hlwimmer Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Hi: We just completed our spa/pool (a really small pool in actuality -- 2.5K gal) and all seems to be working well except the Hayward heater. It turns on; the light glows; it's hard to tell if it's heating, though; but within 5 minutes of start-up, it pops the GFCI. It doesn't pop immediately and if the breaker is reset, it will pop again in 1/2 the time of initial start-up (in about 3 minutes) and will do so consistently with each reset. The new subpanel pulled from main and 240V 30A GFCI circuit (the heater is the only thing on this circuit) was installed by a competent electrician (who is on vacation this week -- this the note here). The pump and salt chlorinator are on a separate 15A GFCI circuit in the same subpanel and are doing fine. Any idea as to what could be causing the GFCI to pop? Heater? Connections? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 If,as you say, the heater is the only thing connected to that circuit then you need to measure the current draw while the heater is on. For this you will need a "clamp-on" ammeter. If the current draw is normal, then you may have a defective breaker. Otherwise ther must be a "Ground Fault" or short in the heater circuit. A 5.5KW heater should draw 24amps @ 240V. Following the 125% role a 30A breaker just makes it. You mentioned connections, If a connection is loose there could be heat build up or even arcing. If this is the case you will easily exceed 30A and trip the breaker. This type of troubleshooting is a step-by-step process you need accurate information on amp draw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PreservedSwine Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Full Load Amps clamp meter won't detect a ground fault- the FLA reading may be perfect, but 5 milli-amps leak to ground, and.... *pop* goes the breaker. If it's taking 5 minutes to trip- either a bad heater, or loose connection that's overheating, possibly a bad breaker- but that's pretty low. If you have a meter and know how to test for milliamps- disconect the ground, and measure milli-amps across the broken ground (heater only- be sure to isolate and remove any redundant grounds. Anything over 0.5ma- it's bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlwimmer Posted September 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 thanks for the replies. i've a call into my electrician to sleuth it out (he's on vacation) and i've another heater on order just in case... unfortunately, i can finalize the inspections with a goofy heater, so it needs to get fixed -- plus the water is cold! ... as far as measuring and testing the breaker, i'll rely on the electrician to do that because it's under warranty. if it's a bad heater, we'll swap it out. the electrician did the calcs for the breaker and if it's undersized, he'd be on the hook for replacing it, too, hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n1oty Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 The breaker is NOT undersized. Amp and ground fault tests must be performed. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlwimmer Posted September 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Interestingly enough, I did some digging today. Box is labelled 5.5KW. Chassis is labelled 5.5KW... open up the heater and there are TWO elements. The diagrams indicate that two elements are the 11KW model -- no wonder it's popping the GFCI. It seems the guts and chassis were mis-labelled... see pix: http://www.hlwimmer.com/hayward.jpg ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlwimmer Posted September 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 I wanted to close out this thread for anyone who might have the same issue (odd as it is). The unit was indeed mis-labaled at the factory (confired by Hayward) -- it was a 11KW heater in a chassis (and box) labelled 5.5KW. As noted above and shown in the photos, the /only/ difference as confirmed by Hayward tech support is that the 11KW has 2 heater coils and the 5.5KW has one. In the 5.5KW model, the hole for the 2nd coil is plugged with a threaded stopper... In The Swim was kind enough to offer a refund/swap, but I've decided to keep the 11KW model and simply disconnect the 2nd coil and leave the other as an extra should the first one ever burn out. It was a 5min disconnection and something easy to get to, especially if you're already in there connecting power. The 5.5KW is running wonderfully on a 30A breaker and -- with the help of a cheap solar cover -- took the water to 85 deg (it's a small pool -- not a spa) easily. So, anyone shopping for these -- the price for the 11KW is often lower (greater supply?), so you might as well buy it and have the spare part if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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