"SkyCatcher" wrote in message
...

I just got some low votage (24v dc) lighting for my pond. The instructions
say that the connections for the lights to the 24v supply cable must be
made out of the water. This makes it virtually impossible for me to set
them up as I want to.

Does anyone knbow if this is essential? Will the fish be subjected to a
low votage leak if I do make the connections underwater? Will the lights
just fuse?


24v dc? The ones sold in America, in particular Intermatic/Malibu low
voltage lights I believe are 12 v ac. The connections have to be made above
the water line because the connectors are just vampire taps. You place the
wire between the two halves of the connector, and squeeze the connector
shut. Two blades inside the connector cut through the insulation and make
contact with the wire..

If it was below water, the connection would quickly corrode and the water
would cause a short circuit.

Look for something like this:
http://www.intermatic.com/?action=prod&pid=72

I made my pond light out of a sealed beam car headlamp, car headlamps are
much brighter, bulb lasts longer, and cheaper. Just solder the wires to the
terminals on the headlamp, and cover the connection and terminals with a
good thick coating of aquarium caulking.

Sealed beam headlamps come as low beam, or high beam, or low/high beam
combined. I recommend the low/high beam combined version if your
transformer has the capacity, you get a brighter and wider beam pattern.

The high or low only bulbs have two terminals the high/low bulbs have 3
terminals. One terminal is low beam +, one is high beam + and the other is
the common/ground. If memory serves me correctly the terminals look like
this
(Low) (High)
(Gnd)


-S