pool light, closing off???

[Digger]

I searched this thread and didn't find any info., so I apologize if I overlooked. We have a 19 yr. old inground pool with a light that was installed with the original installation of pool. It has rarely worked. The light has lain on the deck for about the last 14years. We now have a leak in the pool and are trying to eliminate all problem areas, this being one. We want to totally eliminate the light, how do we go about sealing off that niche and light area, to keep it watertight?? Please help, we are losing half an inch a day. Grasping at all angles!! Thanks so much!!

[nefretrameses]

Check out www.leaktools.com. They have a lot of info on leak detection strategies. When the pool is very still you could try squirting a few drops of marker dye near the niche to see if it goes that way. If not, the leak is elsewhere. If it does, the water may be leaking through the flexible conduit.,which you could seal.

[Digger]

Thank you so much for your reply.I did get the special dye without any noticeable seepage? Pool placexsaid to tske ring off and put a patch over pool niche? I am not comfortable with tht.wht do you thnk?

[nefretrameses]

I'm not sure. I guess it depends on the pool construction. If it's gunite like mine, (and it's not leaking) I suppose a cover would be fine. Eliminating the light would require chipping it out of the gunite and patching that. It would be a big hole to fill and the cold joint it created would cause me concern. If you have a liner, I couldn't advise if a "patch" could be successfully applied.

Half inch per day in August? Could this be evaporation loss? Did you do the bucket test described in the leaktools website? Detecting leaks requires a systematic approach.

Do a Bucket Test to determine that you have a leak. (Some suggest two tests - one with the pump on and one with the pump off). If you lose more water in the pool than the bucket - you have a leak (somewhere).

Then do a "static" bucket test (plug all inlets and outlets - pump off). If you lose more in the pool than the bucket during the static test your leak is in the pool vessel (the shell or liner and fittings) as opposed to the piping. Vessel leaks can be pinpointed with a dye test. If the static test results show the same loss in the pool and the bucket, the leak is in the pipes or equipment. (Generally equipment leaks are visible). Pipes can be tested using a pressure test, or by eliminating them one by one if possible. (Plug one off and see what happens). The leaktools website has a store that you can buy various plugs and air/water induction devices for pressure testing. I was not able to find them in my local area. Leak detection companies are also known that will come out and pinpoint a leak. Customers should be cautioned that finding "a leak" is not the same as finding "every leak". I bought the equipment to presure test myself. I had to cut a few pipes in the process, but PVC is easy.
Good luck.