Leaking Pool with Linner.....HELP!!!!

[Guest Greg]

I have an inground, indoor pool. It has a linner. I have been here for one year. Over the last 6 weeks I have noticd the pool is loosing about 1" per day on the leveel. The pool is 16' X 32'.

It has never lost this much before. I used to fill it every 6-8 weeks, now it is every 4-6 days.

I have no idea where to start looking for a leak. The pool is 7 years old now.

I did have a problem with Chemicals for a bit. The PH was super low as the test kitI was using was defective. I bought a new kit and raised the pool PH fast (It was bown to around 6.6 for about 4 months I guess. Now it is at 7.2-7.4).

Any ideas on where to strart? I checked al lthe equipment I can see and fixed a small leak in the pump with a new seal. Now it looses more water then before.

Around my steps (which are about 5 feet wide and have 5 steps into the shallow end) there is some Silicone sealing peeling back. Also in the skimmer there is a small crack around the basket (about and inch out rom the baketthat catches all the crap) and this crack is sealed for half the way around the basket, and not for the front half facing the pool intake. I have dropped PH test drops all around these places and the dye doesn't seep as I can see at any of these places.

I am lost, and being indoor loosing this kind of water I don't want the house to loose it's footing and cave in. I also live about an hour from any major city in Canada, so there are almost no people to service these things and the cost is over $500 just to get them here to look. I f I can find theproblem myself, I would liek to.

Thanks

Greg

September 5th, 2005

[Guest hottub.pool_boy]

do the twenty-four hour test. run pool for 12 hours. note water lose. shut pool off for twelve hours. note water lose.

If water lose is the same for both periods. your leak is in the liner.

if the water lose is great when pump is running. leak is the return lines or pressure side of recirculation system.

if the leak is greater when pump is off. leak is in the suction side. skimmer line, main drain.

if you can then isolate individual lines. you may determine the problem. love to know how you make out.

[Dawn]

I have an inground, indoor pool. It has a linner. I have been here for one year. Over the last 6 weeks I have noticd the pool is loosing about 1" per day on the leveel. The pool is 16' X 32'.

It has never lost this much before. I used to fill it every 6-8 weeks, now it is every 4-6 days.

I have no idea where to start looking for a leak. The pool is 7 years old now.

I did have a problem with Chemicals for a bit. The PH was super low as the test kitI was using was defective. I bought a new kit and raised the pool PH fast (It was bown to around 6.6 for about 4 months I guess. Now it is at 7.2-7.4).

Any ideas on where to strart? I checked al lthe equipment I can see and fixed a small leak in the pump with a new seal. Now it looses more water then before.

Around my steps (which are about 5 feet wide and have 5 steps into the shallow end) there is some Silicone sealing peeling back. Also in the skimmer there is a small crack around the basket (about and inch out rom the baketthat catches all the crap) and this crack is sealed for half the way around the basket, and not for the front half facing the pool intake. I have dropped PH test drops all around these places and the dye doesn't seep as I can see at any of these places.

I am lost, and being indoor loosing this kind of water I don't want the house to loose it's footing and cave in. I also live about an hour from any major city in Canada, so there are almost no people to service these things and the cost is over $500 just to get them here to look. I f I can find theproblem myself, I would liek to.

Thanks

Greg

September 5th, 2005

[DKN1997]

search for anderson manufacturing in minnesota. they have a website. if you want to tackle this by yourself, buy a dye test syringe from them with a container of dye (they sell them prefilled) pretty cheap.

then get your mask and dye test. shoot it slow and be still, it will get sucked in anywhere water is going out.

since you had your ph so dangerously low for so long, I would check the light first. unscrew the set screw, pull it out of the niche and peek in and dye test where the conduit comes in the back.

you can also look for holes in the liner. they will suck dye too.

try plugging all inlet fittings in the pool, returns, skimmers, etc.. leave system off for 2 days. mark the liner with tape at water level. if it loses, then you have a leak in the liner or light niche. if not, leak is in filter system or underground plumbing. if it's the plumbing, get our your 500 and pay for a pressure test.

do you have a dryatron or some other dehumidification system? most of them take the evaporated water and put it back into the pool. if that's malfunctioning, then you could be losing as much as you always did but now it's not going back into the pool.

