cranbiz

Please do start a new post. In that post take pictures of the inside of the spa controller, the equipment area and the wiring diagram usually found on the inside cover. Do you have a multimeter?

Well, according to the wiring diagrams provided, the OP does not have to wire in 2 GFCI breakers to run the panels. He can do it with 1 100A circuit and a 100A GFCI. He can also opt not to run the slave heater and run just a 50A circuit. Of course, the swim spa will heat much more slowly than if they use both heaters. I believe that 2 50A feeds will provide some redundancy as a failure in the slave panel probably won't take the entire system down. While it will cost more to run 2 50A circuits, it won't be much more than running 1 100A circuit.

Shouldn't be using Trichlor in a hot tub.

We ask that you start a new thread and post up pictures of the spa pack, topside with the error, the wiring diagram at minimum and of the equipment area for leaks, motor issues, etc. This way, our experts don't have to dig thru the thread to see what steps they provided which was based on the posters issue. In your case, because I read thru the thread, your issue appears to be the low voltage power supply has failed, which is usually the cause of this issue. An electronics repair tech should be able to fix it but you will need to remove the board from the pack. Other than that, it's a replacement pack that will be required.

Looks like NA grid and it appears to be missing the neutral. The circuit being wired for 60A only matters if the tub pulls more than 50A. It sounds like the heater can be set for a higher wattage if you have 60A available. The tub not turning on is the issue, it's possible the conversion to 60A is the cause, but if the neutral is missing, I suspect that's the issue. Where is the GFCI breaker? Main panel or disconnect? As requested, we need to see the wiring diagram.

I typed this prior to RDSpaGuy and somehow didn't hit send. Sounds like a bad relay. Relays can be replaced by someone with soldering experience. No need to replace the board if it's just a relay. If you are not comfortable doing this, a shop that does electronic repairs can do it for way less than replacing the board. The relays run 8-10 each on Amazon, refresh all of them for under $100 in parts and the shop might charge $125. If you do end up going the board route, I would just buy a replacement Balboa pack with topside. It will upgrade you to a more modern pack and could be less than replacing that board like for like.

Nothing says you can't run heavy enough wire for a 30A circuit now, put in a 20A breaker. 10-2 will cover up to 125', run 8-2 and you will have plenty of capacity. This gives you options down the road. Trying to find modern breakers for old panels is a royal PITA. My outdoor main panel is a Siemens, QP panel, my indoor panel Is an old ITC and can take Siemens QD. The QP doesn't fit but a QD will fit in a QP panel. Confused yet?

I'm sure @CanadianSpaTechwill weigh in shortly about this as he is our resident Gecko expert but as far as filter cycles, it is usually recommended to run the cycle for 2 hours 2 times a day as you have it currently set.

The specs on the tub itself is 115V 30A or 220V 50A in one place and 115V 20A dedicated circuit in another. I get the confusion. Personally, I would run the 30A dedicated circuit, but I also have a 200A panel. Remember, the dedicated circuit is a single 20/30A outlet which is matched to the configuration of the cord, it's not hard wired into the tub. Per code, to not have a GFCI breaker or on the outlet itself, it must be a dedicated outlet. IMHO, the GFCI plug most Spa manufacturers use isn't all that great and tend to have a higher failure rate than a GFCI circuit breaker. I would rather put the GFCI breaker in the panel but again, that's me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with how you want to hook it up and you made a valid point about using the generator to power it if need be.

Unfortunately, you are at the whim of the inspector. Local codes can be more stringent than NEC. Metal or plastic conduit? In general, NEC says you need to bury PVC conduit 18". 8" depth is required for EMT (hard metal) conduit and 24" depth for direct burial, unprotected cable. What is the material used for the spa? The inspector is specifying grounding based on a conductive surface, in which concrete is considered conductive. If the shell is fiberglass or acrylic, the inspector is interpreting the code incorrectly and you may have an point to discuss. If there is any conductive material on the shell, the inspector can require the ground system he said you need. Your electrical contractor should have known this as the conduit depths are well known.

My experience is when the chlorine cartridge gets to low, the tub starts to get a bit funky. it's almost like the chlorine distribution slows to the point that there isn't enough residual chlorine to properly sanitize the tub. But because it isn't completely empty, I can't just throw it away. Why are you replacing the mineral cartridge on every fill? It's not used up. Replace it after 12 weeks. I also use the Taylor kit. I can't get good readings from the test strips, especially on PH and TA, the range of colors isn't enough for me and the fact there is only one shade for chlorine and that I found that it's almost always indicating change the cartridge when the chlorine levels are still in the good range on the Taylor kit. As long as the chlorine level is between .5ppm -1ppm, you are good. Because the Frog system uses Dantochlor, some of the Taylor tests will be inaccurate, like CC and FC. However, the PH. Chlorine level, CH, TA tests are more accurate with the Taylor kit and I just don't check for FC and CC. CYA of the Frog system should be 0 or close to it. Dantochlor does not add CYA but the Frog kick start does (as it's Dichlor). What CYA Kick Star adds is so small that it's negligible. I'm sure that King wants to sell more overpriced test strips but they suck IMHO. I also buy from Amazon. There is not a huge difference in cost between Amazon and my dealer but Amazon is more convenient as my dealer is 90 miles away.

My tub will sometimes do this when it's cold out or the cover is slightly askew. I wouldn't worry about it.

