Help turning a porch light into an outlet...

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inanium

New User
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Occupation
Layman
Hi folks,

I need some help converting an existing porch light into an outdoor rated outlet. The existing porch light is attached to a round box in an exterior stucco wall.

My first thought is that I should break away the stucco, replace the round box with a proper outlet box, patch the stucco, and install an outdoor rated outlet + outlet cover. It would be nice to preserve the existing round box though, in case a future owner wants a standard light installed again.

Second thought was to use one of the sketchy, possibly not code compliant, adapters like the TayMac PRBA400G and put the outlet + outlet cover on that.

Another option would be to just attach a surface mount round box over the existing, in-wall outlet box and run a short piece of conduit over to a surface mount outlet box. I'm less thrilled about that due to aesthetics.

Any thoughts here? This seems like a common problem with more folks wanting things like string lights instead of traditional porch light fixtures.

I'll have to convert the whole circuit to GFCI most likely as I think I can't get away with installing an outdoor rated GFCI as it would be out of reach and require a step ladder to perform the routine testing.

What do y'all go with for exterior sealants? The box is under a large eave and well protected but I'd still like to seal it. 100% silicone or is there a decent option that's paintable?

Thanks for any help.
 
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