Color LED Light Upgrade Option Reviews

[vandal968]

Reviving this old thread again....

I've got a Pentair Amerilite incandescent fixture which is totally shot (leaking). The seal where the cord enters the fixture is cracked and the metal housing itself has pinholes. I want to switch to a color LED and I don't want to replace the lens/housing and put an LED bulb in, I want to replace the whole assembly with a self-contained led lens/bulb assembly that is compatible with the existing cove. This seems like a better way to go as the LED fixture itself will be in-contact with the water which should give excellent cooling and I would expect this to greatly extend the life of the light. Also, the sealing system of the "normal" fixtures with the clamp wire makes me uneasy. It looks like the choices are:

J & J ColorSplash XG
Pentair Intellibrite COLOR

I'm not sure if there are others to consider. The diffuser on the Pentair seems to be a better design, but it really irritates me that Pentair voids your warranty for a self-install, I'm not sure if J&J does this as-well, I'm still researching. Anyone have experience/recommendations? Thanks, c

 

[jmastron]

The Colorsplash bulbs from J and J Electronics were updated last fall - new designs, I think the model is LXG now. I waited on the new design and replaced my burned out spa light - have been very happy with it. My original bulbs were plain white. If you have automation, they control just like an original Pentair LED bulb would.

The spa bulb wattage was rated about the same as my original, but I don't think their bigger Pool LED bulb is rated quite the same. I found the ratings last year on their site, but I don't see where they mention it any longer. The plain white Pentair bulb is 500 watts, the Colorsplash replacement I think only equated to 350 or 400 watts. So when using white it may not be as bright and of course none of the colors are as bright. According to their website this bulb will fit the Amerilite 784 series housings.

It does appear they have updated the Colorsplash bulb. I purchased a "Colorsplash 3G" LPL-P1-RGB-12 (12V) last August, and find myself in the market for a new bulb, since it appears that when you miswire the Intermatic PX100 transformer reversing the input and output, the 1200V surge is enough to fry the bulb before the breaker trips :-( So I'm in the market for a replacement.

Anyway, the current equivalent is "Colorsplash LXG" LPL-P2-RGB-12, which has a different lens style and they have changed the control sequence for the better (with the P1, the only way to get a solid color is to run a light show, wait for the color you want, and try to "lock" it in. The P2 appears to be similar to the Pentair lights with deterministic sequences for each show and color).

Has anyone used this new bulb and can comment on the brightness, especially if you've seen the older ColorSplash or the Pentair AmerBrite? I know none of the color changing LED bulbs are as bright as pure white LED bulbs, but would like to get the best I can.