Help removing pool light

[kimkats]

It is time that you stop working on this until you get someone out to make sure it is even safe. Water and electricity do NOT mix.

Kim TFP MOD

 

[KevinLC]

This is an older pool and I have brass conduit coming from the metal light niche to the j box. I was reading that this serves as bonding the pool light to the water. Am I correct in this assumption? Would that also serve to bond the cement deck as well, or should I still be looking for a #8 copper wire? Finally, how would I go about bonding the pump at this point, and could I just install a gfci breaker?

 

[ajw22]

This is an older pool and I have brass conduit coming from the metal light niche to the j box. I was reading that this serves as bonding the pool light to the water. Am I correct in this assumption? Would that also serve to bond the cement deck as well, or should I still be looking for a #8 copper wire?

You are missing the concept. Bonding is not about conencting A to B. Bonding is about all things conductive within 5' of the water being electrically connected. Concrete decks are conductive and need to be connected to the bonding grid. It takes a wire to make that connection.

Your water, metal light housing and J-box may be bonded together. That is insufficient if there are not connections from the J-Box to the pump and deck.

Finally, how would I go about bonding the pump at this point, and could I just install a gfci breaker?

Run a bare #8 wire from the J-Box bonding lug to the pump bonding lug.

A GFCI breaker has no role in bonding.

 

[crusemm]

In your picture it looks like your pump is not new. If not, it should have been bonded already, and that bonding should still be intact. If it is a new pump, look next to where the old pump was set, there should be a bare copper (brownish/greenish by now) wire that ran next to that pump that it was bonded to.

 

[jimmythegreek]

That's an older pentair light. Somewhere theres a dimple with a set screw in it. Use an awl or small screwdriver and poke around til you find it. If its corroded bad lower the water and drill it out or use an air drill as stated before and toss it when done.
You really should have someone look the electric over that understands bonding. A pool light is not a place to skimp and can be lethal if done improperly

 

[djdonte]

A word on bonding also. I thought my screw was faded from discoloration but turns out it’s not even stainless. I ordered a replacement that is genuine pentair and it had this warning... guess I’ll be returning the 7 dollar screw.

 

[KevinLC]

So the top pic was the stripped out screw that I worked on with various hacksaw blades, by hand, over a two day period! Pain-in-the-you-know-what! It finally gave, as if by divine intervention, and the pool light began to move. When I pulled it on deck, it looked like something scavenged off the titanic! A burst of 30-year-old air escaped when I pried her open and there was a pile of some sort of goo; a black, tar-like substance inside. I quickly determined that this relic was not going back in my pool. I returned the fancy LED lightbulb I had purchased off Amazon and called my pool guy to put in a new Pentair Intellibrite 5g LED light. The wires went through the conduit fairly easy and there was nothing out of the ordinary that any do-it-yourself person couldn't have handled if you follow proper guidelines and safety protocols. I got a lot of good information off this site, but also a lot of brushback. I agree - 100% - that safety should be of paramount concern at all times, especially when dealing with electricity, but we are all here to learn from others more experienced than us, or others who have completed similar projects. Isn't that the purpose of the forum? Regardless, thank you to everybody who helped me along the way, it was greatly appreciated. The new light is amazing and gives the back yard a whole new vibe!

 

[djdonte]

Great man I'm glad you got her fixed up and also glad that you called a pro. I pride myself on my DIY skills but it is important to know where to draw the line when it comes to a safety sensitive situation.