Intermittent Gfci Tripping When Hot Tub Is In Use

[Southpaw]

Intermittent GFCI breaker tripping when hot tub is in use

I have a Beachcomber hot tub that has been intermittently tripping the 40A GFCI breaker. The breaker only trips after approximately 20-30 minutes of running with the jet blower on. In never trips any other time (sitting idle with just the heater and circulation pump on). The motor area stays dry and the GFCI is located in the house, so it's not getting damp and causing a trip. The the breaker is reset the hot tub runs fine again.

This hot tub is at least 12yrs old. I think it the Beachcomber 550. The plate is hard to read. It came with the house when I purchased it 8yrs ago and it has run without any problems, aside from a few maintenance items. The hot tub has nothing fancy, just a circulation pump, single stage jet pump and the brains/heater unit, which is a Digital 2000.

Since the breaker started tripping I've replaced the heater coil and the pressure switch (it was looking rough) but same problem occurred again after 30 minutes of use with the jet motor running.

I've tested the power draw, heater shows approx 12A when it kicks on, circulation pump draws just under 1A and the single stage blower pump draws approx 8A when on.

I'm not sure if the control pad would cause the breaker to trip, ours is not in the best shape with splits and bubbling in the plastic cover from age so we try to be careful and not to get water in it.

My other thoughts were possibly something shorting in the blower motor after it heats up or the 40A GFCI breaker is going bad.

Any thoughts on what would cause a 40A GFCI to trip after the hot tub runs for 20-30 minutes and repeatedly do this every time when the hot tub is used for the exact amount of time?

Thanks!

[Dr. Spa]

First, lets try to get consistent on terminology. You say "The breaker only trips after approximately 20-30 minutes of running with the jet blower"...but then you say "The hot tub has nothing fancy, just a circulation pump, single stage jet pump and the brains/heater unit".

A blower is a type of "pump", that just blows air. Nothing else, no water, just air.

A circulation pump is a very small water pump that is typically used 24/7 for filtration and heating.

There's then LARGE one speed and/or dual speed pump that pump large volumes of water for the jet action.

As for your problem though, could very well be a bad GFCI breaker.

[KyleCT]

If you do have a blower (pump that blows are to make bubbles) they normally have a check valve in line which keeps the water from getting back in the blower motor that might be the issue. Over time the seals on the check valve can fail a bit and it only takes a drop or two of water the get back to that motor to cause your breaker to trip. Try unplugging your blower and see if the breaker still trips, if not you have just isolated the problem.

Kyle

[Southpaw]

My system just has the circulation pump and the larger pump for the jets (which called the jet/blower pump). When using the hot tub with the jets on, there are 2 valves by my control panel (don't know there proper name) that when turned on adds the air bubbles to the upper and lower jets.

[Southpaw]

My system just has the circulation pump and the larger pump for the jets (which called the jet/blower pump). When using the hot tub with the jets on, there are 2 valves by my control panel (don't know there proper name) that when turned on adds the air bubbles to the upper and lower jets.