Pool leak - already closed for season

[kcassidy0772]

Hey,

I’m screwed aren’t I? I closed my pool last weekend and now have noticed I have a leak somewhere. Based on feeling around the pool it seems like I lost 8-12 inches at least. I have a semi-inground oval pool. It’s too cold to consider taking the cover off and trying to find the leak. Depending on how low the leak is, what can I do over the next 6 months? Adding water to the pool for next 6 months will cost a fortune. But if the leak is on the pool floor it will empty out and I can’t leave it?

 

[Texas Splash]

Just a thought. If you elect to leave the pool alone and not repair it, I would be inclined to remove the cover. If the water level drops low the walls may be more susceptible to being pulled inwards and collapsing by the weight of the cover. At least if you leave it uncovered, rain/snow may help to keep it relatively full and perhaps freeze over at some point to support the walls.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Just a thought. If you elect to leave the pool alone and not repair it, I would be inclined to remove the cover. If the water level drops low the walls may be more susceptible to being pulled inwards and collapsing by the weight of the cover. At least if you leave it uncovered, rain/snow may help to keep it relatively full and perhaps freeze over at some point to support the walls.

I was wondering if I’d be better leaving uncovered for the winter. If I do that I guess I would just have a mess to deal with in the spring, but if leaving uncovered keeps the walls from collapsing better off. So frustrating because I just replaced the liner couple years ago. Third season with this liner.

 

[kcassidy0772]

I pulled back my pool cover and measured my water level. It’s about 30 inches. I suspect like in most cases the leak(s) is going to be on the floor. If that’s the case the water level will probably be down to about a foot or less by the weekend so it might not be too bad to get into the cold water at that level. Any tips on finding a leak when not being able to be under water? Couple years ago I had ALOT of small pin hole leaks and I found a lot of them by being under water with goggles on which made the water crystal clear so easy to see. Won’t be an option in this case. Way too cold to even stick my head under water. FYI - this is a different liner so those patches are unrelated to this issue.

 

[Texas Splash]

All I can think of is that hopefully the small amount of water remaining will still show something for you when trying a dye test. It will be tough because any movement with your feet will disturb the water and dye, but other than getting lucky and finding a tear visually, that's about all you can do. Maybe @Mdragger88 has another thought?

 

[Mdragger88]

I would go on a hunt around the pool area looking for moisture that isn’t supposed to be there. Hopefully that will help you pinpoint the search zone.

 

[kcassidy0772]

I would go on a hunt around the pool area looking for moisture that isn’t supposed to be there. Hopefully that will help you pinpoint the search zone.

Thanks! I guess you mean around the outside of the pool, but I have a semi-inground. If I can’t find the leak, or if there are many holes so can’t stop the leak, what precautions can I take if I have to leave the pool empty all winter? Because right now, this is not a slow leak. It would be way too much water to have to keep adding for the next 6 months.

 

[Mdragger88]

The only thing you can do is keep the liner in place to protect the base from washing away. Unfortunately you won’t have the water supporting the walls to prevent cave in. You may want to build some braces to keep the walls in place as the earth pushes on them. Something like this…


You can also just wait & see if it stops- this would help indicate where the leak is & you may be able to find, patch, & refill without getting too wet.
How much of the pool is buried?
Is this a single layer metal wall similar to a regular above ground pool or one with reinforced walls like a radiant/hydrosphere/stealth type pool?

 

[kcassidy0772]

The only thing you can do is keep the liner in place to protect the base from washing away. Unfortunately you won’t have the water supporting the walls to prevent cave in. You may want to build some braces to keep the walls in place as the earth pushes on them. Something like this…
View attachment 536306

You can also just wait & see if it stops- this would help indicate where the leak is & you may be able to find, patch, & refill without getting too wet.
How much of the pool is buried?
Is this a single layer metal wall similar to a regular above ground pool or one with reinforced walls like a radiant/hydrosphere/stealth type pool?

Thanks! My plan is definitely to let it keep emptying AND hopefully it will stop before it reaches the bottom so it would be easy to find and patch. My fear and my trying to plan ahead for is that IF the leak is on the floor making it much harder to find. My guess is that the pool is about 2 to 2/12 feet buried? 52 inch pool wall so that’s my guess. I’ll have to measure for sure. The wall is a single layer.

 

[Mdragger88]

You’ll want to be prepared to deploy some bracing if you decide to keep it empty.
At least you only need to span 15 feet. This is much harder to accomplish with a large round pool.
Even if it does completely leak out you can then get in & inspect without freezing to death

 

[kcassidy0772]

You’ll want to be prepared to deploy some bracing if you decide to keep it empty.
At least you only need to span 15 feet. This is much harder to accomplish with a large round pool.
Even if it does completely leak out you can then get in & inspect without freezing to death

BTW, curious if you’ve heard of a similar situation with what happened to my original liner. So my original liner was replaced in Spring of 2021. Back in summer of 2020 I noticed big drop in water so I investigated and found 2 pretty good sized tears in the side wall. I know how it happened no mystery there. But once I patched it I began to really focus on water level to make sure it wasn’t still leaking. And I was finding the water was slowing leaking so I started investigating around the rest of the pool. On the bottom of the floor where it meets the wall I began to find and patch probably about 30 perfectly round tiny pin holes all around the perimeter of the pool. Some were a little up the wall, and some a couple feet inside but mostly right along where floor and walls meet. Little by little over the next few weeks as I patched more holes the leaking slowed but never stopped so I gave up and had new liner installed following spring. Anyway, I had different pool folks telling me different things. One person told me it was probably termites, so I had it treated around my house and all around the pool. When the termite people came back following year to inspect they weren’t finding termites in the traps at that time anyway. Termite guy said unlikely my liner was caused by termites, but that’s just his opinion of course. Other people told me it may have been from my vacuum which I don’t understand how that could be possible. Again, these weren’t tears. These were tiny pin holes. All looking the same. That’s why I almost lean towards the termite issue. Can’t see what else would cause holes that are all so small and neatly round. Sorry for super long story. Ever here of anything similar? I

 

[Mdragger88]

Termites or ants is not uncommon - be sure to treat the ground with something before putting a new liner in.
Something like this can be used under then around the pool yearly