griffe Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Hey guys, Just had my spa hooked up but it turns out somehow they didnt get the message that I wanted it hookup up with 60A. They said there was a note in the spa saying that it was setup for 50A so thats what they did. Talking to the service tech it turns out there is a little pin that can be moved to set the spa up for 60A, the only problem is the electrician is going to have to replace the GFI with a 60A and we will have to unscrew some decking. My question to you is, is it really necessary to go with 60A? I am worried about the winter when we have a few people in the spa (staying in for longer since its cold out) and having both pumps on. We are in North Carolina and our winters are not that cold, but still it gets chilli. THe manual says the heater will not operate if both pumps are on high, it does not mention anything about the blower. What happends if I have both pumps on high and the blower? If I have both pumps on high and 4 people in the spa in winter will I notice the spa getting cold? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottubdan Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 I'm a little confused. The dealer brought you a spa configured for 50 amp. Did they also provide the electrician? If not, you should have instructed your electrician you wanted a 60 amp breaker. It seems like there should be two seperate issues, the service you ran and the way the spa is configured. If you truly use the spa the way you think you are planning, you probably will want the 60 amp service. You could try this winter with the 50 amp and see how it works for you. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot H2o Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hey guys, Just had my spa hooked up but it turns out somehow they didnt get the message that I wanted it hookup up with 60A. They said there was a note in the spa saying that it was setup for 50A so thats what they did. Talking to the service tech it turns out there is a little pin that can be moved to set the spa up for 60A, the only problem is the electrician is going to have to replace the GFI with a 60A and we will have to unscrew some decking. My question to you is, is it really necessary to go with 60A? I am worried about the winter when we have a few people in the spa (staying in for longer since its cold out) and having both pumps on. We are in North Carolina and our winters are not that cold, but still it gets chilli. THe manual says the heater will not operate if both pumps are on high, it does not mention anything about the blower. What happends if I have both pumps on high and the blower? If I have both pumps on high and 4 people in the spa in winter will I notice the spa getting cold? Thanks in advance! Any good spa will work on 50 amp. Why did you get one with a blower? You probably paid too much for a medium to low end spa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Any good spa will work on 50 amp. Why did you get one with a blower? You probably paid too much for a medium to low end spa. The Altamar is a nice spa. It's not a low end spa H2O. What brand are you pushing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffe Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Well, the spa comes from Sundance as 50A (Optimal) since most people set it up with 50A service. The electrician came when no one was here and hooked it up with 50A since thats what the documentation said it was setup as. He did not know we wanted 60A or even that it was capable of taking 60A. It's quite a nice spa and I like the blower in the wet tests, also with the fregrance It would be easier to go to 60A now than it would later... But its still going to cost about $250. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisrt timer Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 be carefull on the electrical. Getting 60 amps to your spa is alot more than just the circuit breaker. The line you run has limitations. If you try runnin Lomex which alot of people do, you cannot get a full 60 amps if I remember my electricians lecture correct. A true 60 amp can onlt be accomplished by running 3 or 4 individual 6 gauge wires. Even the 60 amp lomex can only achieve aprox 55 amps of real current. I found this out from my electrician when wiring my hot tub. I was very clear about 60 amp becasue that is the requirements for mine. I think that the box is the same, I am not sure. I am not good with wiring. I am only trying to remember the stuff I heard when I had mine done. I was also explained that with hot tubs a 60 amp line is a good idea on any tub even if the requirements are 50 amp becasue the 60 remains cooler. There have been some incidents of the wires getting too hot and melting or catching fires. It seemed like some sort of rumor but I have heard this from multiple people now. Can anyone confirm? I am a mechanical guy, not an electrical guy. Oh and there was a big price jump to have 60 amp wiring done vs the 50 amp when I had mine done. Mostly in the wire cost. I had to run aprox 100 ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spa User Guy Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hey guys, Just had my spa hooked up but it turns out somehow they didnt get the message that I wanted it hookup up with 60A. They said there was a note in the spa saying that it was setup for 50A so thats what they did. Talking to the service tech it turns out there is a little pin that can be moved to set the spa up for 60A, the only problem is the electrician is going to have to replace the GFI with a 60A and we will have to unscrew some decking. My question to you is, is it really necessary to go with 60A? I am worried about the winter when we have a few people in the spa (staying in for longer since its cold out) and having both pumps on. We are in North Carolina and our winters are not that cold, but still it gets chilli. THe manual says the heater will not operate if both pumps are on high, it does not mention anything about the blower. What happends if I have both pumps on high and the blower? If I have both pumps on high and 4 people in the spa in winter will I notice the spa getting cold? Thanks in advance! You are correct the heaters will not function with both pumps on high speed with 50A service. My advice would be to bite the bullet now, save yourself some frustration later and change to 60A. On a cold winters night in N. Carolina you will want the heater to work while you are using the spa with boths pumps running on high. Personally I would not run the blower a long time when it gets really cold, it tends to lower the water temperature pretty fast. Give yourself a quick air blast session then turn it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffe Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 You are correct the heaters will not function with both pumps on high speed with 50A service. My advice would be to bite the bullet now, save yourself some frustration later and change to 60A. On a cold winters night in N. Carolina you will want the heater to work while you are using the spa with boths pumps running on high. Personally I would not run the blower a long time when it gets really cold, it tends to lower the water temperature pretty fast. Give yourself a quick air blast session then turn it off. The manual says nothing about running the blower. It says two pumps on high. It would be nice if If I run them on high with the heater and just forget about the blower as you said. Can any sundance owners with the 800 series or even better, the Altamar confirm if I can run both pumps on high without the blower and the heater? If not what about both pumps on low/medium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffe Posted September 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 Damn guys, dont just delete peoples posts. I wanted to read that. So what if he had something in his signature. We wanted new mods to get rid of the obscene spam posts by guests, not all this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 Damn guys, dont just delete peoples posts. I wanted to read that. So what if he had something in his signature. We wanted new mods to get rid of the obscene spam posts by guests, not all this. Sorry, I don't know what got deleted or why, but what is it you wanted to know? Perhaps I can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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