Pool Light Niche and Rewiring Question

[Steven Scharf]

I'm having my pool remodeled. The brass conduit from the niche comes out and straight up to where the old, round, flush junction box was in the concrete. Most of the conduit is in concrete and cannot be bent.

See ASCII diagram below.

It is no long permitted to have a junction box flush in the concrete, but the code is unclear about access panels for the purpose of pulling wire.

The electrician attached a PVC Type LB access fitting to the brass conduit from the old light, since there would be no way to run the new wire without it. This panel is flush with where the new concrete will be. There will be no junctions inside, it's only to have a way to route the new light's cable.

There will be a number 8 copper ground wire run from a clamp on the old brass conduit over to the ground connection on the junction box. There is no way to run the ground wire inside the PVC to the junction box since there is no entry point for the ground wire from the clamp on the PVC pipe. I talked to a pool remodeling company (that sold the junction box) and they said that there is no real way to be totally code compliant, with 680/25, on a remodel because of the inability to run a ground wire inside the conduit, so they always run it outside, and the Thermocraft junction box has a provision for connecting the ground wire outside

So the questions:

1. How hard is it to completely replace the niche, with one where the conduit can come out of the back and run straight underground to the new junction box, rather than use an access panel. They are replastering the pool (Pebbletec) anyway.

1. Should the access panel be filled with potting compound once the pool wire is run. The water will not run up that high due to the access panel being higher than the water level. But what is the issue with that anyway, as long as there are no connections? They didn't like junction boxes at the deck level because water could get into it and there were splices inside, but now there are no splices inside. Obviously water will fill the conduit, brass or PVC, below the pool water level, but the pool light wiring is designed for this.

2. Should the access panel be covered with concrete (the pool light could not be completely replaced in the future.

1. The old light was 12 volt light. The new light is 120 volt. I read somewhere that the low voltage lights were dry-niche, but I don't think mine was. New ___ Junction|___| ____ Box | Pool | |__| Access Panel PVC | | | \ / || | | \PVC /PVC Light ||____| \________________________/ Brass PVC

[Steven Scharf]

I'm having my pool remodeled. The brass conduit from the niche comes out and straight up to where the old, round, flush junction box was in the concrete. Most of the conduit is in concrete and cannot be bent.

See ASCII diagram below.

It is no long permitted to have a junction box flush in the concrete, but the code is unclear about access panels for the purpose of pulling wire.

The electrician attached a PVC Type LB access fitting to the brass conduit from the old light, since there would be no way to run the new wire without it. This panel is flush with where the new concrete will be. There will be no junctions inside, it's only to have a way to route the new light's cable.

There will be a number 8 copper ground wire run from a clamp on the old brass conduit over to the ground connection on the junction box. There is no way to run the ground wire inside the PVC to the junction box since there is no entry point for the ground wire from the clamp on the PVC pipe. I talked to a pool remodeling company (that sold the junction box) and they said that there is no real way to be totally code compliant, with 680/25, on a remodel because of the inability to run a ground wire inside the conduit, so they always run it outside, and the Thermocraft junction box has a provision for connecting the ground wire outside

So the questions:

1. How hard is it to completely replace the niche, with one where the conduit can come out of the back and run straight underground to the new junction box, rather than use an access panel. They are replastering the pool (Pebbletec) anyway.

1. Should the access panel be filled with potting compound once the pool wire is run. The water will not run up that high due to the access panel being higher than the water level. But what is the issue with that anyway, as long as there are no connections? They didn't like junction boxes at the deck level because water could get into it and there were splices inside, but now there are no splices inside. Obviously water will fill the conduit, brass or PVC, below the pool water level, but the pool light wiring is designed for this.

2. Should the access panel be covered with concrete (the pool light could not be completely replaced in the future.

1. The old light was 12 volt light. The new light is 120 volt. I read somewhere that the low voltage lights were dry-niche, but I don't think mine was. New ___ Junction|___| ____ Box | Pool | |__| Access Panel PVC | | | \ / || | | \PVC /PVC Light ||____| \________________________/ Brass PVC

[Steve B.]

It would be a bear to replace the niche, but if you are 120v I would want to make sure that everything was up to par... Especially the grounding system.

The 12v lights I am familiar with are not in a dry niche. The bulb housing is sealed but the rest of if is full of water.

Can't you go with a 12v fixture again? Personally I would never be comfortable in the pool knowing there was 120v in the light.

Steve B.

[Richard J Kinch]

Not a huge job, especially compared to the scale of work involved in prepping for the replastering. When it comes to concrete and plaster, you subtract with powered chisels, and add with new mud. You're free to remove and reconfigure things. It's just a steel pot stuck in a hole. A new light is going to run $100s, though. Search

with keywords "pool light" for typical parts and pricing.

Dunno about the conduit problems. I would stick with 12 volts if that simplifies the (re-)installation.