Spa Breaker Size, And Breakers Tripping

[pirate]

The spa we got with the house has a few problems. 1st is I want to put in a GFCI breaker, or "GFI disconnect"

Is a breaker better than the disconnect?

Then there is the breakers tripping after 10 seconds of starting up. Pump and motor run and pump and sound fine.

I unplugged the motor/pump, and everything else ran with no tripping. The motor is 7 years old and looks new.

Then I noticed that 1 of the 2, heater element studs, where the wires are attached, was 75% burned away.

Hopefully this connection caused the heater to draw excessive amps and trip the breaker.

Anyone know f it is worthwhile to put a new element in, vs. replacing the heater? I would like to keep from re doing plumbing as much as possible.

[nards444]

the idea of a disconnect is that its at least 5ft from the tub and no more than 15ft from the tub. Thats newer code, old code didnt ask for that. If you have a 240v hot tub your breaker should be on dedicated 50amp line. You could just put a 50amp GFCI in your breaker if you wanted, otherwise just a regular old 50 amp breaker in the main house box then where the tub is buy a disconnect box with a 50amp GFI breaker.

As for your issue, if your wiring is already at 50 amp then i believe its your element that is the issue. Without seeing it, I wouldnt really know what you need to replace.

[Dr. Spa]

Without the pump running, the heater wont operate. Most likely you need to replace at least the bad heater element (you could try disconnecting ALL wires from the element and see if it still trips).

The GFCI breaker should be nearer to the spa (for ease of service). Some type of disconnect needs to be at least 5' from the water line and within visible sight from the spa. Your local municipality MAY requires a "disconnect, rather than just a breaker...may not.