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Hello everyone. This one is weird for me. I've worked on my own tubs for about 6 years now and have mid-level electrician experience (ran 220 lines, can test with various circuit testers, replaced breakers and motors) I found the GFI tripped and it refused to reset. Disconnected the tub, opened the main breaker, and it physically could not be reset. The breaker was about three years old. We have had power issues, brown outs and power loss due to weather. Maybe even a close lightening strike. I assumed the breaker was bad and replaced it. The tub is a 4 year old Jacuzzi J-235 set up in the 50hz mode. No circulator pump so pump 1 runs in low to heat. There isn't any signs of water leakage anywhere around the tub. After replacement, the tub powered up fine and began reheating. I checked back the next day and the new GFI was tripped. I re-set it, everything powered up fine and it began heating again. I checked back a few hours later, tub temp around 90 and still going well. Checked back the next morning and the GFI was tripped again. The short version is that the tub appears to heat up to around 100F and then trips the GFI breaker. I tested the heater and the resistance was in spec. I replaced it anyway with the same rated heater but in titanium. I isolated the flow sensor and temperature sensor that are in line with the heater and the breaker still trips. I disconnected the UV sanitizer, still trips. The temp sensor and over-temp sensor are spliced together at the plug, so if I disconnect them from the board I get the temp sensor failure error and the heater wont' come on. - not sure if there is a way to test them individually without cutting wires. I can run the pumps in all speeds and it runs fine. In the 50hz mode the heater turns off if both pumps are in high at the same time. I checked the connections in the control panel, the main line black wire wasn't in all the way, just up to the lug but not all the way in the cradle. I fixed that, turned he temperature set point down to 98 and turned it on. It ran for two days so I though I had it fixed. Turned the temp up to 100, three hours later the breaker was tripped. The pumps do not run in high speed unless I select it so I'm guessing the low speed pump is tripping the breaker on overload when the water temp gets high enough. Is there a way to test this? Can I wire the high speed up to the low speed supply lug and let it run to see what happens without damaging the circuit board? Any other ideas? Thank you for any help! R0M0

Sunday 10 Mar 19 Maax Vita, Grand 2015. Has two pumps. Drained and refilled and got an air bubble. We did not fill it properly. Should have been thru the filter port, but instead a hose was simply put into the tub and it created the air bubble. Shame on us. O.K., that said, when attempting to start it up, A Purge Air message was displayed. I tried to burp it by turning the pumps on and off and going from low to hi speed with each pump. Then I tried a plunger to try to purge air by plunging at the filter opening. I turned the heat down as low as possible so the heater would not turn on. No luck with the air purge. The spa ran for about 10-15 minutes and then my main breaker (not the 50 amp GFCI breaker in the spa sub panel) tripped in my main house breaker panel. These are two 60 amp breakers together. They supply the Spa Sub Panel only. I removed the side panels and loosened the connection at the heater, no air escaped. Next were the two connections at pump #1 as well as the small air bleed plugs. Air did hiss out followed by a steady stream of water. Then on to pump #2 and again loosened both connectors at the pump as well as the air bleed plugs. Same result. I reset the twin 60 amp main breakers and started the spa up again. Again, I got the purge air message. Eventually we got the system clear of air, and reset the main breaker again, I got it to run with pump #1 on low speed and the heater heating up the spa. It ran for hours. Water got to about 100 degrees and my wife decided to use the spa. I thought that the situation was cured. She increased the pump speed and turned on pump #2 and after about 10 minutes of running like it should, the main breaker again tripped. Not the GFCI, just the main breaker. I have checked the heater element for a short with my continuity meter and there is none. I looked into the control panel for anything burned or broken and it looks like the day it was delivered. No odors of burning or any visible damage. The heater has two sensors on it. One at each end. The sensors are actually is screwed into the heater tube. (On my old "Master Spa" the sensor simply laid on top of the heater tube under a clip) The wires for each sensor are securely plugged into the control board. So with the air purged and the spa running for hours and only tripping the main breaker when the pumps run on hi and the heater is working, I'm stumped. The spa is still under warranty and if it is a covered thing, no problem. If it's not a covered item, then I'm looking at $$$ for a service call and possible fix. Nothing has changed in any part of the electrical supply. So it's worked well since it was installed in May of 2016. Any ideas what could be causing these issues? Thanks, Keats Phoenix. Update: 3/10/19. P.M. We just ran. a series of tests on the spa. Running the pump(s) at various speeds and combinations. Pump #1 Low speed ran as it should have. 15 minutes and then it shut off as designed. Breaker did not trip. Pump #1 High speed, same thing.Breaker did not trip. Pump#1 Low and Pump #2 Low, ran fine and shut off as designed. Breaker did not trip. Pump #1 Low and Pump #2 High, Ran as it should and shut off as designed after 15 minutes. Breaker did not trip. Pump #1 High and Pump #2 High, ran only 13 minutes and then tripped the main breaker. So running both of these pumps on HIGH caused the breaker to trip, shutting down the entire spa and making it necessary to reset the main breaker at the main breaker box.

