Zedo Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I'm new here so bear with me. GFI kicked out on my hot tube ( Balboa control box ) 4000 Watt heater 3 seater. 50 amp GFI tripped , went to reset, clicked right back out , tried several times. unplugged motor leads from control unit thinking it was a seized pump or a short in motor, still kicked out. Put ohm meter on heating element terminals. read 15 ohms across the heater terminals, put one probe of meter on one heater terminal read 3.50 ohm to ground, same reading with other terminal. I have no idea what make the hot tub is. Opened control panel in hot tub , I see nothing in there, burnt, or out of place. any ideas where to start would be appreciated. Oh, I also unplugged light in spa at the control panel just trying omit things that would cause GFI not to reset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 If you have Ozone unplug it then try reset. Disconnect the heater remove the 2- 3/8" nuts (hold the 5/16 nut below the copper tab when loosening the top 3/8" nut) and lift the copper tab so it is not touching the element then try reset. If you have unplugged all the components from the board and it still trips you may have a bad GFCI You may have to check the back side of the board to see if there is any damage but I would do this last Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedo Posted February 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 I dont have Ozone , will try disconnecting the heater. If that fails then I'll try a new GFI breaker......Thanks a lot ! Anyone else have a clue? just email me at tfsdls@comcast.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Unplug everything but the topside and work back from there reconnecting one component at a time (reconnect heater last). If it trips with everything disconnected I would pull the board to look on backside for burn marks before spending money on another GFCI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedo Posted February 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Will do, thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Faulty heater element. Disconnect heater and turn it on to verify, but that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedo Posted March 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) Thanks , still too cold here in Western Pa, I drained the tub and vaccumed all water out of the wet end of the pump and the water manifolds. will check out once it gets warmer.....couldnt leave water in there when it's 20 F degrees out. Edited March 7, 2020 by Zedo left a few outs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Put a small space heater under the skirting or may find you have freeze damage in spite of the shop vac treatment. Heater tube is easy to pull, and element usually comes out pretty easy, though I have had a few that gave me all kinds of trouble. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedo Posted March 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 Quote Titanium or the basic common heater? Other than a 12 dollar price bump, any difference ? . Next couple of days going to be in the 60's, will change heater. $30.00 for generic heater or $42.00 for titanium. What should the ohms be on a new 4 KW heater ? Thanks in advance ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 They last a little longer under good conditions, but bad chemistry is hard to defend against, even with titanium. I use the titanium on repair jobs. The added cost is not very great compared to my hourly rate, so I give my customer the best. I guess it depends on how much you enjoy replacing the heater element... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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