Any advice/tips would be appreciated! I was losing an inch+ overnight. I had a leak detection company come out and they found a leak at the shallow end return. I dug that out and found a large leak and repaired it. That overnight I still lost an inch. I did a pressure test on that shallow end line and it held at 10psi and then slowly dropped to 3 and then held there. I put a camera in that line and nothing looked too terrible. I identified another connector in that line but it appeared intact. I then did a pressure test on the deep end line and it wouldn't hold at all. I fed the camera in that line but unfortunately could only manage to advance the camera about 18 feet but nothing suspicious stood out. Two questions. First- I am assuming because the deep end line wouldn't hold at all then there's a definite leak in that line, but with the shallow line holding and slowly dropping should I expect a leak in that line as well? Second- I'm not seeing anything dramatic on the camera. To be losing an inch still would I see a crushed pipe or something obvious like that? I know I still have another 18 feet to inspect in the deep end line but I really don't know what I should be looking for or even expect to see. I don't want to keep cutting the concrete and digging down 4 feet to find the line intact. I feel like I am playing Whac-A-Mole. Thank you for any suggestions!
underground leak
- Thread starter Driley
- Start date
My gut says you have a large leak in the deep end one and a smaller leak in the other one.
Did the leak detector company stop once they found the one leak? I would call them back out and let them know they did not finish the job.
Did the leak detector company stop once they found the one leak? I would call them back out and let them know they did not finish the job.
Are you sure you know how your pool is plumbed? Both the skimmer and bottom drain should have some type of anti entrapment plumbing. You need to be sure you are plugging all of the correct ports.
No bottom drain. We dug out from the filter/pump and identified the skimmer line (held pressure fine) and the returns. From there we dug down and found the split for the shallow and deep end. Disconnected it and did a pressure test for the shallow line (slowly dropped from 10 to 3 and then held there). And then did the same for the deep end- not holding at all. Everything is plugged. We were able to pass the camera about 30 feet down that line today- better than yesterday but still didn’t see anything suspicious. There was a prior repair patch about half way down the deep end line so today we dug down to check those connections-all fine. Ran out of time but I’m thinking the next step would be to disconnect the connection we found today and then pressure test each side of that line and see if one side holds. If we disconnect from the connection we found then the camera will be able to see the remaining few feet- maybe we will see something? I just don’t know what we are looking for.
The leak detection guy stopped once he heard it bubbling/gurgling at the shallow return. It was really loud - you could hear it 10 feet away with a lot of conversation going on around. He said he wouldn’t be able to test the deep end line until the shallow line got fixed since it’s all connected (made sense to me). He wanted $2500 for the shallow repair and then another $1200 to check and repair a deep end leak (if he found one). It seemed high to me, I’m not sure I want to call him back.
What type of pipe is it? Is it flex pipe?
Unfortunately the most likely place for a leak is the last place you want to dig up. With vinal pools most PB will simply push the excavated material back into the trench and let it settle on its own. This will lead to settlement and when the dirt settles it often takes the plumbing with it. Flex pipe will often fail at the joints. So the most likely place for the leak is at the fitting attached to the side of the pool. Listening for the leaks as the leak detection company did is usually the best method.
Can you include some pics of how you are testing for the leak. Any leak is unacceptable. They never get better are are almost guaranteed to get worse. Hopefully it is just leaking around your test points.
Unfortunately the most likely place for a leak is the last place you want to dig up. With vinal pools most PB will simply push the excavated material back into the trench and let it settle on its own. This will lead to settlement and when the dirt settles it often takes the plumbing with it. Flex pipe will often fail at the joints. So the most likely place for the leak is at the fitting attached to the side of the pool. Listening for the leaks as the leak detection company did is usually the best method.
Can you include some pics of how you are testing for the leak. Any leak is unacceptable. They never get better are are almost guaranteed to get worse. Hopefully it is just leaking around your test points.
I’m not sure what a flex pipe is. It’s a hard black pipe (I’m sure that’s not helpful haha). We fed the camera in that 15 foot section a number of times and saw what appears to be a large crack in the pipe. Unfortunately, it’s in a terrible spot to access (pick the worst spot possible and that’s where it will be, right?). It’s between the skimmer and slide. We are trying to avoid removing the slide because we aren’t sure if the slide has footings into the concrete and we don’t want to deal with that. It’s not a huge deal but if we can avoid it we want to. I’m going to attach a photo and see if anyone can make suggestions on how to access it without completely destroying the skimmer box or having to remove the slide. The concrete decking has never been in good shape the 10 years I’ve been here, but certainly has degraded more around the skimmer the last year. I should have known something more was going on. Thanks for any and all feedback. We are eager to try and wrap it up this weekend and prepare to close it for the season. * Picture: the blue chalk line is where we plan to cut and the crack appears to be at the peak of the blue lines.
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