Intellibrite 5g and the Easy Touch - not so easy!

[hebertf]

So...My pool contractor delivered the easy touch 4 and put two intellibrite 5g lights in my pool. The lights are 12vac. My electrician shows up to hook everything up and gets stumped with the light hook up. Of course the manual doesn't mention a word of how to hook up lights! We called pentair and they said I need to purchase a seperate 120 - 12vac transformer, then run the transformer to a relay powered by a 15amp breaker. Is this right? Is this transformer supposed to be installed by my electrician? Why then does it show a transformer above the 12vac breakers on the wire diagram on the easy touch door.

Can anyone break it down in simple terms for me to understand?

Thanks,
Heebs

 

[JasonLion]

You described it correctly. Separate breaker for the lights, run from there to one of the aux relays, then to a special pool rated transformer, and from there to the lights. This is the standard way all low voltage pool lights are done.

There is another transformer in the Easy Touch but it is for something else and isn't designed to work with lights.

 

[hebertf]

Thanks!
I'll have my pool contractor order the transformer and then get the electrician to hook it up. Just for my own understanding, I went out to the easytouch and looked at the control transformer. It has a wire bundle snaked up to the personality board and then tied into to the low voltage breakers. Just a question - I understand you need a pool light transformer, but why can't you hook the lights up to the low voltage breakers and have them powered by the control transformer that is already tied into the 12vac breaker?

cheers,
heebs

 

[Liteguy]

So...My pool contractor delivered the easy touch 4 and put two intellibrite 5g lights in my pool. The lights are 12vac. My electrician shows up to hook everything up and gets stumped with the light hook up. Of course the manual doesn't mention a word of how to hook up lights! We called pentair and they said I need to purchase a seperate 120 - 12vac transformer, then run the transformer to a relay powered by a 15amp breaker. Is this right? Is this transformer supposed to be installed by my electrician? Why then does it show a transformer above the 12vac breakers on the wire diagram on the easy touch door.

Can anyone break it down in simple terms for me to understand?

Thanks,
Heebs

Hello Heebs and welcome, I have the same 12 VAC 5G pool light. What I did was tie it into my landscape lighting transformer which is 12 VAC. Just make sure you've got enough wattage on your transformer to handle the light. IF you google landscape lighting transformers, you'll have plenty of choices. Good Luck

 

[JasonLion]

Using a landscaping light transformer is not safe and is a violation of electrical code in most places. You need to use a special pool rated transformer that is not connected to anything on the low voltage side except the pool lights. Pool transformers are specially designed to prevent their high voltage input from ever shorting to the low voltage side. A regular landscaping light transformer does not have that protection and puts you are far more risk.

 

[Liteguy]

"A regular landscaping light transformer does not have that protection and puts you are far more risk."

Hi Jason, I would respectively disagree with your statement above. And not to make a big deal about this, but SAFETY is the number 1 concern. I should have gone further into my comment about landscape lighting transformers. The better transformers have circuit breakers on the secondary side (12VAC lo-vo side) which is where you want the breaker in the event of a short. Transformers that have breakers on the line voltage side only-yes could be dangerous. Of course the transformer needs to be on a GFCI outlet. So having a transformer with dual protection with GFCI and secondary breakers is the safe route.

 

[JasonLion]

That is all great, but it is not sufficient. By code:

Transformers for underwater luminaires must be listed as a swimming pool transformer of the isolating-winding type and have a grounded metal barrier between the primary and secondary windings.

Or to restate that from a consumer point of view, the transformer must be specifically labeled for use with swimming pool underwater lights.

 

[jtech1]

Sounds like your electrician has not wired any 12V pool lights before. I am installing three 5g 12V lights. I am using an Intermatic PX300 12V transformer. It can be set up for 12, 13 or 14V depending on how long the cable runs are to the lights to account for voltage drop. It is also a good idea to put the pool lights on their own transformer so that the ET panel can cycle power to change color modes without affecting other lights. The other transformer you see in the panel is most likely the transformer that powers the panel circuits. In my IntelliTouch, I also have another transformer for the IntelliChlor salt cell. But lighting does need to use a separate, external transformer, wired off an ET relay, powered by a GFCI breaker. Using 12V pool lights is by far, they best way to go, in my opinion... you are doing it right.