[2003 Hot Spring Grandee Tripping]

Drained the tub, refilled, turned tub back on, seems ok for about a minute then trips.

Had to run the tub for an hour after switching over to the Spa Frog chemical system (needed to circulate chlorine). Tub ran, with all jets going, without tripping. Turned the jets off and 2 minutes later it trips. Water seems to have started heating up during this time as well.

Any clues, suggestions?

I did accidently turned the power on while it was empty and realized it about 3 hours later. Could this have burnt something out?

Thanks!!!

Try unplugging the black and white heater leads fron the relay board then turn on your breakers...If it doesn't trip the heater is bad..Hope this helps..Mike

[Heater Not Working On 95' Hotspring Grandee]

I checked that when I turn heat ON, that the plug then goes from 0.F to 120V (or in that area). So that portion seems good.

I checked that I can get continuity on the flow, high and low. I don't know if this is an adequate test for these thermistors to simply plug in to black/red and check.

An adequate test for the thermistors is a resitance test...The resistance rating however is determined by the temp of your water. I do have a chart we use so put your meter on 20k, then get your ohm reading...If you like take note of both water temp and the resistance reading i can tell you if they are bad..An amp draw test is almost a sure way to know if your heaters bad however you need to know if your t-stats of thermistors are good so check them first and let me know.

set meter on on 20k under ohms

place your leads inside the white connecter of the thermistor

then check temp of water

do this for the hi limit and the control sensor

you can bypass the pressure switch to make sure its good (h.s. dealer should have a bypass jumper)

Let me know...Mike

[Looking At A Used 2007 Hs Vista]

The owner said it was used less than 10 times and has been drained and covered. He says it's in perfect shape and said he'll write up a contract and fix anything if something doesn't work. I'm going to jump on it as soon as I see some pictures. The tub is about 100 miles away.

Any suggestions on transporting this thing? Can it sit on top of some trailer rails or can it sit upright? It's way too wide to fit IN in the trailer.

Depending on your climate, I'd want that spa filled, running, and heated before I bought it. Even if they offer to write a contract to fix it, you'd still potentially be moving a spa to your house and setting it up, wiring it, filling it... only to find out they didn't winterize it and have a leak. When buying privately, I prefer to see the spa in operation to make sure it heats, runs, and their patio isn't wet from any leaks.

Price wise though, that sounds like a pretty good deal. The Hot Spring Vista is a great spa, and honestly it sells for more than double that in my market brand new.

As far as the concrete pad is concerned. Hot Spring actually recommends a 4" reinforced concrete pad for that spa. See page 4 of the following document:

2007 Hot Spring Pre-Delivery Instructions (Foundation, Dimensions, & electrical wiring)

http://www.hotspring.com/pdfs/pre_delivery...ctions_2007.pdf

You can find the 2007 Hot Spring Owner's Manual here:

http://www.hotspring.com/Hot_Tub_Customers...e-delivery.html

Just talked to the owner and he's having his spa dealer come out and inspect the tub to make sure everything works and create a report.

One other thing you might want to ask is if the tub has ever sat dry for a long period of time..This can cause o-rings to dry and crack as well as glue joints to fail....Have a huge problem with that her in the west...Hot summers cold winters...Mike

[Heater Not Working On 95' Hotspring Grandee]

I purchased a home a few months ago and the original owner had installed a HotSpring (by Watkins) "Grandee" from 1995. The previous owner didn't have it and it was empty.

I went to the local HotSpring dealer and purchased new filters and all the chemicals I need. I scrubbed the spa clean, cleaned out the pump/electrical compartment. Every time I tried to start up the spa, I would trip the breaker. It turns out my Circ Pump (Silentflo 5002) was bad. I replaced it today and everything fires up fine; other than the heater.

When I turn the heater on from the control panel, I hear the relay "click", but nothing happens. I touch the large tube (a "No Fault" 5500 Cartridge heater) and it never gets warm. I ran it for 10-15 minutes and never felt any heat.

So is my heater bad? How can I test it? Maybe it's the thermistors? How can I check these (do I need to use my volt meter)? Maybe it's something in my electrical control box? I really would love to know how I can narrow this down.

I am wondering also what order the thermistors and flow control sensors plug in to the control box? Maybe someone plugged them in incorrectly before? Could that be the problem? ANY help is appreciated!

If I had to replace my heater, would this be the way you would recommend to go?

2009 No-Fault PDF Titanium Heater - http://www.backyardplus.com/proddetail.php?prod=73790

- Free Thermistor Plugs in to side of control box (38416)

- Free Flow Control Thermistor plugs in to side of control box (38415)

Heater Adapter Kit - http://www.backyardplus.com/proddetail.php?prod=71557

Heater Cord Adapter (Mine currently plugs in) - http://www.backyardplus.com/proddetail.php?prod=71537

I wonder how difficult this would all be to install? I put in the circ pump and replaced the vinyl tubing (which was yellowed and hard with new tubing today). I don't know a lot about spa's, but I am technical. I've replaced toilets, garbage disposals, faucets, lighting, etc.

You are right on with the parts you need..( I am a Watkins spa tech)

The heater you want to get is part number 73790 (watkins part number), you will also need the heater retro fit kit, and cord adapter to go along with it. You will need to drain the tub and the kit should have the fittings. The thermistors are differant sizes and they will match up to the ports on the new heater. I hope this helps... Mike p.s. you can test the heater by stripping back the insulation on the heater cord, putting an amp clamp around either the white or the black wire and the heater should be pulling approx. 24-26 amps....The thermistors will only plug in one way.