Re: Pool leak Episode II
- From: "Pop`" <nodoby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:32:21 GMT
MiamiCuse wrote:
I have previously posted about a possible pool leak, and a few
posters were extremely helpful, so I figure I will post epsiode II
here.
To recap...I have recently purchased a property and the in ground pool
appears to be leaking. The water sits at the level of the skimmer
lip, and if I fill up a few inches, the water will slowing drop to
the skimmer lip elevation overnight. It will then stay at that level
without dropping any further.
That makes the likelihood of a skimmer pipe leak very high. It's also the
closest to the top of the ground; do you get freezing weather?
Now, as to the rest of the details:
Your "leak locator" is a phoney and wants work. There certainly ARE ways
to determine WHICH of the two pipes are leaking. They do it with air
pressure and pressure monitors. There isn't a lot of science to it.
Others will simply put a stiffer vacuum on the pipes and see which one
gets air or dirty water (mud) first. Either way, if it can leak, it will
suck air.
I don't recall you saying so, but when the water level drops, the pump is
OFF, right? You don't lose water out a pipe that has a vacuum in it from a
pump.
Don't forget, you also have return lines and those could leak, too.
But, ANY line can be tested for leaking in OR out, using either vacuum or
pressure. Just get a real company in there and tell that other idiot to get
lost because he's obivously in over his head (pun intended). Around here
I'd call Atlantic Testing labs; don't know where you are, so can't make any
guesses. They aren't real cheap, but they can do it. So can a LOT of
plumbers if they have the equipment, which isn't all that expensive. Well
diggers & their maintenance men often have that equipment, too if they're
up to date.
And don't let them tell you they can't work pressure/vacuum against
water; they not only can, but they don't have to: That's why the gods
invented plugs.
So, if you can't find anything at a pool maintenance place, expand your
horizons and look toward plumbers and testing labs.
Oh yeah, are there ANY valves at or below water level? They would be prime
candidates but I assume you have none of those or would have mentioned them.
A judicious watching of the water for bubbles with the vacuum to full
skimmer an dthen to full drain might tell the tale, too. Assuming you can
see thru your basket cover to the water; most are see-through these days.
The one time I did have a leak, it was obvious just by watching which way
the suction was set with it drew bubbles.
HTH
Pop`
The main drain at the bottom and the skimmer drain line are
independent PVC lines that emerge from the foundation about thirty
feet away, each has a shut off valve there and then merged to go
inside the pool filter and then the pool heater then return to the
pool via two separate lines and the filtered water are discharged via
four separate jets in the pool.
I hired a pool leak detection expert to investigate. By shutting off
the skimmer line and the main drain line independently and did some
visual examination into the first six inches or so of skimmer line
via some tiny mirror, he told me the leak is not in the skimmer line,
the valve is ok, and it is having suction.
He suspect the problem is in the main drain since it seems to be
sucking air sometimes. He further speculates that the leak is in the
elbow where the main drain is near the surface, causing the pool
water to drop to that level so as to maintain hydrostatic pressure. The
problem is locating where that elbow is.
What makes this tricky is that the house is a "U" shaped
configuration with the pool in the middle of the "U". This means
there are rooms on three sides of the house, Between the pool and
the filter on the outside is about ten feet of pavers sitting on 4"
reinforced concrete slab, then about fifteen feet of the house's east
wing which is also sitting on a 8" thick reinforced concrete slab
with a footing on each end. Not knowing exactly where the leak is
makes the repair very tricky.
The leak detection expert told me he is fairly certain they would
have build it "this way" or "that way" and most likely the elbow is
around "here" but if not "there". Most of the time the leak is in
the albow and never along a pipe, so he advised that I hire him to
fix the leak by digging up the paver bricks and jack hammer the
concrete slab.
I am a bit concerned about putting a hole in the slab without really
knowing where the leak is. He said he is 80 to 90 percent sure he is
right on. I said I thought his service is to locate a leak not just
guess at it, he says that's the best they can do and he is confident.
My question is therefore...(1) there is no technology to pin point the
location? I remember plumbers have cameras to send down the line,
can't they use a camera to send back through the filter valve and
locate the leak and then try to measure it? (2) Am I right in being
concerned about breaking slabs when I have no idea where the leak is?
Thanks,
MC
.
- References:
- Pool leak Episode II
- From: MiamiCuse
- Pool leak Episode II
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