Defunct fiberoptic lights

[Motozoic]

I've been trying to figure out what happened to the lights in my pool and spa because I don't see any light fixtures anywhere within the pool shell. I found the pool contract from the builder and it lists quantity 1, 250W light system. A note from the previous owner reads "Pool lights are fiberoptic." The Pentair CP100 controller has a discrete switch for pool and spa lights, which function in terms of power, but the controller is missing and there's 4, what appear to be white fiberoptic cables, coming up out of the ground via some conduit, that have been snipped off at the ends. To my knowledge, the pool has never been resurfaced, so I'm assuming that the fiberoptics are distributed in some fashion within the pool and spa floor... is that a reasonable assumption?

Also, with the advent of LED systems, would it be possible to recouple the fiber connections to a new controller and get the lights working again? Sorry, I know nothing of pool lighting systems.

 

[ChuckTin]

We have a pool with one(!) fiber-optic light. Works sorta, never use it. The light itself is an obvious lens on the pool wall.
As to splicing the fiber-optic lines I know that for communication lines there's a school time, a certification, tools (fixture) and tedium involved.
It does sound, from here, like your pool was resurfaced or patched and the previous owner elected to omit the light.
Why don't you check Amazon for pricing?

 

[Bama Rambler]

While it's technically possible to splice the fiberoptic light cable it's pretty difficult to do it right, and even to find someone that is willing to try it. There's also a reason that they cut them off.

If the lens are still in the walls, they make LED lights to replace the fibers. However replacing the lighting can get pretty expensive.

 

[Dirk]

If you don’t see any evidence of light fixtures in the walls, or fibre lights under the coping or in the floor (twinkling light effect), then there is nothing to restore. Either the pool surface was replaced and the light niches were abandoned and filled in, or the fibre cables went to something else in the yard. Either way, something about the light system was not worth saving before, so most likely wouldn’t be now. Unless you’re able to talk with the previous owner to find out what happened, I’d say your pool is not ever going to be lit, not without a major renovation.

If there are no obvious light niches (fixtures) in the walls, theoretically it could have been something like this:



But that's pretty far fetched. You'd see something in the pool.

That black wire in the third pic, is that for landscape lighting? There are fibre landscape lighting systems, perhaps there never was lighting in the pool, and they were using the fibre for the garden, which was replaced with a wired system. Any other evidence in the yard of abandoned fixtures or conduit? Here's an example:

Fiber Optics - Landscape Lighting - INYOPools.com

 

[jonpcar]

Motozoic, like you, I suspect your pool had fiberoptics lights...but Dirk is right, if you can't find them (or remnants of them) anywhere in the pool then you have an impossible situation to replace them. These fiber optic systems were used a lot by the pool builders here in AZ in the 90s. Since you have four fiber optic cables, you should have 4 housings and lenses in your pool somewhere. Obviously the lenses were removed and the housings were either taken out and covered, or simply covered.

If this was was done with patches you might be able to find the locations, but without knowing if the the housings were removed it would be too risky to try and expose those housings. If the pool was resurfaced, you have no chance of finding them.

If you ever resurface your pool again...you would find the housings (if they still exist) and could snake the new LED replacements (for fiber optics systems) through the line and back to you pool pad. Look up "s.r.smith led pool" on Amazon to find their treo and kelo replacement models. I got the treos for ~$120 when the Amazon warehouse had them...hit and miss at any given time.

 

[Motozoic]

I had my friend of a friend come and visit today and he was extremely helpful because he's actually a project manager for an established pool builder here in southern AZ. His verdict was that the pool has been resurfaced at some point, possibly when the rock waterfall had developed an issue and fully redone using real boulders and rock. So, the niches are definitely gone or patched up, but the work performed was done very well... the lights are just gone. To answer Dirk's question about the black wire, yes there is a full blown low voltage landscape lighting system throughout the front and backyard, so those cables are to supply a trio of spotlights lighting up the back of the rock waterfall.

I'm going to drain the pool for chemistry reasons sometime in Jan/Feb, whenever it's significantly and consistently cooler here in Tucson, but I'm not keen in punching new holes in the shell to add underwater lights. What alternative options exist and are desirable?

Here's a snap of the pool, to provide some context about what we're talking about... the landscape lighting is on in this photo.

 

[Dirk]

I would enhance the landscape lighting. Then I would look into fiber optics for under the coping. I don't like my in-wall pool light. It shines in my eyes because they pointed it at the house, but even in the water it's not comfortable to swim with. I feel like a specimen, and it doesn't provide the type of ambient light I like.

So if I was to design a pool from scratch, I'd add lights similar to that picture I posted (but nowhere near as gaudy). A single ring of light surrounding the water, hidden by the coping that would light up the water. I'm not sure if that is enough light to keep track of kids swimming at night, but I think, if done tastefully, it could look nice, and maybe provide enough of a glow to swim safely.

