Good morning everyone. I have searched the forums for any information concerning my issue with leaking main drain plumbing.
Back story: In 2014 I had an inground pool installed. It wasn't my first pool I've owned. I build an 18x36 above ground pool in one home and then owned another with an 15 x 30 inground, so pool ownership isn't new to me. After about a month of the pool company finishing their installation I noticed I was losing about 1 inch or more of water per month. I did not believe it was evaporation because my previous inground pool was in the same vicinity as the new house. So, I performed a bucket test and it showed I was losing about a 1/4-1/2 inch of water per week. I called the pool company and they came out and pressure tested the skimmer lines and pool return lines. They did not pressure test the main drain line, which is my fault because I did not realize they had not done so.
Over the next few years the pool was the least of my concern as I was dealing with my late wife's terminal illness and I took care of her for the next 3.5 years. Now I am back to dealing with the pool issue. The pool company would not perform another leak test because they are telling me the plumbing is now out of warranty. So, I paid for the leak test myself for the main drain ($300) and they found a significant break in the line. It won't even hold 5lbs of pressure for 30 seconds.
So, I told this to the pool company (Blue Haven) and their only suggestion was to concrete the main drain inlets (2) with hydraulic cement. That is not what I want at this point without trying something else. I dug down to find the main drain line and unfortunately they encased the line in the pool wall and the leak company said they heard the most air coming from the pool wall, which means I would have to jackhammer hout the pool wall to find and repair the leak.
I did some research and there are a few companies out there that offer a product that is pumped through the PVC piping that fills in cracks and leaks. One product is called Pipe-Fuze. I called them and they told me that if the pipe cannot hold 5lbs of pressure for at least 30 seconds the break is too significant for their product to work. I then found a product called Fix-A-Leak out of Ontario, Canada. It is sold through Amazon for about $25 a bottle. I talked to them about my problem and they told me they believe their product would work. They suggested I create a closed loop system with my main drain plumbing and pump water through the piping at about 5psi and introduce their product into the water tub where the pump is that is send water to the plumbing.
I set everything up as suggested after purchasing the necessary fittings and parts. I filled the water bucket and turned on the pump and the water continues to go down. It never levels off like one would think after the pipe is filled with water and all air has been purged from the lines, which tells me this is a significant leak. The Fix-A-Leak company suggested only about an 1/8 to 1/4 of the bottle since it was a closed system, however, since it was such a significant leak I put the whole bottle into the bucket and ran it until the water got clear and shut it down to let it sit and cure. It says to leave it for about 48 hours for the product to cure.
I've ordered three more bottles of their product in case I need more. If I don't need anymore I can return it, but I'm thinking it's going to take many applications to fix this.
Does anyone here have any experience with this product or problem? If so, I would like to hear from you, or other ideas about how i can go about fixing this without major construction and cost. The last resort for me is permanently sealing the main drain line.
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Back story: In 2014 I had an inground pool installed. It wasn't my first pool I've owned. I build an 18x36 above ground pool in one home and then owned another with an 15 x 30 inground, so pool ownership isn't new to me. After about a month of the pool company finishing their installation I noticed I was losing about 1 inch or more of water per month. I did not believe it was evaporation because my previous inground pool was in the same vicinity as the new house. So, I performed a bucket test and it showed I was losing about a 1/4-1/2 inch of water per week. I called the pool company and they came out and pressure tested the skimmer lines and pool return lines. They did not pressure test the main drain line, which is my fault because I did not realize they had not done so.
Over the next few years the pool was the least of my concern as I was dealing with my late wife's terminal illness and I took care of her for the next 3.5 years. Now I am back to dealing with the pool issue. The pool company would not perform another leak test because they are telling me the plumbing is now out of warranty. So, I paid for the leak test myself for the main drain ($300) and they found a significant break in the line. It won't even hold 5lbs of pressure for 30 seconds.
So, I told this to the pool company (Blue Haven) and their only suggestion was to concrete the main drain inlets (2) with hydraulic cement. That is not what I want at this point without trying something else. I dug down to find the main drain line and unfortunately they encased the line in the pool wall and the leak company said they heard the most air coming from the pool wall, which means I would have to jackhammer hout the pool wall to find and repair the leak.
I did some research and there are a few companies out there that offer a product that is pumped through the PVC piping that fills in cracks and leaks. One product is called Pipe-Fuze. I called them and they told me that if the pipe cannot hold 5lbs of pressure for at least 30 seconds the break is too significant for their product to work. I then found a product called Fix-A-Leak out of Ontario, Canada. It is sold through Amazon for about $25 a bottle. I talked to them about my problem and they told me they believe their product would work. They suggested I create a closed loop system with my main drain plumbing and pump water through the piping at about 5psi and introduce their product into the water tub where the pump is that is send water to the plumbing.
I set everything up as suggested after purchasing the necessary fittings and parts. I filled the water bucket and turned on the pump and the water continues to go down. It never levels off like one would think after the pipe is filled with water and all air has been purged from the lines, which tells me this is a significant leak. The Fix-A-Leak company suggested only about an 1/8 to 1/4 of the bottle since it was a closed system, however, since it was such a significant leak I put the whole bottle into the bucket and ran it until the water got clear and shut it down to let it sit and cure. It says to leave it for about 48 hours for the product to cure.
I've ordered three more bottles of their product in case I need more. If I don't need anymore I can return it, but I'm thinking it's going to take many applications to fix this.
Does anyone here have any experience with this product or problem? If so, I would like to hear from you, or other ideas about how i can go about fixing this without major construction and cost. The last resort for me is permanently sealing the main drain line.
