Trying to settle a dispute with customer regarding water evaporation

Hello, this is the first time i have posted on this page, i would like some help to settle this dispute I've been having with a customer...

We have been bought in to replace the sump & slabs around a water feature as the previous sump only lasted around half an hour (no automatic fresh water feed system)

I have replaced the sump with a 200L sealed barrel, also replaced the pump & the tube leading from the pump to the jet. The only original pipework remaining is the overflow & flow back from the feature to the sump. (he did not want this lot replaced) The slabs in the area have been laid all around to fall into the fountain & back into the sump.

I have attached images of the fountain & slab work finished, the slabs are a 5 size mix, 420x560, 560x560, 840x560 ect... just so you can get an idea of the size of the fountain. I've also attached a photo of a crap drawing showing the pipe work layout.

The problem were having is the customer says that all of the water is evaporating firstly overnight, then he said over two days. I am sure there must be a split in the original pipe work.. surely 200l cannot evaporate in 1 day!

I appreciate any comments, this is starting to wind me up now!

Replies

PRO

Andrew Betteridge April 14, 2017 at 3:05pm

If the water cannot flow back correctly through the return pipe does the hidden trough overflow allowing the water to run away unseen under the slabs?

Andy
- PRO
  
  Andrew Betteridge > Andrew Betteridge April 14, 2017 at 3:11pm
  
  I would expect the return pipe to be at least one and a half inches (40 mm), perhaps more.
  
  Andy
Elias Cleverley April 14, 2017 at 3:30pm

The hidden trough is around 200mm deep & water exits the trough through a 40mm pipe, the same pipe as a kitchen sink waste.

All of the paving has been bedded on a full screed with SBR in the mix, i doubt it would be running under the slabs... a split in the return pipe is all i can think of?
PRO

Andrew Betteridge April 14, 2017 at 6:06pm

If it isn't backing up and flooding over the top of the concealed trough, then it has to be a plumbing leak. I am a little surprised the feature is not directly over the top of a buried barrel and there is a return pipe.

Andy
Elias Cleverley April 14, 2017 at 6:19pm

yes strange that, there is deffinatly no water backing up though. All we have done is re-do/repair his own work that he carried out around 10 years ago
PRO

Andrew Betteridge April 14, 2017 at 6:39pm

I tend to find that there were far more problems with people's DIY than they ever tell you about.

Andy
Colin Hunt April 15, 2017 at 12:40pm

Oh the joys of working in conjuction with another's work! The first problem is that you have no idea if the original pipework is sound, so we must eliminate all other possibilities before any major investigation work.

Obviously turn the pump off - top up the feature. Water will evaporate, but no more than 1/2" per day I would have thought.

Water is lazy, is the water being pumped into the feature faster than it can return by gravity? We maintain a garden that has a water screen with a bridge between two pebble pools and the water in the pool with the water screen raises in height by 2" when the pump is on, leveling out only when switched off.
PRO

Geoffrey King April 16, 2017 at 5:20pm

If you place a bucket or some other water containing device next to the feature, fill it, you can measure how fast it will evaporate, in comparison.

Clearly if you have 200l spread over a very large surface area it will evaporate much faster.

We have buckets in our garden with water, it didn't rain here for over 3 weeks, level went down by approx 100mm or say 5l. Clearly evaporation also depends upon ambient temperature, etc
David Benson April 16, 2017 at 11:33pm

if the trough is filled with gravel is it blocking the return pipe either in the entrance to it or down the pipe or the pipe is partly blocked from mold growth it could cause the trough to overflow under the slabs