Who nicked my pool?

[sam]

Well, a lot of the water anyway. We have recently been having problems with the water level dropping, and it was assumed that the pool was leaking. A small area of terrace was excavated as it was thought to be from the area of the skimmers. The pool was topped up and no water added for 2 days. The hole was dry and the water level did not drop despite the high temperatures at the weekend. If there is a leak it is clearly minor and would not cause the drastic drop witnessed, which happened whilst the property was unoccupied. I can only assume that someone has syphoned the water to refill their pool.
Has anyone else experienced this?

[roy4eyes]

If your pool is uncovered it can drop an inch (sorry 2.54 cms. !!) a day by evaporation on hot days.

A cover is not only to retain heat in the cooler months but to minimise evaporation in the heat - we re-cover our pool after each use - a bit of a pain but worth it !!

[sam]

The pool is uncovered, but the pool guy comes in twice a week to clean, check and treat the pool. He always leaves the hose trickling into the pool to counter evaporation. Our agent also goes in once a week when it is unoccupied and also checks the level. We have never had this problem before. We used to have it covered, but it has been uncovered for years now. At least it looks like we will not have to empty the pool and do major repairs.

[pickwick]

Hi

Easy way to check if a pool is leaking.

Get a bucket (or an empty large platic paint container) and put a mark on the inside with a pen and fill the container to this level. (An alternative is to fill it to a measured depth). Place the container with the water in it on the steps of the pool with the top above the pool water level or 2nd best, place it beside the pool (not so good as cats/dogs may drink the water). Then take a note of the water depth in the pool by counting how many mosaic tiles are above the water or by marking the depth with a pen a measured amount above the water level, say 5cm above the water level so the mark is not dissolved.

Leave well alone for a few days and then compare the drops in level between the container and the pool. They should match. If the pool has lost more water then most likely you have a leak!!

Pickwick

[widge]

Hi

Easy way to check if a pool is leaking.

Get a bucket (or an empty large platic paint container) and put a mark on the inside with a pen and fill the container to this level. (An alternative is to fill it to a measured depth). Place the container with the water in it on the steps of the pool with the top above the pool water level or 2nd best, place it beside the pool (not so good as cats/dogs may drink the water). Then take a note of the water depth in the pool by counting how many mosaic tiles are above the water or by marking the depth with a pen a measured amount above the water level, say 5cm above the water level so the mark is not dissolved.

Leave well alone for a few days and then compare the drops in level between the container and the pool. They should match. If the pool has lost more water then most likely you have a leak!!

Pickwick

Brilliant

[HampshireRich]

Hi

Easy way to check if a pool is leaking.

Get a bucket (or an empty large platic paint container) and put a mark on the inside with a pen and fill the container to this level. (An alternative is to fill it to a measured depth). Place the container with the water in it on the steps of the pool with the top above the pool water level or 2nd best, place it beside the pool (not so good as cats/dogs may drink the water). Then take a note of the water depth in the pool by counting how many mosaic tiles are above the water or by marking the depth with a pen a measured amount above the water level, say 5cm above the water level so the mark is not dissolved.

Leave well alone for a few days and then compare the drops in level between the container and the pool. They should match. If the pool has lost more water then most likely you have a leak!!

Pickwick

Brilliant

Sorry to question this - the pool has a lot larger surface area than a bucket and therefore the rate of evapouration will be a lot faster than water in the bucket. I can't see how you would be able to figure out that the pool has a leak unless you know the comparative evapouration rates rates and the calculate the surface area of each. Also, the bucket will heat up quicker than the pool which will additionally affect the rate of evapouration.

[widge]

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Leak-in-Y ... mming-Pool

[EMM]

I would agree with Roy and others, it has been exceptionaly hot and sometimes windy and the rate of evaporation will be higher than normal particularly if left uncovered.
Have you had fire near by, have you had a visit from the firefighters,

[HampshireRich]

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Leak-in-Y ... mming-Pool

Thanks widge,

I see now - should give a good indication of a leak though if there is only a small difference I don't think that would be sufficient proof.

[pickwick]

Hi Hampsire Rich

It works best if the bucket is on the steps of the pool and submerged as I said. With regard to the rate of evaporation differential you talk about, this is a red herring. The rate of evaporation relative to the surface area and volume of water is equal. Clearly more volume will evaporate from the pool than the buaket but the relative drops in level will be the same!!

All I know is that it works and is used particularly in Australia but if you know of a better way to discover a leak (or even any other way) then please post it here!!??

Pickwick

[HampshireRich]

Hi Hampsire Rich

It works best if the bucket is on the steps of the pool and submerged as I said. With regard to the rate of evaporation differential you talk about, this is a red herring. The rate of evaporation relative to the surface area and volume of water is equal. Clearly more volume will evaporate from the pool than the buaket but the relative drops in level will be the same!!

All I know is that it works and is used particularly in Australia but if you know of a better way to discover a leak (or even any other way) then please post it here!!??

Pickwick

I can see how it works if the bucket is in the pool and therefore at the same temperature - it was the comment of putting it by the side of the pool that made me wonder. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if sam does this and can let us know.

[EMM]

Our pool 30 degrees today and evaporation also at high levels, having to top up almost daily.

[sam]

Hi, thanks for all the advice. I have advised the agent to tell the pool guy to go back to topping up to account for evaporation. Have got friends going out so may ask them to try the bucket idea. Will let you know how we get on.

[cereza]

My son and some of his mates stayed in my villa for a few days before I arrived and I was amazed at how low the pool was on my arrival !! After watching their antics in the pool and the dive-bombs I soon realised where the water had gone

[sam]

I posted this time last year as my pool was missing several inches of water. A leak was suspected and not found and the problem has not reoccurred. We notified our insurers incase we needed to claim and they said they often get reports of pool water being syphoned.
Our water bill's are usually very low, but our latest is for 197 euros! As this is for about the same time as last year I only deduce that someone needed to top up their pool again and used one of our outside taps this time. We did have a cut to our water supply and a lot of air exploded through the tap. i know that this can spin the water meter, but to the tune of about 170 euros? Can only suspect one of my neighbours - which is not a nice thought.