[scsplash pools]

I find 75% of leaks in pools at the light conduit. You have to be in the pool wwith a mask to check and you can use the die test. you have to be completly still. There is a female fitting on the back of the light nitch that corrudes some times you can actually see dirt or rock behind there. The light fixture has to be removed and set on the deck it removes with the one phillips head screw at the top of the light. If it is the light leaking it can be fixxed with a plumbers putty pushed around the cord and the condiut.

another concern is that chrack around the pipe in the skimmer. That tells me that your decking is settling a small amount it is pulling down on the skimmer shoving the pvc pipe upwards causing your crack. the pool wont drain any lower than the skimmer faceplate if this is your only leak.

The other thing that you want to do i beleive somebody already explained this. Plug all your returns by removing the eyeball returns and putting a threaded plug in them then plug you skimmer. If your pool stops leaking it is in your plumbing this is true for everything except the maindrain you have to swim down remove the grate and use a number 8 expansion plug to plug this off. Make sure the pump is turned off before ever trying this.

If you try all of this and your pool is still leaking you have a hole in the liner usually when this happens it is where the wall meets the floor. You need to have a clean pool and swim around and look for a peice of dirt that wont move. If you find a whole you can patch it with a vinyl patch kit.

I would recomend removing your light fixture and putting it on your deck. Then get a swim mask and lean over and inspect the light conduit the cord runs through it. You could even just plug the conduit with A/B putty wich you can find at your local oolstore. Or a two part plumbers putty. If you have a light in your pool i would lay money on this being your problem. Improper ph can corrode this in one season.

Also use some plumbers putty on hat crack around the hole in the skimmer. You can e-mail me if you have any problems.

[DKN1997]

I find 75% of leaks in pools at the light conduit. You have to be in the pool wwith a mask to check and you can use the die test. you have to be completly still. There is a female fitting on the back of the light nitch that corrudes some times you can actually see dirt or rock behind there. The light fixture has to be removed and set on the deck it removes with the one phillips head screw at the top of the light. If it is the light leaking it can be fixxed with a plumbers putty pushed around the cord and the condiut.

another concern is that chrack around the pipe in the skimmer. That tells me that your decking is settling a small amount it is pulling down on the skimmer shoving the pvc pipe upwards causing your crack. the pool wont drain any lower than the skimmer faceplate if this is your only leak.

The other thing that you want to do i beleive somebody already explained this. Plug all your returns by removing the eyeball returns and putting a threaded plug in them then plug you skimmer. If your pool stops leaking it is in your plumbing this is true for everything except the maindrain you have to swim down remove the grate and use a number 8 expansion plug to plug this off. Make sure the pump is turned off before ever trying this.

If you try all of this and your pool is still leaking you have a hole in the liner usually when this happens it is where the wall meets the floor. You need to have a clean pool and swim around and look for a peice of dirt that wont move. If you find a whole you can patch it with a vinyl patch kit.

I would recomend removing your light fixture and putting it on your deck. Then get a swim mask and lean over and inspect the light conduit the cord runs through it. You could even just plug the conduit with A/B putty wich you can find at your local oolstore. Or a two part plumbers putty. If you have a light in your pool i would lay money on this being your problem. Improper ph can corrode this in one season.

Also use some plumbers putty on hat crack around the hole in the skimmer. You can e-mail me if you have any problems.

I would add that you might as well pull the light out anyway, and use some underwater epoxy where the cord comes out of the conduit. whether it's leaking or not, you will eliminate that as a problem.

[Brulan1]

I would add that you might as well pull the light out anyway, and use some underwater epoxy where the cord comes out of the conduit. whether it's leaking or not, you will eliminate that as a problem.

If the light niche is old that is the problem alot of the times.