handball Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hi, I need help figuring out why the main fuse into the spa is blowing every 20 - 30 days; the unit is on a dedicated 50-amp feed; i not aware of any common activities that might be causing this...cept it seems to happen more often in the colder months. I am not sure if condensation might be building up in the 'electrical' area and when if it forms droplets, this might be triggering it....the fuse/wire connections are in a control box, but i wouldnt doubt if this scenario is possible. If it is, this feels like a design flaw. The spa vendor hasnt been responsive when asked this question. Thoughts please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hi, I need help figuring out why the main fuse into the spa is blowing every 20 - 30 days; the unit is on a dedicated 50-amp feed; i not aware of any common activities that might be causing this...cept it seems to happen more often in the colder months. I am not sure if condensation might be building up in the 'electrical' area and when if it forms droplets, this might be triggering it....the fuse/wire connections are in a control box, but i wouldnt doubt if this scenario is possible. If it is, this feels like a design flaw. The spa vendor hasnt been responsive when asked this question. Thoughts please. Try tightening up all the wire lugs in your main panel, GFCI/Dissconnect box and control on the spa. Do this with the power off of course and be carefull in your main panel. If your not sure hire an electrician or somebody familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrussell Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 heater is drawing too many amps? try testing\resetting the gfci every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireman Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 You mean the 30 amp fuse on the circuit board is blowing? That is a vendor problem and will have to be addressed by the manufacturer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B0Darc Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 The 50 amp circuit (and breaker) is for the total electrical needs of your spa, the 30 amp fuse is protection for another sub circuit... which one is a good question because therein lies your answer. Sometimes when things break they just go CrAcK! Other times they slowly fail... like motors. Bearing and bushings wear allowing the armature to get closer to the field coil, brushes wear down to the end and can tilt 45 degrees making less electrical contact on the rotor contacts. Stuff like this allows the motor to continue to run but they require more amps... especially at startup, which is probably when your fuse blows (when you press jets button or filter cycle begins?) These are hard problems to diagnose because the broken part actually still nominally works (corroded contacts or fuse socket). Sounds like you have a handle on it. Realize it's a situation where something is trying to pull enough current (unsuccessfully!) that it's blowing the fuse. Make sure your breaker is off and clean/tighten the electrical contacts, looking for corrosion. Go to the automotive paint/marine supply (not just the MegaAuto parts) store and get some marine grade electrical contact cleaner... everybody makes one... loctite, 3M, sherwin williams (!) and crazy people insist on this stuff - Stabilant 22a <Click me> on everything electrical (blade/spade connectors, fuses) ...I fix everything else BUT spas, so let us know what you find. Spa guys chime in if you have any secret weapons for steamy electrical box fixes. Or of course One can always google "marine electrical contact", just realize there are two types. Some are dryers/cleaners which evaporate after they blast off debris and others like Stabilant are conductive and made to improve electrical connectivity... so a "cleaner" isn't necessarily the best choice Bo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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