I never got around to weighing the full cartridge vs the full cartridge to see what the net contents of dantochlor was to figure out how much was needed. The original stuff is power form, I assumed the supplier version was the same. 1000g is about 2.2 lbs. I suspect that you will get more than 6 cartridges out of that. If so, that drops it to about $6 each and less if you can get more than 6 refills out of 1000g.

That works. Mine usually doesn't stay in the filter well and floats all over the tub until I do the shake test and it's empty. As far as the mineral cartridge, Everywhere I read says 4 months it it. So it's changed every 4 months and discarded. I tried to extend the life at first, the water did get a bit funky so I stopped that and now do what King says to do.

It does depend on the size of the spa. I have a 325 Gal and my recommended setting is 2. That lasts about 5-6 weeks. When I replace the smartchlor, I drop the old one in the filter area (opened up to max) so I make sure I gat all the dantochlor out of it. I'm sure that helps me extend the life of the new cartridge a bit.

I did find 2 chemical supply houses that would sell bulk dantochlor. Unfortunately they will not sell to individuals. The Chinese company (Chemexpress) needs a letterhead of a business to process the order so if someone had a business, they could get dantochlor. 1000G is $50 the 2kg size is not published, requires a quote from them. The US based company had even more hoops to jump through.

Frog uses Dantochlor which is like unobtainum for the consumer. Lord knows, I have tried to source it. The problem with the pucks is they are a Trichlor (which is NOT dantochlor) and will add CYA and mess with your CC level. A hot tub is a very different ecosystem from a pool because of the temperature and the volume. The pucks are certainly not the same and it you use the Frog test strips, your maintenance will be compromised. I get the cost issue, it's not cheap. You can switch to dichlor/liquid chlorine and still use the mineral stick. The Nature 2 stick is sold for spa's outside of the Frog system. To switch though, requires you to commit to daily testing and maintenance. If you cannot commit to this, stay with the Frog system.

Yes, there is a cheaper way. Use dichlor until your CYA gets to 30PPM and then switch to liquid chlorine. However, this method does require more work to maintain. You need to have a good test kit, test daily and maintain daily. Many don't want to do this and it you don't, you end up with unhealthy water. You also need to carefully monitor your PH. I currently use the FROG system in a 325 Gal Spa. I get close to 5 weeks out of a Smartchlor cartridge and 4 months out of a mineral cartridge and go a year on the water change. No issues at all except for being more expensive than liquid chlorine but way more convenient. It costs for convenience. Only you can tell if it's worth it.

Your plan is fine. Go for it. The ground wire is not a problem. If you bought something like 6-3 with ground romex wire, the bare ground is always at least one size smaller gauge.

Definitely appears to be the pump. 110V or 220V pump?

Need to see the wiring diagram and how it's wired and how the dip switches are configured. Post up pictures of those please. Converting a 220V tub to 110v involves several steps and wire movements, you may have missed one. On 110V the heater is derated. Does the tub have a circulation pump or does it use pump 1 to circulate? Did you see this tub operating before buying it? Was it originally wired for 220V?

Depending on how far away the tub is from the main panel, it should be either #6 or #8. Using #6 won't hurt anything. I'm not seeing the bus bars in the main panel but what I do see appears to be another GFCI on the tub circuit. It's not a code violation and it works fine but it can be confusing in a ground fault situation. In general, I'm not a fan of a breaker feeding a breaker like this but there isn't anything wrong with it. If the breaker in the main panel is a GFCI, then the neutral from the sub panel will go to the breaker and the pig tail from the breaker goes to the neutral bus bar. In your sub panel, the neutral bus bar does not appear to be bonded to the panel so that's why your neutral is separate from the ground. Your main panel could very well be different.

Where is your GFCI? In the main panel or in a sub panel? If it's in the main panel, the neutral wire should be going to the neutral connection of the GFCI breaker and the pigtail from the GFCI should go to the neutral bar. Other than that, the neutral should be going to the neutral bus bar but if the neutral bar is bonded to the panel, electrically, that's the same as going to the ground bus bar.

Pictures of the pack, wiring diagram and equipment area please. Do you have a multi meter? It could be bad relays, which would be the best scenario.

Not all Loungers are built the same and you do have to sit in one with water to find out. My Artesian has a lounger. I don't use it a lot when the jets are on, I prefer to sit in one of the captain's chairs with the neck jets. My wife, however lives in the lounger but she prefers to just soak. Our first tub didn't have a lounger, we really wanted one this time but it had to be the right one. Your dealer will make or break your ownership experience. My dealer is 90 miles away. Sure there are many dealers closer but they all got eliminated for one reason or another. The Hot Springs dealer blew my appointment off, the Bullfrog/Vita dealer outright lied about the different features and was using 4 year old sales material, the PDC dealer didn't have any tubs on display, The American Whirlpool dealer was a good dealer and didn't misrepresent his tubs but the tubs didn't pass the wet test for us. The Sundance dealer was also good but Sundance didn't have a tub that fit my space requirements. The Aqua Living dealer was high pressure, pushed financing we didn't want, wouldn't show us under the hood of their tubs, no wet or dry testing and didn't have an inhouse service dept. I ended up at an Artesian/Marquis dealer who was excellent, had a lot to look at and had a tub on order that hit all my check boxes. They were happy to set up a wet test of a similar tub (during Covid where other dealers wouldn't), answered all my questions, pulled side panels so I could look at plumbing and insulation, let us talk to existing customers about their sales and service experiences and as it turned out, had a very good price. They had no issues with my distance from their showroom and that still continues to be true today. Because of all this, they sold 2 tubs that day, one to me and one to our friends who were shopping with us. So dealer IS important.