Edwin Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Hello, newbie that needs a little bit of assistance. Hoping I can get some advice on wiring from a professional on this forum. I had a hot tub (D1 Lotus bay, worst tub on the market - but that's another story) that was hard wired to 220 volts 50A with a dedicated breaker box. That hot tub was removed about 2 years ago but I still have the 4 bare wires. I just purchased a new hot tub that runs on 15A 110 Volts (cannot be upgraded to 220, will be delivered tomorrow) .... so I purchased a few items to create a 220 to 110, 50A to 15A step down .. but not sure if its correct .. hence the advice needed. I purchased a Leviton 279-S00 50 Amp wall plate with a outdoor box to wire the 4 wires into an outlet (that delivers 50A, 220V), and then i purchased an epicord splitter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075GGXJGQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) , that, in theory, will change the 50 A to 15A, and the 4 wire outlet into two 3 wire outlets each with 110V. The hot tub has a built in GFCI, but I want to ensure that I have additional safeguards in place. Do I need another GFCI or a surge protector? The hot tub will be outdoors. Colorado. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaska_guy Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 Lets keep things simple. 220v = Two wires, Black and Red. 110v on the Black, 110v on the Red. To convert or move to a 110v circuit you simply only use either the black or the red on the circuit breaker. IE: 15A circuit requires a black and a white or a red and a white. The grounds always go to ground. If you had two 15a or 20a circuits you would have the following. Red wire would go into the circuit breaker and the white wire would tie to the GFCI pigtail off that breaker. (Usually the GFCI breakers have a white pigtail and that ties to the neutral bus bar). Black wire would go into the circuit breaker and the white would tie to the GFCI pigtail off that breaker. (Usually the GFCI breakers have a white pigtail and that ties to the neutral bus bar). The ground wire goes to the ground bus bar. By code any wet location is required to be GFCI protected. So you need your new breakers to be GFCI type. Hopefully that helps, I am a former electrician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaska_guy Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 What you are doing sounds like it may work... No way is it to code or safe. You should invest in the correct equipment. Spend a few minutes watching the video below. Using the method below with your 110v tub would be as easy as connecting to the 15a breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cusser Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 19 hours ago, alaska_guy said: By code any wet location is required to be GFCI protected. Hopefully that helps, I am a former electrician. My 1988 CalSpa (220 VAC, 40-amp) had only GFCI on the light when we bought it brand new. Maybe a decade later I added 40-amp GFCI inside the cabinet for the entire unit, after reading about that in Popular Mechanics magazine. I guess the safety requirements have tightened up since then. A couple of times since when my heater element (a hardware store type) corroded, I had the GFCI trip. And since then I've got a real shut off for the entire system out at the spa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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