Pool lighting options in currently unlit pool

[mckinley02]

I have a 20x40 in-ground vinyl lined pool. The pool was installed with no lighting of any sort, making night swimming impossible. I have considered a few options to remedy and looking for any feedback you all may have.

The first would be installing submersible LED "puck" lights, suctioned to the walls with a remote control. There are many for sale online that claim to be waterproof and run on AAA batteries. I have my doubts of their longevity, brightness, and durability in chlorinated water.


Second would be installing LED rope lighting around the perimeter of the pool, either along the coping, or possibly under water. I have a suspicion under water is not a great option. Issues with this are: finding a long enough strand of lights for a large pool and looking like casino with a bright strip around the top and the water still relatively dark. My coping does not overhang the pool, so it would literally be right on the wall. Also, IP68 rope lighting seems difficult to find.


Lastly, I found this "nicheless" light from PAL PAL Lighting Evenglow Multi-Color Nicheless LED Pool & Spa Light | 7W 12V 80' Cord with Plug | 64-EGN-80 that appears to simply screw into any standard 1.5" wall fitting. I happen to have an unused wall fitting that went with a now-obsolete jet cleaning system (we use a Dolphin now). I have that port blocked off, but the pipe leads right back to my pump area where power is available. I am curious if anyone has tried a retrofit such as this and if it worked out. I am also curious if the 7W bulb would be adequate to light a 20x40 pool.

Any and all thoughts are welcome and thank you in advance!

 

[cowboycasey]

nichless light sounds like a winner except here is a better brighter light..

PoolTone⢠Color LED Nicheless Wall Pool Light 12 or 120 Volts 15-150 Ft Cord

16 Color LED Nicheless wall mount light for Vinyl Liner, Fiberglass, concrete or gunite Pool 's and Spa's These are replacement color LED lights for Pentair® Aqualumin® lights Available in 12 or 120** Volts with cord lengths from 15 to 150 Feet High quality SMD LED's Chrome outer rim Steel...

www.florida-sunseeker.com

 

[mckinley02]

Thanks cowboycasey. Looks like a great option, but I don't see where it threads into the 1.5" opening. Looks like it is designed to replace Pentair Aqualumin lights, which I am not familiar with.

 

[Orion7319]

I’m also looking for options. My pool is a vinyl pool built in the 70s. I don’t have any empty wall fittings and the walls of the pool are polymer not steel. I have no way to run power under the concrete deck. I haven’t found any decent options so far.

 

[gx22]

I installed a solar motion sensor flood light on a wall next to my pool. It makes the pool very bright. There is a switch to make it on all night without motion. This could be your easiest lightning solution above water.

 

[cowboycasey]

Go ahead and give them a call, I have never dealt with them.. I just know they exist

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I like GX22's idea for simplicity and safety. I also imagine it costs far, far less than the other options.

Maddie

 

[cowboycasey]

I have really been getting into solar lights... The little ones I have are working great.. They have some monster motion sensitive street lights that will light up the whole pool with no issue at all

here is a 90 watt one, 2 of these over the pool should do great..

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08J864Z87?pd_rd_i=B08T5NNJJR&pd_rd_w=ih3mx&pf_rd_p=51cf0d17-50cf-4c89-b1a7-606703cfac11&pd_rd_wg=z0ar3&pf_rd_r=MXMHC06GZS1N26H9S2SB&pd_rd_r=78217ee0-a96c-4f4b-a6ed-a8320a06da61&th=1

here are a bunch

Amazon.com : solar street lights outdoor dusk to dawn

 

[Poolman_Mike]

I’m highly interested in adding a light to my unlit vinyl pool. I have an unused 1.5” fitting that routes back to my pool equipment. I found this while searching around after finding this thread and learning of the ability to retrofit lights. No idea what’s good, but I’d like to pick something soon as my pool is empty and want to install before replacing the liner and filling back up.


Brilliant Wonders® 1.5" LED Light - CMP

 

[TheRaven]

I had this same issue. I inherited a very small VLIG with the house I bought back in 2017. No lights, no provisions for lights, no way to properly add light. So I had to get real creative. My solution isn't awesome, but it worked. I got one of these:

Nitelighter Economy Aboveground Pool Light - Swimming pool lights | In The Swim

Underwater pool lights are fun for evening pool parties. Light up your swimming pool with the Nitelighter pool light.

intheswim.com

And modified it for in-ground use. I simply cut the over-the-wall part so it would sit flat on the edge of the pool coping, and used the two screw holes to bolt it to the coping. I did this right at an expansion joint in the concrete deck and ran the cord in that expansion joint, across the concrete and into the garden on the other side. I then buried the cord in the garden and ran it all the way back to a timer-controlled receptacle on the side of the house. So this gave me underwater lighting on a timer. It lit the pool nicely, it just looked a little cumbersome. I also replaced the standard halogen bulb with a high-power LED bulb that I got from SuperBrightLEDS.com. I think it's a 100W equivalent.

Last year when the pool was renovated I installed legit lighting so now i'm not using my custom contraption. If anyone wants it let me know, just pay shipping and it's yours.

 

[amillsmcewan]

Hello

I sent a message but not sure it got through

 

[derekm]

I bought 2 sets (8 lights total) of those previously-mentioned inexpensive battery-operated lights from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S6K4QQ1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details) for my previously-unlit 1985 pool and am quite pleased with them. Although the 16 colours and flashing options are nice for parties, I normally keep them on the white continuously-on setting for swimming.

Although the built-in magnets would be preferable, my walls are resin, so I use the suction cup option. For better sticking, I wipe the wall with my hand to remove any bio-film before attaching. I like that the lights have been upgraded from the original version and now use cheap, available-everywhere AA cells instead of triple-A. I have attached photos, but have since moved to four lights per side on my 18X36' pool, with none on the ends, as we sometimes ran into them when swimming laps. Note that the lights are not quite as bright in real life as is shown here (iPhone 11 low light setting makes them appear brighter in the photos), but they're plenty bright for swimming and a bargain for the price!

Tips: be very sure that the lights are screwed together tightly to ensure no leaks, and that the suction cups (if used) are all the way into the slots. Two extra suction cups are provided with each set.

 

[Sar138]

Hi! Do you have a link to these? The amazon link above doesn’t work. They look great!