Best outside electrical box for my situation?

denisbaldwin · Apr 19, 2010

My current pool electrical is a nightmare. Here's a photo:

There's a series of posts sticking out of the ground with wires coming from all over the place. One was a 15 AMP lead going to nothing. It might have one had an outlet on it, but for now it's just capped off going to nothing. One 20AMP powers my pump at 110V. One separate 15AMP powers my pool light. All of this stuff is kinda dangling all over the place.

I'm looking for a box that is waterproof (or relatively water resistant), able to hold a set of two double GFCI plugs, able to hold at least two double switches (one for the light and one for the pool) and able to hold a control modules/digital timer/etc. My eventual goal (most likely in 2011) is to switch to SWG and an Intelliflo, so I want space in this to accommodate all of the goodies that go with that setup.

Size doesn't matter, but I'd prefer bigger than I need so I can add some automation, external light switches, etc. to it eventually.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an electrical box specifically for pools and applications like this?

Denis

Bama Rambler · Apr 19, 2010

Once you post a picture we can make a suggestion.

denisbaldwin · Apr 20, 2010

Bama Rambler said:
Once you post a picture we can make a suggestion.

Picture is up!

Bama Rambler · Apr 20, 2010

I'd go with a NEMA 4 electrical enclosure. They cost a bunch but are worth it in this case. You can get one here. They have lots to choose from. You could also go with stainless steel but that may be overkill.

denisbaldwin · Apr 25, 2010

I ended up pulling a lot of extra wire out And rewiring a good portion of what was out there. I'm now four outlets and a pool light richer.

bk406 · Apr 25, 2010

My 2 cents. Call a qualified, licensed electrician to fix all this up. It will be done safely and the correct way. You can DYI this, but it seems that you would be better off getting an electrican to do this. The correct way to do this is to run a dedicated 60 amp or so line from your main and put in an outdoor subpanel. From that, you can wire in your pump, pool light, external recepticles, etc all from a subpanel rather than having a hodge podge of individual circuits.

If your going to get an intelliflo and swg, you could invest in an Easytouch panel from Pentair. It's Pentair's automation system. The box acts as a subpanel and you can tie in your pump, light, SWG, etc right into the box and have automation right out at the pool.

denisbaldwin · Apr 25, 2010

bk406 said:
If your going to get an intelliflo and swg, you could invest in an Easytouch panel from Pentair. It's Pentair's automation system. The box acts as a subpanel and you can tie in your pump, light, SWG, etc right into the box and have automation right out at the pool.

That's ultimately the plan. Sometime in the spring of 2011, I'll be going to SWG and Intelliflo and I'll have the cash (Tax return!) to do a nice subpanel. For now, I hodgepodged it into working