Do I Have A Leak?

[markacosta]

We have a 45 x 20 pool, 36,000 gallons, and we are losing about 1/8"~1/4" of water a day. We have a cover on the pool when not used. The pump runs 24 hrs, and we have a salt conversion unit for chlorine, and a Polaris unit for the floor that runs periodically. Is this lose normal or do I need to worry? We have patch holes from time to time, but cannot find any at all now. Every summer we seem to see more lose as the year gets hotter and the ground gets dry.

[Pool Clown]

You can loose up to a 1/4 inch a day from evaporation. Especially when it gets warm. I would not worry about water loss at those rates.

[bsrodgers]

One way I have used as a cross check for evaporation is to position a 5 gallon bucket on the steps, fill it so that the height of the water in the bucket matches the height of the water in the pool, mark the water height on the bucket and then check it at a later time. The reason to put the bucket in the pool is so the water temperatures are basically the same. While the pool has a larger surface area and the water agitated by an operating pump, the evaporation rates should be close enough to obtain an opinion. Certainly, if the water in the bucket remains the same height (measured against the mark that you made), but your pool water drops - it would imply that evaporation isn't the issue.