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I'm replacing my Pentair Amerlite 400w 120V lights in my pool and have a simple question. Where you feed the wire into the conduit at the back of the niche there seems to be a putty or something that was used to keep water from getting up into the conduit. What is that substance and where do I get it?
Anyone?
That "putty" is a waterproof caulk injected into the conduit to seal the water out. You might check with several local licensed electricians about what type and brand they recommend, along with where to get it.
Most pool light conduit is designed to be flooded with water.
I agree, the conduit is designed to flood with water. The problem is, my pool is not to code. The electrical box where the electrical connections are made is supposed to be elevated above ground level (I'm not sure what the specified distance is). On my pool the box is embedded in the concrete at ground level. So I've got to seal that sucker up good from all directions to make sure no water gets in.
I ended up using expanding foam to fill the large gap around the wiring then covering that with a generous portion of silicone caulk. I did this at both ends of the conduit (in the light well and in the electrical box). My pool is refilling now. The water is above the lights and they are still working. The next test will be the first rainfall to see if the boxes (there is one for each light) were sealed well enough.
The pool leak sites recommend using a butyl rubber "tape" for this. It's also used for auto window installations. You can get it at Auto Zone for about $14. Even though the conduit is supposed to be sealed, it is a potential source of a leak.
I really hate that putty. It is some nasty stuff. When replacing a light that has the putty in the jbox, I remove it and do not replace. The wire plugs are good if you remember to put it on before wiring up the new light. If not, I've also used Marine Epoxy to plug the hole around the wire. Also, as mentioned above, use butyl tape on the connections. I've run into a few that weren't up to code and flooded.