No Bonding-Pool Light

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longbody

Member
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Customer's pool light quit working. I have 120 VAC to the termination to the pool light in deck J box. No bonding visible coming from light niche.

I'll have to go back and look but the conduit between niche & J box may be metallic (I think they used brass in our area). It's an old pool so probably so.

If I'm reading 680.23(B) (2) (a) and (b) correctly, a metallic raceway doesn't require the #8 bonding wire but non-metallic does.

My 1st question is: If I install a new 120 VAC light fixture (Pentair IntelliBrite 5G) w/o bonding wire, will the installation meet code (assuming it's a metal raceway)?

Given that it would require major excavation to terminate the bonding wire to the niche, I imagine it would be OK but I want to be sure.

2nd question: 680.23(B) (2) (b) states "...must contain an 8 AWG insulated (solid or stranded) copper bonding jumper...unless a listed low-voltage lighting system not requiring grounding is used. " Does anyone know if the Pentair 12 VAC IntelliBrite 5G requires a ground? The manual is not clear - I emailed Pentair but haven't heard back
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
#1. You answered it yourself. The install would be compliant

#2. This is if the conduit is plastic. If it is then run a number 8 with the cord from the light.

I have not seen a 12 v light that needed a ground.... An equipment grounding conductor is not the same as the bonding tho
 

SSDriver

Senior Member
Location
California
Occupation
Electrician
The pentair 12 V lights do not come with a ground. However you do have to make sure you are connecting it to a transformer that is listed for pool lights. Intermatic makes one specifically for this.

A light nitch will always have two bonding wire Locations. They're bonded on the outside of the niche to the pool shell steel rebar ( You can't see this when the pool is complete). The 2nd bonding lug is on the inside of the light nitch and is only used when there is PVC pipe and a number 8 wire. Old pools will commonly have red brass rigid conduit and the wire is not needed on the inside. If for some reason one had to be added down the road, you could drain the pool, pull the new number 8 in the conduit, and put potting compound on the connection.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

longbody

Member
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
The pentair 12 V lights do not come with a ground. However you do have to make sure you are connecting it to a transformer that is listed for pool lights. Intermatic makes one specifically for this.

A light nitch will always have two bonding wire Locations. They're bonded on the outside of the niche to the pool shell steel rebar ( You can't see this when the pool is complete). The 2nd bonding lug is on the inside of the light nitch and is only used when there is PVC pipe and a number 8 wire. Old pools will commonly have red brass rigid conduit and the wire is not needed on the inside. If for some reason one had to be added down the road, you could drain the pool, pull the new number 8 in the conduit, and put potting compound on the connection.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
I appreciate the info!
 

longbody

Member
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
#1. You answered it yourself. The install would be compliant

#2. This is if the conduit is plastic. If it is then run a number 8 with the cord from the light.

I have not seen a 12 v light that needed a ground.... An equipment grounding conductor is not the same as the bonding tho
Thanks, Dennis!
 
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