Hi,
I am replacing my Pentair amerlite 120v/500 watt light with a Pentair intellibrite 5G white 120V LED light assembly with 50 foot cable (part 601301). The old 42 ft light cable was cut from the pool light assembly in the pool and both light cable and bonding wire pulled into the pool from the pool niche. The pool is still full. A few questions.
1. Is there a rotary auger tool or method to clear silicone from inside the pool light cable ¾ inch PVC conduit? The old light cable was tough to pull out. Cut the light cable at the niche, attached to an X shaped tire iron, twisted and pulled with legs pushing against the wall. A 6 inch plug of silicone cane out eventually, but looks like some may still be in the conduit about 12-18 inches in from the niche cable entry point.
2. Can the pool light stranded bonding wire be reused? I pulled the bonding wire out at the niche leaving it attached to the lug and potting compound on niche. There are no nicks on the sheath.
3. If the bonding wire can’t be reused how is the old bonding wire and potting compound removed and new one attached underwater? Or would I need to drain the pool below the niche?
4. Can the bonding wire and pool light cable be pulled together back to the J box from the niche?
5. Will a water soluble silicone cable lube be needed with the conduit already full of water? If so is there a recommend brand that will work underwater?
6. In the intellibrite 5G installation instructions a “pool and spa electrical qualification test kit” is mentioned but does not appear to be available on line. Any thoughts on what it tests for and if these can be done by a multimeter?
7. Are there any opinions regarding a better/more reliable pool LED light fixture choice that will fit in a Pentair amerlite niche?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Update 10 July 2018
A few data points from starting this project and original post:
After removing the light cable and bonding wire I used the fish tape and marked it at the following locations to measure distance from the J box:
From J-box:
28.5 ft Distance from J box to first fish tape stop with wires in place in the conduit
37.5 ft Distance from JBOX to conduit opening in niche measured by fish tape (50 ft nylon from Harbor Freight)
Next I ran the fish tape down to the nich from the j-box, attached the old light cable to it (ie stripped 4 inches of wire from each of the three wires, put them through the fish tape eye, wrapped them around the wires, then used electrician's tape to cover all), and had my helper pull up at the j-box while I fed the cable inot the niche conduit opening. Result:
From niche conduit opening:
34.5 ft to cable practice pull stop (ie 3 ft short of j-box).
Had to use tire iron and pull hard at the niche to remove the cable.
Plan to use Polywater + Silicone NN/NB cable lubricant (ie good underwater pull specs) if I can find it at Graybar. Will pour into conduit in J box and pull cable from j-box to niche to lubricate conduit, then pull from niche to j-box to ensure pull will go all the way to j-box before trying with the new unit.
I am replacing my Pentair amerlite 120v/500 watt light with a Pentair intellibrite 5G white 120V LED light assembly with 50 foot cable (part 601301). The old 42 ft light cable was cut from the pool light assembly in the pool and both light cable and bonding wire pulled into the pool from the pool niche. The pool is still full. A few questions.
1. Is there a rotary auger tool or method to clear silicone from inside the pool light cable ¾ inch PVC conduit? The old light cable was tough to pull out. Cut the light cable at the niche, attached to an X shaped tire iron, twisted and pulled with legs pushing against the wall. A 6 inch plug of silicone cane out eventually, but looks like some may still be in the conduit about 12-18 inches in from the niche cable entry point.
2. Can the pool light stranded bonding wire be reused? I pulled the bonding wire out at the niche leaving it attached to the lug and potting compound on niche. There are no nicks on the sheath.
3. If the bonding wire can’t be reused how is the old bonding wire and potting compound removed and new one attached underwater? Or would I need to drain the pool below the niche?
4. Can the bonding wire and pool light cable be pulled together back to the J box from the niche?
5. Will a water soluble silicone cable lube be needed with the conduit already full of water? If so is there a recommend brand that will work underwater?
6. In the intellibrite 5G installation instructions a “pool and spa electrical qualification test kit” is mentioned but does not appear to be available on line. Any thoughts on what it tests for and if these can be done by a multimeter?
7. Are there any opinions regarding a better/more reliable pool LED light fixture choice that will fit in a Pentair amerlite niche?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Update 10 July 2018
A few data points from starting this project and original post:
After removing the light cable and bonding wire I used the fish tape and marked it at the following locations to measure distance from the J box:
From J-box:
28.5 ft Distance from J box to first fish tape stop with wires in place in the conduit
37.5 ft Distance from JBOX to conduit opening in niche measured by fish tape (50 ft nylon from Harbor Freight)
Next I ran the fish tape down to the nich from the j-box, attached the old light cable to it (ie stripped 4 inches of wire from each of the three wires, put them through the fish tape eye, wrapped them around the wires, then used electrician's tape to cover all), and had my helper pull up at the j-box while I fed the cable inot the niche conduit opening. Result:
From niche conduit opening:
34.5 ft to cable practice pull stop (ie 3 ft short of j-box).
Had to use tire iron and pull hard at the niche to remove the cable.
Plan to use Polywater + Silicone NN/NB cable lubricant (ie good underwater pull specs) if I can find it at Graybar. Will pour into conduit in J box and pull cable from j-box to niche to lubricate conduit, then pull from niche to j-box to ensure pull will go all the way to j-box before trying with the new unit.
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