HI sued in Miami

Miami Herald reported family sues pool builder, pool maintenance co. and HI for death of son who was electrocuted from an overheated pool light. Pool builder has denied responsibility. Pool inspections have always concerned me for this very reason. Often it can be difficult to truly determine if the light is grounded and I have no idea how you may determine if the pool light is overheating. Interestingly enough, just about 5 months ago, we lost referrals from a brokerage because we reported an ungrounded pool light - agent said "it was not a home inspectors business to report such things on a HI". We advised the buyer it was not safe for her daughter to swim until it was repaired. We were doing 8 inspections a month with them and we were dropped for this report. Buyer thanked us, bought the house and had the pool grounded - REA still won't refer us.

What are my fellow inspectors doing to verify pool grounds?

Nothing? How would you verify besides checking to make sure the wiring in the panel is hooked up to a ground. How do you know the ground wire running from the conduit to the light isn't cut. What if it's not hooked up behind the light. Nothing you can do but cross your fingers and keep on moving. We're inspectors not superhuman machines capable of the impossible

We explain that the pool inspection is visual in nature and that if they want more in depth inspection to bring in a pool specialist. There is no way for us to really tell is the pool light is grounded. Second most of the pools we inspect the pool lights don't work anyway.

Your inspection contract should protect you from anything like this from occurring.

For a long time now, pool and spa lights have been low (12) volts.

I don't see an issue unless the pool is extremely old. If there is a pool light XMR present, could there be a safety issue?

Perhaps we can get Joe Tedesco to advise.

Pete Campbell wrote:For a long time now, pool and spa lights have been low (12) volts.

I don't see an issue unless the pool is extremely old. If there is a pool light XMR present, could there be a safety issue?

Perhaps we can get Joe Tedesco to advise.

the voltage feed is 110/220 to the step down. if the step down fails, you have 110 in the water (as explained to me)

Specific details are covered in 680.23 in the NEC.

Joe,
Do you have any inspection recommendations for HI's on pools?

William Chandler wrote:Joe,
Do you have any inspection recommendations for HI's on pools?

Offer your services only to verify that the pool was properly installed and inspected by the local building department. Understanding the NEC Article 680 rules would require detailed knowledge of these types of installations. I wonder if there are any SOP's that cover all of the details for the proper electrical inspection of equipment covered by the scope of Article 680?

Joe Tedesco wrote:Specific details are covered in 680.23 in the NEC.

Joe, below is what we are looking to learn, not necessarily code references:

Pete Campbell wrote:
For a long time now, pool and spa lights have been low (12) volts.

I don't see an issue unless the pool is extremely old. If there is a pool light XMR present, could there be a safety issue?

Perhaps we can get Joe Tedesco to advise.

the voltage feed is 110/220 to the step down. if the step down fails, you have 110 in the water (as explained to me)

Learning what to inspect and how to determine if the equipment is safe must be done by those who have knowledge of the documents that are used. This includes the NEC there is no simple cheat sheet and it is probably better to attend a seminar that will cover the many rules that must be followed.

We're putting together a one hour pool inspection course for Home Inspection University. We'll have you covered on all fronts.

William Chandler wrote:

Pete Campbell wrote:

the voltage feed is 110/220 to the step down. if the step down fails, you have 110 in the water (as explained to me)

PX Transformer Series
PX600S

These Safety Transformers are specifically designed to supply 12 volts to pool/spa lights, submersible fixtures and outdoor garden lights. A grounded shield between the primary and secondary windings assures safe operation and the built-in circuit protection will disconnect power to the transformer in case of defect or overload.