Leak- Losing 3" a day

[Poconos]

Elle,
You've gotten good advice so far. Seems like things are pointing to the main drain. When I was looking for my leak last year I taped a piece of small diameter auto vacuum hose to a 10' PVC pipe, 1/2", and used that to squirt dye at the deep end. Used a 1 gal. garden sprayer for the dye. Water has to be very still and you need to squirt just a little bit and watch. 3" a day in my pool was about 3 quarts per minute which is easy to find. For dye you can get a dye marker at a dive shop, or boil chopped beets.
Al

[ellry99]

Yes, I fear it is the main drain that is leaking.

I plugged all the returns in pool and spa. (The water level was already below the skimmers) and the level went down another couple inches over night.

Is the main drain a major repair? What is involved in the repair? Do I have to drain all the water out of the pool?

[Poconos]

Someone else can chime in because I have no idea. Anything buried can be a real PITA, translated...$$$$. Personally I wouldn't want one. I'd still do a dye test just to confirm.
Al

[ellry99]

So.. I am losing waaaay more than 3" a day. I lost over 12" in the last 24 hours. The water is now 1/2 way down the light.

I am letting the water go down to see if it will stop after the light, and if not guess its the main drain. I guess I wouldn't be losing this much if it was the light.

I did the dye test around the light and nothing. I tried to do it on the main drain, but I need to get a longer pipe. My wasn't long enough to get close.

[ellry99]

I had a pool guy out today.

He said I am losing water so fast (8-12" /day) he thinks that the hydrostatic plug rather than a leak in a pipe/drain. My water level is down about 4 feet. He thinks the hydrostatic plug may be stuck open that a normal leak wouldn't be so fast. He also said main drain leaks are usually as low as mine has gone.

Does this make sense as a possiblity?

[oseng]

Hi ellry99,

It's been 5 years since your last post, but would you mind posting an update on how you resolved your leak problem? My pool is leaking the same way yours did, and I was hoping to get some pointers. Thanks!

[Watermom]

Not sure if ellry99 will see your post or not. He/She hasn't been on the forum since last May.