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Thread: water level dropping

  1. #1
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    Default water level dropping

    HELP! I have a new liner pool (in ground 20x40) put in last summer. I have lost about 1-2 inches a day lately and at first I thought it was lots of kids in and out, but now it seems too much. I have turned the filter off to see how low it will go this morning. I dropped a little dye around all of the inlets and skimmers, but all I had to use was food coloring and it was the gell type and too heavy I think. I didn't see any obvious sucking in of the dye, but it probably wasn't reliable. How to you do a dye test for the bottom drain and what kind of dye is the best to use. I am also leaving town for a week next Sat and am worried about how to leave it if it is not fixed.. HELP! I have loved using bleach this summer, it has been so easy!!!
    Last edited by carolynn; 07-21-2006 at 09:35 AM.

  2. #2
    Poconos is offline SuperMod Emeritus Whizbang Spinner Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    On a 20x40 1 inch relates to about 500 gallons a day. That's a lot. For dye, someone on the forum recommended RIT the fabric dye. Obviously diluted. You can go to a dive shop and get a dye marker and break it apart and make dye from that. I have suggested but never used myself, beets. Get a raw beet, chop it up, boil, get a deep red dye and eat the beet. Do you notice a difference in leak rate with the pump on or off? I'd recommend making precise depth or level measurements. Could be something as simple as a ruler against the skimmer or other known point of reference. Leak rate measurements may be a clue as to the depth of the leak because as the water level approaches the leak level, the leak rate slows. As for injecting dye, for the deep areas I used a 10' piece of 1/2" PVC pipe with a small diameter auto vacuum line hose taped to it so I could squirt from a 1 gallon garden sprayer filled with the dye. You have to squirt just a little and very slowly to minimize the effect of water currents. Duct tape and silicone seal can be the adapter between the hose and garden sprayer nozzle. As for leaving it for a week...big IF. At 1" a day, no problem. 2" a day could be 14"...should still be no problem other than the water loss.
    Best I can do for now.
    Al

  3. #3
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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

  4. #4
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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?

  5. #5
    Poconos is offline SuperMod Emeritus Whizbang Spinner Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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

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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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.

  7. #7
    Poconos is offline SuperMod Emeritus Whizbang Spinner Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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
    Last edited by Poconos; 07-22-2006 at 06:47 PM.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    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!

  10. #10
    Poconos is offline SuperMod Emeritus Whizbang Spinner Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars Poconos 4 stars
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    Default Re: water level dropping

    Carolyn,
    I don't have any pics of that thing but I could take some. Tied up today so maybe tomorrow I'll do it. Considering the cost factors of finding the leak, fixing it, etc I just bought a $20 1 gallon sprayer at Home Depot or someplace dedicated to this leak finding task. For the vacuum line hose attachment you can blob silicone seal to the sprayer thing and let it cure for a day. I always keep a few caulking size tubes of that stuff around. Also, I never worried about the dye staining the liner. Seems like it might but never had a problem because it disperses relatively fast and the chlorine will get rid of the color.
    Al

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