Saltwater eating away pool light screw??

[Madty]

I noticed my screw that holds in the pool light was almost disinegrated. The light floated up and all the threads on the screw were gone. I used a stainless screw- what to do..what to do?

[crackerjack]

you sure it's stainless steel, a magnet will not hold most stainless unless it has someother metalic compounds mixed in

[Madty]

I bought a stainless screw at Lowes- a magnet will not pick up

[duraleigh]

If you have a standard inground light niche and fixture, I'm pretty sure that screw is supposed to be brass. That may account for the corrosion.

[crackerjack]

how long did the screw last?
same applies to brass also, non-magnetic
could you have stripped the threads while screwing in?
what kind of shape are the female threads of the fixture in?

[Madty]

Yes, the original was brass- it wasn't long enough to reach into the female part of the niche. I bought a longer stainless steel screw. It was at time hard to screw in so threads may have been stripped a little. I need to get another brass screw. That is probably why much of my white light cover is getting orange rust stains all over the top where the screw goes. Even on the inside- I thought it was the salt, maybe it was the type of screw I used. When I saw the threads were gone, I mean all that's left is a real skinny part of a screw- weird. Does anyone know the standard size screw that goes in a niche? I remember it was metric.