While reworking the wiring at my pool pump equipment, I decided to move the GFCI recept and local disconnect for pump and light from being suspended in mid air atop two 1/2" rigid metal conduits (coming from panel and going to the pool light) back onto the wall aside of the pump to get it out of the way of the plumbing. The home inspectors report at purchase of this home listed the GFI recept as not working. After attempting to pull out the wires going to the panel to no avail, I dug down following the conduits and found the conduit coming from the panel was completely rotted away at the buried elbow and the receptacle wires were shorting out on the broken metal conduit. Rotted most likely due to the ground around the pump area being wet.
In order to reroute the light conduit back to the wall area without removing the light cord and unable to unscrew the last piece of conduit, I dug along the conduit towards the pool to find a threaded coupling so I could switch over to 1/2" PVC to take over to the wall. I used a reciprocating saw and cut through the coupling lengthwise, parallel with the conduit, on both sides and then turned the coupling a 1/4 turn and made 2 more cuts. Then I used a cold chisel to split the coupling and pry it up and out of the conduit threads. Then I just pulled the piece of conduit off the light cable.
What I wasn't expecting was the instant 'pond' I made as soon as I broke that coupling open obviously due to the conduit in the light housing not being sealed up. I'm a rookie at this pool stuff, but being an electrician by trade I would never have imagined the standard practice would be to just allow this pool conduit to take on water. It is a METAL pipe and water+steel=RUST/ROT . I've searched through the TFP threads and found numerous older threads/replies indicating this light conduit is meant to just fill with water but that just can't be right, can it?! Are the replies to the posts possibly ppl just assuming the light conduits are all PVC? I've got about 20-30 feet of this old 1/2" GRC metal conduit under pool deck and my thinking is that it needs to be sealed up and drained of water or eventually I'm going to have a pool light cable direct buried in dirt and disintegrated conduit and a pool leak.
What is the current proper installation concerning sealing of the pool light conduit? Seal or no seal?
What is the best product to use (short of the $100 underwater 2part epoxy and gun I see on the net)? I just picked up some J-B waterweld for 6 bucks, but haven't attempted it yet. An old post on here leads me to believe it may not work and now that I'm home reading the packaging it appears it is more for a leak in the pool wall than the flexible/removable seal I would need around the pool light cord.
What about this butyl tape? This seems like a good flexible seal that would be easy to remove should need arise. Anyone have an experience they'd care to share about installing it without draining the pool?
In order to reroute the light conduit back to the wall area without removing the light cord and unable to unscrew the last piece of conduit, I dug along the conduit towards the pool to find a threaded coupling so I could switch over to 1/2" PVC to take over to the wall. I used a reciprocating saw and cut through the coupling lengthwise, parallel with the conduit, on both sides and then turned the coupling a 1/4 turn and made 2 more cuts. Then I used a cold chisel to split the coupling and pry it up and out of the conduit threads. Then I just pulled the piece of conduit off the light cable.
What I wasn't expecting was the instant 'pond' I made as soon as I broke that coupling open obviously due to the conduit in the light housing not being sealed up. I'm a rookie at this pool stuff, but being an electrician by trade I would never have imagined the standard practice would be to just allow this pool conduit to take on water. It is a METAL pipe and water+steel=RUST/ROT . I've searched through the TFP threads and found numerous older threads/replies indicating this light conduit is meant to just fill with water but that just can't be right, can it?! Are the replies to the posts possibly ppl just assuming the light conduits are all PVC? I've got about 20-30 feet of this old 1/2" GRC metal conduit under pool deck and my thinking is that it needs to be sealed up and drained of water or eventually I'm going to have a pool light cable direct buried in dirt and disintegrated conduit and a pool leak.
What is the current proper installation concerning sealing of the pool light conduit? Seal or no seal?
What is the best product to use (short of the $100 underwater 2part epoxy and gun I see on the net)? I just picked up some J-B waterweld for 6 bucks, but haven't attempted it yet. An old post on here leads me to believe it may not work and now that I'm home reading the packaging it appears it is more for a leak in the pool wall than the flexible/removable seal I would need around the pool light cord.
What about this butyl tape? This seems like a good flexible seal that would be easy to remove should need arise. Anyone have an experience they'd care to share about installing it without draining the pool?
