Should I be concerned with condition of my pool light niche?

[pgershon]

I needed to replace a broken bulb and so I removed my pool light last week. I noticed what seemed like a deteriorated seal or gasket around the niche itself - apart from the fixture. Looks like the pool refinisher simply applied fresh diamondbrite on top of the rubbery material when he refinished this spring. The fixture screws in on the top mounting screw normally, but sits very loosely within the niche (always been loose to touch). Perhaps the material I see was someone's prior attempt to get the fixture to fit more snugly with sealant?

Anyway I am wondering if I should remove it? And might the area at the bottom be a source of a leak now or in the future?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the outer seal. Water will get behind the light and they're designed to be submerged anyways.

When installing the light, make sure you drop the bottom down first, into the tab (see pic). Then tilt the top back into the niche. This may a challenge as your light appears to be set back a bit from the surface.

 

[1poolman1]

Hopefully a bond wire will be pulled with the light cord.

 

[pgershon]

I am not sure I understand your comment here. Is there a bond wire I should eb looking for?

 

[1poolman1]

I am not sure I understand your comment here. Is there a bond wire I should eb looking for?

There should be an 8ga green wire in the bond lug that is left of center in the niche. It would go from there to the junction box.

 

[Newdude]

There should be an 8ga green wire in the bond lug that is left of center in the niche. It would go from there to the junction box.

Until 10-15 years ago here we used copper conduit from the light niche to the pool light junction box and the pipe was bonded at any/all couplers.

So it's probably fine as is.

 

[1poolman1]

Until 10-15 years ago here we used copper conduit from the light niche to the pool light junction box and the pipe was bonded at any/all couplers.

So it's probably fine as is.

Hopefully. California did away with red-brass conduit much longer back than that.

 

[pgershon]

I am pretty sure I have copper (or brass?) conduit going to the pool lights. It used to be the East Hampton code when pool was built and I dont see why anyone would have altered it. This part of the pool wall was rebuilt about 5 years ago due to constant cracking from rebar set too thinly in the initial 2000 build. They replaced the light fixture at that time and presumably would have put in a new niche, but I dont think they would redo the conduit.

I may have an issue with the spa lights however. The spa was was largely redone in 2011, moving the jets and the lights. They kept the original fixtures but ran PVC conduit from the spa to some part of the old copper or brass conduit. The subcontractors had a major issue/disagreement over who would take responsibility for joining the PVC and metal ends and it leaked right from the start. The spa light conduits are plugged with epoxy as a result. Should I have a concern about bonding? I know they ran a bonding wire too because they talked about it (and how and where to connect with the other bonded equipment). One of the two spa niches below.

 

[1poolman1]

I am pretty sure I have copper (or brass?) conduit going to the pool lights. It used to be the East Hampton code when pool was built and I dont see why anyone would have altered it. This part of the pool wall was rebuilt about 5 years ago due to constant cracking from rebar set too thinly in the initial 2000 build. They replaced the light fixture at that time and presumably would have put in a new niche, but I dont think they would redo the conduit.

I may have an issue with the spa lights however. The spa was was largely redone in 2011, moving the jets and the lights. They kept the original fixtures but ran PVC conduit from the spa to some part of the old copper or brass conduit. The subcontractors had a major issue/disagreement over who would take responsibility for joining the PVC and metal ends and it leaked right from the start. The spa light conduits are plugged with epoxy as a result. Should I have a concern about bonding? I know they ran a bonding wire too because they talked about it (and how and where to connect with the other bonded equipment). One of the two spa niches below.

Look in the junction box for the spa lights. If there is an 8ga wire coming up out of the conduit along with the light cord and attached to the bond lug in the j-box, you're good. If its there, its buried under all that epoxy.

 

[pgershon]

I looked in junction box. There is no copper wire. Just the black (line), white (neutral) and green (ground). Same for all my lights. I have 3 J-boxes. Spa light #1 goes to the first, pool light #1 and spa light #2 to the second, and pool light #2 and wires to breakers (separate lines for pool and spa) to GFIC breakers. Spa for whatever reason is 20 amp and pool is 15 amp.

J-boxes are getting fed brass or copper pipe. Potential issue I am afraid of is on the spa side, as I said. I believe the old metal pipe to the J-box was joined underground (and now in concrete) to PVC conduit from the spa light niches. I dont know how they dealt with bonding. Photo of one of the J-boxes below.

 

[1poolman1]

I looked in junction box. There is no copper wire. Just the black (line), white (neutral) and green (ground). Same for all my lights. I have 3 J-boxes. Spa light #1 goes to the first, pool light #1 and spa light #2 to the second, and pool light #2 and wires to breakers (separate lines for pool and spa) to GFIC breakers. Spa for whatever reason is 20 amp and pool is 15 amp.

J-boxes are getting fed brass or copper pipe. Potential issue I am afraid of is on the spa side, as I said. I believe the old metal pipe to the J-box was joined underground (and now in concrete) to PVC conduit from the spa light niches. I dont know how they dealt with bonding. Photo of one of the J-boxes below.

Please, show a picture from the other side or top. Red brass conduit leading to a plastic j-box will not provide a bond without a bond wire. Bond wire would go into the larger slot in the ground/bond lug.

 

[pgershon]

There is a unattached copper wire by the J-boxes. I suspect someone removed it while doing other maintenance through the years - possibly when one of the pool light fixtures was changed 5 years ago. The lug is in the third picture below, but no wire there. I suppose I should connect the bond wire to the copper lugs.

But I am still concerned about the spa. When the spa was refinished in 2010, I had new jets put in lower than the old ones (see last photo). It looks like the niche was not changed, but the workers did something with the pipe as I recall a big to do about joining brass and PVC pipe, and this ultimately leaked. I just dont see how the spa would be bonded (assuming non-continuous brass pipe from spa to J-box), even if I fix the pool with the bonding wire as discussed above.

 

[pgershon]

Another question - might the niche be bonded to the rebar in the pool and spa from behind, so not seen on the photo? I know the pool and spa rebar are connected underground and to the equipment on the pad behind my pool house with 8 ga copper wire. It just does nto run through the conduit. And I dont know on the niches.

 

[1poolman1]

Another question - might the niche be bonded to the rebar in the pool and spa from behind, so not seen on the photo? I know the pool and spa rebar are connected underground and to the equipment on the pad behind my pool house with 8 ga copper wire. It just does nto run through the conduit. And I dont know on the niches.

Should be, yes. That does not eliminate the requirement for a separate bond wire from the inside of the niche to the j-box if the red brass conduit has been interrupted and is no longer in a brass j-box. Its just the proper way of doing the job. There are hundreds or thousands of pools that don't have a bond wire in the light niche, but that isn't code. Its why the niche manufacturer placed that lug inside the niche, for a wire if a different method of bonding isn't available.