As far as my wife knows the pool light has never been replaced since the pool was installed fifty years ago. The light burned out four or five years ago but I thought I would have to empty the pool to fix it until I saw the thread here on replacing the bulb. My light has no screw holding it in place, instead there is a spring clip at the top. When I got the fixture out and apart I saw that there was water inside. The bulb was toast as there were pieces of filament loose in the bulb. My concern is the condition of the socket after sitting in water for a long time. Should I replace the socket?
Fifty year old pool light out
- Thread starter sccatech
- Start date
I'd recommend you replace it, it looks slightly rusted and would be good preventive maintenance even if the socket worked.
First, that is not rust. The entire fixture is chrome plated brass. Second, I believe that the outer housing would have to be replaced as the fastening method is different than what is available currently, an expense I cannot afford. I put in a ordinary 100 W bulb to test the socket and it works. I doubt that I can find a socket like this anymore but I will look. The options are to put a daub of solder on the center connection as is appears to be flattened and to remove the socket and clean all the connections and spray everything electrical with Corrosion X spray. BTW, what looks like bad insulation on the current carrying wires is actually a fiberglass sleeve that is used to protect wires in a hot environment. 400 Watts is a lot of heat in that confined space.
As a minimum safety precaution I would make sure that lamp is on a GFCI protected circuit. If it's turned on by a standard light switch, I believe there are GFCI/switch combination devices that could replace a single switch position. I have a 65 year old pool and if your wiring is anything like mine and original I wouldn't trust it to light a night light without a GFCI.