eyeball that appears to be sucking dye back in. I have included a picture below. Do they make a tool that I can use to remove/replace the fitting? Could it be as simple as changing that jet?

The eyeball comes out with that ring removed, but the fitting has to be chipped out. They are all on a equalizing loop, so finding the one is issue if indeed where water going. To isolate mine, once verified water was going out via return plumbing, the leak tech inserted an inflatable balloon plug down each fitting pipe until test pressure loss stopped. Though the general area was known, this isolated which jet and where exactly in its plumbing.

 

[Jimrahbe]

And if it STILL leaks? I did this when we first realized we were losing water (and before I knew it was this return).

N,

Sorry, it is hard for me to keep track what has happened in each thread.

I don't really think we know that the return is actually bad, but it is better than anything else so far.

I guess the next thing I would do is to cap all all of the spa returns and confirm that the spa no longer drains.

If you do have a failure back inside the gunite, I doubt you will be able to find it without the proper tools and experience of a leak detection company.

Thanks,

Jim R