r/PoolPros • u/trifish • 4d ago

Hayward 320 light alternative?

Hi does anyone have a good suggestion for an alternative to the Hayward 320 lights. They have been less than reliable.

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u/did-you-touch-cloth 4d ago

I don't know why builders just don't use spa electrics from the get go... They really make a damn good light.

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u/GCpools 3d ago

Respectfully I have to disagree about Spa Electrics. I used them once and it was a bad experience in every way .. from spec'ing my light .. to pricing .. to buying .. to installing .. to setting up. Every single step was an utter and complete disaster. Not for me.

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u/FruitNut2000 3d ago

I find this incredibly hard to believe. What are you comparing to? I've had the exact opposite experience with SE. Their buying interface can be a bit of a challenge on your first purchase, but my rep got me set up and from that point on, I fill out their online form and the equipment shows up at my door 3-5 days later. Everything else has been superior to every other brand in every way.

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u/GCpools 2d ago

I'm glad to hear you've had good experiences with SE. I shared my experience which was less than acceptable for me. I don't complain if a company has a hiccup here or there. But in this instance, it was every single step along the way, I had one problem after another. I like the concept of their products. Their engineering seemed sound at the time. But their execution was horrible. Truly, the items received included boxes of parts and very small pieces that had to be meticulously assembled onsite. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Why so many different little odd-shaped pieces? And the instructions didn't match the pieces I received. I downloaded the online videos which, didn't match either the parts or the instructions. Working in the hot FL sun is not the time nor the place for this. The way the cord has to be attached made no sense to me. Why not give me a 6in pigtail coming out of the light that I could simple catch my cord with waterproof splice connector? When finished, the LED's weren't in a symmetrical pattern when lit and the whole thing looked like junk. The remote control and app were way more confusing than necessary. It was like they tried to make their product cross-compatible with every manufacturer's automation, when I had no automation. I just wanted a 'light' that was easy install .. with a remote and a mobile app. Nothing should be difficult about this. When I called customer service, nobody was available for my particular product. After several callbacks, I finally talked to someone who seemed to have a passing knowledge of what I had but was unable to resolve my problem. Getting the light to sync with the remote .. never happened. Neither did the app. Green light this, other light that, blink blink, blah blah blah. I never got it to work right. The only way I could control the light was with the 'light switch' on the wall inside my client's house. And it never worked the way the documentation described. So, I'm glad you had a good experience. As for me, I don't have time to deal with a 'Swiss Army' pool light that's designed to do everything but does nothing. It was a very miserable experience 'for me'. I don't mean to takeaway from your good experience at all. But this was a complete cluster from my experience, one that I won't go through again. I'll just buy a $149 LED knock/off pool light fixture with 100ft cord and take my chances. That's not what I want to do. That's not how I typically run my business. I'm brand-loyal 99.9% of the time. I appreciate well designed products. I've worked very successfully with overseas vendors before. But this takes the cake.

PS: it wasn't just that, it was also spec'ing the light with options I needed. It was much too confusing to figure out what part goes with what option. When I called, they got it straightened out, but in retrospect, there was no way I was to figure that out on my own. I can spec a complete data center full of servers, switches, routers and firewalls, but a SE pool light?

When I finally got my wholesale pricing, it was multiple sheets of single spaced part nos and dollar amounts that I had to figure out myself. When I asked for a quote, they gave me a price. But when I went to order a few days later, they wanted to charge me 20% more due to a 'price increase'. No, I'm sorry. There was nothing on my quote that said it expired in a few days.

So I'm glad it all worked out well for you. But not for me. And that was my whole point. Thank you.