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Main Breaker trips after a delay, while running


Keats

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Sunday 10 Mar 19

Maax Vita, Grand 2015. Has two pumps.

Drained and refilled and got an air bubble. We did not fill it properly. Should have been thru the filter port, but instead a hose was simply put into the tub and it created the air bubble. Shame on us. 

O.K., that said, when attempting to start it up, A Purge Air message was displayed.  I tried to burp it by turning the pumps on and off and going from low to hi speed with each pump. Then I tried a plunger to try to purge air by plunging at the filter opening. I turned the heat down as low as possible so the heater would not turn on. No luck with the air purge. The spa ran for about 10-15 minutes and then my main breaker (not the 50 amp GFCI breaker in the spa sub panel)  tripped in my main house breaker panel. These are two 60 amp breakers together. They supply the Spa Sub Panel only.

I removed the side panels and loosened the connection at the heater, no air escaped. Next were the two connections at pump #1 as well as the small air bleed plugs. Air did hiss out followed by a steady stream of water. Then on to pump #2 and again loosened both connectors at the pump as well as the air bleed plugs. Same result.

I reset the twin 60 amp main breakers and started the spa up again. Again, I got the purge air message. Eventually we got the system clear of air, and reset the main breaker again, I got it to run with pump #1 on low speed and the heater heating up the spa. It ran for hours. Water got to about 100 degrees and my wife decided to use the spa. I thought that the situation was cured. She increased the pump speed and turned on pump #2 and after about 10 minutes of running like it should, the main breaker again tripped. Not the GFCI, just the main breaker.

I have checked the heater element for a short with my continuity meter and there is none. I looked into the control panel for anything burned or broken and it looks like the day it was delivered. No odors of burning or any visible damage. The heater has two sensors on it. One at each end.  The sensors are actually is screwed into the heater tube. (On my old "Master Spa" the sensor simply laid on top of the heater tube under a clip) The wires for each sensor are securely plugged into the control board.

So with the air purged and the spa running for hours and only tripping the main breaker when the pumps run on hi and the heater is working, I'm stumped.

The spa is still under warranty and if it is a covered thing, no problem. If it's not a covered item, then I'm looking at $$$ for a service call and possible fix.

Nothing has changed in any part of the electrical supply. So it's worked well since it was installed in May of 2016. Any ideas what could be causing these issues?

Thanks,

Keats

Phoenix.

 

Update: 3/10/19. P.M.

We just ran. a series of tests on the spa. Running the pump(s) at various speeds and combinations.

Pump #1 Low speed ran as it should have. 15 minutes and then it shut off as designed. Breaker did not trip.

Pump #1 High speed, same thing.Breaker did not trip.

Pump#1 Low and Pump #2 Low, ran fine and shut off as designed. Breaker did not trip.

Pump #1 Low and Pump #2 High, Ran as it should and shut off as designed after 15 minutes. Breaker did not trip.

Pump #1 High and Pump #2 High, ran only 13 minutes and then tripped the main breaker.

So running both of these pumps on HIGH caused the breaker to trip, shutting down the entire spa and making it necessary to reset the main breaker at the main breaker box.

 

 

Edited by Keats
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Tuesday 12 Mar 19

Update:  1st of all. Not a single reply to my posting. O.K. then....

2nd: Opened the main breaker panel and found that one of the wires was not tight in the breaker. It actually came out of the breaker when I pulled it away from the box.

I replaced the 60 amp dual breakers with a new one just to be sure it was not a defective breaker. Tightened the wires and then checked other breakers.

Found three that needed just a bit more tightening. Hmmm?

So powered iyt up and the spa ran like it should. Did all of the various speed and heating tests again and it kept running. Checked it again this morning and it was still working like it should.

So, I'm assuming that the loose wire caused the breaker to overheat and that tripped it. Now that it's tight, no unusual heating issue so it works right.

Keats

Phoenix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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