losballatopg Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 Hello forum! I recently decided taking on the project of building myself a hot tub from free new/used parts on craigslist. I have ended up with an old Clearwater tub plumbed for 2 pumps. I installed a Spabuilders Gecko S-Class spa pack (sc-cf-p122-b2-o2-cp1-ls-hp-u-amp-ne-ap2) and set it up for all 120v, per the label instructions on the inside of the lid. I then wired the two pumps that I have to 115v and plumbed/wired everything together (I hope I'm using proper terminology) I am at the point where I would like to fill and plug the tub in....but am unsure about the electricity source. On most Gecko S-Class packs I see, the sticker rates 120v 15amp and 240v 40+amps. The sticker on my pack however only shows 240v 38amps...despite being convertible. My setup is as follows.... 1 two-speed main pump that reads 230/115v 6.0/16.0amps and a second two-speed pump that reads 115v 11.0/2.9amps as well as an ozone pulling...whatever amperage that a Balboa O3 pulls ;-) The spa pack has no labeled or implied option for a second pump and I was hoping to just attach the second pump to the blower output in the hopes that the pack will at least run it at a single speed. My questions are.....Is this possible? Or will this pump draw too much for the blower output on this pack? Can I replace the blower fuse on the pack with a larger one to accommodate the pump in this position? What sort of amperage should I anticipate this setup pulling? I was hoping to run it on a 20amp outlet.... Thank you for reading and I look forward to your responses. If I can provide ANY further helpful information, please ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n1oty Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 Wow, talk about a disaster waiting to happen!!!! Let's start with a piece of basic electric code from Article 680. The maximum ampacity available to a 115 volt tub is 20 amps, but we must factor the so-called 125 percent rule into this. Therefore, the maximum load you can put on a 20 amp tub circuit is 16 amps. Your pump #1 appears to draw 16 amps on high speed, which means that you cannot run another pump, blower or heater simultaneously. Well, your heater won't be a problem if you properly jumper the board for low amp operation. I don't see how you could possibly power up a second motor or blower. Furthermore, most of these S-Class boxes restrict pump 1 to a maximum FLA of approximately 14 amps. You, my friend, are well on your way to burning up that box. Please stop now. You are not even close with this setup and you are bordering on doing something dangerous. You have the wrong pack and the wrong equipment. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losballatopg Posted August 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 Thank you John for your reply. Unfortunately, as much as I appreciate the criticism, I don't notice any sort of helpful advice in your post. Would you recommend that I find pumps that draw lower amperage? Or perhaps re-plumb the tub for use with only one main two-speed pump? Perhaps the lower amperage pump that I was going to use as the second? Maybe you meant to say "you have the wrong pack FOR the equipment"? It can't be both, or they wouldn't exist. Also, when you say that I will burn up the pack... What exactly will burn? The fuses for either the pump or the blower? Or the board itself? Your statements, while both strong and dramatic, don't provide me with much useful information.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n1oty Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 Well, I don't know how you can properly re-plumb a tub that was engineered for two pumps over to a one pump system without going to a very large pump, and that would require 230 volts, something you are trying to avoid. I won't bother trying to elaborate on the additional friction losses that will happen when trying to force more water via one path to compensate for the loss of the second path. The ideal solution to your problem would be to acquire the proper two pumps for your tub, then acquire a pack that can properly service those two motors. Again though, two-motor packs cannot be set up for 115 volt operation and stay within the limited ampacity of 115 volt circuits. Have you analyzed the flow rate/pump curve data of the two pumps that you have acquired to determine if they will work properly with your existing tub jets??? If you have undersized your pumps, flow rates will be anemic and some jets may not work at all. If you oversized, you'll get pump cavitation. Tubs are manufactured so that pumps/motors are matched to deliver proper flow at the proper pressure range to the jets. You cannot simply slap in any old pump/motor and have it work properly, unless you get very lucky. Have you looked at the side of your S-Class box and determined the FLA figure for pump 1??? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
op1 Posted August 30, 2013 Report Share Posted August 30, 2013 I did a rebuild myself. I shopped around and ended up buying an easypak controller. At the time of purchase (on-line) I went down the check list and had it configured to the pumps I had that came with my spa. Not sure about the specifics on your controller, but I would contact the manufacturer and tell them the specifics to see if it can be done. The one thing I can say is, if any pump is 220/240 then the feed from the house to the controller will need to be that. You can not feed a 220/240 from a 110 source, regardless of how the controller box is configured. OP1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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