My in ground gunite pool is 14 years old. The lights went out in the pool and spa for the first time last season. What do I need to know or do before I change these out?
How do I change the light bulbs in my pool and spa?
- Thread starter marwildfw
- Start date
- May 25, 2011
- 42
** edit **
Before trying to info below, if BOTH the pool AND spa went out at the same time, there is a possibility that there is a GFC-I somewhere near the pool equipment that went out. You could try resetting it or the breaker of the light is separate. the GFC-I will look like your nornal outlet in most bathrooms with the black and red Test / Reset buttons
*****
Changing a light is not too complicate. First you need to know what kind of lights you have. Most large pool lights are your standard 500W bulb. These can vary fro 12V to 120V depending on the model. Most lights I have handled are as follows. Some pictures would sure help, but here are the basics for a standard POOL light. First, you will need to know what model you have. Almost all installers leae enough wire to get the light to the deck. So make sure the light is off. Then there will be a screw in the top of the ring. Once out, you will either remove the ring the holds the lens cover and the body together OR you will unscrew nuts around the back of the ring light housing itself. Once out you will want to replace the O-Ring and the Bulb. NEVER re-use the same gasket. Once you replace the bulb, put he oring on the lens and reassemble the housing. If it has a band around the light, lightly tap the ring as you tighten the screw to take any slack out. If it is the screws style, slowly do them as you would a car tire.. Work in opposites and double check as you finish up. After this is done, you can wrap the cord around the fixture and place it back in the hole. There is usually a tab on the bottom of the bracket in the wall, so putting bottom in first than bringing the top to the wall is probably easiest. A spa light is similar, but these MAY have halogen lights in them. If this is the case, never touch the new bulb with bare fingers, the oils from your hand can make the light blow. do the same, as a pool light and place back in hole. One thing to keep in mind, when you put it back in, rotate the fixture under the water a few times, this will allow any normal air trapped in a crevice to come out, then make sure no more bubble come up. If you have a leak coming up, you may need to check the piece that secures the lens to the housing. If you can post a pic of your fixture I may be able to give a little more info. If you can get them out the pool they won't have any issues as long as they are off and they can stay out too, since the gaskets will be replaced. If there is water in the fixture, don't bother
Before trying to info below, if BOTH the pool AND spa went out at the same time, there is a possibility that there is a GFC-I somewhere near the pool equipment that went out. You could try resetting it or the breaker of the light is separate. the GFC-I will look like your nornal outlet in most bathrooms with the black and red Test / Reset buttons
*****
Changing a light is not too complicate. First you need to know what kind of lights you have. Most large pool lights are your standard 500W bulb. These can vary fro 12V to 120V depending on the model. Most lights I have handled are as follows. Some pictures would sure help, but here are the basics for a standard POOL light. First, you will need to know what model you have. Almost all installers leae enough wire to get the light to the deck. So make sure the light is off. Then there will be a screw in the top of the ring. Once out, you will either remove the ring the holds the lens cover and the body together OR you will unscrew nuts around the back of the ring light housing itself. Once out you will want to replace the O-Ring and the Bulb. NEVER re-use the same gasket. Once you replace the bulb, put he oring on the lens and reassemble the housing. If it has a band around the light, lightly tap the ring as you tighten the screw to take any slack out. If it is the screws style, slowly do them as you would a car tire.. Work in opposites and double check as you finish up. After this is done, you can wrap the cord around the fixture and place it back in the hole. There is usually a tab on the bottom of the bracket in the wall, so putting bottom in first than bringing the top to the wall is probably easiest. A spa light is similar, but these MAY have halogen lights in them. If this is the case, never touch the new bulb with bare fingers, the oils from your hand can make the light blow. do the same, as a pool light and place back in hole. One thing to keep in mind, when you put it back in, rotate the fixture under the water a few times, this will allow any normal air trapped in a crevice to come out, then make sure no more bubble come up. If you have a leak coming up, you may need to check the piece that secures the lens to the housing. If you can post a pic of your fixture I may be able to give a little more info. If you can get them out the pool they won't have any issues as long as they are off and they can stay out too, since the gaskets will be replaced. If there is water in the fixture, don't bother
- May 25, 2011
- 42
If water got in to the fixture, as in a leak or corrosion, you would be better off replacing the whole fixture. There is a failsafe inside the fixture that if water gets in, it shorts it to the ground. Therefore if someone was by the light and there was no GFC-I and happened to try to get out by the light, they would not get a jolt. But since the innards are not made of Stainless Steel, it would rust and corrode..
- May 25, 2011
- 42
Yes.. like water got in. A little bit of condensation may be normal, but it will be obvious if water got in there. And if thy went out together, one could have tripped the GFI and blew them both. Check the obvious things first and let me know.
They went out at different times. I have checked all the breakers and they are not tripped. The pool light is an Amerlight Underwater Light with a stainless steel face ring.
- May 25, 2011
- 42
Yeah.. that's the most standard one. You just need a standard 500W Pool Light and a gasket. Remove the brass retaining screw from the top of the ring. (Try not to drop it in the pool, it should have a rubber gasket on the back that hold it in, but does not always work.) Bring it to the deck.. You will need a new Oring as well. The most common has the tension ring on the back the other has 8 holes. Replace the gasket as well. Then if you look at a picture of the niche, you'll see the piece at the bottom that the light fits in to. This is the hardest part, putting it back in. Because the light will want to float, but not too bad. Here is an example of the niche
http://www.pentairpooleurope.com/site/d ... 700-LR.jpg
http://www.pentairpooleurope.com/site/d ... 700-LR.jpg
Hey Insomnix - I did exactly as you suggested when I replaced my bulb last year. Everything looked OK, no bubbles, but when I opened my pool this year, it looks like I have water about 2/3s the way up the lens. Is there a trick I missed when I put the fixture back together?
BTW, you think that water in the fixture means I need to replace the whole thing now, right?
Cheers,
Hank
BTW, you think that water in the fixture means I need to replace the whole thing now, right?
Cheers,
Hank
- May 25, 2011
- 42
95% of the time, unfortunately. Several things can happen. the most common on an old fixture is either not replacing the gasket or not tighening the lock ring. While tightening and you get resistance, tap the ring and tighten more. What happens on old gaskets is the light comes on and it gets hot inside the light expanding the air. When the light goes off, the air cools and will suck in water. The other place is the connection where the wire goes in. But since epoxy is at the bottom of the light, it is not too common there. I would go with an old gasket or not tight enough. I would recommend changing the fixture out at this point, there is sure to be corrosion now. You could try, but I make no promises that it will work.
Tap the ring and tighten more, maybe the one thing I didn't do. Guess I'll pull it out this weekend and check it out.
Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the tips!
- May 25, 2011
- 42
No problem. Just a tap to get rid of the slack, not too hard. remember.. there's a lightbulb in there. You can afford to lighten the tapping if you life the bolt area away from the chassis while tapping. This will put tension on the ring and allow it to set better. And don't feel bad, it could have just been an old fixture too.
