Wet conduit

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Gonna revive my old thread as I finally got the goggles on and found my pool light has about 2” of water in it. Talking about a new pool here,
:mad::hammer:
It’s almost the same scenario as last summer, except now I’m going to pause pulling a new fixture until the Fall/Winter. I nearly died of heat exhaustion last year with that pull.
I can surmise the leak is from the cord and epoxy rather than the glass lens gasket. The gasket actually looks newer, and probably was replaced with a new light not too long ago. I’m not following my rule here, but I need to get this leaky fixture back in the pool and get it to hold water for 4 months.
Has anyone had success with a type of glue/epoxy/super glue or other compound for placing inside the fixture to repair the epoxy base?
 
Kevin, does the light work? Do you need it to work? Why not just pull the breaker on the light until you can replace it?
 
ajw22 said:
...does the light work? Do you need it to work? Why not just pull the breaker on the light until you can replace it?
Click to expand...
Yes, the light still works, but the lamp base is corroded (moderately). We’re doing lots of evening entertaining and I want the light to work, and be safe.
We’re scheduled to have an evening scene for a short film shot at the house, so want it looking it’s best then too. They plan to
put more lighting in the pool/spa, but my pride is also in the mix.
I could just dunk it back in with a new gasket, but wanted to gum up the cord-entry (ideas?) and slather up a bunch of epoxy (or whatever) in the inside base in hopes of getting it to hold water for longer than just a few days or weeks. I know others have done this to get the lamp to limp it along for sometimes 2-3 years.
I know I need a new fixture, and will pull one come October, but no sooner.
 
Here’s from a 2010 TFP fix.
img_4845-jpg.8206
 
I’ve taken this on as a challenge. I’m just going to use what I have around the house already. Compared to my 1985 Amerilite, that had 2 back-of-fixture openings, these newer light fixtures only have the opening for the wiring cable. That makes it a bit more of a likelihood that a repair of the cord to fixture interface can hold water for a few more years maybe.
I began with a 1/2 inch PVC conduit coupling , and cut it to allow the cable to pass thru. Slathered the cord interface with white poly sealant. Then taped the pvc to the fixture to act as a mold for me to inject with JB weld epoxy. Will attach pics if it doesn’t fail miserably;)
 

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I come to find that my fixture niche’s 1” conduit had poly/silicone caulk plugging the hole leading to the conduit, but it’s flaking away. I pray there’s no leak, but probably it was just jammed up there as just a preventative treatment as the light fixture is the original. Not sure how a leak would have started, but I guess it’s possible.

Just in case, I bought this, and it works great. G&P Tools 1" Cord Stopper 2 Hole Retrofit Split. No need to drain the pool or gunk up caulk that might make pulling a future fixture wire difficult or impossible. I’ve used it in another pool (just as a preventative treatment also). It’s simple to clamp over the power and thick ground bonding wire and tuck into the conduit opening. They sell a variety of differed sizes and such, but these are “split” for existing wiring to clamp over. If you need to pull a new light fixture, it easily pops out. A family member found one in an old 50 year old public pool and it was 10+ years old and showed little signs of deterioration. Found them online and
Pool Supply World (free shipping) has the best deal. Good preventative measure for wet conduit.

110739
 
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The light fixture wire was encased in polyurethane sealant (best must-have stuff I’ve found for Coping compared with silicone base). Waited 24 hrs. Built a rudimentary mold and Encased the wire interface entry in 2 applications of JB Weld commercial epoxy.
Then during 105 heat, poured a ounce of epoxy (heat makes it more liquid for longer) into the inner fixture and let it roll around, filling the gaps—good redundancy let’s hope. It sat out to dry for another 36 hours.
Thx @mguzzy-Lubed up the new silicone gasket and clamped down the lens. It’s been in a few days and no leaks yet. I had a interesting idea. I have a WiFi leak detector with dongle sensor ($24), and if I could remove the PC board alone it could fit inside. It’d probably wouldn’t survive the heat of a halogen, but maybe an LED? I’d fashion some simple 3D enclosure (have to drive to a friends in LA, but he loves these projects, with lithium batteries. Then double stick tape the transmitter to the upper stainless enclosure of the fixture (board measures 1.5x2”) then run the sensor to the bottom where water tends to pool up. This would be a neat rigged future addition.

Yay DIY! It’s in the pool and working We’ll see how much time I get, ? I get at least 6 months. Who knows, 2+ years has been seen.
 
Epic Fail! Water is already about 1” in bottom of the fixture. I got through the film shoot and the backyard looked great, but I really thought I’d get a few weeks of no water seepage, argh! After all that work too.
I like my WiFi Rig idea more. Maybe I’ll try it for fun. Honestly, I just want it to hold water through October. I’m quite sure the issues are the following:
  1. Clamp and stainless ring are not able to make a even hold of the the silicone gasket. Had this issue before, is this from over-tightening?
  2. The epoxy didn’t cure well. Coulda been a bad 50/50 mix, but pretty sure it was simply too hot for it to cure. It really was so runny at 105+ deg ambient temps.
 
try this... pull your light out of the niche and get it dried out... then test your seals by submerging different parts of your enclosure in a bucket that is up on your deck. for example you can "float" the back end in the bucket and look for leaks with the lens off. Using this method I was able to determine where the leak was happening in my light failure.
 
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That was really helpful. Found a small tub to fit it into. I set it face up yesterday evening, and placed a 4x4 block on top to weigh it down. This morning there was a puddle of water in the fixture--so the leak is through the back. I never would have thought that, especially after all of the goop I put on the cable. Next fun step: I'll create a sarcophagus of polyurethane sealant around the cable using a PVC fitting as the mold.
 
look at the cable to see if the sheath is compromised. I've seen where they get little cracks from being bent at that point when curled up in the niche. I don't think there is a fix for that. I figure when mine develops a leak in the wire sheath its time for a new unit since I won't know if the wire is further compromised inside the cable. once water gets in it can corrode the wiring in the cable and back of the enclosure from the inside out. :mad:
 
Looking at a low voltage Pentair Amerlite (has orange cabling instead of black) due to price. Is there a easy low-cost ability to have the Easytouch 8 handle a low voltage 12v pool light, or do it need a separate large transformer box?
 

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