A town near here had to sue an electrical contractor because the contractor used grc instead of red brass to hook up some lights. There was a rumor going around here that the contractor painted the grc red. The city quit using the lights because they filled with rust and feard that they might electrocuit someone.
Sadly a couple of kids drowned in the pool the first week of the trial. I don't think they determined that they drowned due to lack of light but it was suspected.
A pool is not a place to cut corners or take a guess at how to do things.
They do it here in a few jurisdictions, honestly it's a giant PITA. I say that because its cut throat and money motivated not safety motivated. I worked for larger pool company and did theirs for about 3 years but I guess that because I actually checked stuff and wrote up repair lists and would not sign off until fixed. I guess I'm not good for their business.
While the root causes of both electrocutions may prove to be different — and remain to be clarified within a legal framework — the incidents appear similar in one respect: They point to a likely blend of negligence, incompetence, and ignorance — a potentially lethal combination when working with a pool’s electrical infrastructure. In a larger sense, the electrocutions serve as a reminder of what’s at stake when pools are designed, installed, and maintained — not to mention the need for safe components, competent personnel, and routine maintenance.
Small pools and spas can use fiber optic stuff. The requirements to have pool lighting is so people can see the bottom when diving, the steps etc., at night time.
Nothing wrong with 120 v lighting if installed correctly. Older pools with rusted GRC, deck boxes that have turned to dust inside, lights with no GFCI, and lighting poles that are ungrounded are a major problem. The fact that the GFCI will not hold on a retrofit, and that the customer continues to use the light instead of disconnecting resulted in child and father both dying from electrocution in a pool recently.
Commercial pools require lighting, CA State Law requires GFCI retrofit but not for SFD.
I recall reading about the lawsuit over the electrocution in Houston. http://ecmweb.com/around-circuit/settlement-reached-hilton-pool-death Also I have a presentation from IAEI on swimming pools that is 324 slides long (based on '08 code) if anyone is interested; it's too large to attach. Swimming anyone? (image from Jim Phillips)
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