Pentair Glowbright lights - no conduit

[Loop29]

Hello everyone. This is my first post on TFP. I am hoping I can get some assistance on this before I have to call a pool servcie tech. I wanted to change the Glowbright light as it failed. I tried to pull the light out of the niche but it would only come out a few inches. I looked at the power box and the controller at my equipment pad. It seems that the low voltage wires go straight into the earth without a conduit. I called the electrician that did all the connections when the pool was installed in 2019 and he said it is okay to bury the low voltage wire. Replacement of the light is done by cutting the wire and just pigtailing it to the existing wire in the ground behind the niche. I think this voids the warranty on the new light. Has anyone ever had experience with pool lights like this? And doing the pigtail connection? I don't want to rip up my patio to dig down and install a conduit.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
Read Pentair LED Pool Lights - Further Reading

The Globrite light system is a cord and light fixture. The cord is run through a conduit to a JBox where it is tied into the power from your transformer. The light cannot be 'pigtail' connected.

 

[ajw22]

Your electrician is correct about low voltage wiring in general but incorrect about how pool lights should be installed.

Suggest he read and follow the Installation Manual - https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...g-led-light-manual-english-spanish-french.pdf

 

[Loop29]

Thanks mknauss and ajw22. I've been looking for a Pentair niche plug - Hayward makes one for their lights - with no luck. Are there any options for neatly closing off this niche? Right now my only option is to spend $780.00 for a new light and have it pigtailed in. I sent the installation manual to my electrician and pool installer. They both told me the installation was inspcted by the ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) so everything meets code. I just cannot understand how anyone would in good conscience install lights without a Jbox and conduit.

 

[ajw22]

You are in Canada?

Canada has different electrical codes then the US.

 

[Loop29]

Yes, I'm in Canada just north of Toronto.

I spent the morning digging up the ground around my equipment pad. I found the conduits. They were burried under 1 foot of HPB/gravel. Despite the lack of a junction box, the opening of the conduit are lower than the elevation of light in the pool - my backyard slopes down about 4 feet from the the grade of my pool. I am just baffled that a master electrician would make all the connections to the transformer and controller and just assume these wires coming out of the ground were good to go.

Both my pool installer and electrician admit they did not refer to the installation guide and are adament that a Jbox is not required.

I've got a pool tech coming in next week to install the light. I just hope there isn't too much sand and dirt inside the conduit that will restrict pulling the cable through.

Thanks for your insights.

 

[ajw22]

So your light wires are in conduit until they come out of the dirt and then run bare along the ground. Junction boxes are not required for low voltage but are good practice.

Putting the entire run of wire in conduit prevents damage to the wire.

I would consider putting the remaining cable in conduit. Maybe with a junction box in between. US code limits conduits to four 90 degree bends to allow for pulling wires and you don't know how many bends are in your existing conduit.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I am more perplexed by how your pool doesn't leak out the conduit since you said it is lower than the pool water elevation. I don't know any of the globrites that actually seal up for a dry conduit installation.

--Jeff

 

[wireform]

So now would be the time to extend the conduit and have the j box for the connection.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My guess is that it does leak and it just does so slowly so as to not be noticeable since the conduit is just buried in the dirt.

You need to be very careful when you pull the Globrite out, the resulting gush of water at that elevation difference could cause the pool to drain down to the light conduit.

Sorry, but your pool builder did a sub-standard job and didn’t follow Pentair’s technical directions. They (PB and electrician) just used their common practices for low voltage lighting without considering the larger picture. We see this a lot with pool builds - the subs are not specific to pool building so they just do what they do and the PB doesn’t pay attention or cuts corners or doesn’t really understand pool construction and relies on the subs to “figure it out”. Then you wind up with these kinds of half-a⒮⒮ed installations.

Make them come back and fix it properly with a sealed conduit that rises up to the ground level with a J-box.

 

[wireform]

Have the proper size expandable pool plug to stop the flow after the wire is pulled or with the wire still in the conduit extend the conduit to the level (18") above the pool level and then remove the light. At that point you won't lose water even without it being plugged.

 

[Loop29]

I will be extending the conduit and putting a junction box as I am sure it does leak slowly. I just hope the cable can be pulled and not too much debris has made its way into the conduit. There is about 60' of cable. The pool builder walked with my money 5 years ago after a lot of issues and poor work quality. I'll just move forward from here. I don't think I'll ever do a pool again, however.

Thanks everyone for your input.