Frankenplug Swimming Pool Leak Repair (4" Pool Fitting)

When we uncovered the pool this year, the water level was lower than normal. I followed the 'dirt' line ring on the pool and it appeared to lean toward an issue with the pool returns. Using some food dye, I discovered a crack on a inground pool return built into the plastic walk-in steps. The crack was where the threads begin where the eyeball would screw into. The only way to change this would be to cut the concreate, dig and replace which will be an expensive job. I took a gamble with Frankenplug and it appears to be working perfectly. The pool was dropping about 1.5 inches everyday and this plug stopped the water loss so far.It's hard to determine how 'tight' it needs to be, because at the same time I don't want to crack it worse than it is. At first installation, my dye tests were good, except I felt it still was losing water. I tightened it a bit more, and now it seems to have stopped. It's a great concept for sure! Tightening it pulls the front & rear of the plug together causing the rubber middle to expand, (like squishing the rubber)-- Good luck!

Various opinions whether this is a 'permanent' fix or a temporary fix, but, I'll take an $80 gamble over a $3000 repair bill any day. 2 suggestions, though: (1) it'd be nice to be able to aim the inlet, like the original one (that wouldn't be real hard to do) and (2) provide a plug to seal it for winterizing (also not real hard to do). I'll give this a 5 rating anyway just for the amount of money it has saved me (so far). If the manufacturer reads these reviews, it'd be nice to have the suggestions taken seriously.

This little guy fixed a leak.We ended up having the fitting replaced as it was covered under warranty, but now we have a big hole in the concrete pool deck.The plug was so easy and now I almost wish we just left it in place instead of replacing the fittings.

it does not fit

We had a leak in one or both of our pool returns by our steps. As a last ditch effort to save substantial time, effort and money in breaking up concrete to replace pipes, we gave this a try. One of our returns was badly cracked and was losing 2 to 3 inches of water overnight. After using franken plugs we are losing less than 1/8th of an inch overnight. We did have to alter the plug slightly due to pipe becoming more narrow than the end of the franken plug. Hubby used our grinder to carefully shave down until pipe fit perfectly. A great invention that I am hoping will last for years

I had a significant pool leak this summer. I was losing a ton of water( had to put the hose in the pool at least an hour a day just to maintain levels). Had a pool leak specialist come out and they found cracks in 2 returns right where they enter the pool. I put the Frankenplug in and now 72 hours later does not look like I’m losing a drop. Saved my thousands from not having to dig up the cement around my pool. Can’t comment on long term.

If you are selling your home or just want to put off repairing your pool this product works. I have a small leak where the fitting glues to the pipe on my return jet. Installation is easy and it sealed for 6 months. This is a bandaid fix and not a permanent repair.

Worked as intended easy installation.

Found this in a few places on the net. Figured it was a gimmick and then saw some reviews on other sites. Very few pool shops even knew what a “Frankenplug” was. Once I saw the concept I figured it was sound and gave it a try. My cracked pool return was losing 1.5 inches of water in 12 hrs with the pump on. I installed this in 5 mins and the leak reduced to a very very slow dribble. Probably due to the rust built up around the return fitting from the leak. This has bought me time to do a partial drain and fitting replacement in the fall and cost less than the water bill for refilling the pool. Follow the instructions and use some silicone lube and you’ll have success.Update. Guess it took a few hrs for the residual water to come out of the fitting. It is now completely sealed and the outside is bone dry. Great product.