Is there something, like a plug or stopper, that should be in the hole where the pool light cable is coming out from?
Pool Leak
- Thread starter Rubygrrl
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,120
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
If the leak is in the niche (cavity) itself, there are some band-aid fixes. There is a plug that can be pressed into the conduit opening for the wiring, while others may use a flexible sealant product if the leak is going into that conduit hole. You do not want to epoxy that tiny conduit hole in the back of the niche. Now if the niche shell itself is cracked somewhere in the back near the conduit opening, you can epoxy that crack since ti won't interfere with the wiring later. Chances are in either scenario the leak may reappear if the ground continues to settle.
Now if the leak is around the sealing ring between the light and pool linter/shell, that could require lowering the water level significantly to replace the ring/gasket. If that's the case, many owners tend to wait until it's time to replace the liner and do both things at once. Perhaps @jimmythegreek can confirm next time he gets online.
www.troublefreepool.com
Now if the leak is around the sealing ring between the light and pool linter/shell, that could require lowering the water level significantly to replace the ring/gasket. If that's the case, many owners tend to wait until it's time to replace the liner and do both things at once. Perhaps @jimmythegreek can confirm next time he gets online.
Pool light sealing ring replacement
So I have a pool light that the sealing ring on the niche has corroded away. I had a leak in the pool and the guy indicated I have a leak at the niche seal and recommended replacing the ring and gasket. I am wondering the best way to do this? I am a couple years out from a new liner. I have a...
www.troublefreepool.com
Did you see the pics I posted? Does anything look off to you in the pics? Or is it impossible to tell where the leak is with pics alone?If the leak is in the niche (cavity) itself, there are some band-aid fixes. There is a plug that can be pressed into the conduit opening for the wiring, while others may use a flexible sealant product if the leak is going into that conduit hole. You do not want to epoxy that tiny conduit hole in the back of the niche. Now if the niche shell itself is cracked somewhere in the back near the conduit opening, you can epoxy that crack since ti won't interfere with the wiring later. Chances are in either scenario the leak may reappear if the ground continues to settle.
Now if the leak is around the sealing ring between the light and pool linter/shell, that could require lowering the water level significantly to replace the ring/gasket. If that's the case, many owners tend to wait until it's time to replace the liner and do both things at once. Perhaps @jimmythegreek can confirm next time he gets online.
Pool light sealing ring replacement
So I have a pool light that the sealing ring on the niche has corroded away. I had a leak in the pool and the guy indicated I have a leak at the niche seal and recommended replacing the ring and gasket. I am wondering the best way to do this? I am a couple years out from a new liner. I have a...
Is the conduit hole always supposed to be plugged or is it okay that is was left open like ours was? And not to sound stupid, but would a dye test in the niche area help us determine if it is leaking at the conduit? Or would water always move in that direction regardless of a leak?
If the dye test shows it is leaking at the counduit hole or around it, would this be a product we could use to seal that hole? I know you said not to fill that hole, but this is apparently “flexible”?
Anderson Manufacturing Flexible Pool Repair Sealer - 4 oz. Blue FS4B
https://a.co/d/7Ltms1B
Anything else you recommend to plug the hole that isnt permanent?
Sorry for all of the questions.
Thank you!
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,120
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
I did, but those thumbnail views are a bit small and I can't tell for sure.
It's open and water flows into that conduit with the wiring. But if the conduit pigtail is cracked deep in there where it bends (which you can't see), water will leak as it goes out that crack. A dye test will pull dye into that conduit if that's the case. I'm not familiar with that product you found on Amazon, but it's flexible and worth a shot. If you Google Pool light conduit plug you might find the aftermarket plug used for the same purpose. If I find it I'll post back.
Well we did a dye test around the rim and also inside the light niche including around the hole where the pool light line is coming out from and we just couldn’t see where the dye was being pulled in. So weird. I say we but it was actually my husband who did the dye test. He was out there for about an hour.
We don’t even know where to begin or what to do to get the leak repaired. We can’t even tell where the water is going.
We don’t even know where to begin or what to do to get the leak repaired. We can’t even tell where the water is going.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,120
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Well, since the leak detection tech confirmed the light is the source of the leak, you're almost to a point where you have to decide if you want to just get the liner & light replaced at once. If the tech didn't find a leak in the light, the only other place I would've gone back to was the main drain because after re-reading your thread, I found it odd that in a couple posts you stated everything was plugged but the pump remained primed. 
So I was wondering is water was leaking somewhere out of the drain line. But again, if a tech confirmed the light, it's hard to argue. Maybe you can try to speak to the tech to get more details about the exact location in/around the light and ask why the dye test didn't reveal anything.
So I was wondering is water was leaking somewhere out of the drain line. But again, if a tech confirmed the light, it's hard to argue. Maybe you can try to speak to the tech to get more details about the exact location in/around the light and ask why the dye test didn't reveal anything.
