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50 Amp Mode Or 60 Amp Mode For Jacuzzi Brand Tubs?


Orion6192

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I see the standard setting is a 50 amp setting the Jacuzzi tubs, but the heater will not work if both pumps are on high. In 60 amp mode you can run the heater with both pumps on high.

If standard 50 amp sufficient? I already have th electrician set up to install a 50 amp service based on what I was told. In 60 amp you need to do something on the control board.

Most likely it will be a J345 tub...

Thanks again...

Scott

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From the pre-delivery manual:

Power Configurations for Models J-335, J-345, J-355, J-365, J-375 (North America, 60 Hz)

This section describes the three power configuration choices (Standard 50 Amp, Alternate 40 Amp, and Alternate 60 Amp) for hot tub models J-335, J-345, J-355, J-365, and J-375.

Important: All of the alternative electrical configurations require a qualified technician to per- form minor circuit board modifications. Do not activate 40A or 60A power to the spa until these modifications have been made. We recommend Square-D or Cutler Hammer circuit breakers.

Note

Wire size must meet NEC recommendations and is determined by maximum current draw and length of run.

Standard 50A Configuration

(factory setting)

• 240 VAC/50A 3-wire configuration

(2 hots and a ground)

• 50A dual-pole GFCI circuit breaker

(hard wired only)

• Maximum electrical current draw of

36A

In this Standard 50A configuration, the heater will not operate while both jets pumps are running in high speed.

Jets Pump 2 runs only in high speed.

Alternate 40A Configuration

(For homes where 240 VAC/50A or 240 VAC/60A power is unavailable.)

• 240 VAC/40A 3-wire configuration

(2 hots and a ground)

• 40A dual-pole GFCI circuit

breaker (hard wired only)

• Maximum electrical current draw

of 26A

If the home’s electrical system does not have the 240V/60A or 240V/50A power available, the spa may be connected to a 240V/40A power source after a qualified electrician makes a minor circuit board modification.

In this configuration, the heater yields the same rapid temperature rise as in the 60A or 50A configuration, but will not operate while either jets pump is running in high speed.

Jets Pump 2 runs only in high speed.

Alternate 60A Configuration

(Optional setting for maximum heater performance.)

• 240 VAC/60A 3-wire

configuration (2 hots and a

ground)

• 60A dual-pole GFCI circuit

breaker (hard wired only)

• Maximum electrical current draw

If the home’s electrical system has the full 240V/60A power available, the spa may be connected to a 240V/60A power source after a qualified electrician makes a minor circuit board modification.

In this configuration, the heater will operate while both jets pumps are running in high speed.

Jets Pump 2 runs only in high speed.

of 45A

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My wife and I purchased a new Jacuzzi J-345 a little over a month ago. I originally wanted to go with a 60 amp setup, but the electrician told me that 60 amp GFCI breakers were not readily available, and that it would take a couple of weeks to order one. Since I had this brand new Jacuzzi sitting there that I was dying to get into, I went with a 50 amp setup.

Guess what? The fact that the heater doesn't come on when both pumps are on high doesn't matter. The tub is apparently very well insulated. After 20 minutes with both pumps on high and two or three people in the tub, the temperature remains constant. It does not even drop even one degree.

Furthermore, the heater does not usually come on for some time after the pumps shut down.

This is in the evening in San Diego near the beach, with the ambient temperature in the mid-60's.

So, even though our electrician offered to come back with the 60 amp breaker and set it up for 60 amp at a reduced price, for now we are leaving it the way it is.

BTW, we love our new Jacuzzi!

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Any idea how hard or what is required to switch it to 60 amp on the circuit board? Is it a dip switch or jumper or a manual wire change?

According to the Owner's Manual, it's a jumper. Pins 5 and 6 on JP1 in the upper right corner of the control panel need to be jumped. This is for the J-335, J-345, J-355, J-365 and J-375, North American versions.

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Great - thats in the owners manual? I'll let the electrician know to order a 60 amp instead of a 50 amp. Speaking with the local electrical store where most of the areas contractors buy their items, he said going from 50 to 60 amp would still use 6 ga wire.

Anyone else have a different answers or had theirs wired differently?

