kjac95 Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 hi. we have a 1991 great lakes spa that has to this point been an inside spa. last weekend we moved it outside and look forward to tubbing outside in the coming winter. however, we are having heater issues... when i turned on the circulator and dialed on the heater, the heater light turned on. the water temp rose to 110-plus (i only want it at 100 or so) and the light turned off. so i lowered the heater dial, cooled off the tub, left the circulator on and waited overnight... in the morning, the temp was 110-plus again. so i turned off the heater dial altogether, cooled off the tub and left it overnight... next morning 110-plus again. is this caused by the heater element, the hi limit, or the thermostat? can you give me any suggestions please? thanks, kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B0Darc Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 hi. we have a 1991 great lakes spa that has to this point been an inside spa. last weekend we moved it outside and look forward to tubbing outside in the coming winter. however, we are having heater issues... when i turned on the circulator and dialed on the heater, the heater light turned on. the water temp rose to 110-plus (i only want it at 100 or so) and the light turned off. so i lowered the heater dial, cooled off the tub, left the circulator on and waited overnight... in the morning, the temp was 110-plus again. so i turned off the heater dial altogether, cooled off the tub and left it overnight... next morning 110-plus again. is this caused by the heater element, the hi limit, or the thermostat? can you give me any suggestions please? thanks, kathy Kathy here's a bump back up the list, wow one post and no reply? There's a reason you got ignored... well lets not say "ignored" All of the main players on this forum have proved time and again that they are knowledgeable and generous in helping folks. You sound like you have a grip on the basics, but I think this is a case that requires some hands-on healing. The age of the tub and the fact you moved it can put too many variables into the remote troubleshooting equation... but lets look at some obvious logic and I hear that you can likely narrow some of the logic on your own. It's heating, so the heater itself is not bad. It always shuts off at the same temperature so the hi-limit is probably working. The temperature sensing piece of the thermostat may have lost contact with the surface it usually measures... and I have no way of knowing if that's integrated in your heater unit in a 16 year old tub... and i'm not a spa tech ...which it sounds like you sorely need. You need someone with the experience and resources to come up with a part that is likely out of stock... someone that can get their hands on one or make one work that's close enough with a little engineering. Age (tub!) is your enemy here and it could just be corrosion on blade/spade connectors <whatever> changing voltages and something that got jostled by the move This is exactly the kind of experimental repair that you could part swap and fix on first guess ....or end out replacing everything until you di$cover it's your circuit board. That's where a seasoned professional can actually save you some dough... and days of lost soak-itization. Good luck! Bo "providin' the bumpage" Darc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 hi. we have a 1991 great lakes spa that has to this point been an inside spa. last weekend we moved it outside and look forward to tubbing outside in the coming winter. however, we are having heater issues... when i turned on the circulator and dialed on the heater, the heater light turned on. the water temp rose to 110-plus (i only want it at 100 or so) and the light turned off. so i lowered the heater dial, cooled off the tub, left the circulator on and waited overnight... in the morning, the temp was 110-plus again. so i turned off the heater dial altogether, cooled off the tub and left it overnight... next morning 110-plus again. is this caused by the heater element, the hi limit, or the thermostat? can you give me any suggestions please? thanks, kathy Yea sorry Kathy Bo is right, it's going to be a tough one. First make sure your thermostat is reading right and it truely is 110 and not out of caibration to water that is 100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjac95 Posted October 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 hi. we have a 1991 great lakes spa that has to this point been an inside spa. last weekend we moved it outside and look forward to tubbing outside in the coming winter. however, we are having heater issues... when i turned on the circulator and dialed on the heater, the heater light turned on. the water temp rose to 110-plus (i only want it at 100 or so) and the light turned off. so i lowered the heater dial, cooled off the tub, left the circulator on and waited overnight... in the morning, the temp was 110-plus again. so i turned off the heater dial altogether, cooled off the tub and left it overnight... next morning 110-plus again. is this caused by the heater element, the hi limit, or the thermostat? can you give me any suggestions please? thanks, kathy Yea sorry Kathy Bo is right, it's going to be a tough one. First make sure your thermostat is reading right and it truely is 110 and not out of caibration to water that is 100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjac95 Posted October 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 ok, so maybe i will get the hang of this reply thing...lol sorry thank you bo and roger for replying. i had about given up! :-) i have ordered a new thermostat and a high limit switch only because i still can get the kind i have from great lakes replacement parts. i have in the past replaced the high limit switch so it will probably just be a good investment down the road as i feel more sure it is the thermostat. i really appreciate your input. i am going to look into calibration options as well. thanks again, kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.