My Ponder of the Day: leak detection invention

[elsie]

Matt: NO!!!!!!

Well, I finally called a leak detection service. They want $225 + cost of patch to dive with tanks and find leak. Ridiculous! Then I had a brainstorm. Relatively new neighbors (a couple) and I have become fast friends. They use to be quite active scuba diving. Although they don't have tanks, they say they can rent one for less than $20. I already have five vials of food coloring and a patch, but I like the beet idea as well, assuming they're in season; if not I could use canned beet juice. I told them I would pay them $100 (whether leak is found or not).

A few years ago I had a leak and got a guy to drive some 100 miles round trip to fix. At the time he told me it never takes him more than five minutes to find a leak. It was winter and he donned a drysuit and went under the solid winter cover. He found the leak (on the floor of the shallow end at wall location) in two minutes and patched it. He only charged $75, but I recall insisting on paying him $125 for his services. He made me promise I would not "tell anyone" because it would hurt his business (umm…). Lots of integrity. Unfortunately, he's so busy in his neck of the woods he won't drive so far again.

I'm sure that guy had developed special skills, but what would they be? What kind of directions can I give my neighbors? Just go slow and squirt a continuous stream of dye? Because the guy who found that first leak was under the winter cover, I couldn't see him in action, of course. Any tips would be appreciated!

[Poconos]

My guess is a pair of eyes close to the problem will spot it. Once you see something suspicious then dye may work to confirm. Turbulence is what you'll be fighting with dye when someone is in the water. The three slits that were at my deep end were not obvious from the surface until I knew where they were. Otherwise they blended into the liner pattern. If my face was 6" away they would have been seen but 8 feet...forget it. You have nothing to lose...go for it and
Good Luck.
Al