Pool Leak Bucket Test
Determine If You Have A Leak
Pools lose on average 1/8" to 1/4" of water per day due to normal evaporation. The bucket test is a simple way to help determine if you actually have a leak in your pool.
*If it rains at all during the 24 hour period, start over or the results will not be accurate.
*Run the test for exactly 24 hours to ensure accurate results.
*Do not swim in the pool or backwash during the test.
1. Bring the water to normal level, about half way up the skimmer. Turn the pump off.
2. Place a bucket of water- filled with water to within about an inch to two inches from the top- on the first or second step of the pool. Allow the water to become still
3. With a marker or a piece of electrical tape, mark the water level inside the bucket.
4. Mark the water level of the pool either on the outside of the bucket or inside the skimmer.
5. Turn the pump back on and operate the pool as normal for 24 hours.
6. After 24 hours, measure the amount of water lost both on the inside of the bucket and in the pool.
If the pool water level drops more than inside the bucket, there is most likely a leak.
Weather and time permitting, we can establish suspected leak locations by performing the same 24 hour test first with the pump on for the entire 24 hours, then again with the pump off for the entire 24 hours. Knowing whether the pool loses more water with the pump on, if it loses more water with the pump off, or if the water loss is equal either way may help to pinpoint the leak.
Varying environmental conditions may affect the test result, however the information they provide may be a useful tool in first establishing whether there actually is a leak, and if so where it may be located.
Call us with your results. If a leak is suspected our certified leak detection specialists can quickly pinpoint the leak in the least invasive way with the latest and best in leak detection equipment technology.
