Leaking Pool

[Rosmau]

Hi,
We have an in ground 8m x 4m concrete pool 1.6 - 1.2m depth. We have had the skimmers replaced including the pipework, the sump has been replaced also the pipework into the pump house from the sump.
We have had it air pressure tested, reglassed, re-resined and painted, retiled. And it still leaks!
Turned all the valves off and it is leaking about 1.1/2" daily for 1 week test, both marking the side of the pool and doing a bucket test. We have checked the backwash valve which seems to be fine and dry. Has anyone got any other suggestions. We are in Lanzarote - Canary Islands - Spain the average evaporation for the area is about 1" per week

[ChuckGeo]

Try your water loss test over 24 hours, once with the pump on and once with the pump off. If the measurements are the same on and off, the leak is not in the plumbing but somewhere in the pool structure - a crack in the pool, a gap around a fitting or in the skimmer throat, a cracked skimmeer, in the light niche - ether conduit or in the niche body, or in the main drain sump.
If the water loss is greater with the pump on, suspect the return line or a leak out the backwash valved.
If the water loss is less with the pump on, suspect a suction line - skimmer or main drain. Note: Suction leaks often manifest themselves as air in the system and bubbles coming out the returns.
Structural leaks are usually located by dye testing, plumbing leaks require pressure testing.

[Guest]

The loss is the same with the pump on or off. On to the next step.

Many thanks for your help, great forum with good sound information.

[ChuckGeo]

Dye testing is your next step. This involves applying a small amount of dye to suspicious areas (gaps, holes and cracks in the finish or next to a fitting), if the dye draws into the area, it's leaking there. We apply the dye with a dye testing syringe, a hypodermic syringe with a plastic straw (think WD-40 straw) in place of the needle. You can use food coloring for dye or make some using liquid Rit fabric dye, mix 1 part dye to 6 parts water. I use Navy Blue color. If the pool is dark colored you can use white dye made from Sani White liquid shoe polish mixed 1 part polish to 10 parts water.
Turn the pump off and wait 15-20 minutes for the pool to get still. I start with the skimmers and work my way down. Check the skimmer throat where it butts up to the pool and the skimmer body, inspect around all wall fittings - an inspection mirror is helpful for this, look in the light niche at the face ring/niche body joint (if applicable) and dye test the conduit at the back of the niche, inspect the main drain sumps especially around the pipes in a poured sump and between the sump body and grate frame in a plastic sump, dye test the hydrostatic relief valve (if applicable), check for cracks in the pool interior & dye test them as necessary.
I calculate your loss to be about 250 gal./day. This should be pretty easy to dye test for and pinpoint.

[revooh]

Hey Chuck, Great post... sound information, I'm impressed! Leaks is a swear word in my business. I'm retired now but in the past 30 years I have designed and built over 300 waterfalls into pools, both new construction and remodeling. I'm curious if you run into many leak situations related to waterfall or water features in pools. My experience has been that if a pool has a waterfeature, it is the fist suspect for a leak and is most likely due to poor workmanship or engineering. The two main culprits are structural and plumbing. It is important for our readers to know that a loss of water in a pool with a waterfall may not be from a leak but rather from evaporation.

It may be a shock to some to know that in the summertime a swimming pool waterfall can waste as much as 15 to 20 gallons per day! If you will notice, when the rocks are hot from the sun and a splatter of a few drops of water land on them, the wet spots instantly disappear from evaporation.

Try this experiment: Fill a plastic bag with water at your kitchen sink, poke a hole in it with a straight pin, the result will be one drip per second... at that rate (one drop of water per second) will add up to five (5) gallons in just 24 hours. So figure it out, if you see several drops of water disappearing in a second, how much is lost in 5 hrs of the heat of the day?

Which brings up the next important point. Many pools have automatic pool water levelers installed and consequently these water losses may go unnoticed for a long period of time because the water leveler is replacing the lost water. So it is a good practice for the pool owner to turn off the pool water leveler for a few days to insure this is not happening.

If your pool does not have a water leveler, you may consider installing one. The only water levelers designed to be retrofitted to existing pools are the electronic type, such as the AquaFill automatic pool water leveler, the Levelor brand and the Savio water leveler. Happy leakless New Year , Doug

[Rosmau]

Hi,

Thanks for the great information, the problem seems to be with the return jets. We have put on some rubber washers at the moment which has stopped the leak. Can you advise a product that we could use or will the washers be a suitable solution to the problem.

Many thanks

Maureen

[ChuckGeo]

As long as you've been able to seal the return fittings there's no need to purchase anything additional fopr that. However, this is a very temporary solution to the problem. You need to find someone to pressure test the return line and locate the leak so it can be repaired. Alternatively, you can replace the entire return line, generally buried underground but it can be run above ground and over the edge of the pool - it isn't pretty but it'll do the job. It may be dificult to find a leak detection company on the Canary Islands - just guessing!
Good luck!

[sohal231]

I think if you not find the problem then you must call the professional other wise a small problem can get out of control. So you must do something quickly.

[jenniferhoops]

Hi,
We have an in ground 8m x 4m concrete pool 1.6 - 1.2m depth. We have had the skimmers replaced including the pipework, the sump has been replaced also the pipework into the pump house from the sump.
We have had it air pressure tested, reglassed, re-resined and painted, retiled. And it still leaks!
Turned all the valves off and it is leaking about 1.1/2" daily for 1 week test, both marking the side of the pool and doing a bucket test. We have checked the backwash valve which seems to be fine and dry. Has anyone got any other suggestions. We are in Lanzarote - Canary Islands - Spain the average evaporation for the area is about 1" per week

I have also a leakage problem in my swimming pool. After some tries i have asked about this problem from a plumbing company Epipe. They give me the best solution for my problem. I hope they will help you too.