Okay another dumb question, but why would it be odd for the pump basket to hold prime if all the lines are plugged? I thought that was a good thing so now I am concerned about that :/ Should we have relieved pressure before plugging the lines? All we did was turn the pump off and then plug the lines. And the leak guy said he also tested all of our lines underground (pipes) and that they were all good. (We removed the plugs before the leak guy came and filled the pool back up).Well, since the leak detection tech confirmed the light is the source of the leak, you're almost to a point where you have to decide if you want to just get the liner & light replaced at once. If the tech didn't find a leak in the light, the only other place I would've gone back to was the main drain because after re-reading your thread, I found it odd that in a couple posts you stated everything was plugged but the pump remained primed.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,120
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Maybe we misunderstood one another. I thought you were somehow referring to keeping prime while the pump was ON, which is why I mentioned the drain thing. But if all you are saying is that once you plugged everything (all lines), the pump pot remained full when pump was OFF, that's good. That just means all the plumbing lines seem to be leak-free. Think of pushing a straw into a glass of water and putting your finger over the top. Then you can lift the straw up out of the glass and the water will stay in the straw UNTIL you take your finger off. Same thing here. The pump pot stayed full because the plumbing is intact, but remember you can still have leaks in other places like a light, steps, liner, etc that have nothing to do with the plumbing.
Okay! Another update! I finally got the report from the leak detection company and this is what he said:
“All plumbing is good and holding 10 psi at this time. During our detection we used our underwater mic locating sound around the ring of the vinyl pool light. The conduit is good and leak free, the dye test showed the bottom screws are leaking at the plastic ring.”
Soooo, is this something that should be able to be easily repaired when our liner is replaced?
Yay! I don’t know why they just now sent us the report but glad we got it finally
)
“All plumbing is good and holding 10 psi at this time. During our detection we used our underwater mic locating sound around the ring of the vinyl pool light. The conduit is good and leak free, the dye test showed the bottom screws are leaking at the plastic ring.”
Soooo, is this something that should be able to be easily repaired when our liner is replaced?
Yay! I don’t know why they just now sent us the report but glad we got it finally
)
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,120
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Hello everyone!IMO, yes. During the liner install. Perhaps @Poolbreh can confirm for us.
I am so sorry to bump this old thread up, but I am at a loss as to what we need to do next. To quickly review what has happened over the last few months:
1. We discovered a leak in our vinyl liner pool.
2. American Leak Detection came out and said the leak was in the ring/bottom of our pool light (they specifically said a few bottom screws were the source of the leak); they said the conduit was leak free. They indicated a new liner should take care of the issue.
3. We had a brand new liner installed back in November 2023
4. Pool began leaking AGAIN
5. We had another pool leak detection company come out (a very well reviewed company based out of Dallas) it took them three dives to determine it was the pool light gasket leaking (yet again…)
6. This company just epoxied around the entire rim of the light and told us it should hold but if it didn’t hold to contact a pool liner company to drain the pool below the light so they could fix the gasket around the pool light. I have no clue what type of epoxy they used. I hope it’s something that can be removed so we can remove the light if needed.
Now for my questions:
1. I don’t know if I trust the same person who did our pool liner install to come out and fix the pool light gasket leak. Shouldn’t this have been resolved with the new liner install?
2. Does anyone have a pool liner company you recommend that would travel to North Texas if our pool starts leaking again to fix this for us? (we are 2 hours away from Dallas/Ft Worth).
3. Both leak detection companies indicated the leak was in the gasket around the pool light, not in the conduit. They pressure tested all of the lines, so I assume we can rule out the pool light conduit OR should we remove the light when the pool warms up to make sure the conduit isn’t leaking (we can dye test it again if needed)….I am not sure if the pool leak company removed the pool light to check the conduit but I can ask them and find out. I guess I just don’t understand why it is still leaking after a new liner install?
It makes me suspect another issue but I’m sure they know what they are doing.This has been incredibly stressful for us and sadly I feel like no one in our area has any experience with this. For example, we have very few, if any, companies that install liners in our city.
Any advice or recommendations would be most welcomed. Thank you!!
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,120
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Good morning! Remember, pressure testing checks the plumbing for leaks, not electrical conduits. So if there is a leak in the light conduit itself (not the screws or gasket), the light needs to be removed and careful dye testing done to see if/where in the light niche the leak is at. There could be a tiny crack in the shell of the niche, or if dye gets pulled into the conduit hole it means the conduit feeding the wires has a crack somewhere.
It seems odd that the light gasket or screws would be an issue after the new liner and work that was done, but you wouldn't be the first pool owner to have a new liner show a leak somewhere.
It seems odd that the light gasket or screws would be an issue after the new liner and work that was done, but you wouldn't be the first pool owner to have a new liner show a leak somewhere.