str8bacardil Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 I have an intermittent problem on my hot tub where one of the relays in the main control box sticks in the closed position and overheats the water. I was wondering if anyone had an idea of a lubricant or something that may loosen it up so it will open and close properly. It only does it once every few months but when it does I have to take the side off the hot tub and pop it back off and then it will work fine for a while. Whenever it sticks it heats the tub up to 108 degrees at which point the safety kicks in and shuts the whole thing down. Turning the power off and on will not make the relay open, I have to physically take all of the sides off, open the box, and poke it with a screwdriver at which point it flips back to open and the heat will turn on and off like normal. any ideas? For a background on how this started one night I had some friends over and everyone passed out with the cover off..........that night the temperature dropped in to the teens. The next day when I came outside the tub was on "OH" (overheat) and the relay was stuck. It took me a while to figure out why the heat would not shut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDog Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 I have an intermittent problem on my hot tub where one of the relays in the main control box sticks in the closed position and overheats the water. I was wondering if anyone had an idea of a lubricant or something that may loosen it up so it will open and close properly. It only does it once every few months but when it does I have to take the side off the hot tub and pop it back off and then it will work fine for a while. Whenever it sticks it heats the tub up to 108 degrees at which point the safety kicks in and shuts the whole thing down. Turning the power off and on will not make the relay open, I have to physically take all of the sides off, open the box, and poke it with a screwdriver at which point it flips back to open and the heat will turn on and off like normal. any ideas? For a background on how this started one night I had some friends over and everyone passed out with the cover off..........that night the temperature dropped in to the teens. The next day when I came outside the tub was on "OH" (overheat) and the relay was stuck. It took me a while to figure out why the heat would not shut off. Just use contact cleaner. With the power turned off. You will have to take the cover off the relay and spray inside it. Is it mounted on a PCB or does it have fly wires? To be honest it's probably just as easy to buy a new relay and replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poptones Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 Usually a relay that sticks like that has corroded contact points. The relay itself overheats and the contacts become fused. The greater problem with this is not the annoyance of it sticking, but the fact that every time it's closed it is burning more and more oxidation on the contacts, which makes it more likely to get hotter, which makes it burn more oxidation... This is probably why it started as you described - it overheated once which started the oxidation process. When a switch contact gets overheated once it's just going to get worse every time it's actuated. What you would really need to do is replace the relay. I'm not a hot tub expert, but a relay is a relay and I do know about those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n1oty Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 I have an intermittent problem on my hot tub where one of the relays in the main control box sticks in the closed position and overheats the water. I was wondering if anyone had an idea of a lubricant or something that may loosen it up so it will open and close properly. It only does it once every few months but when it does I have to take the side off the hot tub and pop it back off and then it will work fine for a while. Whenever it sticks it heats the tub up to 108 degrees at which point the safety kicks in and shuts the whole thing down. Turning the power off and on will not make the relay open, I have to physically take all of the sides off, open the box, and poke it with a screwdriver at which point it flips back to open and the heat will turn on and off like normal. any ideas? For a background on how this started one night I had some friends over and everyone passed out with the cover off..........that night the temperature dropped in to the teens. The next day when I came outside the tub was on "OH" (overheat) and the relay was stuck. It took me a while to figure out why the heat would not shut off. I agree with poptones. Relay replacement is the proper repair. Kdog's suggestion of the contact cleaner, though well intentioned, will have little long term help on a relay contact that carries a lot of current. Burnishing the contacts early on may have been a possibility, but your continually using the tub for quite awhile since this started probably precludes that option now. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d1dennis2009 Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 The best option is replace the relay, if you have the option. If for some reason the sensors fail and the relay is stck closed, you " could" have a major problem.In the old days we would clean them like a set of points on car , but I agree with John, you are probably passed that point. Dennis 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.