How much water is normal to lose to light use & evaporation?

[mitchryan912]

Hey all,

I'm a newbie to pool maintenance (first season, after buying this house last October.) I seem to be losing a lot of water in the past few days, and I'm not 100% sure why. I started checking with a yardstick a couple days ago, and my level was up to 35 7/8" yesterday, but is down to 35" this AM. If my calculations are correct, that's a loss of 375 gallons out of a 26,000 gallon pool (~1%.) Is it normal to lose this much water in about 24 hours? It wasn't particularly sunny or hot out yesterday, but we did use the pool for about an hour with my son, so there was a bit of splash out.

Thanks for any replies!

[BigDave]

Fill a bucket with pool water and set it on a step in the pool with the open end above the water. Measure the water height in the bucket and around the bucket. Note the heights. Measure again in a couple days. If the pool is losing water faster than the bucket, you have a leak.

[mitchryan912]

Fill a bucket with pool water and set it on a step in the pool with the open end above the water. Measure the water height in the bucket and around the bucket. Note the heights. Measure again in a couple days. If the pool is losing water faster than the bucket, you have a leak.
OK, will give that a shot and report back.

[mitchryan912]

It's a filter valve issue, not a liner issue. Well... I haven't ruled out a liner leak problem, but I did find that there was a small amour of water coming out of my waste line, which is clear across the property. It was leaking enough to not notice it dripping into the grass (when water is coming out during backwashing & rinsing, it blows out all over our driveway.)

Once I shut the pump off, the water stops coming out the waste end, despite the valve being set to "filter."

[BigDave]

I'm not familiar with the Triton TR-60 sand filter. Does it have a multi-port valve? If so, perhaps the spider gasket is damaged.

[mitchryan912]

I'm not familiar with the Triton TR-60 sand filter. Does it have a multi-port valve? If so, perhaps the spider gasket is damaged.

Yes it does, and that was the problem. One of the "spokes" between the filter inlet and the waste outlet had slipped out of the groove it rests in, creating a small gap for water to leak out of. Glued it in place, let it dry, then greased it up. Works fine now without any leaks.

[BigDave]

Dang! You work fast.
Congrats.

[mitchryan912]

Dang! You work fast.
Congrats.
Thanks. I think I'm better at the mechanical stuff than I am with the chemicals, at least so far. :)