Replacing pool & spa light diy

[jonathantimey]

Hi All,

I have a 30-year-old pool with American Products/Pentair light fixtures (incandescent). Pool light is still working great after all of these years, but recently our spa light has started to shut off after being on for no longer than 5 mins. I tried to change the bulb (along with the gasket) and the problem continued, which tells me something is going on with the fixture itself and likely needs to be replaced.

I was quoted about $800-900 (per light) by a local pool company to change the pool/spa lights to Pentair Intellibrite 5g color changing lights, parts and labor included. I'm tempted to replace the fixtures myself (removing original fixtures, pulling the new wire through the conduit etc.,) as I'm fairly handy, but would absolutely have a licensed electrician hook the wires up and install a new GCFI.

Does this sound reasonable? Or would your recommendation be to just bite the bullet and have the pool company do the entire install. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

The most difficult task is the wire pull. It is often not as easy as shown in the video.

 

[peter.bastian]

I am in the same boat. Replacement fixture is on the way. I have watched videos, and am pretty certain I can handle the simple re-wiring. The wire pull, while looking straightforward, is definitely the riskiest part. And, I have not looked in the niche yet, but I did see one video of a spa light fixture replacement where they first removed some old silicone that was packed into the conduit opening at the back of the niche. IF my niche has the silicone plug, is it necessary to replace it? This would then mean draining the pool to below the niche to then get to that opening...something I was hoping to avoid. Just want to confirm. Any ideas or comments are appreciated.