Leakage

[utahpool]

I lost an inch off water overnight in my I/G Gunite pool! Any advice? Thanks

[CarlD]

I've been losing water like crazy this season and no apparent leaks.

You have to determine if you have a leak or not. If not, you can cover your pool when you are not using it. If you have a leak, well.....;)

[Phillbo]

I've noticed a higher than normal evaporation rate in my pool this year as well. Just chalk it up to hot dry air in Aridzona.

To check to see if it's a leak or evap, set a 5 gallon bucket on your steps and fill it to the same level as the pool. let sit for a day or so. If the water in the bucket drops at the same rate as the pool, it's evap. If not , you have a leak.

[utahpool]

I'll do the leak test, then cross my fingers! Thanks.

[terpsucka]

Any luck? I appear to be losing about a 1/4 inch a day, never had it go down even close to this quickly. I will also try the test, but won't be able to let it sit long enough until Tuesday... long time for an impatient guy like me to wait!!

[waste]

Any luck? I appear to be losing about a 1/4 inch a day, never had it go down even close to this quickly. I will also try the test, but won't be able to let it sit long enough until Tuesday... long time for an impatient guy like me to wait!!

Welcome to the forum!

There's a nice little phrase here called POP (Pool Owner Patience) - you seem to need some:)

Pool water issues usually take a while to become evident, if it took a month to get to the problem stage, it's gonna take more than a day to fix it! As Ben espoused in the Pool Solutions site, there is NO magic chemical you can add to the pool to immediately correct a problem:(

What it boils down to is - follow the advice here, have patience and then you'll have a pool that will no longer give you problems - as Carl says "2 - 5 minutes a day" (spent on maintaining the chems) will keep your pool sparkling and hassle free :cool:

The POP also is required for the open bucket test (though I'd prefer to see a 'vessel' test first - the vessel test is where you plug all the lines to and from the pool, mark the waterline and see if the water drops more in the pool than in the bucket, this helps to identify if the pool shell/ liner is leaking or if it's in the plumbing) If the vessel test is OK, you know to look into the plumbing for the leak - I'll tell you how to 'homebrew' a pressure tester for the lines {actually I think Al has already posted his method}

I'm more than willing to spend some time and help the posters here find the source of their missing water! It's just easier if y'all do your homework and do the prescribed tests first;) Heck, for the low, low cost of $0, I'll give you my best advice on how to fix the leak, once it's identified:D

[terpsucka]

Welcome to the forum!

There's a nice little phrase here called POP (Pool Owner Patience) - you seem to need some:)


Ha ha.... you're right about that. Patience is something I have very little of!! Thanks for the vessel test idea also.... I will try that one after I try the straight bucket test, assuming it comes back positive for leakage. I'm actually thinking maybe the "leakage" is just the result of my kids getting bigger and splashing out more than they have in past years, especially since they've been in it way more this year with the hot weather.

[utahpool]

Lucky me, mine is from evaporation! Thanks for telling about the bucket test.

[waste]

Who says there are no easy answers?;)

[Poconos]

Post #17 in this thread

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=261

should have links to a couple pics for a pressure test jig and a description.
If the pics aren't visible for some reason let us know and we'll figure something out.

On a patience note, for a couple spring seasons I've chased my tail thinking I have a leak and it indeed was evaporation. Simply caused by warmer water, cool dry nights, and wind. You'll be surprised how much water can be lost.

Al