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Electrical Hook Up


Islasue

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I was reading about the jacuzzi j-325 and it says you can use a regular 120 volt outlet. So, does this mean I can just use the electrical outlet on the outside of my house? I was going to have a 50 amp 240 line with disconnect installed, but maybe I don't have to? I'm not sure what a disconnect is, so would I have this on my 120 volt outlet and/or do I need it? Thanks!

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You may or may not be able to use it. The circuit must be dedicated, of the proper ampacity and GFCI protected. It's probably GFCI protected OK, but it may not be dedicated or have the correct ampacity.

John

I was reading about the jacuzzi j-325 and it says you can use a regular 120 volt outlet. So, does this mean I can just use the electrical outlet on the outside of my house? I was going to have a 50 amp 240 line with disconnect installed, but maybe I don't have to? I'm not sure what a disconnect is, so would I have this on my 120 volt outlet and/or do I need it? Thanks!

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IN colder areas if you soak for more than about 15-20 minutes you will likely want the heater to work with the jets though. Otherwise the temp of the water can drop pretty fast when cold out especially when there is a wind too.

I believe that a 240v setup will actually use less energy and will heat up the water after each fill much faster also. To do a 240v run you need an open spot on the breaker panel in the house so you can have a dedicated line, and you will need to get a disconnect box with a GFCI breaker out near the tub (but at least 5' from the tub for safety reasons). You can get the Spa Disconnect boxes at Home Depot pretty cheap as that is where I got mine for about $50.00 which includes the GFCI breaker too:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100686230/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=spa+disconnect&jspStoreDir=hdusΝ=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search

I recommend you run 6-3 cable both from the indoor breaker panel to the spa disconnect, and also then bury it in conduit from the disconnect to the spa. You will also need to run conduit on the outside from the disconnect to the spa to protect the wire and anyone/anything that might come in contact with the wire. I also ran conduit from the exit point of the house to the disconnect box because the exit point was easier where I had it come out of the house and then run to the disconnect box more than 5' away from the tub.

Here are some of the conduit items you will need:

The LB connection for where the cable comes out of the house. You might also need this where the conduit comes into the deck for the spa as well:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202043405/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You will need a few of these to attach the conduit along the deck and possibly the house as well (this is a box of 100 so you can buy them individually to attach about every 3-4 feet of the copnduit run:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BuildLinkToHomeDepot?linktype=product&id=202361722&MERCH=REC-_-product-3-_-1;conduit;202043405-_-202361722-_-N

This for any bends in the conduit:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202043344/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

This is the conduit you would need:

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Conduit/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbohl/R-202295893/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You will also need the glue to chemically weld these connections together and couplers at the disconnect for the cable going into it and the cable coming out of it as well.

The most expensive thing is the 6-3 NM-B wire. It must be all copper wire (not aluminum with copper coating) like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202316279/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=032886263705&jspStoreDir=hdusΝ=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=THDStoreFinder

I only paid $202.00 for it in October 2010 but the price of copper must have gone up as it is now $248.00 now. I believe you can buy it in custom lengths as well if you do not need anywhere near that amount, but I used over 75' all together so I just got this as it was close to the same price and my bro-in-law wanted some for when he bought a spa so I got this length already packaged up.

Hope this helps!

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There are a few potential issues with your selection and recommendation of NM-B. First and foremost, NM-B is not legal for the outdoor portion of a hot tub wiring run as of the 2005 NEC, even if it is in conduit. It is legal for the indoor portion of the wiring run provided that it's use is also allowed for other reasons. Another big problem with NM-B is that it is a 60 degree C rated wire, while many hot tub manufacturers require the use of 75, 90 or even 105 C rated wiring. Even NM-B stamped as 90 C must be rated per NEC as a 60 C conductor for purposes of wire sizing. Any higher rating can only be used for de-rating purposes. Therefore, any use of NM-B is illegal if the tub installation instructions specifically state a requirement for a higher rating.

I didn't bother to actually calculate the conductor "fill percentage" for your NM-B 6-3 w/ground in your recommended 1 inch conduit, but suspect you are probably in violation of the fill percentage rule. You should probably re-examine this in your own installation, as it has important ramifications with regard to potential overheating of the conductors.

John

IN colder areas if you soak for more than about 15-20 minutes you will likely want the heater to work with the jets though. Otherwise the temp of the water can drop pretty fast when cold out especially when there is a wind too.

