14 year old Envoy Hot Tub tripping 20 amp breaker

[CanadianSpaTech]

On 4/21/2020 at 5:01 PM, sefanzed said:

I'm planning to install an axial fan coupled onto the 4" tube that used to connect to the previous motor that was replaced

Is the spa in a deck? Hot tubs need to breath. Arctic use to have a problem with overheating and deforming pump wet ends so that's when they switched to the European EMG Finned motors to dissipate heat...but that also lead to other problem Metric seals for one. I had a spa where is was built into the deck and the deck went right up to where the panel and the under lip of the acrylic. Heat rises and the heat from the pumps could not escape and kept deforming the wet end posts where it attaches to the motor. Under the deck also had no air flow so in summer it would get extremely hot under there. A pump running after 1 cycle (15 mins) will get to 160-170 degrees...now run it for 45 mins and the heat builds often overheating the spas water above set temp.

I would install a few vents into the panel as close to the pump as possible. One low by the pump and one higher up. Use ones the can be opened in summer and closed as weather gets cooler...or opened when you are going for a long tubby time

[sefanzed]

I've installed the axel fan today, along with a programmable thermostatic controller.  I've positioned it above the non-watkins motor, fastening it to the exhaust tubing that used to connect to the back end of the watkins self-exhausting motor.  Now it's pulling cooler air into the equipment area and exhausting it to a vent on the side of the spa.  There was direct sunlight hitting the equipment compartment cover and initially the inside temp was 105ª with the spa off!  I've programmed the fan to turn on at 105 and off at 98.  I'm shooting in the dark with pinpointing optimal temperature ranges, but I did want to see how fast the fan would work to cool down the compartment.  Having said that, we don't use the spa in the heat of the day, so in actual use the outdoor temps would be cooler, as opposed to daytime when the ambient temp was 79 or so (direct sunlight played a factor today).   As I write this, I've gotten the rig up and running for about about 2 hours and the fan has cooled the cabinet down by about 6 degrees.  

That's why I was trying to pin down the operating temperature range of the IQ2020 circuit board, if for nothing else to gauge how to set the operating parameters of the fan. (it's a 3.5" 110v with a high CFM).  I'll be playing around with this for a couple more days, but so far it looks promising.  The vents are also a good idea.  I'll update this post as I learn more.

[CanadianSpaTech]

Fan is GFCI Protected right

[sefanzed]

It's on the same circuit as the ozone generator. 

 

[RDspaguy]

The ozone generator will probably turn off whenever a button is pressed on the topside, and remain off for a set period. So the fan may not run when the pumps are on. 

[sefanzed]

This ozone generator is on all the time as far as I know.  I've tested the controller with the pumps on and it appears to be receiving current (remote shows ERR if the untit isn't powered).  Here are some pix showing the controller install/temp probe placement (next to IQ2020), fan detail, remote (still futzing with settings) and pix of the spa. All electric items are not touching any surfaces likely to become wet. Initially, my biggest concern was that the signal/rf from the controller transmitter might interfere with my spa remote, but that hasn't been the case, thankfully.  So far the only challenge is to set realistic temperatures for the fan operation.  The total cost was around $40.00.

Until I saw the readout on the remote, I never suspected the equipment area got so hot.  Speaks well of the Watkin's engineering team, since their spas have to live through extreme hot and cold, depending on the install locale.  I only wish they'd publish some real schematics and tech info, like operating temp ranges, etc.

[RDspaguy]

Perfect. Good job. Way to think outside the box. 👍

[sefanzed]

Thanks!  I'll update as more info presents itself.

[sefanzed]

Thought I'd update this, if anyone is still interested.

The venting solution has been running for about 3-4 weeks now, and I haven't had one shutdown due to extended use.  So far, the grand experiment has proved successful.  

Some observations.  When the system is off, the typical temperature inside the equip cabinet ranges between 98-104 degrees (depending on outdoor air temp).  When the system is running for more than 45 minutes, the temp can reach 117.  Due to the fan exhaust, the cabinet temp tops out at 117 (the fan deploys at 104 and doesn't turn off until it reaches 98).  Without the fan the temperature probably surpassed 120+ which instigated the shutdown.   

Occasionally, the fan does turn on during the day when the sun is shining directly on the equipment cabinet, however, since the fan uses one 3watts or so, this isn't an issue.  In the long run, temperature control will probably benefit to extend the life of the equipment.  Still, since the components are over 14 years old, that horse has probably left the barn!

[RDspaguy]

Thanks for the update. Glad it is working well.👍