Has anyone here ever heard of sealing the conduit opening in a wet niche housing to prevent the water from filling the conduit back to the J box? I know that the code says the J box has to be a minimum of 4" above the deck level and the ones that I use have a rubber grommet to keep water out as well. Pool installer is telling me that a poorly glued joint is causing the water level to fall,leaking out somewhere under ground. Anybody ever run into this before? Thanks.
Wet niche fixture
- Thread starter nizak
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stickboy1375
Senior Member
- Location
- Litchfield, CT
It is either 4" above the ground level or pool deck, OR 8" above the maximum pool water level, which ever provides the greatest elevation....
I really don't know if they make a product to seal off a raceway, it would need to be removable to replace the light fixture in the future, I personally would dig up the pool light conduit if allowable. Otherwise, ask the pool guy for a conduit seal.
I really don't know if they make a product to seal off a raceway, it would need to be removable to replace the light fixture in the future, I personally would dig up the pool light conduit if allowable. Otherwise, ask the pool guy for a conduit seal.
stickboy1375
Senior Member
- Location
- Litchfield, CT
I saw the plugs, but do they accommodate the #8 bonding wire as well? and that sucks you have to pull the entire cord and #8 through the stopper....
If in fact it is a poorly glued joint it is somewhere under 40' of concrete leading back to the j box. I don't even know how one would go about finding where it was at. The only way i could see a joint failing is if it was broken or became seperated upon backfilling with an over zealous bobcat operator.
stickboy1375
Senior Member
- Location
- Litchfield, CT
I've done a lot of pools and never had this issue before, but with that said, most of the pools have an autofill also... 
so who knows if they leak or not. I do use primer on my pool light conduits, and use sand with for the pool light trenches...
so who knows if they leak or not. I do use primer on my pool light conduits, and use sand with for the pool light trenches...Are you asking about this: 680.23(B)(4): Luminaire (Fixture) Grounding Terminations. The end of the flexible-cord jacket and the flexible-cord conductor terminations within a luminaire (fixture) shall be covered with, or encapsulated in, a suitable potting compound to prevent the entry of water into the luminaire (fixture) through the cord or its conductors. In addition, the grounding connection within a luminaire (fixture) shall be similarly treated to protect such connection from the deteriorating effect of pool water in the event of water entry into the luminaire (fixture).
The seems to be a requirement on the cable and terminations, and not on potting the conduit opening though. Then there's this:
680.24(A)(2)(c): Flush Deck Box. If used on a lighting system operating at 15 volts or less, a flush deck box shall be permitted if both of the following apply:
(1) An approved potting compound is used to fill the box to prevent the entrance of moisture.
(2) The flush deck box is located not less than 1.2 m (4 ft) from the inside wall of the pool.
When people do cannon balls in my pool, it seems to push water up into the light J-box and then the GFCI trips. I covered the conduit opening with potting compound, but I still have the issue. I think I need to just reterminate everything, but the installer didn't leave much wire length to work with.
At least my light conduit doesn't leak. If it is leaking, I don't know why you can't shoot some marine caulk into the conduit to keep the water from leaking out.
The seems to be a requirement on the cable and terminations, and not on potting the conduit opening though. Then there's this:
680.24(A)(2)(c): Flush Deck Box. If used on a lighting system operating at 15 volts or less, a flush deck box shall be permitted if both of the following apply:
(1) An approved potting compound is used to fill the box to prevent the entrance of moisture.
(2) The flush deck box is located not less than 1.2 m (4 ft) from the inside wall of the pool.
When people do cannon balls in my pool, it seems to push water up into the light J-box and then the GFCI trips. I covered the conduit opening with potting compound, but I still have the issue. I think I need to just reterminate everything, but the installer didn't leave much wire length to work with.
At least my light conduit doesn't leak. If it is leaking, I don't know why you can't shoot some marine caulk into the conduit to keep the water from leaking out.
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