[Hisboi L Roi]

Hi all. My questions concern an outdoor light installation where a supposedly knowledgeable installer put in the wrong fixtures for the application and cut off all the grounds.

I recently built a 120' long by 7 foot high masonry fence along one of my property lines. My neighbor wanted to mount lights along the top of the wall, so I routed 12-2 UF cable in the CMU (this is allowable in my jurisdiction). The neighbor chose one of those ubiquitous security fixtures (Lithonia OVT 1501 120) that has a cast aluminum cage around a cylindrical screw-in glass lamp cover, all of which attaches to a gasketed J-box. They are vapor tight but are only rated for ceilings or walls, not as uplights.

The first issue is the fixtures themselves. The glass cover threads into an aluminum base and seats against a neoprene gasket, keeping moisture out of the glass lamp cover. However, when the fixture is mounted in an up position, that same gasket retains water in the socket where the glass threads into the base. The water dissipates either by evaporation or leaks into the J-box if the glass cover isn't properly seated, as was the case in this installation. The neighbor's solution is to drill weep holes and caulk the gap, which will make relamping a joy. This seems like one of those ideas that will work fine until it doesn't anymore. I'm having a hard time convincing him to just get an appropriate fixture.

The second, and bigger issue, is the cut off ground wires. In addition, the hots and neutrals are all only around 1-1/2" long. In a brilliant stroke, the "installer" decided to forego disassembling the fixtures. He simply pulled the fixture wires through the J-box hole, made his connections outside of the fixture, and then attempted to shove the fixture back down over the connections. This ended up nicking the insulation on several of the wires.

The question is how to make a code compliant repair. I'm thinking of hammer drilling a pocket so I can mortar in a weathertight J-box with the open top slightly proud of the cap block. This would give me enough room to splice the ground with a terminal block as well extend the working length of the hots and neutrals. The new fixture could sit atop the J-box, and the splices would be accessible.

Am I being overly cautious on the fixtures? Are there any potential problems with my fix? Thanks in advance for any input on these two issues.

 

[AllanJ]

Who hired the electrician or did the work? Who owns this job?

It is important that the connections not get wet from weather. The fixtures have to be repositioned or sheltered so water and snow does not accumulate where it can seep in. Nicked wires have to be cut off at the nick and the fixtures moved to accommodate this, or the wires replaced. Any splices needed to extend the wires have to be in junction boxes, waterproof in the case of outdoor installation.

Also, fixtures must not be mounted in a position (such as pointing up) that is contrary to the instructions. Otherwise they can overheat including on a hot humid night. They will be okay in the wrong position heat wise if you derate them (by using lamps of lesser wattage) but I don't know how far to derate.

And indoor fixtures may not be installed outdoors at all. Some fixtures can be used outdoors (damp location rated) but in sheltered locations only. Vapor tight is for locations such as spray painting booths with flammable vapors and does not mean watertight. Check the instructions. A decorative hood constructed above each fixture could work out, where wind driven rain won't hit the fixture.

 

[Hisboi L Roi]

Thanks for the reply.

The neighbor hired the "electrician". The wall is on my property, but the neighbor contributed to the costs. The power for the lights is from his panel. It is his job, but I said I would help in the repair if it were code compliant.

The fixtures are rated for wet locations and wall or ceiling mounting only. I have an inquiry to Lithonia on the fixture situation.

I am aware that these splices need to be in accessible junction boxes that are suitable for wet locations. I was planning to recess a deep box in the wall cap, facing up, leaving the lip at least 1/4" proud of the top of the wall. That leaves room to properly splice the grounds and provides enough working length for the nicked conductors.

Are there any problems/ issues with recessing the J-box as opposed to surface mounting it? Mortar and CMU are porous, so prolonged moisture will be present around the outside of the box at times. I plan to seal all the conduit plugs per manufacturer's directions.

 

[J. V.]

First off. Using UF cable embedded in this concrete wall is a NEC violation in itself. 340.12. It may be allowed in your jurisdiction, but it is not compliant as far as the NEC. It was not a good idea to start with. These short cables would have been a non-issue had you used conduit. In this case I side with the NEC.

Second. As you know those "industrial" type fixtures are not designed to be installed in this manner. Besides unless you like the "jailhouse" look, I would have used different fixtures.

Your only recourse is to chip out the masonry, install a metal or plastic box or mount a metal weatherproof box on the surface. The fixture you have will work well with a round Bell box and gasket. They are designed to be used together. You will need enough cable to recover the grounding conductors. (EGC) So chipping out the masonry seems the only way?

If it was my job, the hack that installed this would be paying for at least some of this mess you got. I would find out if he has a license first. If he does, he might just fix this. But it is highly doubtful he has license as a licensed electrician would have not performed this badly.

You are going to need to find a way to keep the recessed boxes from water intrusion. I can say from experience, you will never achieve this with the fixtures you have. I would consider installing a small drain at each fixture to get water away from these upward facing boxes. The right type of fixture will also be a giant help in this regard.