Water is leaking by the cord into the 8 inch pool light housing. Is there any kind of sealant I can use to stop the leak? Thank you.
Pentair pool light leaking at cord
- Thread starter Jesusfreak
- Start date
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,640
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Perhaps @1poolman1 might have some suggestions. But here's another point of view.
Is yours a 12V or 120V light? If you were visiting a friend and he told you he fixed his 120V pool light with some caulk, would you want to swim in his pool? Conversely, if you later found out that your "friend" recently fixed his pool light with some caulk, and let you swim in his pool without telling you, would he still be your friend?
DIY plumbing, and many other pool equipment repairs, if done wrong, would have no life-threatening consequences. An incorrect pool light repair is not one of those. The fact that you don't know how to do it, but might attempt it based on the word of a random internet stranger, should tell you all you need to know about attempting this repair yourself.
How much is your family's and friends' safety worth? Less than the cost of a new pool light?
There are some on Amazon for as little as $200. Some of those are low voltage, and even multi-colored. So for a few bills, you could upgrade to a much safer, much nicer light. The peace of mind would be just a free bonus.
FYI: one of the most well-respected pool electrical experts, Mike Holt, won't put a pool light in his pool.
Is yours a 12V or 120V light? If you were visiting a friend and he told you he fixed his 120V pool light with some caulk, would you want to swim in his pool? Conversely, if you later found out that your "friend" recently fixed his pool light with some caulk, and let you swim in his pool without telling you, would he still be your friend?
DIY plumbing, and many other pool equipment repairs, if done wrong, would have no life-threatening consequences. An incorrect pool light repair is not one of those. The fact that you don't know how to do it, but might attempt it based on the word of a random internet stranger, should tell you all you need to know about attempting this repair yourself.
How much is your family's and friends' safety worth? Less than the cost of a new pool light?
There are some on Amazon for as little as $200. Some of those are low voltage, and even multi-colored. So for a few bills, you could upgrade to a much safer, much nicer light. The peace of mind would be just a free bonus.
FYI: one of the most well-respected pool electrical experts, Mike Holt, won't put a pool light in his pool.
Pool Safety Sanity Check
CLICK HERE to read the customer's complete letter including Mike Holt's comments. Please share this newsletter.
www.mikeholt.com
Last edited:
- May 27, 2021
- 1,294
- Pool Size
- 17000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,640
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
GFCI breakers/outlets don't last forever, either. Have you tested yours recently?
I've never researched lights. Mine was put in before I knew anything about pools. I sure wish mine was low voltage (12V), and that's what I'll buy when this one poops out. So I'd recommend that. That would require a special transformer, though, which would increase the cost (but worth it, IMO).
I have a color LED light. I really like the extra moods I can get out of it, and while it has a "white mode," it's not as bright as the plain white halogen light it replaced.
So if you want to save money and get the most lumens for your buck, get a plain, white LED low voltage light. If you think you'll like color, prepare for less light overall. What I like about the colors, more than the colors themselves, is the selection of amount of light they provide. By that I mean: the white is brightest, blue next, green is more subtle, and red is darkest of all. Not all colors penetrate the water the same. So when I just want some ambient light, like when I'm just sitting around the pool at night, I'll use red. When I'm in the water but don't want to get blasted, I like aqua. And when the pool is full of kids, I like it nice and bright, so I use white for that.
@Newdude, can you point Jesus to the light?
Or at least to someone that has delved into figuring out the best way to go, pool-light-wise?
No worries. This light is not going back into the pool.
Have I checked the GFCI? Yes! Like 6 days in a row, 4 hours/day. That’s what led me to looking at the pool light for water. The light has been out of the water for 48 hours. While it was out and disconnected, I let it float in the pool. That’s how I discovered the leak. I had previously thought it was the new gasket. A few weeks ago I had to put a new bulb and gasket on. There was no water present then. The light is 20 years old. I will replace it, but I don’t know what will fit. The OD is 9 1/4”, and the ID is about 8”. I’m looking on Amazon and all I’m seeing is 10”.
Back to the GFCI- I (I should say my retired industrial electrician friend) tried a new one, it’s a panel side mounted double wall outlet weather proof device. We also tried a breaker with a GFCI, and as of tonight, both aren’t holding. He wired the GFCI breaker directly to a household table lamp, and the breaker tripped. I returned both of these and have another one (wall mounted) double outlet GFCI to try out tomorrow.
