Underwater light for fiberglass pool

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Magnumpl

Member
Mar 6, 2022
24
Florida
Hello. I have an inground fiberglass pool. I am planning to install an underwater light, since all the battery or solar powered light do not last. I got a Pentair Amerlite light that's rated for 100W/12V Part# 78414100. I also have a electrical box located just 2' from the pool that is wired through a 12v transformer (I assume the previous owner planned to wire a pool light there). The Amerlite requires a big hole to be drilled through the fiberglass pool and I am not sure if it's suitable enough for a fiberglass pool or it's better to buy one of the new smaller lights.

If Amerlite will work. I would need to buy a niche but I am not sure which one should I get. I tried to reach Pentair multiple times but no response. I talked to 3 reps at Inyopool but all are recommending a different niche, two reps linked a niche that is rated for concrete pool, 3rd rep said that I should not use it with fiberglass. The part number that they sent is 79206700. Not sure if I can use plastic or I should go with stainless steel. I would really appreciate if you could recommend a niche to use with the light.

I want to add a led bulb with multicolor option, are the ones from Amazon good enough?

How would I install the niche? Do I just mount and seal it to the pool and run the wires to the electrical box, and it will be sealed already, or would I need to run conduits all the way to the electrical box?

Thank you!
 
Magnumpl said:
Hello. I have an inground fiberglass pool. I am planning to install an underwater light, since all the battery or solar powered light do not last. I got a Pentair Amerlite light that's rated for 100W/12V Part# 78414100. I also have a electrical box located just 2' from the pool that is wired through a 12v transformer (I assume the previous owner planned to wire a pool light there). The Amerlite requires a big hole to be drilled through the fiberglass pool and I am not sure if it's suitable enough for a fiberglass pool or it's better to buy one of the new smaller lights.

If Amerlite will work. I would need to buy a niche but I am not sure which one should I get. I tried to reach Pentair multiple times but no response. I talked to 3 reps at Inyopool but all are recommending a different niche, two reps linked a niche that is rated for concrete pool, 3rd rep said that I should not use it with fiberglass. The part number that they sent is 79206700. Not sure if I can use plastic or I should go with stainless steel. I would really appreciate if you could recommend a niche to use with the light.

I want to add a led bulb with multicolor option, are the ones from Amazon good enough?

How would I install the niche? Do I just mount and seal it to the pool and run the wires to the electrical box, and it will be sealed already, or would I need to run conduits all the way to the electrical box?

Thank you!
Click to expand...
What you are planning is not really a DIY project. You will need to drain the pool and a fiberglass pool has its own set of issues with draining. Then, excavate the area behind the wall that would accept the light niche and trench from there to the junction box.

The main body of the niche is mounted outside the pool and held in place with the mounting/sealing ring. The pool wall is sandwiched between them. The number, 79206700, is a niche for a gunite and plaster pool. You need a Pentair 7823500 or Hayward SP0607U fiberglass pool niche for a standard-size pool light like an Amerilite like yours. Pentair also has the 620041 fiberglass pool niche for their GloBrite lights. Much smaller hole (2 1/8") needs to be drilled, still mounts from the outside of the wall. Hayward also has smaller fiberglass light niches. Conduit must be run all the way to the junction box. You really need a good pool electrician for this work.

What ever box you have now that is only 2' from the pool must not be used for a pool light (and shouldn't be used for anything else that close to a pool). Florida code says (forming shell = light niche):

E4206.9.1Junction boxes.​

A junction box connected to a conduit that extends directly to a forming shell or mounting bracket of a no-niche luminaire shall be:
  1. 1.Listed as a swimming pool junction box; [680.24(A)(1)]
  2. 2.Equipped with threaded entries or hubs or a nonmetallic hub; [680.24(A)(1)(1)]
  3. 3.Constructed of copper, brass, suitable plastic, or other approved corrosion-resistant material; [680.24(A)(1)(2)]
  4. 4.Provided with electrical continuity between every connected metal conduit and the grounding terminals by means of copper, brass, or other approved corrosion-resistant metal that is integral with the box; and [680.24(A)(1)(3)]
  5. 5.Located not less than 4 inches (102 mm), measured from the inside of the bottom of the box, above the ground level, or pool deck, or not less than 8 inches (203 mm) above the maximum pool water level, whichever provides the greatest elevation, and shall be located not less than 4 feet (1219 mm) from the inside wall of the pool, unless separated from the pool by a solid fence, wall or other permanent barrier. Where used on a lighting system operating at the low-voltage contact limit or less, a flush deck box shall be permitted provided that an approved potting compound is used to fill the box to prevent the entrance of moisture; and the flush deck box is located not less than 4 feet (1219 mm) from the inside wall of the pool. [680.24(A)(2)]
 
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1poolman1 said:
What you are planning is not really a DIY project. You will need to drain the pool and a fiberglass pool has its own set of issues with draining. Then, excavate the area behind the wall that would accept the light niche and trench from there to the junction box.

