Posted: 5/7/2026 8:09:14 AM EDT
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Ok, do ANY of you guys know anything about inground pool lights? I've got the Pentair AmerLite in-ground pool lights, and I can't for the life of me get the light assembly (not the niche or the cable conduit) to actually seal and not leak.  I've gone through 4 gaskets at this point. I've scoured the mating surfaces, played with tightness of the ring bolt, tried 2 different gasket manufacturers (I've got a Pentair branded one coming to try next). I even used a light coating of silicone on the mating surfaces. I've checked where the cord enters the assembly and just to be really sure I've siliconed where it enters as well. I've checked for cracks/holes in the housing and lens. Thankfully, I keep testing it by submerging the re-assembled assembly for 10 min, then checking for leakage (which there's been every time), rather than just installing it and letting it sit for a day. So at least I've kept the socket clean and the bulb from blowing. If the Pentair gasket doesn't work, I'm just about at the point of slathering the lens/gasket/bracket with a whole tube of silicone and saying screw it. IT works or it doesn't but either way it'll just sit until I can replace the whole light assembly (which I can't do right now). Do any of you guys have any insight or tips!!?? |
Joined:
Mar 2026
Posts:
14
EE: 0% (0)
FL, USA
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Why are you not replacing the unit with a safer, more efficient, and multi-functional LED? https://www.cosmicdesign.studio/post/are-swimming-pool-lights-safe-understanding-pool-lighting-technology |
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Yes, time for a new light. When i run across those issues, pull the light and replace. Get a jandy or pentair new one. The 120v watercolor/led are great. If you get a jandy and have a service pro install ityou should get a 3 yr warranty. If you do it yourself put dish soap down the conduit to make the cord slip right out. I tie old lighting cable around the old fixture and aright pull. I've put several of these in with the caveat it's Chinese, might last 6 months might last a decade. One set is going on 18 months no issue, since i first found this brand. Cable is smaller also, so easy to pull. SURAIELEC 10 Inch pool light On amazon |
| I fully intend to pull the lights and replace them, (there's 2 in the pool and 1 in the spa) but right NOW, I just can't swing the expense. The other 2 are completely OOC, so they are disconnected in the junction box, and I'm just trying to keep the final one going for the time being until I finish a couple other FAR higher priority money-sinks. |
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Originally Posted By 31985grs: You appear to have try everything to fix it but it seems that you haven't actually found where the leak is? Out of curiosity have you tried using a little food coloring to actually pin point the spot where it is leaking? I did, but the rate of leak is so small that the coloring is swept away naturally before a clear leak point becomes evident. Based on the lens and housing being physically intact, I'm tending towards the gasket (or the instalation of said gasket), which is why I'm ordering a name-brand one to try. |
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Originally Posted By 31985grs: Ok. I only ask because one other overlooked random area is sometimes the screw hole? The screw hole doesn't penetrate into the housing of the light assembly. The leak isn't in the niche, where water is disapearing from the pool (which is apparently the more common issue according to a YouTube search). It's a leak INTO the light, which eventually shorts out the assembly, blows the breaker, and destroys the bulb. |
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Originally Posted By lb6r: Yes, time for a new light. When i run across those issues, pull the light and replace. Get a jandy or pentair new one. The 120v watercolor/led are great. If you get a jandy and have a service pro install ityou should get a 3 yr warranty. If you do it yourself put dish soap down the conduit to make the cord slip right out. I tie old lighting cable around the old fixture and aright pull. I've put several of these in with the caveat it's Chinese, might last 6 months might last a decade. One set is going on 18 months no issue, since i first found this brand. Cable is smaller also, so easy to pull. SURAIELEC 10 Inch pool light On amazon Have not had good luck with Pentair lights. Saw on Reddirt or Troublefree pools one guy had his replaced every season and warranty is about to expire so he's going with the Chinesium. My wife wants me to replace our lights but I dont want to spend Pentair money. I have 2 Pentair LED's, and a Chinese LED/bubbler in sundeck as our pool was built at beginning of COVID and we got tired of waiting for the Pentair. Chinese one is only one still working, and its acting wonky. Gonna look at the one you posted. |
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Well crap. Pentair branded gasket with pristine mating surfaces. Tight but not overly tight band. Periodic pressing on the lens/gasket/ring to make sure the band was taking up slack. Still leaked. Try again, but tighten the band almost until each side is touching.... Still leaked. Screw it. Now I've literally glued the gasket to the lens with half a tube of underwater silicone sealant, and when it dries tomorrow morning, I'm going to do the same again with the seams of the gasket on both sides, all around the lens. Then when THAT dries, I'm going to glue the gasket and lens TO the housing. When THAT dries, then I'll assemble the rest of it, put it in the niche, and if it works.... great. If it doesn't, F-it. I guess it'll just be an epoxied together unit that I'll yank out completely later. |