LED strip lighting question?

[Aleforge]

My pool has a strip light along the edge. It doesn't seem super bright but its OK. One area in a corner it has come away from the wall about 1/2" and pushing on it (thought I could use some clear caulk) will not seat it back in. I guess it shrunk at some point.

My question is do they make new strips that will fit and be brighter? Secondly if I want the entire thing flush in its groove I am guessing I have to remove it completely? Kind of why I wondered if I should replace it with a brighter strip?

Lastly I am not sure how these things work, there is a black light box at the end of the pool, in order to turn the light on it starts up a motor. Do these things use a ton of power or something?

Thank you!

 

[mrcarcrazy]

LED's by nature don't use much power. usually the black box is a transformer, as they often work off of 12V DC.

New strips may/may not be brighter.

on the strip seating issue, pictures are worth 1000 words.

Make sure you get outdoor rated waterproof LED strip if you decided to replace it.

 

[Aleforge]

Sorry I should of taken a picture of the trouble area! I will update this tonight.

So the transformer has a fan or something in the housing that I am hearing rev up?

 

[mrcarcrazy]

plausible, I believe some of the higher output transformers have cooling fans.

 

[JasonLion]

Are you sure those are LEDs? What you describe sounds like fiber lights. The light is in the box with a fan, and is conducted to the edge of the pool via fiber.

 

[Aleforge]

Hey Jason, I didn't even think about that. I was curious why LEDs would need a transformer with cooling fans being such low voltage. Fiber makes a lot more sense. Wonder if the fiber lights can be upgraded to something brighter? I wish the pool had better lighting at night its so dim you can't see the bottom, and it has this tiny little light under the skimmer that does almost nothing.

 

[Hilton]

I don't know about the strip lights, but you might be able to upgrade the underwater light with a higher wattage one, or with an LED one that is brighter.

Also look into something like these - LED lights that screw into your pool returns and use the water flow to power themselves. I've seen them available in both plain white and crazy disco psycho colors. These might be a low-cost/low-effort solution for you, depending on how many returns you have and how bright the ones you get are.

 

[gwegan]

I'm betting this is a fiber optic strip light. A picture would help, including the box with the fan.

 

[JasonLion]

There are pictures of several models here.

 

[gtemkin]

It may just be that you're system needs cleaning. If a spider built a web between the lamp and the fiber bundle or some dirt or rust has dropped onto the bulb, the light output could dramatically drop. Any place there is a fan, lots of dust and dirt will build up over time.

There's also the possibility that someone replaced the lamp with a lower wattage version.

I suggest opening up the box, checking the bulb and wiping down the fiber cable end with a wetted rag or q-tip. Sort of like driving with a clean windshield, light transmission will be greatly improved.

Edit: And if there's a reflector behind the bulb that's just a rusty mess, that may be an easily replaceable part. Otherwise make sure it gets polished up too.

 

[Aleforge]

Thanks gtemkin! I wasn't sure how they worked, I will open it up and take a look!