Late last year we took delivery of an Artesian Kona Elite spa (2 5HP main pumps). The spa was wired to a 50A GFI breaker disconnect in accordance with the dealers' instructions. The disconnect was tied to a 60A breaker in the main panel. We immediately ran into problems with the spa sporadically tripping the breaker, Sometimes it was in the first 15 minute cycle, other times it would wait until the third 15 minute cycle. Ordinarily we would bathe for about 30 minutes and wouldn't have any trouble. On average it would trip every 3-4 weeks one way or the other. The technicians were out numerous times. Both main pumps were replaced. The heater was replaced. The circulation pump was replaced. The pack was programmed to not run the heater when Pump #2 was energized. None of these resolved the problem. Ultimately we replaced the 50A GFI with a 60A GFI breaker (tied to a 70A breaker in the main panel) a little over a month ago The higher amperage breaker was certainly helpful - and in hindsight probably should have been the FIRST corrective measure - but even with that change a few days ago the breaker tripped. That said, at the point when it tripped the spa had been running continuously for about an hour. The spa was unoccupied for the first 15 minute cycle, which we initiated with the cover open because the water was too hot (a filtration cycle issue, discussed separately). We were in the spa for most of 3 cycles, and the spa tripped as the pumps were being turned off before we exited. Given that information, I have a question about expectations. The engineer in me wants to think that the design of the system should allow the spa to operate continuously, as it might be were it in a commercial setting (e.g., hotel setting with frequent bathers). (1) Does anyone have any insight into what is reasonable to expect in terms of continuous operation with both pumps and the heater operating? (2) The same question, if the heater wasn't energized while the pumps were running? (3) Is a spa designed to only operate continuously for a certain period of time? Thank you!

Hello all, i have a hot tub heater that has a problem, when powering the hot tub on from the mains in the house the heater turns on (without pump on) and sounds like a kettle while control panel is showing heater is off? it then eventually trips the red button near the heater element after about 40 seconds.if i turn on the control panel the heater on the pump starts and heater does not trip until up to temp. After opening the heater cover the wires around the heater and ''sensors'' look like they need replacing,i have opened main control box and the heater relay also looks like it has been very warm. what could cause heater to turn on without the lcd controller's main power light on??? what would you suggest i look at 1st? the lcd works as it should fine on everything else. there is also lots of flow when the pump for heater is on. https://www.flickr.com/photos/25806980@N04/25502362986/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/25806980@N04/24901783923/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/25806980@N04/25435745211/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/25806980@N04/25232878030/in/photostream/

I have a Legacy Whirlpool Enterprise VS that I purchased in 2011. The tub is hooked up directly to a dedicated 50A GFCI breaker. About 5 seconds after power is supplied, the breaker trips. I have tried troubleshooting the source of the issue by isolating each component one at a time and powering up the tub in between each disconnect. No matter which component is connected, the breaker trips. Even when all of the components (including the heater) are disconnected from the circuit board, the breaker will trip. Each time power is supplied, a few seconds pass, and I can hear something click in the control board. Immediately following the click, the breaker on the house trips. I have tried replacing the breaker, and the same problem exists. When power is disconnected from the control board the breaker does NOT trip, which leads me to believe the problem is indeed within the hot tub itself. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!!!

I have a problem with my spa pump tripping the 50amp GFCI breaker. I have been through everything I can think of with this spa. It has 2 2 speed pumps, one which connected to the filter and heater (pump 1) and one that is attached only to some jets (pump 2). Both pumps are identical, new 2 speed 240V pumps. I have also recently replaced the heater, ozonator, and GFCI breaker. I have a Balboa MAS225 control board. Pump 1 runs on schedule because it is used to filter and heat, it comes on as soon as the hot tub is started up (breaker turned on). Pump 2 only comes on when you turn it on using the top control panel. Pump 1 will trip the breaker about 5-10 seconds after starting the spa. However, if I take the filter out and open the filter can, it will run with out tripping, so it seems that maybe it is pulling to much current. I have looked for any clogs and have determined all the pipes and tubes to be clear. A strange mystery is that if I turn on pump 2 as soon as the breaker is flipped on and the tub is starting up, the breaker won't trip. The second I turn off pump 2, pump 1 trips the breaker. If I unplug the pump 1 from the control panel, all is fine. If I switch the wiring for pump 1 and 2, pump 2 will come on automatically and run as if it were the filter/heater pump and won't trip the breaker. While it is running I can turn pump 1 will run just fine. I've even switched the pumps via plumbing, and it dosen't matter, the pump that is connect to the filter and heater will trip the breaker, unless the other pump is on, or unless I open up the filter canister (I also have a new filter). Does anyone have any clue what could be the problem? I already wasted $110 on a new GFCI that didn't solve the problem and I don't want to buy a new control board only to have that not fix the problem, and besides, I'd like to try to replace a control board component if possible. At this point it seems all that's left is the transformer or the control board. I also don't think its any relays as switching the wiring doesn't switch which pump is causing the problem. I'd appreciate any help, or even guesses. Thanks!