pressure test for leaks

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kels133
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pressure test for leaks

Postby kels133 » Sun 10 Sep, 2006 03:41

Hi,

My 8 month old pool is leaking, I believe.....my patio concrete is discolored...black patches on it on one side of the pool and on the other side the pool equiptment area is always wet and mushy....the guy who put it in said it was my lawn draining into it....I find it hard to believe that 4 minutes 4x a day could cause that much moisture....I have seen air bubbles coming out of the return lines...also, when I go to suction the pool the basket by the pump starts to get alot of air...have to sweep the pool with pool and spa suction...I also notice that when the pool is running the areas that have moisture seem wetter and the discoloration seems darker...the discoloration started in one small spot and is spreading slowly around the pool. The company came out and did a pressure test...it held 30lbs for about 25 min then it did go down to 25...but they said that it was ok...my question is....is there away to fake those tests? Also, away of telling if the lines had been doctored?

Kels


Leak Guy

Postby Leak Guy » Fri 01 Dec, 2006 02:09

Anything is possible I guess. Turn off everything &mark your water line to determine if you have leak.
Ickle
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Postby Ickle » Fri 01 Dec, 2006 11:29

They can mask the leak, its at the point of the fittings for pressure testing, you can mask the leak at either end. It could be leaking around the pool wall fitting. What type of pool do you have? Im assuming a full concrete, i would suggest an exploritary dig behind the pool wall ontop of the fitting, go down as far as the pipe work then try to determine if there is mositure around that area.
dynamictiger
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Postby dynamictiger » Fri 01 Dec, 2006 17:11

I can understand why from your post it would be reasonable to assume the pipe work is leaking, and indeed it may be.

I would strongly suggest the following method though to be sure.

1: Remove your eyeballs and any other fitting you can from the pool

2: Plumbing shops sell test plugs. Take your fittings to the plumbing shop and get some test plugs they are not too expensive.

3: Block all the pipe work with the test plugs and wind them up to the point they won't move.

4: Place a mark at the water level inside the pool wall

5: Half fill a plastic container, place a pencil mark at this level

6: Float the half filled container in the pool

7: Wait 24 hours

8: Measure the difference if any

9: Remove the test plugs and repeat the test

10: Repeat the test again with the pool system running for 24 hours

Steps 1-8 will test the pool shell in isolation.

Steps 1-9 will test the pool shell and pipeworks in static i.e. not pressurised

Step 10 will test the plant as well and give indication of the pipe work leaking under pressure

Once you have this information reply to the post and we can walk through a pressure test of the pipe work and how you can do this and get reasonable results.

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