Submersible light potting compound - removable?

[MarkyMarkNC]

I have a customer that has two fountains on their property with four 120V brass submersible fixtures in each. I was called out to check on one of them that was not working. I found that the one not working was only reading < 80 volts at the lamp shell. Pulled the lamp shell out, and everything looked ok on it. Told the customer I needed to check out the submersible JB, figuring it might be a loose or improperly made up connection, or damage to the cord, so I came back a few days later after they drained the fountain.

Well, they drained the fountain, and I opened up the JB, and all the connections looked fine. The cord showed no sign of damage, but the problem is somewhere between the JB and the lampshell. The only problem is, the connection from the cord conductors to the lamp shell conductors is encased in potting compound. There is a little cut-out in the fixture about 1" x 1 1/2" x 2" that is filled up with it.

I priced a new fixture for him, but he asked if it would be possible to repair the existing fixture. A new fixture is about $500.00 my cost, and would not be an exact match, so I see his concern. So my question is, is that potting compound removable? The only way to change out the cord, or fix the connections at the fixture, would be to remove that stuff. I would be replacing the lamp shell anyway, and the entire rest of the fixture body is made of brass, so if there was a way of melting it, or chipping it out, I think it would be do-able albeit time consuming. Anyone had to remove this stuff before?

 

[LJSMITH1]

I have a customer that has two fountains on their property with four 120V brass submersible fixtures in each. I was called out to check on one of them that was not working. I found that the one not working was only reading < 80 volts at the lamp shell. Pulled the lamp shell out, and everything looked ok on it. Told the customer I needed to check out the submersible JB, figuring it might be a loose or improperly made up connection, or damage to the cord, so I came back a few days later after they drained the fountain.

Well, they drained the fountain, and I opened up the JB, and all the connections looked fine. The cord showed no sign of damage, but the problem is somewhere between the JB and the lampshell. The only problem is, the connection from the cord conductors to the lamp shell conductors is encased in potting compound. There is a little cut-out in the fixture about 1" x 1 1/2" x 2" that is filled up with it.

I priced a new fixture for him, but he asked if it would be possible to repair the existing fixture. A new fixture is about $500.00 my cost, and would not be an exact match, so I see his concern. So my question is, is that potting compound removable? The only way to change out the cord, or fix the connections at the fixture, would be to remove that stuff. I would be replacing the lamp shell anyway, and the entire rest of the fixture body is made of brass, so if there was a way of melting it, or chipping it out, I think it would be do-able albeit time consuming. Anyone had to remove this stuff before?

I would not do it as it will most likely result in damaging the cordset and the fixture - not to mention voiding a UL listing. Whenever I had a situation with potted components, especially expensive ones, I contacted the manufacturer and made a case that the product was defective. If the item is not that old, they have been known to replace at little to no charge. You have nothing to lose except a phonecall.

 

[MarkyMarkNC]

No, these are like 25 year old fixtures, so I'm pretty sure the warranty is up. I'm not even sure who the manufacturer is, though I didn't really look that closely. It may be stamped into the brass somewhere.

Good point about the UL listing though. I'll use that on trying to sell them a new one.

I'm going to be working close by tomorrow, so I may swing by there and take a few pictures to show a little better what I am describing.