how does this autofill work???

[tagteamcomputing]

I purchased a house with the pool and never got to speak with the owner about any of the pool workings.This is the autofill but I am not sure how it works. I dont see anywhere that the water would attach or anything. I am concerned because I have run a bucket test and it looks like the pool has a leak somewhere and I have hear this can be a culprit.

Shared album - Tate Goodman - Google Photos

I would like to try to understand how this thing works so i can see if that may be where the leak is. I have pulled on the white pipe and it is in pretty solid.

Any ideas how this would actually fill water, since I dont see anywhere to attach a hose or anything.

Thanks

 

[jeffchap]

Does your yard have a sprinkler system? My autofill is tied into my sprinkler and has a specific zone assigned to it.

I believe the white pipe is an overflow to keep your pool from overfilling should the valve get stuck or you get an overabundance of rain.

 

[zea3]

It works using the same basic mechanism as a toilet filler. When the water level drops too low, the float drops low enough to open the water valve to refill the pool. When the pool has enough water the float rises and shuts off the flow of water. These mechanisms can deteriorate with age and not function correctly. There should be a cut off valve near where the auto filler is located so that you can shut off the water to service the auto fill. If a pool is loosing water, an auto fill can hide the water loss since it keeps the pool full. A malfunction with the auto fill would either overfill the pool because it doesn't shut off, or not coming on to refill the pool when the water is low. It is very rare for an auto fill to be the source of a pool leak unless the well it sits in is cracked. As far as I can tell your well looks ok. The water line connects to the bottom of the fill valve so you can't really see it in the well.

The most common places for a gunnite pool to leak, other than an obvious crack in the shell, are the light niche, return opening, skimmer opening and main drain if you have one. You can conduct a dye test to see if these areas are leaking. Pool School - Leak Detection

 

[tagteamcomputing]

Hey Guys, thanks for the feedback.

I had already read the page on Leak Detection and tried the food coloring on some of the return jets and one of the skimmers. Kind of inconclusive for me. The water is cold and the food coloring kind of glopped out and some floated away and some sat there.

i do have a sprinkler system but none of the zones say anything about the pool. Maybe it was put in after the sprinkler system and they forgot to label it. I don't want to use my sprinkler system now because i have shut it down for the winter.

I would like to ask about the main drain. I have two drain spots at the bottom of my pool. Are you saying the leak would be near those openings or closer to the pump itself. I am not sure how to test the main drain since the water is so cold I can't get in and run a dye test. I suppose I could but I am not Norwegian.

 

[Mayorb]

Depending on the age of your pool, you may have what are called "hydrostatic" valves inside of your main drains. These are well intended, but cause more trouble than they fix. They exist for the purpose of letting ground water seep up into your pool if the pool is emptied and the ground water table is high, to keep the pool from "popping" out of the ground. In some areas, the hydrostatic failure is a very common problem.

Other usual suspects for water loss are the skimmers, pool light conduit, and as always, the backwash line from the filter. Otherwise,the leak can be anywhere.

JeffChap mentioned earlier that a sprinkler system may be incorporated. I know this isn't your issue, but for the benefit of other readers, a pool system and a sprinkler system should never be spoken in the same sentence, certainly never tied together.

It will cost a couple hundred, but a leak detection company may be the way to go. Good luck with it, Happy New Year!

 

[tagteamcomputing]

I think the pool was built in 2003 , so I don't really know if that is old. So i have a few questions about some of these possible leak areas:

1. When you talk about the backwash line do you just mean where the water will come out of the backwash valve? My backwash valve is a valve right before the filter and it drips because the orings are probably worn but it is probably about a gallon a night is all.
2. pool light conduit: do you need to remove the light to check on this?
3. skimmers: Does it leak around the edges or is it if there are cracks there.

I am mostly wondering when you say these areas are suspects to you mean the area at the water level or the pipes in the ground they attach to?