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Heater tripping GF


Adam F

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I have a hot springs classic model F.  All kinds of problems.  Recently, the control board quit working, so I wired standard 110v plugs the circ pump and heating element (110v 1.5kw) and have been running them on a timer for about 10hrs per day.  Been working fine, but yesterday it tripped the GFI.  Isolated it to the heater.  I took out my meter and measured 9.2 ohms resistance across the hot and neutral leads, and no continuity between the neutral and ground or neutral and hot.  Is this normal?  I unhooked the ground and plugged it back in, and the heater works just fine.  So why is this? I won't get in the tub with the ground unhooked, but I have to run it like it is so the tub doesnt freeze (Ohio)

Thanks!

-Adam

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Hi Adam,

First of all, I would never use a hot tub that wasn't wired according to the manufacturers original specification.   That tub was made and tested to be compliant by Underwriting Laboratories.  You've by passed the hi limit sensor and flow sensor, which doesn't sound reasonable or safe in my mind.  You've also disconnected the thermostat.  Is the timer you're using rated for an outdoor hot tub?  Is the combination of your custom wiring,  the heater, the circ pump and your timer been tested by Underwriting Laboratories?  They don't do that just to create expensive repair options, they exist as a standard for safety.  Every couple of months in the trades, there's an article of how someone electrocuted themselves (or their family) by cutting corners and making well-intentioned but bad, unsafe repairs.

However, Darwin predicted that organisms that fail to take measures to insure their own survival will eventually be bred out of the gene pool, so it's your choice what you swim in.  Sorry if I come across as sarcastic, but is there any other way I can make the point that you are playing with electricity and water and it's not safe?

That being said, if disconnecting the ground from the heater stops the GFCI from tripping, it probably means the heater has some internal corrosion on the element coating where there is leakage from the heater element, to water, and then to the ground.  A GFCI only needs a micro-amp to trip.  The fact that you are measuring resistance across the heater just means that the element core is contiguous. 

Please, consider getting the tub properly back to spec.  Your potential surviving spouse and children will thank you.

Dave

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