I believe that a 240v setup will actually use less energy and will heat up the water after each fill much faster also. To do a 240v run you need an open spot on the breaker panel in the house so you can have a dedicated line, and you will need to get a disconnect box with a GFCI breaker out near the tub (but at least 5' from the tub for safety reasons). You can get the Spa Disconnect boxes at Home Depot pretty cheap as that is where I got mine for about $50.00 which includes the GFCI breaker too:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100686230/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=spa+disconnect&jspStoreDir=hdusΝ=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search

I recommend you run 6-3 cable both from the indoor breaker panel to the spa disconnect, and also then bury it in conduit from the disconnect to the spa. You will also need to run conduit on the outside from the disconnect to the spa to protect the wire and anyone/anything that might come in contact with the wire. I also ran conduit from the exit point of the house to the disconnect box because the exit point was easier where I had it come out of the house and then run to the disconnect box more than 5' away from the tub.

Here are some of the conduit items you will need:

The LB connection for where the cable comes out of the house. You might also need this where the conduit comes into the deck for the spa as well:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202043405/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You will need a few of these to attach the conduit along the deck and possibly the house as well (this is a box of 100 so you can buy them individually to attach about every 3-4 feet of the copnduit run:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BuildLinkToHomeDepot?linktype=product&id=202361722&MERCH=REC-_-product-3-_-1;conduit;202043405-_-202361722-_-N

This for any bends in the conduit:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202043344/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

This is the conduit you would need:

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Conduit/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbohl/R-202295893/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You will also need the glue to chemically weld these connections together and couplers at the disconnect for the cable going into it and the cable coming out of it as well.

The most expensive thing is the 6-3 NM-B wire. It must be all copper wire (not aluminum with copper coating) like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202316279/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=032886263705&jspStoreDir=hdusΝ=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=THDStoreFinder

I only paid $202.00 for it in October 2010 but the price of copper must have gone up as it is now $248.00 now. I believe you can buy it in custom lengths as well if you do not need anywhere near that amount, but I used over 75' all together so I just got this as it was close to the same price and my bro-in-law wanted some for when he bought a spa so I got this length already packaged up.

Hope this helps!

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IN colder areas if you soak for more than about 15-20 minutes you will likely want the heater to work with the jets though. Otherwise the temp of the water can drop pretty fast when cold out especially when there is a wind too.

I believe that a 240v setup will actually use less energy and will heat up the water after each fill much faster also. To do a 240v run you need an open spot on the breaker panel in the house so you can have a dedicated line, and you will need to get a disconnect box with a GFCI breaker out near the tub (but at least 5' from the tub for safety reasons). You can get the Spa Disconnect boxes at Home Depot pretty cheap as that is where I got mine for about $50.00 which includes the GFCI breaker too:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100686230/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=spa+disconnect&jspStoreDir=hdusΝ=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search

I recommend you run 6-3 cable both from the indoor breaker panel to the spa disconnect, and also then bury it in conduit from the disconnect to the spa. You will also need to run conduit on the outside from the disconnect to the spa to protect the wire and anyone/anything that might come in contact with the wire. I also ran conduit from the exit point of the house to the disconnect box because the exit point was easier where I had it come out of the house and then run to the disconnect box more than 5' away from the tub.

Here are some of the conduit items you will need:

The LB connection for where the cable comes out of the house. You might also need this where the conduit comes into the deck for the spa as well:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202043405/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You will need a few of these to attach the conduit along the deck and possibly the house as well (this is a box of 100 so you can buy them individually to attach about every 3-4 feet of the copnduit run:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BuildLinkToHomeDepot?linktype=product&id=202361722&MERCH=REC-_-product-3-_-1;conduit;202043405-_-202361722-_-N

This for any bends in the conduit:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202043344/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

This is the conduit you would need:

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Conduit/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbohl/R-202295893/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You will also need the glue to chemically weld these connections together and couplers at the disconnect for the cable going into it and the cable coming out of it as well.

The most expensive thing is the 6-3 NM-B wire. It must be all copper wire (not aluminum with copper coating) like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202316279/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=032886263705&jspStoreDir=hdusΝ=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=THDStoreFinder

I only paid $202.00 for it in October 2010 but the price of copper must have gone up as it is now $248.00 now. I believe you can buy it in custom lengths as well if you do not need anywhere near that amount, but I used over 75' all together so I just got this as it was close to the same price and my bro-in-law wanted some for when he bought a spa so I got this length already packaged up.

Hope this helps!

can't really agree with you 6-3 NM-B is not even really made to be pulled through a conduit (used indoor almost exclusively) which I assume is why you needed overkill with a 1" conduit otherwise you would need a bulldozer and a lot of electrician lube to pull 75' of wire through a standard 3/4" conduit, also as n1oty said above you have to make sure the wire has a proper temp. rating

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PEASE let me quote OP Newbie: "I'm not sure what a disconnect is..."

When Newbie says something like this, the appropriate advice is : Get someone who does. (Probably your local spa-savvy electrician)

All that said, I appreciate the discussion above for those of us who may be a little more spa-savvy.

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