Light Replacement Question

[holubec37]

Are pool lights a standard size? The pool light has not worked since we bought our house 3 years ago. The pool guy that we used said that he had replaced a light like ours recently, but had a hard time finding the new light. I've run across replacement lights that appear to be a direct replacement with what I have now. It seems that if I purchased this replacement light that all I would have to do is disconnect the wiring in the j-box and pull the wiring out through the conduit and fish the new wire back in. Sounds pretty straight forward for a DIY project.

The pool light is an older model, not one of the new LED lamps, but if I can direct-replace I may look into one of those.

Also, are all pool light shell housings a minimum standard size/depth?

 

[jblizzle]

I am not sure if the niches are standard size or not ... like everything else, I would guess not.

You should be able to remove 1 screw at the top of the light and then pull it up to the deck without pulling the wire out of the conduit ... assuming the installer did it correctly.

There really are a few options:
1. See what bulb is in the fixture and replace it with the same
2. See what bulb is in the fixture and replace it with an LED bulb (either white or a color changing one ... that is what I did)
3. Replace the entire fixture with either a similar bulb-based fixture or a sealed LED fixture ... this is certainly the most work and most $

Might be worth pulling the fixture out and seeing if you are getting power to the fixture and just need a bulb or if there is a wiring problem somewhere.

Note too that the power to the light should be GFCI protected, either on a GFCI breaker or through a GFCI outlet (this is what I added to mine as it was not protected when we bought the house).

 

[AZHeat]

Are pool lights a standard size? The pool light has not worked since we bought our house 3 years ago. The pool guy that we used said that he had replaced a light like ours recently, but had a hard time finding the new light. I've run across replacement lights that appear to be a direct replacement with what I have now. It seems that if I purchased this replacement light that all I would have to do is disconnect the wiring in the j-box and pull the wiring out through the conduit and fish the new wire back in. Sounds pretty straight forward for a DIY project.

The pool light is an older model, not one of the new LED lamps, but if I can direct-replace I may look into one of those.

Also, are all pool light shell housings a minimum standard size/depth?

I had same problem. When I bought the house, the pool light didn't work. On our purchase contract, we had the seller fix. They did. But after running light for a couple hours after we had posession, quit working. I replaced, bulb and gasket and still nothing. BTW, whoever changed the light, did not do it right as I barely had enough cable to get it out of hte water, but not onto the deck. I also replaced GFCI jsut because I had one already. After all that, I ended up replacing the whole unit. The old one had a tear in the insulation and that is what was causing it not to work. When you pull it out, tie some mason line or fish tape if you have it on the connector end. Pull out and attach string/tape to the new cable. Lube it up well to prevent tearing the insulation. WIre and enjoy.

 

[holubec37]

Another Question About Pool Lights

I have another question regarding my pool light. I've taken it apart and all that I can find inside the trim ring is "AMERILITE". The actual question is about replacing the bulb, but more importantly the coil that runs over the top of the light bulb. What is that for, and can I only replace the bulb with the type of bulb that is in there so that the coil can sit on the bulb?

Thanks again in advance...I've always come across good information on this forum.

 

[holubec37]

Upon further review of the light, the coil seems to be nothing more than a spring that fits over the screws that hold the bulb receptacle and the housing together. Is this needed or can I go with any size bulb given that it fits the wattage/voltage?

 

[gtemkin]

Here's a link to the Pentair page for Amerlite brand lights. On that page is a link to the manuals which have lots of details. It looks like this unit has a replaceable separate bulb in the housing which requires a new gasket each time it's opened. Since the bulb doesn't come preinstalled with a sealed long length cord, I'd be very careful about how it's buttoned up and make sure it's perfect before turning power on.

http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/AmerliteOM.pdf

A Google search for one of the Pentair part number bulbs (110V/300W) seems to show it's widely available.