PoconoChris Posted January 25, 2021 Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 So long story short I bought a house and have been completing the hot tub room from the previous owner. I finally started running electrical to the controller. I'm planning for the worst and hoping for the best. The current controller is a CRL MI series that screams 90s. Nothing digital about it with air line switches. I hope to clean it up and if it works....well I won't worry about it. If dead I'd like the replace the whole unit with heater. The issue is which unit should I go with? My searches always seem to show balboa and ACC brand systems with huge price differences. So really the question is what controller pack should I get if I need one? Theres so many brands and series. I know I have 240 volt, One 2 speed pump, air blower, and light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted January 25, 2021 Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 I use balboa exclusively. They were the first fully digital control pack, are widely used in new spas, easy to troubleshoot, parts are easy to find, and they are not expensive. Everyone else is just trying to be like balboa. I have installed hundreds of VS packs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted January 25, 2021 Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 I use Gecko exclusively. They were the Second fully digital control pack, are hardly used in new spas, hard to troubleshoot, parts are hard to find, and they are expensive. Everyone else is just not trying to be like Gecko. I have installed tens of Gecko packs....lol @RDspaguy Just Kidding Gecko makes a great pack as well Clean that old unit up and I bet she works like a charm. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted January 25, 2021 Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 BTW, gecko is a canadian company in case you were wondering...😉 The advantage of your pack is the cheap repairs. No circuit board means when something fails, it's a $50 part not a $350 board. But only us old guys, like me and @CanadianSpaTech, know how to troubleshoot them. Most spa techs these days would be lost just looking at it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoconoChris Posted January 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 Well I'll probably know shortly. No corrosion. Cleaned up the main contactor. Only thing I see wrong is the gfi won't reset but is also making continuity. Good enough to run tests, bad to lay in water for hours 😂. I'm an electrician by trade. So with balboa systems since I'm in the US, why do they have 50 million series of them? What's the difference between a 1000 and 3000? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted January 26, 2021 Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 25 minutes ago, PoconoChris said: an electrician by trade. Me too. IBEW Local 1 class A apprentice for 3 years before I parted ways during my (nasty) divorce. Now I do spas for the past 26 years. It's really a pretty simple 3-wire motor control system, but most spa techs in the digital age have no real clue how to use a multimeter. Compared to the assembly lines at the GM plant it's a joke not worth laughing at. That gfci only protects the equipment and you can still kill yourself just as dead as you'll get by touching the water with a shorted heater and a bad ground. I'd get a gfci breaker on it if I were you. If you're worried about code, it needs a disconnect, which can be the gfci breaker, no less than 5ft no more than 25ft in a direct line of sight from the spa. This is measured from the water surface. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoconoChris Posted January 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 Well did an ohm test on the heater and with the heater disconnected I was able to bump the motor. Waiting on the 50 amp breaker to come in and sump pump and chemicals. Can't wait 😁 Thanks all 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Keep us posted, we like a happy ending. 👍 No comments from the peanut gallery, @CanadianSpaTech. 🤨 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSpaTech Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 10 hours ago, RDspaguy said: No comments from the peanut gallery, @CanadianSpaTech. 🤨 Peanut gallery is closed until further notice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingerstank Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 On 1/26/2021 at 9:14 PM, RDspaguy said: Keep us posted, we like a happy ending. 👍 Am I in the wrong forum ? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted January 29, 2021 Report Share Posted January 29, 2021 2 hours ago, Fingerstank said: Am I in the wrong forum ? lol The peanut gallery is open under new management.😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.