The main body of the niche is mounted outside the pool and held in place with the mounting/sealing ring. The pool wall is sandwiched between them. The number, 79206700, is a niche for a gunite and plaster pool. You need a Pentair 7823500 or Hayward SP0607U fiberglass pool niche for a standard-size pool light like an Amerilite like yours. Pentair also has the 620041 fiberglass pool niche for their GloBrite lights. Much smaller hole (2 1/8") needs to be drilled, still mounts from the outside of the wall. Hayward also has smaller fiberglass light niches. Conduit must be run all the way to the junction box. You really need a good pool electrician for this work.

What ever box you have now that is only 2' from the pool must not be used for a pool light (and shouldn't be used for anything else that close to a pool). Florida code says (forming shell = light niche):

E4206.9.1Junction boxes.​

A junction box connected to a conduit that extends directly to a forming shell or mounting bracket of a no-niche luminaire shall be:
  1. 1.Listed as a swimming pool junction box; [680.24(A)(1)]
  2. 2.Equipped with threaded entries or hubs or a nonmetallic hub; [680.24(A)(1)(1)]
  3. 3.Constructed of copper, brass, suitable plastic, or other approved corrosion-resistant material; [680.24(A)(1)(2)]
  4. 4.Provided with electrical continuity between every connected metal conduit and the grounding terminals by means of copper, brass, or other approved corrosion-resistant metal that is integral with the box; and [680.24(A)(1)(3)]
  5. 5.Located not less than 4 inches (102 mm), measured from the inside of the bottom of the box, above the ground level, or pool deck, or not less than 8 inches (203 mm) above the maximum pool water level, whichever provides the greatest elevation, and shall be located not less than 4 feet (1219 mm) from the inside wall of the pool, unless separated from the pool by a solid fence, wall or other permanent barrier. Where used on a lighting system operating at the low-voltage contact limit or less, a flush deck box shall be permitted provided that an approved potting compound is used to fill the box to prevent the entrance of moisture; and the flush deck box is located not less than 4 feet (1219 mm) from the inside wall of the pool. [680.24(A)(2)]
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the complex response.

The junction box is actually separated by the pool enclosure so it should be fine, in worst case I could just move the box which won't be any problem. I will be draining water anyways because I want to sand down the paint that previous owner used and refinish the pool with gelcoat, so I would install the niche at the same time.

The thing that I am concerned about is that the niche is mounted from the outside. Can I still install it from the inside by pushing it through the hole or would the cutout be smaller than the niche?

GloBrite seems like a much better option for a DIY since the hole is much smaller.
The pool is relatively small, its just 7-8k gallon, 23' long and 11' wide. Would GloBrite give enough light to lighten the pool up or would it act more as an accent light, compared to Amerlite?

There's also Microbrite which seems even easier to install and does not require the niche.
 
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Magnumpl said:
Thank you so much for the complex response.

The junction box is actually separated by the pool enclosure so it should be fine, in worst case I could just move the box which won't be any problem. I will be draining water anyways because I want to sand down the paint that previous owner used and refinish the pool with gelcoat, so I would install the niche at the same time.

The thing that I am concerned about is that the niche is mounted from the outside. Can I still install it from the inside by pushing it through the hole or would the cutout be smaller than the niche?

GloBrite seems like a much better option for a DIY since the hole is much smaller.
The pool is relatively small, its just 7-8k gallon, 23' long and 11' wide. Would GloBrite give enough light to lighten the pool up or would it act more as an accent light, compared to Amerlite?

There's also Microbrite which seems even easier to install and does not require the niche.
Click to expand...
Regardless of which light you choose, the actual fitting or niche must mount from the outside with the wall of the pool sandwiched between the parts to seal the opening. That means working from both sides of the pool wall in order to not have a leak. Microbrites do not require a niche in the conventional sense, but are installed to a standard 1.5" FIP return fitting. An example is here. You can see the sealing gasket in the picture. The actual hole drilled is smaller than the fitting (or niche) to allow for sealing the opening. A Microbrite can be installed to one of these.

 
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