How do I use lube to pull light wire?

[1poolman1]

OK - I finally got around to doing this a couple of days ago and, as @Mdragger88 said, I was probably overthinking it. I had been so scarred by the difficulty in removing the old wire that I expected I would be struggling as much putting the new one in.

It turned out to be pretty uneventful. We tried applying the lube to the wire going in at the niche side, but it seemed to come off almost immediately as it hit the water and ended up in the pool (as blobs of blue substance), so we figured we'd give a try without the lube hoping that the existing water in the pipe would help, and we'd reassess the situation if it got too hard to pull. It never did get too hard to pull, so we never had to stop.

One thing I noticed though, is that there was a strong sewer smell at the junction box side (present but less strong at the niche side). I can only imagine it's all the bacteria that has been trapped and developing in that stagnant water in the pipe for years... but it got me thinking: how dangerous is that? When I pulled the wire with my string, I got in contact with that nasty water and was wondering if I should have been wearing gloves. I was also wondering if there was a way I could sanitize it, or flush it. Flushing it towards the pool seems like it would fill the pool with nasty stuff. Perhaps I can pump it out from the junction box side? Or just add some sanitizer somehow? How do pros deal with this?

Thanks again everyone (@Mdragger88 , @1poolman1 , @Bill1974 and others)!

Cheers!

Stagnant water behind a pool light is just what happens. Some are concerned and will remove the light from the niche and clean it out regularly. Others, like me, have never been concerned. Last time I saw the inside of my pool and spa light niches was when I replaced them about 15 years ago. Just keep your chemicals up and there's not usually any issue.

 

[Mdragger88]

You should probably wash your hands Before pulling the wire in you could have blown it out with a vac on reverse from the pool side.
The pipe will probably get more water in it eventually.
There’s some putty you can put on the opening around the wire to prevent the conduit water from mixing with the pool water.

Pool light Conduit Putty

I replaced one of my lights over the weekend (see other thread on why only one light). In the niche, as we fished the cables through the conduit, it looks like my builder "sealed" the conduit with a putty. Seemed like a sticky clay. I expect it is to prevent water from going in and out of the...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Bill1974]

Since you were able to type out a post I am guessing you survived.

Most conduit that is underground has water and debris in it. Unless both end are sealed (very rarely is it sealed well enough to make it airtight), condensation collects and slowly fills the conduit. This is why conduit is considered a wet location in the NEC and requires wire rated for wet locations to be used in buried conduit. Pool light conduit just does it faster since its below the water level.

 

[Mdragger88]

We always blow pvc lines out before blowing a pull string through them & swabbing them in preparation for pulling wire. It makes for a disgusting fountain.
Many are just straight up nasty at least yours had a little chlorinated water in it.
On a job site I’ve seen many dead mice, lots of cigarette butts, trash, creepy crawlers, etc. fly out. the bigger the conduit the worse it is. Man holes are certainly the worst in my experience.
we always tape off both ends after install but it doesn’t always last & even if it does there’s almost always water.
At any rate i just wore a rain coat, safety glasses & washed my hands before eating lunch & I have survived to tell the tale lol.

 

[gdo]

You should probably wash your hands

Yeah no kidding! Actually, when I started pulling the string and my hands started getting wet, I started looking around for open wounds just in case and realized it would probably be a good idea to use gloves next time.

Since you were able to type out a post I am guessing you survived.

Yes, but am I going to grow a third arm soon?

We always blow pvc lines out before blowing a pull string through them & swabbing them in preparation for pulling wire. It makes for a disgusting fountain.

You know, that is something I'll keep in mind for next time. I'll probably try to put some kind of redirecting mini-lid on the "fountain side" so it can be somewhat contained.

Given that I have close to a dozen Globrites out there, I'm pretty sure I will be doing this again soon.

Thanks again everyone. What a fountain of knowledge this forum is.
Cheers!