Thanks all -

Scott

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Would having my jacuzzi j365 wired 50amp setup make the lights no turn on random setting? I just got a 2005 hardly used one and i love it i just cant figure out how to turn the light setting to random. so all the different colors display...only getting blue color right now??

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Great - thats in the owners manual? I'll let the electrician know to order a 60 amp instead of a 50 amp. Speaking with the local electrical store where most of the areas contractors buy their items, he said going from 50 to 60 amp would still use 6 ga wire.

Anyone else have a different answers or had theirs wired differently?

Thanks all -

Scott

There are some circuit board diagrams at the end of the owner's manual, which is where I found this info. Our electrician concurred that all that would be involved in upgrading to 60 amp would be replacing the breaker and moving the jumper on the control board. He added that it would *probably* work to merely move the jumper (leaving the 50 amp breaker in place), since according to the manual the max current draw when set up in 60 amp mode is only 45 amps.

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Be careful!!! Check your local electrical code. 60amp service with 6 gauge wire may have restrictions in cable run lengths.

If your electrician took out a permit and it's already been inspected and signed off, you CANNOT make alterations.

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I have a new jacuzzi and since it was a fresh install I went with the 60 amp service. I needed heavier wire than the 50 amp setup, and the GFCI box was probably only $10 more.

My tub did not come setup for the 60amp setting so I altered the jumper per the manual myself. Then confirmed it was indeed heating with both pumps on high. I think it will be better in the winter when the outside temps are low and the air intake for the jets are cooling the water during use.

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He added that it would *probably* work to merely move the jumper (leaving the 50 amp breaker in place), since according to the manual the max current draw when set up in 60 amp mode is only 45 amps.

The full load amperage draw may be 45A, but the surge current when the motors are 1st energized needs to be considered and I doubt a 50A breaker would support that.

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Great - thats in the owners manual? I'll let the electrician know to order a 60 amp instead of a 50 amp. Speaking with the local electrical store where most of the areas contractors buy their items, he said going from 50 to 60 amp would still use 6 ga wire.

Anyone else have a different answers or had theirs wired differently?

Thanks all -

Scott

There are some circuit board diagrams at the end of the owner's manual, which is where I found this info. Our electrician concurred that all that would be involved in upgrading to 60 amp would be replacing the breaker and moving the jumper on the control board. He added that it would *probably* work to merely move the jumper (leaving the 50 amp breaker in place), since according to the manual the max current draw when set up in 60 amp mode is only 45 amps.

You do not have a very bright electrician. Hot tubs must comply with the 125 percent rule.

John

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You do not have a very bright electrician. Hot tubs must comply with the 125 percent rule. John

Or possibly smart enough to realize that if he changes the breaker after the work's been inspected, he's risking his licence

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  • 1 month later...

What model Jacuzzi? I have a J345. Pump 1 controls one side of the tub and Pump 2 controls the other side. My wife and I sit in opposite corners because of the jets and depth of seat. I'm not sure how much heat loss you would get, but if you run both pumps, you can't run the heater and we usually run both pumps on high.

Not sure I would have figured out this quirk on a wet test, but a perfect set-up would be to have two 2-speed pumps. It's hard to talk when pumps are on high. If I am in zone 1 and wife in zone 2, I can be on low and she has to be on high and it seems like you yell to talk.

But all in all - I am more than happy to have the 60 amp. I did not require a wire upgrade (6 ga) for 50 or 60 amp.

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I had to face this decision too. My first thought was is it really necessary for the increased service for only the times that I'll be in it. Will it drop in temp while I'm in there? Is it worth it to pay for a new circuit when what I had in place would have been sufficient for 50a?

I can't say that the temp would change even a degree if you sat in it for 20 minutes in the winter (new jersey) even without the heater working. But, I really wanted to do it right. More importantly, I like the fact that if I feel like cranking the temp while i'm in it... I can feel the hot water output. Might sound silly... but I like that.

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Yeah... I live in Western NY and it gets cold in the winter. I wasn't spending all the money on retro fitting the deck , pouring concrete and buying a new tub, and installing the electric to not have something as good as it could be. Who knows... In my case it even new install and the same price so it was a no brainer.

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