water level dropping

[carolynn]

Thanks for the info. I did get food coloring from the store and did not find any leaks this am at any of the inlets or skimmer. The pool guy says it is probably a hole in the liner, which I guess would be better than a pipe leak if we can find it. Any suggestions on the best way to do that???? I will try the pvc pipe to get the dye to the bottom drain tomorrow. And the measuring the loss with a ruler - I will start a chart for that too. I did put a piece of tape, but decided to add water so that is not good anymore. the ruler is easy. Thanks for that idea! Any tips on how to find a hole in the liner would be great. Thanks

[sevver]

I know that one method is to just let the water drain and see where it stops. That could be dangerous if it is at the bottom though. Did you check all of the seems and corners with the die? I think that this is all that a leak finder will do is scuba around and die test.
This is all assuming that the leak is in the liner, how many returns and skimmers do you have? do you have a way to isolate any of them?

[Poconos]

Hi Carolyn,
Since the liner is only a year old I guess it's possible a seam opened. Chasing my leak last year, a pool contractor told me that if a seam is going to open it will do it usually in the first couple years. Someone else may kick in other thoughts on this. I next started with the dye around the junction of the floor and sides at the deep end. Had already figured it was a deep end leak because the leak rate didn't change as the level dropped. Have to go very slow with the dye. Position the hose, squirt a little, and wait a little. I was losing about 3 quarts a minute and when I hit the spot it was obvious. Found it within an hour. 3 small slits inside a 2" diameter circle maybe caused by agressive use of the pool vacuum brush. You also need the water to be really still, no currents to disperse the dye. To see how difficult finding a leak of this size I stuck a garden hose on the bottom and started a siphon and set the rate to be my 3 quarts per minute. Then was able to see what to look for with the dye. Funny thing, with the naked eye I never saw the slits, until I knew where to look.
Hope this helps a little more.
Al

[carolynn]

AL, did you ever swim around the bottom with a mask and look for the leak? That is what I was told to do at the pool store. Also, did you use the RIT dye? I am going to get my husbands help on the pipe contraption to get the dye to the bottom. Some one could probably make a fortune selling something to find the leaks! Thanks for your help.

[Poconos]

I didn't go down and look. Water was way too cold in April. I scarfed some dye tablets years ago that are used for stream tracing and other things. One tablet makes a good gallon of red fluorescent dye. Someone else on the forum suggested the RIT. My water was extremely clear while chasing the leak...that's a necessity. Found a slick way to lay a deep end patch too. Post #9 in this thread
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=101

Al

[cleancloths]

Block off the skimmers and see if it still leaks with the pump shut down, if it does then it is most likely the liner or main drain. If it does not it is either a leak in the skimmer, the return lines or the feed lines. Close one off at a time and run the pump for 24 hours and see which one causes the water to drop. I recently had a problem like this and found it was the pressure line feeding my polaris that had a crack in it under ground.

[carolynn]

OK, We had a big rain storm last night so all my measurements are wrong on isolating each pipe. I'll start that again. At least I got some free water !
Al, Do you have a picture of the red dye contraption you made?? Your pics on the link for the patch were very helpful!
Thanks everyone for all the info, It is such a help to be able to find help!