Leaky Skimmer

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post to this site and wish to thank all in advance for at least reading my post/question.

I've had the same above ground pool for approximately fifteen years. Last year, prior to closing for the winter season, I noticed that my skimmer was leaking at the gasket area. i got new gaskets and reinstalled the skimmer, only to find the same leak. After opening the pool this year, I attempted to change out the skimmer. I had no problem removing the old skimmer. I installed the new skimmer and have substantial leaking at the gasket area. I've "cranked" on the screws, but can't seem to seat the gasket. I'm not talking about a drip, the water is leaking badly. It's almost as if nothing is seating properly. I can't open the pool with this leak.

I'm not sure what question to ask, other than, where do I go from here?

Thank you,

DJ

Hi, djdasher,

I can't answer your question, but I'm betting someone on the forum can. Hopefully some of the installation-experienced guys will be along shortly to help you find a solution.


Welcome to the forum!!

Well, you probably have two options:

1. You can try to patch it with something like silicone. OR
2. You can take it back apart and see what's wrong.

Since your pool is not full, I'd go for #2. If you patch it, you're likely to have to keep re-patching it every year or so.

Pool Doc,

I went to a marina and picked up a product put out by "Boatlife". It's a marine grade silicone rubber caulk. I caulked the joint around the skimmer with a nice, even coat of thie stuff. It's made to be submerged in water, so we'll see. I'd prefer that the skimmer seal with the gaskets only, but the fact is that I have to do something to get the pool running (and clean). In the fall, I'll revisit the caulk to see whether I think that I need to do more. I'll let you know how this stuff works out. It will have 24 hours to cure before I fill the pool tonight. It looks good, hopefully it works just as well.

DJ

If you would, post back about how well it works. All too often, good info gets lost because people don't post back. Info you post here today may help someone in 10 years, thanks to Google.

Hello,

After installing the waterproof caulking around the seam of the skimmer, I let it sit for 24 hours. I began to bring the water level up this afternoon. As soon as the water reached the point where it would begin to flow into the skimmer (and into the pump) I noticed that the skimmer was still leaking. Not anywhere near as badly as before, but still a leak. This leads me to believe that the water is leaking in where the liner, sidewall and skimmer meet at the lower, front part of the skimmer. As soon as the water begins to flow over that point, the skimmer begins to leak. I guess that I'll have to put a layer of caulking over that seam. Does this sound like the answer to the problem? If it's not there, then it would have to be the screw holes that are used to secure the back and front pieces of the skimmer. Comments, observations???

Thank you,

DJ

After caulking the interior portion of the skimmer assembly, I find that the skimmer is still leaking. I suspect that the leak is in the "sandwich" area where the two skimmer pieces (front and back) meet the pool liner and metal pool side. I caulked this area, so I'm at a loss. The leak woulddn't be through the screw holes??? Has anyone seen such a persistent leak?

I'm going to ask Waste aka Ted to look at your problem. He is one of the PF Support Team members and is also a pool installer. If anybody can help, it would be him. He's a busy guy so you'll have to be a little patient til he gets time to look at your thread .......

Hi!

What sort of caulk did you use?

Many caulks are not good for wet use, so if it was actively leaking when you applied the caulk, that may be why you still have the leak.

As a bit of info : as long as the liner and gaskets are good behind the faceplate and skimmer body, they won't leak.

Let's look a little more into this - please respond and I'll do my best to talk and walk you through this. :)

Hello,

I used a product manufactured by a company called "Boatlife". It is a marine caulk made from silicone. When I purchased it, I was told that it was made specifically for "in water" application. In addition to caulking the seam where the skimmer meets the liner on the inside of the pool, I also caulked, as best I could, the seam over which the water flows when going into the skimmer and into the basket. All caulking was done with the skimmer dry and fully exposed to the air. The caulking was allowed to cure in the open air for 24 hours before I filled the pool with enough water to operate the skimmer.

Hello,

Any more help with this? My skimmer is still leaking.

Thanks,

DJ

I'll ask Waste to revisit your thread.

Sorry for the delay in responding :o

Can you get me a pic or describe precisely where the water is 'gushing'? I may also need pics of the wall, etc., with the new skimmer removed.

You can either use Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, etc. to post a picture or email them to poolforum@gmail.com and reference the URL of this thread.