Can air holes in pool light case be closed?

[ChomDo]

Just a simple question I would need an answer to before I refill my pool. Can the small air holes in the pool light case be closed or are they there for some important reason? Why they are now sealed with tile grout/powder lining is a long story but I just need to know if it makes any difference to the function of the lamp itself? Normally these holes allow the water to flow freely behind and around the sealed lamp. I read somewhere that it's just for the lamp to stay cooler but this is a 12W LED lamp so I don't see the sense to that anyway because LED lamps don't get hot right?  

 

 

[maxpower]

Just wandered in here curious about your post.
Not sure about your air hole problem but what I can tell you is LED's used in lighting do get hot and need to get that heat away. The life of LED lamps can be greatly reduced by poor cooling. So I guess water flow around your light will improve lamp cooling.

[ChomDo]

12 hours ago, maxpower said:

Just wandered in here curious about your post.
Not sure about your air hole problem but what I can tell you is LED's used in lighting do get hot and need to get that heat away. The life of LED lamps can be greatly reduced by poor cooling. So I guess water flow around your light will improve lamp cooling.

Ok I didn't know that. So you think it could be dangerous or just reduce the life of the LED bulb? I just wonder what's the difference to those garden spotlights that are also fully sealed and water proof. They also use LED or even halogen lamps.

[SwimmingPoolsThailand]

The body of garden lights is usually a heavy aluminium heat sink. Underwater LED pool lights do get hot and they rely on the water for cooling. They should not be switched on for more than a few seconds if there is no water in the pool. Under normal circumstances the LED panels of quality brands should last for up to about 22,000  hours.

[ChomDo]

7 minutes ago, SwimmingPoolsThailand said:

The body of garden lights is usually a heavy aluminium heat sink. Underwater LED pool lights do get hot and they rely on the water for cooling. They should not be switched on for more than a few seconds if there is no water in the pool. Under normal circumstances the LED panels of quality brands should last for up to about 22,000  hours.

Ok thanks for this but could you tell me if should then crack open the little air holes in the pool light case so that the water can flow behind the light freely? The guys who sorted out the lamp covered all those little air holes with tile grout. 

[SwimmingPoolsThailand]

You should remove the grout from the holes or slots in the plastic casing. Depending on the brand/design and how they  are mounted on  their brackets, there may be an air gap of a millimetre or two between the light body and the wall. Clear away any grout.

[ChomDo]

4 minutes ago, SwimmingPoolsThailand said:

You should remove the grout from the holes or slots in the plastic casing. Depending on the brand/design and how they  are mounted on  their brackets, there may be an air gap of a millimetre or two between the light body and the wall. Clear away any grout.

Ok thanks I'll do that. I guess the thought behind that was just to have one more protection from any possible leak behind the light.

[SwimmingPoolsThailand]

If the pool was constructed correctly, there should be no leaks. The light body is fully independent of the pool construction.

[Currumbin]

On ‎23‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 2:09 PM, ChomDo said:

Ok I didn't know that. So you think it could be dangerous or just reduce the life of the LED bulb? I just wonder what's the difference to those garden spotlights that are also fully sealed and water proof. They also use LED or even halogen lamps.

Once the light body fills with water the air will stop coming out. Problem solved.

[ChomDo]

2 hours ago, Currumbin said:

Once the light body fills with water the air will stop coming out. Problem solved.

Sorry, didn't get the point here? All the air holes were covered with tile grout so that water could't go in around the lamp. Of course the grout won't be fully water proof so I'm sure the lamp is surrounded by water anyway. I will still take the grout of the air holes as suggested here.     

[SwimmingPoolsThailand]

12 hours ago, ChomDo said:

Sorry, didn't get the point here? All the air holes were covered with tile grout so that water could't go in around the lamp. Of course the grout won't be fully water proof so I'm sure the lamp is surrounded by water anyway. I will still take the grout of the air holes as suggested here.     

The plastic housing is ony really a decorative shroud and depending on  the design it  may  have the mounting  lugs for attachment to the bracket on the wall. It is not part of the electrical equipment. The actual lamp parts are inside and are sealed against ingress of water . It  is essential that  water be allowed to  circulate around it in order to provide cooling. Natural convection will allow the heated water to  escape and be replaced by cool water.

[NYGuy816]

Totally agree. If it has been properly installed, there should be no issues. Otherwise, you can ask your builder if you're a little anxious about it. But typically, it should be okay and won't leak.