My Spa light is 12v. It must have the transformer built into its housing.
The current light is a Pentair 784XXXXX, 788XXXXX, 789XXXXX Series
Have I checked the GFCI? Yes! Like 6 days in a row, 4 hours/day. That’s what led me to looking at the pool light for water. The light has been out of the water for 48 hours. While it was out and disconnected, I let it float in the pool. That’s how I discovered the leak. I had previously thought it was the new gasket. A few weeks ago I had to put a new bulb and gasket on. There was no water present then. The light is 20 years old. I will replace it, but I don’t know what will fit. The OD is 9 1/4”, and the ID is about 8”. I’m looking on Amazon and all I’m seeing is 10”.
Back to the GFCI- I (I should say my retired industrial electrician friend) tried a new one, it’s a panel side mounted double wall outlet weather proof device. We also tried a breaker with a GFCI, and as of tonight, both aren’t holding. He wired the GFCI breaker directly to a household table lamp, and the breaker tripped. I returned both of these and have another one (wall mounted) double outlet GFCI to try out tomorrow.
My Spa light is 12v. It must have the transformer built into its housing.
The current light is a Pentair 784XXXXX, 788XXXXX, 789XXXXX Series
Last edited:
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,640
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
That doesn't sound right. Typically the transformer is well away from the light fixture, usually at the pad. That's what makes the low-voltage light much safer, because only 12V is running through the wire from the pad to the light niche. Anything like this at your pad? If so, you might be able to run both lights off of it.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,640
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
If you don't get enough feedback here about what light will fit your current setup, you might try Inyo. They're a trusted vendor.
www.inyopools.com
Inyo Pools: Your Destination for Pool Equipment & Parts - INYOPools.com
Discover a vast selection of high-quality pool supplies, equipment, and accessories at Inyo Pools. From pumps to filters, heaters to cleaners, pool accessories to hard to find parts. Over 70,000 products available. Backed by 100k 5-Star customer reviews, hassle-free returns, expert advice and...
www.inyopools.com
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,640
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
That's what I have. The old skool floodlight lasts forever unlike the fancy / expensive LED lights. If you want to make them fancy, color changing LED bulbs are around $100 each and much less of hit when they blow every year or two.
I ended up buying a colored lens for mine ($14) that snapped on the outside of the glass and turned it blue.
My recommendation is replace the light. You don't usually get a second chance with pool water, electricity leaking from a light, and you or your family. There are constant recommendations to not trust a flow switch to protect a SWG. Why trust a GFCI with one's life? It's the last line of defense and they fail as well, especially if in pools, as is almost always the case, it isn't replaced every 5 years as most manufacturers will tell you if you look deep enough into their literature.Perhaps @1poolman1 might have some suggestions. But here's another point of view.
Is yours a 12V or 120V light? If you were visiting a friend and he told you he fixed his 120V pool light with some caulk, would you want to swim in his pool? Conversely, if you later found out that your "friend" recently fixed his pool light with some caulk, and let you swim in his pool without telling you, would he still be your friend?
DIY plumbing, and many other pool equipment repairs, if done wrong, would have no life-threatening consequences. An incorrect pool light repair is not one of those. The fact that you don't know how to do it, but might attempt it based on the word of a random internet stranger, should tell you all you need to know about attempting this repair yourself.
How much is your family's and friends' safety worth? Less than the cost of a new pool light?
There are some on Amazon for as little as $200. Some of those are low voltage, and even multi-colored. So for a few bills, you could upgrade to a much safer, much nicer light. The peace of mind would be just a free bonus.
FYI: one of the most well-respected pool electrical experts, Mike Holt, won't put a pool light in his pool.
Pool Safety Sanity Check
CLICK HERE to read the customer's complete letter including Mike Holt's comments. Please share this newsletter.www.mikeholt.com
Its a Pentair, or American Pool Products if it is very old, Amerilite. That is the standard for pool lights.
Measure the distance to the junction box and get a light with a cord at least 10' longer. Depending on where you purchase, you may only have the choice of 50' or 100'. If not sure, get the longer one. You can't splice a light cord, too dangerous.
The best thing you could do is replace the bulb that comes with the light with an LED bulb before putting it into the pool. There are many white-only pool LED options and/or color-changing ones.
Similar threads
