Change 120v UW light to 12v?

[greenacres]

I want to change my 120v pool light to a 12v. I have an inground vinyl liner pool with a hayward brand light. Could I just change the bulb and add some type of transformer, using the existing wireing and hardware? Would there be much difference in brightness?

[waste]

Greenacres, welcome to the forum!!

Your ? tickled something in the back of my brain so I checked this thread 3804.

You realize that a transformer will need to be wired in and a different bulb used, if you are willing to do this it's no problem to do so, the niches are made to take either 120v or 12v bulbs.

Unfortunately, I can't comment on the relative lumens for the 2 bulbs, as I only see pools durring the daylight hours, perhaps someone who's made that switch can comment on the relative brightness of the 2.

Good luck with the chaneover, if you have any more questions, just ask and we'll do what we can to help. Again, welcome to the foprum!! :) - Waste

[greenacres]

Thanks Waste.
Sounds easy enough, I just don't like the idea of 120v @ the pool so this is just for my peace of mind. The pool was put in by the previous owners brother in laws and a lot of the work is suspect. A couple of months or more away from opening here in WV.

[waste]

I beg your pardon!! That's "WEST (BY-GOD) Virginia!" ;) I't's your pool and you can do whatever you want to/ with it (i lived in Wheeling for a couple of years - so I want to make sure you say it right on the forum :D ) I doubt that the light that's in there would cause you problems, but if you want to change it, it's your pool :)

How 'bout them 'Eers!!:)

[greenacres]

Your right it is 'West (By-God) Virginia!' I guess I have some time to think about it and try and find a good deal on a transformer. I grew up not far from Wheeling.

How 'bout them 'Eers!!

[CarlD]

I would DEFINITELY change 120v lights to 12v. The safety factor alone makes all the difference. I have 12v lights and the transformers are at a distance, so if, SOMEHOW the lights short out AND the ground-fault fails, the pool doesn't become automatically deadly.

Of course, ALL electrical items around a pool MUST be ground-faulted by ordinance and by d***-fool common sense!

I actually find the 12 v lights to be VERY bright--almost too bright, but that's me. I don't think the underwater lights SHOULD be that bright--they become unpleasant for swimmers. But...that's me.

[greenacres]

Thanks Carl. I think your right, it is on a ground-fault breaker but like I said it will give me peace of mind. If the budget allows maybe one of the LED type with the different colors. I could then use a smaller transformer.

[skamp]

I am going to be using color logic lights that come in 12 or 120V. I am still waiting to see which my PB ordered. If they ordered the 120V I am going to push them to swap to the 12V. If you need the transformer, Hayward recommends the PX100 or PX300. They are pretty cheap at $75-100.

Steve

[greenacres]

Old thread, but just completed. Had a leakly light last year and finally resolved that, got the transformer and 12v led colorchanging bulb from ebay in the off season, installed yesterday and tested out last night. Working great, the kids love the party mode and I feel safer with 12v underwater. Thanks waste and carl

[waste]

I'm sure Carl will agree with me in saying "that's why were here":cool:

Congrats on getting it changed out successfully!! Enjoy the pool and the lights!:)

[Poolsean]

Since this got bumped to the top, it's worth mentioning that the brightness of the light didn't depend on 120 volts or 12 volts. It's the WATTS of the light that is the indicator of the brightness. Actually, lumins to be more technical...but definately not voltage.

[CarlD]

I'm sure Carl will agree with me in saying "that's why were here":cool:

Congrats on getting it changed out successfully!! Enjoy the pool and the lights!:)

Me? I'm just here for the free beer!

Now where is that keg they promised was gonna be here?........

[CarlD]

Since this got bumped to the top, it's worth mentioning that the brightness of the light didn't depend on 120 volts or 12 volts. It's the WATTS of the light that is the indicator of the brightness. Actually, lumins to be more technical...but definately not voltage.

Absolutely. When we re-did our kitchen we went from the old, big, ugly cans to mostly 12v units of track lighting and mini-cans. We use 50watt PAR-16s and I get the widest flood pattern available--You can get very wide or medium wide floods. Or you can get wide or narrow spots. With everything on full you can practically get a sun-tan!

We also re-did our house office as it's directly off the kitchen and in there, the 50w units were too bright and I put in 35w floods instead. Much better.

The only real drawback I see to 12v is that the bulbs are a little harder to get and quite expensive. Also, switching to fluorescent doesn't seem to be possible (although 12v fluorescent lamps exist for portable use).

[greenacres]

I replaced a standard 500 watt floodlight(too bright)with a light with 546 colored led's so it's hard to compare them but it does light up my 20x40 vinyl liner pool just fine, well the red only shines about half way down but I didn't care for that color anyway. If anybody is thinking of changing to this type of light I would recomend it.