I've never installed such a system, or even seen one in person, but I think with the way your grotto is, and the fact that you have access to it via some landscaping, there might be a path from some switched circuit (doesn't have to be at the pad) to the underside of the coping, just along the grotto rocks, on each side of the grotto. Then from there you just mount it under the coping, pointing down into the water, and run it around the pool in each direction until you hit the spa rocks. Not LED rope lighting, as that would have to be bonded. You want fiber, I think.

I'm just spitballin', I don't actually know any of that is possible, but that's what I'd start with and see if I could find someone that knew more about it to tell me it could be done or not...

- - - Updated - - -

I just googled "battery operated pool light" and got a bunch of hits, so that's a possibility, too. I saw floating pool lights, as well (also battery operated). Wireless remotes for them, too. Colored LEDs. You're not the first one to want to add after market pool lights, apparently!

 

[Motozoic]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into what options I have - you're correct regarding power from the rocks, there's plenty of infrastructure there to tap into.

 

[Motozoic]

So I finally drained my pool and spa today. Great success! To my delight (or perhaps I'm prematurely delighted in this discovery), I discovered that directlty beneath my pool deck (Kool deck) is a run of fiberoptic cable. The cable runs the entire perimeter of the pool, including the spa. So... my pool has not been resurfaced and has the original fiberoptic lighting, but the fiberoptic light driver is MIA. Furthermore, I would need to adapt some sort of coupler to it in order to reinstate it. Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[ajw22]

Are there any labels around the light driver or the control box the fiber cable leads into?

Is the light driver inop or totally missing? Pics of what you do have may help.

Why do you think you need a coupler?

 

[Motozoic]

Are there any labels around the light driver or the control box the fiber cable leads into?

Is the light driver inop or totally missing? Pics of what you do have may help.

Why do you think you need a coupler?

There is no lighting hardware present except for the perimeter lighting on the pool and spa. Take a look at my 1st posts in this thread, they have the pics of the remaining fiberoptic stubs. I'm no fiber expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I was thinking that some kind of coupler would be needed to attach a new light driver to the "stubs."

 

[jonpcar]

On my old model, there was a focused 400w lightbulb shining directly into the ends of my two fiber optic cables which were simply attached together and mounted with brackets directly in front of the light (actually shining through a color wheel in between). The problem you have is that unless there is some “play” to your fiber optic cables (can you pull them out futher?), then there is probably no way you will be able to do that...maybe mount a light in a box over them directly facing down...unlikely. There are heat concerns with a light that bright that would have to be taken into account. I don’t think any kind of coupler to try and extend the cables will work.

I am not understanding the description of the lights under your pool deck...my fiber optic lights were only end-to-end transfer of light, the light was transmitted from the bulb, into the fiber optic cable, and then to “lenses” in the pool wall...they would not have worked in the fashion you are describing. Spreading out the little available light in the fiber optic cables seems like would result in almost no light anywhere...but as I said, I’m probably not understanding the mechanism.

You should be able to do a limited test on your system by trimming (possibly just cleaning) the ends of your fiber optic cables and shining some kind of VERY VERY bright spotlight directly into them...itmight give you an idea of what the lights could possibly accomplish...my guess is the previous owners snipped the cables because it wasn’t working out for them.

 

[Motozoic]

I have previously tried shining some light into the stubs, but had no result. Granted, I didn't clean the ends or prep them in any way - the heat and sun in southern Arizona has probably degraded them to some degree. Since the pool was built by Patio Pools I am considering giving them a call to see what they recommend doing about it. I see what you're saying about the end-end light transfer as most pools would have an endpoint lighting system, a fixture installed somewhere in the pool wall. This is definitely not that type of lighting, but appears to be some kind of perimeter lighting system.

 

[Motozoic]

Well, I've found a guy who was willing to take a look at my perimeter lighting issue and has given me a quote for installing a new Fiberstars metal halide illuminator (no part number given) for a mere $300. The illuminator unit, however, has been quoted at $1350. That sounds a bit steep and I was hoping for an LED unit instead. Does anyone know if LED illuminators are a thing? My guy didn't seem to be able to find anything.

 

[Bama Rambler]

There's a difference in what you want and what they provide. There's no LED light source for the fiberoptic light bundles you have per-se. What they want you to do is replace the tower with basically a junction box and then replace the fiber bundles with LED lights and cables.

However, they make G12 base LED lamps that are about 150 watt equivilent. If you had the old tower and lamp holder you could try replacing the lamp with an LED unit and see if it'd work well enough for you.

 

[Motozoic]

It looks like I'm just going to shell out for a new metal halide or halogen lit unit. Not cheap, but at least it reinstates the pool lighting.