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How to fit a magnetic pool light

Updated: 21 October 2026

You have the box in the garden and the pool is already up. How to fit a magnetic pool light depends on which box it is. An Intex wall set is a transmitter outside a thin non-steel wall and a lamp inside, with the transformer kept far from the water. A rechargeable disc is a dry charge, then a magnet, glue or a holster. This page is the sequence and the point where you stop. The comparison is the [magnetic pool light comparison](/hub/pool-care/magnetic-pool-light). Peter F. followed the Intex WL698 sheet, updated 19 October 2026, and did not fit a lamp in your garden. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have the box in the garden and the pool is already up. How to fit a magnetic pool light depends on which box it is.

Our top picks

Intex Intex magnetic pool-wall light 28698

Best overall

Intex Intex magnetic pool-wall light 28698
8.8/10about £54.95
View offer
TEPENAR TEPENAR magnetic pool light, 1 pack

Best value

TEPENAR TEPENAR magnetic pool light, 1 pack
8.4/10about £19.99
View offer
SoulBay SoulBay magnetic pool lights, 4 pack

Alternative

SoulBay SoulBay magnetic pool lights, 4 pack
8.4/10about £46.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before you open the box
  2. 2.Fitting the Intex wall set
  3. 3.Fitting a rechargeable disc
  4. 4.When to stop

Before you open the box

For an Intex set you need an outdoor socket that is already RCD-protected and more than 3.5 m from the pool edge. The sheet asks for 30 mA. An extension reel is forbidden. The wall has to be a storable above-ground pool, non-steel, 1 mm thick or less. A UK review of the 28698BS says the set does not work on steel. Whether your wall is allowed is on magnetic lights for above-ground pools. UK mains are 230 V and the plug should be BS 1363. One 28698 review says the plug had to be changed. If it is not a UK plug, stop. A disc skips the socket check and still needs a dry place to charge.

Fitting the Intex wall set

Unplug it first. The transmitter goes outside the allowed wall and the lamp goes inside, so the pair meets through the wall. H2O Fun describes 230 V transformed to 12 V DC. The transformer stays out of the water, more than 3.5 m away, on the RCD socket. Do not add an extension lead, a plug-in timer, a travel adaptor or a portable RCD. Controls on the 28698 are on the unit. If the wall is thicker than 1 mm, or you can feel a steel skin, pack the light away. If the cord is cut, crushed or cracked, scrap the appliance.
Intex Intex magnetic pool-wall light 28698

Testsieger

Intex Intex magnetic pool-wall light 28698
8.8/10about £54.95
View offer

Fitting a rechargeable disc

Charge the disc indoors, with the port dry, before it goes near the pool. The lead tops up the cell. It is not the mount. One SoulBay review says the lead is a special two-pin charger, so keep the lead from the box. On steel, a disc magnet can grip the wall. On a vinyl liner with nothing ferrous behind it, it cannot. TEPENAR suction cups fail once wet. The mounts those reviews describe are glue or a washer outside the liner. SANSI magnets came off when the water moved. SoulBay reviews describe a holster, or holders fixed to flat stones. If a disc floats off, take it out and refit it. If water is inside the housing, stop.

When to stop

Stop when the job is electrical work or a damaged mains product. A new outdoor socket is an electrician. A niche in a permanent pool is Section 702 work for an electrician. A cracked Intex housing, water on the mains side, or an RCD that trips at once means unplug and leave it. Scrap a damaged supply cord. Stop if the pool is steel and the only light you own is the Intex pair. A disc that will not hold can be retried with glue or a washer. A mains lamp that has been wet on the transformer side cannot. A disc you charge indoors is still a household job, until the housing has let water in.

Common questions

How far away is the plug?
More than 3.5 m from the pool, which is the distance on the Intex WL698 sheet. The socket should already be RCD-protected at 30 mA and suitable for outdoors. If your socket is closer, do not close the gap with an extension lead. Either use a rechargeable disc or have an electrician move the supply.
Can you use an extension reel?
No. The Intex sheet forbids an extension cord, and it also forbids a timer, a plug adaptor and a portable RCD. A reel on the grass is the mistake the sheet is written to stop. If the socket is too far, the fitting has stopped being a lamp job.
What if the pool is a Graphite Gray panel pool?
The WL698 manual says to remove the relevant side boards before you fit the light. Follow that instruction. Do not drill a new method through the boards. If the boards will not come off, or the wall is steel or thicker than 1 mm, this set is the wrong light.
How do you charge a disc without wetting the port?
Charge it indoors, out of the pool, and only refit it once the port is dry and closed. Do not charge it on the pool edge with wet hands and an open cover. SoulBay may need the lead that came in the box, because one review says it is not a normal USB-C cable. Fit the remote's AAA cells before you rely on the buttons.
What if the suction cups will not hold?
That is the usual TEPENAR review. The cups fail under water and on PVC, and the lamp floats. Use the glue in the box, or a washer outside a liner so the magnet can pull, or a holster where the pack includes one. Take a floating lamp out. Do not keep fishing it off the bottom every length.
When do you stop and call an electrician?
Call one for a new outdoor socket or circuit, for a light in a permanent pool, and when an Intex cord is damaged or the RCD trips as soon as the set is switched on. Also stop if water is in a mains housing. A disc that simply will not stick is a mount change, unless you are about to keep using a lamp that has already leaked.

Related pages

Magnetic pool lights buying guide

Rechargeable disc or Intex wall light

Magnetic pool light

Magnetic lights for above-ground pools by wall type

Best magnetic pool lights and who should skip them

Sources

Public UK and maker sources from the research digest, last checked on 19 October 2026. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines in the display file.

  1. IET Wiring Matters, Section 702 — swimming pools and other basins (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. NAPIT, BS 7671:2018 Section 702 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Intex LED pool-wall light safety rules, model WL698 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Intex Wetset UK magnetic LED pool-wall light (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. H2O Fun, Intex 28698 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. NICEIC garden electrics (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Electrical Safety First, RCD questions (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. IEC 60529 preview — IP code (retrieved 19 October 2026)