Swimming pool lights burning out & Saftey question

[papersource]

Hello,

I am not smart about pools(this is my first) and especially not smart about electricty.

My problem is that my 2 swimming pool lights keep buring out. I just had both replaced and they lasted only one night this last time! They seem to burn out together and it seems like a short or something. I just bought this house in Mae Phim Rayong and am not sure how to fix this light problem. They are the tiny bulbs not the LED type.

I am really tired of this problem as they used to last only 3 months but now this last time only 24 hours. Some water does leak into the light fixture ( but not sure if this is normal or not)I have read some posts here on thaivisa where some guys have had a good eperience with JD pools so I am going to contact them and maybe try and put in LED lights.

But my larger question is about Ground fault for the lights. There is no GFCI for the lights or pool. The local pool guy never heard of it(he's Thai) and says no worries because it is only 12 VAC??

I do not like this at all and do not care about the cost and want GFCI switch if that is something you guys think should be standard or if it is even available in Thailand?

I know that a gfci is required by law in the USA just for an electrical plug in the bathroom id it is near a sink so can't figure out how they negelected this for my swimming pool?? Should my pool have a ground fault switch for the pool lights?

Any advice is most appreciated. Thanks!

[Crossy]

Are you using the correct rating lamps? Using lamps which are too low a power (Watts) may allow the transformer to over-volt them, leading the reduced life.

Water getting in is not going to do halogen lamps a lot of good, replacing them with LEDs will reduce the power consumption, but they don't like water either.

Probably best to replace the units and their supply transformer. Add an RCBO (that's a GFCI) in front of the transformer for safety.

[Chaichara]

Indeed, replacing them with LED lights is the obvious solution. Most manufacturers are gradually phasing out their Halogen bulb models.

Quality LED panels are sealed in resin and are 100% waterproof. Claimed to last for 22,000 hours or more (that's about 10 years of pool illumination time).

[craigt3365]

I went through this for years. Even had a "dark" pool for almost a year as I was just too upset having to constantly change the expensive halogen bulbs. Even changed one whole fixture out...didn't work.

So...bit the bullet and went LED. Knock on wood, I'm 1 year with no problems. And run them 6-8 hours a night due to the low costs. Love having lights in the pool! The LED fixtures weren't cheap, but shop around. I did and eventually saved a fair amount of money over the higher priced shops....

[Sealbash]

I went through this for years. Even had a "dark" pool for almost a year as I was just too upset having to constantly change the expensive halogen bulbs. Even changed one whole fixture out...didn't work.

So...bit the bullet and went LED. Knock on wood, I'm 1 year with no problems. And run them 6-8 hours a night due to the low costs. Love having lights in the pool! The LED fixtures weren't cheap, but shop around. I did and eventually saved a fair amount of money over the higher priced shops....

Not meaning to pry, but what was the cost of the LED lights? Are they white, or change color? What part of Thailand were they purchased in?

[craigt3365]

Not prying at all! I think we paid 7,200B for 2. They change colors. At first, I didn't like it, but now it's OK. They only had these in stock.

I got them at a shop just outside Pattaya. Maybe search in lazada or on ebay?

[Sealbash]

Not prying at all! I think we paid 7,200B for 2. They change colors. At first, I didn't like it, but now it's OK. They only had these in stock.

I got them at a shop just outside Pattaya. Maybe search in lazada or on ebay?

Thank you for the information. I prefer to deal directly with a vendor face to face. Whether or not it is true, it gives me the feeling of being able to talk to someone in person should any problems arise, even if the cost is a bit higher. Unlike many on TVF, I have found Thai vendors to support the products they sell.

[craigt3365]

If you are not here in Pattaya, I'm sure this pool company would ship either COD or with a credit card payment. They seem to be a pretty large company.

[Sealbash]

If you are not here in Pattaya, I'm sure this pool company would ship either COD or with a credit card payment. They seem to be a pretty large company.

I am in the Jomtien area. Home and Pool (if I can say that here), built our pool About 12 years ago, and did an excellent job

[craigt3365]

Yes, Home and Pool are very good...though on the expensive side. This place is up by where you use to get the freeway (36) to Bangkok, before the shortcut. It's on the inland side just before highway 36. You have to do the u-turn circuit to get to it.

Best price I found in Pattaya, and I checked around a bunch. You do know about that place on Thepprasit on the left about 200M before Thappraya?

[Sealbash]

I have not been there, but will check it out when I am next in the area. Thanks

[papersource]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. Today I went over to JD Pools in Rayong. Their Chang is coming over on Monday to check out my pool lighting system. But I think that I am probably going to have them install some LED lights (with 7 colors however that works) and I am going to insist that they install an RCBO also.

The cost is damn expensive at 10500 or so per light. But their is not much choice in Rayong and I do not have the skill or patience to shop around and do it myself.

JD Pools was much more helpful than the other pool shops in Rayong. I had never been there before.

[craigt3365]

Ours are 7 colors also, kinda just rotate through them automatically. You might be getting the ones with a remote control?? They are a lot more expensive.

Interesting article:

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Underwater-Pool-Lights-Buying-Guide-/10000000177632829/g.html

You might also want to consider this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/36W-12leds-IP68-LED-Swimming-Pool-Light-Wall-mounted-Underwater-Light-AC-12V-/221705144622?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item339ea8092e

I've ordering stuff off ebay recently with good success from Hong Kong. All of my things have been small, but even if you have to pay customs, sounds like a lot cheaper than the price you are being quoted. They are really easy to install also....I'm guessing your pool guy would do it for 1-2k Baht???

[asapbuilders]

If you're going to order lights on eBay and Lazada, make sure that you are getting quality lights that are really designed for pools. There are a lot of sellers out there that will sell you sub-standard pool equipment, so make sure you get one from a reputable seller.

Also, make sure that the installation is handled by experts so that no additional problems come up later on. Hope everything is okay now.