Wiring to convert pool light from 120 to 12v LED

15 years ago

We currently have a Pentair 120 volt light that is burned out. I want to replace the bulb with a Color Splash LED which is a replacement bulb with an Edison base. The cost for a 12 volt bulb is the same and has me considering going 12 volt. A transformer adds about $75 to the cost.

My question is if the current wiring will support 12v without pulling new wires? We don't have a deck box but have a Thermocraft junction box right under the timer/GFI box that powers everything. The conduit going to the wall switch enters at deck box also. My plan was to remove the switch conduit from the deck box and move it to the new transformer box. I would then add new conduit from the transformer to the deck box. All the conduit has the required green ground wires which terminate in the deck box to a grounding block.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

landa_mac
15 years ago
I would be really careful with these screw in LED bulb replacements. I seriously doubt that they meet the safety electric shock safety requirements if the lens happens to shatter or leak. In addition, the current collector spring inside each light can is pushed out of the way with these screw in LED bulb replacements.

Just know what you are getting yourself into before doing this. I have checked with Pentair and other companies and this does void the warranty.
jmas65
15 years ago
landa mac -
What warranty are you talking about? I don't understand what safety features a 120V incandescent light bulb might have - I thought the safety was provided by the gfci. I replaced my burned out bulbs with screw in led's - not color splash, but similar, so now I'm curious... I never gave it a second's thought.
Related Discussions
Can I Convert a 110V Post Lamp to Low Voltage LED
Q
Comments (32)
That is my question, HU-773166389. My late husband, deceased 9 years now, built a brick will with 6 pillars and wired 2 for lighting along with landscape lighting. Sadly he passed before completing everything. I purchased limestone caps and 120v pillar lighting fixtures a couple of years ago but just located a brick layer pointer who will place the caps. He noticed that the wiring is LV in the pillars. As he revisited it, I recalled the questions that I had when I originally purchased the fixtures. I would want to use LV-LED bulbs anyway. Nothing is wired into the breaker box yet, but to run new wire would be a major investment as there are brick walkways that run from the house to the the where the pillars are. I am hoping from reading this that I will be able to have the electrician wire the 120 fixture directly to the 12 volt landscape wire that ia wired to a transformer and install a 4-10 watt bulb in each. and be done. Just need confirmation.
...See More
I want to run a 12 v motor (power window) from my 120v house curr
Q
Comments (23)
Beacon : Use a rotating beacon like what construction vehicles use and put a resistor or rheostat in line with the power on the motor so you can slow it down for realism. I would use a low voltage photo cell and possibly replace the bulb with LED's from a place like superbrightleds.com. They should have a compatible led light that will go in the plug or have the things needed to make your own setup. Power: I think a lead acid lawn mower battery (U1L the old bigger battery not a motorcycle style) series and trickle charger would be adequate for the beacon and the lift. IF you go with the LED setup you could charge it via solar panel. Lift : I think a window motor could be adapted and work well or the early to mid 90's rangers and F series trucks had electronic shift on the transfer case for 4x4. It was a starter style motor with gear reduction and stop switches for different ranges and best of all they are fairly well sealed. If you check some of the motorcycle shops you might be able to get a starter from there that has a planetary gear reduction (high torque) that just needs taking apart and given some TLC for little or no money. This would be a pretty compact and rather quiet option. I see both projects as being really cool ideas but the lift might be better to just buy a lift designed for such use and adapting it further for your setup. I would check ebay. OH wait umm what voltage did the old monster satellite dish rotators run off of? That would be by far the easiest to adapt. Either lift or rotate could be used. I like the solar charge with photo cell and LED light idea the best with wire run over to the adapted satellite dish rotator spa cover lift the best!
...See More
LED fixtures for 120v hardwired undercabinet lighting?
Q
Comments (12)
I think you are describing direct-wire units. This is the hardest thing I did in my kitchen renovation. It was the last thing that we had left and took me a month to resolve. Because of the way my project was wired using previous wiring Inspired LED wouldn't work for me. I ordered their products and ended up returning them. I already had 120 wiring run in the walls along with wall switches. There was nowhere to put a transformer. The transformers that Inspired sold were huge, black and had to be installed on the vertical. It just wasn't going to work. I discovered that my wiring required a direct-wire product. What I ended up doing was buying under cabinet direct-wire LED lighting units. They have an integral 120v/LED converter. You order them according to the length of the cabinet. They install underneath the wall cabinets like the old fluorescent units. I got the units from http://www.brodwax.com/led-lighting.html. The guy running it has a lot of experience. He can walk you through it on the telephone and tell you which units will work best for you. I could tell he dealt with this problem all of the time. These direct-wire units can be very expensive, but the ones from Brodwax were much more reasonably priced than comparable brand name units. He just sends them to you UPS. While we could have installed them, I had my electrician do it. It was his opinion that he would rather rewire a house than install under cabinet lighting due to needing to work upside down to mount and wire the units. It's also a two man job. It was worth every penny to get him to install. It saved my marriage.
...See More
Small interior 12V transformer for 40 ft wiring length
Q
Comments (3)
"Also I would like to install the transformer inside my garage and then have the 12V cable coming out from the stone/concrete front side wall and then underground through 40 feet of length." . 411.4 Specific Location Requirements. (A) Walls, Floors, and Ceilings. Conductors concealed or extended through a wall, floor, or ceiling shall be in accordance with (1) or (2): (1) Installed using any of the wiring methods specified in Chapter 3 (2) Installed using wiring supplied by a listed Class 2 power source and installed in accordance with 725.130 http://freenec.com/T254.html . Therefore, "(I can install a 12 or 10 AWG UF-B if that helps with the voltage drop)?" would be about the easiest method anyway. 12 gauge or 14 guage should be plenty. Some "landscape cable" may be rated for this, but if you use UF, and bury it deep enough, you would always have the option of skipping the transformer and using a standard fixture with an LED retrofit bulb.
...See More
poolguynj
15 years ago
There are also direct replacements available that don't require the transformer. The same bulb work in both Pentair and Hayward 120V 500 watt fixtures. Remember to change the lens gasket every time you remove the lens lest you risk a leak that can damage the fixture. Make sure all surfaces are clean, dry, and undamaged/bent...

Scott
Rack Etear
15 years ago
It's my understanding that a current collector spring will touch the filament wires in the event of a bulb shattering.

If this is the case, LED's don't shatter, so does it matter if the current collector spring is pushed off to the side a little bit?

Most people looking at colored replacement don't care about warranty on a light fixture. A LED light will put less strain on a light fixture, because is uses less power and generates less heat. The only reason Pentair would "void the warranty" is because they don't want to lose sales of their intellibrite product.

Now if you do this and something goes catastrophically wrong, don't look to Pentair, or whoever makes the light to be liable.

Getting back on topic. You can probably get away with replacing the LED lamp only because you dont need the oversized wires that typically come on a large pool fixture. The led consumes far less wattage.

You may want to increase the size of the wires that go from the transformer location to the light junction box.

Wiring to convert pool light from 120 to 12v LED

Comments (4)

landa_mac

jmas65

Related Discussions

poolguynj

Rack Etear

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US