Hi all. Have an in ground vinyl liner pool, liner in good condition. Noticed I was losing about an inch of water with the system shut off per day, more when running. Water level finally stabilized at the bottom of the skimmer faceplate. Judging by the rust stain and where the level stopped, I suspected the gasket. It's the square 1084 Hayward type, so I got two new factory gaskets. Getting the old gasket off the skimmer face between the liner was a real pain, It did not want to come off. Evidence of rust, etc, but I scraped it off and got it as good as it was going to get, even sanded it smooth. Installed new gasket between liner and skimmer body, then the second on the outside with the faceplate. Got the screws as tight as they would go, which is very tight. Got the water level back up into the skimmer about halfway, marked with a pencil, and went to bed. Came back out this morning and it had dropped about 3/4"below my mark. What's the deal? Does the gasket need to swell up a little? Is it time to go to some sort of sealant? I really need to sort this out, pool season is dangerously close and my kids will need their summertime fun.
New skimmer gasket on vinyl pool, still leaking
- Thread starter Scottveazie
- Start date
- Jul 3, 2013
- 9,027
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-40
Welcome to TFP 
Could there be a crack in the skimmer itself.. Usually a new gasket will stop the leak between the liner... can you post some pictures of the area so we can see what your working with
Could there be a crack in the skimmer itself.. Usually a new gasket will stop the leak between the liner... can you post some pictures of the area so we can see what your working with
I have checked over and over in the skimmer and don't see any cracks, I thought I had one at the bridge part that goes through the wall to the skimmer, put some pool putty on, no change. The only thing I come back to is the gasket, the outer faceplate does cinch down well but being plastic I'm not sure how well it does it's job. I checked again this morning and it had dropped some more, my guess it'll stop again just below the faceplate of the skimmer. I'll see about getting some pictures later today, stuck at work and all I can think about is working on it.Welcome to TFP
Could there be a crack in the skimmer itself.. Usually a new gasket will stop the leak between the liner... can you post some pictures of the area so we can see what your working with
- May 7, 2014
- 429
- Pool Size
- 29980
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
When you say it "stabilized at the bottom of the skimmer faceplate", do you mean that the water was low enough so that it was not flowing into the skimmer from the pool any longer?
If you have a leak in the line from the skimmer to the pad, it will leak down to the bottom of the skimmer faceplate and stop dropping because the water will not flow into the skimmer. You also stated that the leak was faster with the pump running....which also points to a leak in the line.
Do you have just one skimmer, what about main drains?
If you lower the water to the point that it can't flow into the skimmer from the pool, then watch the water in the basket area of the skimmer. If it drops over the next few hours or day...then that would indicate that your leak is between the bottom of the skimmer and the pad. If it stays the same in the skimmer and the pool continues to drop, it could be in a return or your main drain if you have them.
If you have a leak in the line from the skimmer to the pad, it will leak down to the bottom of the skimmer faceplate and stop dropping because the water will not flow into the skimmer. You also stated that the leak was faster with the pump running....which also points to a leak in the line.
Do you have just one skimmer, what about main drains?
If you lower the water to the point that it can't flow into the skimmer from the pool, then watch the water in the basket area of the skimmer. If it drops over the next few hours or day...then that would indicate that your leak is between the bottom of the skimmer and the pad. If it stays the same in the skimmer and the pool continues to drop, it could be in a return or your main drain if you have them.
The level stopped dropping once it could no longer enter the skimmer, but the water remained in the basket area and didn't drop, either. I have one skimmer and three returns in my system. My main drain doesn't really work all that well, I've even plugged off the main drain line in the skimmer to check and see if that made a difference, but the level in the basket area stays the same. I have a slight leak in the return line I know about, but I've capped the three returns to not allow any water to back flow in there, so with this, the water will drop until the bottom of the skimmer plate. That's what happened before I changed the gaskets, it just hung out at the bottom of the plate for a couple weeks.
- May 7, 2014
- 429
- Pool Size
- 29980
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Ok...sounds like you have taken the necessary steps to isolate the system. You might try replacing the face plate with a new one. When I put my liner in my new pool I put a thin layer of silicone on one side of the gasket and stuck it to the skimmer and the face plate and let it dry before hanging my liner. It just helped to hold it in place while I was lining everything up. I will replace the gaskets and face plates when I have to replace the liner. That might help in your situation too.
It's funny, because with the pitting and the fear of dropping the inner gasket while lining everything up, I thought "hey, maybe a little silicone wouldn't be a bad idea here, nah, there's a reason they just sell gaskets". Of course then I put more water in and it's just leaking back out. Ah well. Very frustrating, weather is getting nicer and the pressure is mounting to get it running.
Well I tried that "underwater magic" caulking and while messy, I think I may have gotten it. It was leaking I think around the sides of the skimmer where the metal under had rusted. So far when not running the level stays the same. I did run the system for about 18 hours, and it did drop a little, but I did have my solar heater lines open, so maybe something is leaking along that line. I shut the system down this morning and will check to see if it stays the same. I did close off the solar lines to check my theory.
Well I siliconed both gaskets on both sides, put that underwater magic on the perimeter of the plate and on the inside perimeter of the plate, and it still leaks down just to the bottom of the plate. I'm stumped
- May 7, 2014
- 429
- Pool Size
- 29980
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I don't think with all of that there is any way it could be leaking around the face plate. I think you have a leak somewhere else. It could be a "weight of the water column" issue that is causing the leak to stop at the bottom of the skimmer plate so it just makes you think that is where it's leaking.
Must be then. I even found a couple places inside my water niche and fixed those, added water, marked it, 12 hours later, it dropped right back down to where it was. I can run the system if I run a hose out of the skimmer box into the water, so I'm assuming it's an issue above that level where it stops leaking
- May 7, 2014
- 429
- Pool Size
- 29980
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I think I remember you saying that you have only 1 skimmer and the main drains are connected to that skimmer...so you only have 1 suction line coming up at the pump?
If that is the case the only thing that you can do is screw a plug into both holes in the skimmer and fill the pool to a normal level and wait 12 hours and see if it drops. If it does not then you have a leak between your skimmer and the pump pad.
If that is the case the only thing that you can do is screw a plug into both holes in the skimmer and fill the pool to a normal level and wait 12 hours and see if it drops. If it does not then you have a leak between your skimmer and the pump pad.
Well I am embarrassed......I checked again one more time at my steps and a wrinkled area on those steps, and under a wrinkle there was a 2 inch slit in the vinyl. Patched that up and seems to be finally holding
no embarrassment, just a good example of leaving no stone un-turned. Though your focus was on the skimmer gasket, you were not blinded to other possibilities. Nice work of investigating....Enjoy...
- May 7, 2014
- 429
- Pool Size
- 29980
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Hey...That is a much better find than a leaking pipe that is buried.
Glad you got it fixed.