I think we have a leak...maybe at the skimmmer?

[AndieP]

I am probably about to show my extreme lack of knowledge about pool equipment and such but I guess you have to start learning somewhere...fortunately I found this place.

Anyway, I think we have a leak (23,000 concete/plaster pool-at least 25 yrs old) We are having to add water daily...last time I measured we lost an inch in about 8 hrs. We were having some problems with the water not closing off at the bleeder tee but we did get an o-ring for it that DH is going to replace later today but I'm thinking that there may be more problems somewhere else.

I was looking all around the skimmer for cracks and such and noticed at the bottom of the skimmer there is a place that looks like the caulking has come off....I've attached a picture so you can see what I am talking about. Is this supposed to be like that or does that open area needed to be caulked? Could that be where we are losing water? I have no idea about this stuff but did notice this and thought I would ask.

Thanks for any advice!
Andrea

[rmeden]

Does the water ever drop below that point?

[Poconos]

Looks like some optical artifacts in the pic. Are you referring to the thing that looks like a thick hair coming toward the center from the upper left or the arc or semicircular type thing that looks like a crack or gap running from about 11 to 2 o'clock positions? If it/they are cracks there are ways to patch it. Some people here recommend some type of epoxies, I patched mine with a mush made of PVC cement and ground up PVC pipe. More details if we get to that and others can chime in with their recommendations. Temporarily you can squish some silicone seal (caulk) in there to see if the leak stops. It won't stick so you can easily peel it off for a real fix later.
Al

[AndieP]

Thanks Al, for you input. I think the first thing your referring too is a leaf turned sideways....combined with my shadow...it does look strange

I was referring to the gap starting around 11:00 o'clockish running over to about 1:00 to 2:00 o'clockish. I don't think it's a crack b/c you can see caulking further on around toward the bottom. A gap is a good way to describe it and I didn't know if water would be escaping from there. We will try the temporary patch with silicone to see if it makes any difference.

As far as if the pool continues to leak when it gets below that point...I don't know we haven't let it go down that far. We just keep adding water daily to keep the pool running.

[Poconos]

Hi again. Try a little dye first. With the pump off and the water very still, very carefully put a couple drops of a dye in the suspect area and see if it gets sucked in. You can use food dye (expensive), phenol red (the pH test liquid)...also expensive, or get a raw beet at the supermarket, chop it up and boil it, then eat the beet. Makes a bunch of deep red dye. You can use a basting syringe to slowly squirt the stuff.
Al

[opsman]

There are several places in a gunnite pool where leaks can form. Try the turkey baster method, or what I use is a zoom spout oil bottle with rit dye. If you don't find the problem in the skimmer you will have to trouble shoot the problem. First, find where the water level drops to. If it drops below the skimmer that is not where the problem is. I have many times found the problem to be in the conduit going to the light. Also, I find quite often that problems occur where pvc and the plaster/gunnite join, such as around the opening to the skimmer, inlets, and vacuum ports. If the water drops to the inlet ports,it might be in the piping under the deck. Be methodical, keep track of water loss both with pump on and off and remember a small opening will lose a huge amount of water.