People with pools- help (how much, big house, pool) - Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area - Florida (FL) -Manatee and Sarasota Counties - City-Data Forum

Oobie119 · 08-06-2010, 10:38 AM

So we had our pool guy come out and do an initial cleanup- the pool is up and running and looks great. However, we seem to be losing more water than what we were told. He said an average of 1-1.5 inches a week. Ive been keeping track since yesterday morning. Its down almost a whole inch already! My 4 year old has been in the pool everyday and loves jumping in and is quite a splasher. The pool is also in the sun. My sister owned a pool in Chicago and mentioned their pool would lose A LOT of water in the heat.. just wanted input. Our filter and pump are not leaking so we are praying there isn't a leak in the pool itself. I know we can do the "bucket test" but I wanted opinions on how much their pool loses water..

gettinoutofjersey · 08-06-2010, 11:01 AM

we moved into our house in april and i think i have only had to top mine off 3 times of a couple inches each time and we have hardly gotten any rain.

Oobie119 · 08-06-2010, 02:07 PM

Im just wondering what the average is for someone who uses it frequently with kids...

Big House · 08-06-2010, 02:24 PM

Ok guys that are new to the pool scene. There is usually an overflow drain line ( usually a pvc line that is in the skimmer box that will drain your pool every time you have a large rain, and it prevents the pool from over filling and over flowing.

I didn't realize it when we first bought our pool, and kept filling it and filling it and filling it, and it would go up, and then go down again. I was getting frustrated too. Soooo, look in your skimmer box and see if there is an open ended pipe in their. You will probably find that the water level is up to it. What I did, was put a cork in it, and that worked. When we have a large rain it usually just fills the pool up, and saves me from having to use the hose. It will still evaporate off pretty quickly and occasionally you will still need to fill it. Just remember if you have a huge storm, and it really rains hard, that you may have to uncork the drain line. And, make sure you pull the cork before you go on vacation as well.

I probably spent a couple hundred $$ more than I needed too because I never thought about the overflow drain.

gettinoutofjersey · 08-06-2010, 02:40 PM

i forgot about the over flow drain line. good point. if it is not in the skimmer like BH says it could be built into the wall of the pool. it will be a fitting that has a couple of pieces of plastic forming what looks like a grate. it can be a foot below the water surface and then have pipe that runs under the concrete deck and terminates at the height of the desired water level. i have seen it rain so hard that this over flow drain cant come close to keeping up with the rain. mine is at a point that it dumps pool water on the grass and ends up burning it from the chlorine. that is a good idea about plugging it. i might do that and then put a valve on the filter to dump water when its over filled.

Oobie119 · 08-06-2010, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big House

Ok guys that are new to the pool scene. There is usually an overflow drain line ( usually a pvc line that is in the skimmer box that will drain your pool every time you have a large rain, and it prevents the pool from over filling and over flowing.

I didn't realize it when we first bought our pool, and kept filling it and filling it and filling it, and it would go up, and then go down again. I was getting frustrated too. Soooo, look in your skimmer box and see if there is an open ended pipe in their. You will probably find that the water level is up to it. What I did, was put a cork in it, and that worked. When we have a large rain it usually just fills the pool up, and saves me from having to use the hose. It will still evaporate off pretty quickly and occasionally you will still need to fill it. Just remember if you have a huge storm, and it really rains hard, that you may have to uncork the drain line. And, make sure you pull the cork before you go on vacation as well.

I probably spent a couple hundred $$ more than I needed too because I never thought about the overflow drain.

Thanks for the tip, but we haven't filled it, nor has it rained in the last 2 days. We've lost almost an inch in a day. I'll check for the drain line for future reference but does this amount seem average for being heavily used?

Big House · 08-06-2010, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettinoutofjersey

i forgot about the over flow drain line. good point. if it is not in the skimmer like BH says it could be built into the wall of the pool. it will be a fitting that has a couple of pieces of plastic forming what looks like a grate. it can be a foot below the water surface and then have pipe that runs under the concrete deck and terminates at the height of the desired water level. i have seen it rain so hard that this over flow drain cant come close to keeping up with the rain. mine is at a point that it dumps pool water on the grass and ends up burning it from the chlorine. that is a good idea about plugging it. i might do that and then put a valve on the filter to dump water when its over filled.

Yeah, and if you spend money filling it, you don't want the overflow going to waste. You want it staying in the pool.

Oobie some days you can lose an inch of water - that is a lot, but yeah, and in the winter time if you heat the pool you can see the water vapors leaving the pool too.

Last one in is a rotten egg! CANNON BALL!

Did I getcha?

Rushmore · 08-07-2010, 09:17 AM

We have been here since march, and I have topped off the pool four times or so. There is no way on earth you should lose an inch in a day. Sounds like in two months it will be empty.

Wait til your pool guy comes back and point it out to him. He ought to be able to intelligently comment on the situation.

He is a "pool guy," after all.

Big House · 08-07-2010, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rushmore

We have been here since march, and I have topped off the pool four times or so. There is no way on earth you should lose an inch in a day. Sounds like in two months it will be empty.

Wait til your pool guy comes back and point it out to him. He ought to be able to intelligently comment on the situation.

He is a "pool guy," after all.

Don't worry, you two will have lots of splashing kids, and Uncle Big House will teach 'em how to do unbelievable cannon balls, and you'll be filling the pool all day long!

Oh, and by the end of the month, the pool will be completely empty!

beachymom · 08-07-2010, 07:59 PM

We have four kids (five including my husband) doing huge amounts of cannon balls daily. We haven't noticed anything and the pool guy hasn't mentioned anything. It's pretty much in the sun until early evening. I'll have to ask our pool guy when he is here next...