Suction Side Leak (Skimmer)?

[jariv]

All,

Looking for some advice here. We have two skimmer lines one of which I've isolated to have a suction leak. We were getting a ton of air in the pump and out the return jets one day. I cut off the line from one of the skimmers and that worked fine. Normally, I would count my blessings and just move on, however now we seem to be losing about an inch (or more) of water a day. Our pool runs just fine with one skimmer and the main drains.

My question is, if I plug the skimmer with the suspected leak, do you feel this would solve the drainage issue? I find that we are primarily losing water when the pump is off.

No other signs of any visible leaks (i.e., cracks). I do have a Pentair booster pump that is leaking slight water (waiting for the hose kit to come in so I can fix), but I don't feel it's leaking enough to warrant an inch or more of water loss a day.

Pictures of plumbing attached for reference .

Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

[Texas Splash]

Since you seem to be losing water only when the pump if off, I would tend to think it's related to that one suction line. You could eventually have it pressure tested to confirm. Another way, although maye a bit of an inconvenience, would be to lower the water level to the bottom of that skimmer. Then plug the pump-end of that suction line and monitor the water level in the skimmer pipe opening. If it drops you know there's a crack.

 

[jariv]

Since you seem to be losing water only when the pump if off, I would tend to think it's related to that one suction line. You could eventually have it pressure tested to confirm. Another way, although maye a bit of an inconvenience, would be to lower the water level to the bottom of that skimmer. Then plug the pump-end of that suction line and monitor the water level in the skimmer pipe opening. If it drops you know there's a crack.

So you're saying to plug that skimmer line with a cap and then if my water level still goes down I have crack in the skimmer box somewhere?

 

[Texas Splash]

Yes, plug it at the pump basket side (inlet) with a rubber winterizing plug or something similar and monitor the water level in the skimmer pipe.

 

[1Sammy]

I think the OP is misunderstanding you Texas, or i am ..
I would plug the skimmer inside the skimmer and have it turned off at the pad. By just turning it off at the pad the water is still in the skimmer piping.

 

[CrystalRiver]

You need to plug the pipe from both ends. If you only plug the pool end, you'll get exactly what you describe - little leak when the pump is running, more when it's not. Water can flow "backwards" through the pipes, from the pump to the leak, if you don't plug the pump end somehow - winterizing plug, shut off valve, etc.

 

[jariv]

Okay, so what I did was plug the suction line in the skimmer basket and kept the valve shut to that skimmer. In the pictures from my OP, you can see that I have two skimmer lines. One is on and one is off. I imagine that I am losing water because I have a leak underground somewhere and water was still getting into that skimmer line when the pump was off and it was leaking underground somewhere.

 

[Texas Splash]

I imagine that I am losing water because I have a leak underground somewhere and water was still getting into that skimmer line when the pump was off and it was leaking underground somewhere.

Seems like you have no choice but to have a leak detection company come out and do a scope or sound check to pinpoint a leak. Unless you are lucky enough to have a wet area confirming a leaky location, and feel eager enough to dig-down and repair it, a good leak company can get within about 6 inches or so. Shame it's happening. Let us know what the final verdict is.