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Extension Cords?


Prov31Mom23

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Brand new member and brand new spa owner. My mother gave us a Dreammaker Fantasy spa that she didn't want. It's plug and play. We installed a concrete pad for it in our backyard and my husband is anxious to get it going. But we cannot afford an electrician right away. Can we temporarily run the spa with a heavy duty 15 amp extension cord rated for outdoor use? He's going to be mighty unhappy if he can't use it until we have the money to hire an electrician to run a line out to plug the spa into. I know that using an extension cord voids the warranty but I'm pretty certain the warranty has already expired (she had it for a year and a half before we got it).

Also, do we need to ground the spa in any way? If so, what do we need to do?

Thank you for your help.

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In my opinion you don't want to guess on what you need to do. Water and electricity is a bad mixture than can kill you. I would wait until you can afford to hire an electrician. Most hot tubs are 220 anyway, so there is no way an extension cord will do the job. Does it actually have a plug?

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In my opinion you don't want to guess on what you need to do. Water and electricity is a bad mixture than can kill you. I would wait until you can afford to hire an electrician. Most hot tubs are 220 anyway, so there is no way an extension cord will do the job. Does it actually have a plug?

Many spa's are 110v. Some have a 20a plug, which will not plug into a normal outlet.

You don't want to use an extension cord though, and here is why. Most spa manufacturers will say not to, and it is only partially due to safety considerations.

The conductors will supply current, but for every foot of cord there is resistance. This produces a decrease in voltage, and will cause the spa to draw more current.

You can damage your heater, control board, even the pump motor by running it on the lower voltage you will likely get from an extension cord.

Add to that the very real danger with a non-weather proof connection (and the aforementioned water/electricity issues) and you have a bad idea.

The remote outlet will require a run of wire sufficiently sized for the distance from the outlet back to the electrical panel. It really is

important to do this.

Please don't use an extension cord with your spa.

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In my opinion you don't want to guess on what you need to do. Water and electricity is a bad mixture than can kill you. I would wait until you can afford to hire an electrician. Most hot tubs are 220 anyway, so there is no way an extension cord will do the job. Does it actually have a plug?

This is my spa: http://www.dreammakerspas.com/fantasy.html Yes, it actually has a plug and it is 110 volt/15 watt service. I'm not guessing on the power required but don't know the pros or cons of temporarily using a heavy duty outdoor extension cord (the cord on the spa is about 8 feet too short to reach the outlet on our house).

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Brand new member and brand new spa owner. My mother gave us a Dreammaker Fantasy spa that she didn't want. It's plug and play. We installed a concrete pad for it in our backyard and my husband is anxious to get it going. But we cannot afford an electrician right away. Can we temporarily run the spa with a heavy duty 15 amp extension cord rated for outdoor use? He's going to be mighty unhappy if he can't use it until we have the money to hire an electrician to run a line out to plug the spa into. I know that using an extension cord voids the warranty but I'm pretty certain the warranty has already expired (she had it for a year and a half before we got it).

Hell, no.

In almost all cases, you need to plug into a special GFCI outlet. This is similar to what you have in the bathroom, for the electric shaver, or hairdryer, but it's much larger for a hot tub.

Also, do we need to ground the spa in any way? If so, what do we need to do?

Usually a special GFCI outlet AND circuit breaker at the panel.

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In my opinion you don't want to guess on what you need to do. Water and electricity is a bad mixture than can kill you. I would wait until you can afford to hire an electrician. Most hot tubs are 220 anyway, so there is no way an extension cord will do the job. Does it actually have a plug?

This is my spa: http://www.dreammakerspas.com/fantasy.html Yes, it actually has a plug and it is 110 volt/15 watt service. I'm not guessing on the power required but don't know the pros or cons of temporarily using a heavy duty outdoor extension cord (the cord on the spa is about 8 feet too short to reach the outlet on our house).

I think you mean 15 AMPERE service. Again, don't use the extension. Do it right. Better to wait.

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At one point, I was looking at a Hot Spring Prodigy that was a plug in 110 volt. My problem was that the tub came with a 15 foot cord and I needed about 20-25 feet due to only spot I could put the tub. I asked the dealer if I could have an electrician put on a new cord with a GFI but add 10 feet. They highly advised against it - I dont remember why - think it had something to do with loss of power.

So, I would check with Dreammaker - but I bet they say NO!

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Brand new member and brand new spa owner. My mother gave us a Dreammaker Fantasy spa that she didn't want. It's plug and play. We installed a concrete pad for it in our backyard and my husband is anxious to get it going. But we cannot afford an electrician right away. Can we temporarily run the spa with a heavy duty 15 amp extension cord rated for outdoor use? He's going to be mighty unhappy if he can't use it until we have the money to hire an electrician to run a line out to plug the spa into. I know that using an extension cord voids the warranty but I'm pretty certain the warranty has already expired (she had it for a year and a half before we got it).

Also, do we need to ground the spa in any way? If so, what do we need to do?

Thank you for your help.

It can be done for a short distance but it could get costly considering the GFCI. I think a 15 amp gfci plug is somewhere around 50-60 bucks and good 10-3 outdoor cord is very expensive also. If the run gets more than 6-8 maybe 10 feet you will have resistance problems but you could check that with a volt meter. I use a 25' 220V extension hard wired to a GFCI terminal for my temporary plug set up in my garage but it's 2-0 size and a former 440V welder extension cord. The bigger the wire the less resitance. But if your not at least a little profiecent in electrical I would not attemp this.

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Brand new member and brand new spa owner. My mother gave us a Dreammaker Fantasy spa that she didn't want. It's plug and play. We installed a concrete pad for it in our backyard and my husband is anxious to get it going. But we cannot afford an electrician right away. Can we temporarily run the spa with a heavy duty 15 amp extension cord rated for outdoor use? He's going to be mighty unhappy if he can't use it until we have the money to hire an electrician to run a line out to plug the spa into. I know that using an extension cord voids the warranty but I'm pretty certain the warranty has already expired (she had it for a year and a half before we got it).

Also, do we need to ground the spa in any way? If so, what do we need to do?

Thank you for your help.

Besides not being prudent, using an extension cord on your Dreammaker spa probably violates Article 680.42(A)(2) at a minimum. Most 115 volt tubs already have a cord that is 10 to 15 feet in length anyway. I will assume for now that your tub's cord is of such a length. The electric code limits you to a maximum of 15 feet on such cords. This is simply one of the reasons why these tub manufacturers specify NOT to use extension cords. You've been warned.

John

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