Vinyl liner - poor install, need advice

[Watermom]

I had to do this very thing in the last liner I had. A year after the liner was installed, we noticed a couple of stones under it. We patched it with a piece of an old liner. It held just fine for another 5 years. Actually, those areas were still just fine, but we replaced the pool just a few weeks ago. The liner was actually still in good shape and those patches would have probably been fine for quite a few more years, but my pool walls were deteriorating.

It would be a big expense to drain the pool and refill. Filling a pool is costly. Especially since my sewer bill is based on my water bill so even though no water goes down the drain, when I filled the new pool recently, it impacted my water bill and sewer bill. I haven't gotten the two bills yet since the new pool was only installed about 3 weeks ago, but I'm guessing that between the two of them, I'll cost me about $500.

If I were you, I think I'd just keep patching as Ted suggested.

[Cboulier]

Thanks Ted - Ironically enough I am from Maine ( grew up in Winterport and Bangor area till I moved to AZ 7 years ago) too.

Water is not too bad but it's not free and I don't like to waste if I don't have too. I was under the impression I should never full drain the pool because of complications and problems I might run into ( getting it back in the track, sagging, etc). Maybe it's not a big a deal. Water is still kind of cold here so borrowing a wet suit and doing some diving this weekend.

Monitoring the leak this one seems worse then the 3 small holes found last summer. I lost about 4 inches in a 24 hour period and this is for 18 x 36 pool so it's pretty significant. I don't think it's in the piping or around pump filter because it seem to leak the same amount weather it is running or not.

Of course yes,I have an auto-vac! Lol....no main drain, only suction side cleaner, runs about 3 hours in the winter and up to 8 in the hot summer months. I know that is not helping the cause and def prob helping those little rocks stick through, as long I can keep them patched and maybe per-patch other rocks sticking up maybe I will be ok. Just frustrating with a new liner and the company who put it in not willing to help.

Is there a better way to try to find these me leaks? Homemade dye solutions? Last time I had to have my face right against the liner and still could barely see the hole. I used food coloring and that didn't even alert me that much.

Thanks!

[aylad]

One of the other mods, Poconos, has recommended beet juice for detecting leaks...

Janet