I am currently in the process of replaing a 15 year old spa pack with a recently purchased spa pack. I chose to replace the previous 120V spa pack with a new 120V spa pack.

My question is whether I need to upgrade the wiring. The current installation has a dedicated 20 amp circuit and a GFCI breaker near the hot tub. After reading many online forums, I want to know if I need to upgrade the current wiring to include a dedicate disconnect box, or can I simply replace the existing GFCI and wire it directly to the new spa pack.

No. Your current installation should be fine. The gfci you have now actually IS the dedicated cut-off switch - if it's in a junction box that's separate from the spa, at least 5 feet away, and within sight of it.

This is simple stuff, (stop reading so many online forums! lol .

Perhaps this is semantical, but is the 5 feet directional or spatial.

To explain, the previous owner installed a GFCI under a deck surrounding the hot tub, accessible via a removable board in the deck.

I started down the path of rewiring everything to a separate disconnect box and then back to the hot tub to meet the 5 foot directional requirement ( 5 feet from the side of the tub in any linear direction). However, since this is an previous installation, I was wondering if I need to upgrade the location of the GFCI ( which is approximately 2 feet directionaly but 5 feet spatially from the tub, but is hidden under the deck. Also, since the code is (I think) that boxes should be 2 feet above the ground, I was wondering if the 5 feet is a diagonal measurement from the side of the tub (spatial) or if is a straight directional measurement from the side of the tub.

I don't mind rewiring everything as I would rather be safe than sorry for me or others that would enherit my handy work, but I also don't want to over assume the code.

The problem is the previous owner buried cable up to the GFCI, so I either need to dig up their installation and move it, or I need to install conduit out to 5 feet away from the hot tub and then conduit back to the hot tub. I guess I am and trying to figure out whether that is necessary or not. I don't know if the fact that I am working with 120V equipment affects the disconnect box requirements or not.

directional or spatial?

You mean like 2d or 3d measurements? (like x,y with a z coordinate?)

I'll tell ya what. (btw, 120 volts or 240, it's the same).

This is getting insane - but in working on more than a thousand hot tubs over 10 years, I have never told a customer he had to move his under deck gfci that was right next to his underdeck spa control system that couldn't be seen or accessed by anyone using the tub.

Hell I've never told any owner he had to move anything - I was just glad to at least see that a GFCI was installed! That said, I have given plenty of stern warnings to customers that had their cut-off boxes mounted within arms reach of the tub - where someone IN the tub could actually reach over, lift up the cover and play with something electrical. That is downright stupid.

You need to approach this with common sense:

1. Is this installation going to be inspected by mister hard ass county electrician (that's dumber than a stump a lot of times because he knows less than you - but errs on the side of hardass just because he doesn't know better or can't reason it out) OR some off the street home inspector that just cares that it has a GFCI like I do?

2. The disconnect is underneath the deck. One thing I'm sure the NEC recognizes is possibly the need for someone to turn off the tub in the event someone is standing next to it getting bar-b-qued while they watch - and nobody wants to touch this electrocuted dude... Can anyone in the vicinity find the box and get it turned off to save this guy?

3. While number 2 above is probably the rarest event in the world (more likely to being whacked by a lightning strike from a thunderstorm in Siberia) - the possibility still exists - so that's why the over 5 feet requirement - and being within site of the spa exists.

4. Cut off box being in sight of the spa is a bonus for technicians. If you've ever spent any time in the military and done a simple circuit check out where power needs to be removed from something so that it can be worked on, the requirements are very intense. Notifying EVERYONE, and marking (procedure is called a `tag-out`) EVERY freaking breaker that may have any connection to the equipment in question.

In this case - a simple one, a spa technician working on the equipment should be able to eyeball that cut-off switch - at all times to be sure that it hasn't been tampered with since he left it. The military requirements for this situation are extremely rigorous - and still people get killed.

So, the NEC is quite reasonable on this one - be sure the tech that's working on the tub can see the cutoff breaker box - and ensure that he's safe to continue work without frying himself.

One thing I've never liked as a tech, is having that cut-off around the other side of the house where I can't see it. In those cases, I'll bring my own cheap master lock to stick in the panel holes to prevent anyone from messing with it. If it's got a pull out plug type disconnect which is very common, I keep the insert with me.

So you need to just read into all that above, and make your own decision. The fact that you have a gfci on the tub, (and I hope it's working and tested regularly), is a wonderful thing.

This is not an easy question to answer in a public online forum simply because of long term liability issues.

It sounds to me like your installation at least meets 2/3's of the nec requirements, which is a lot more than I can say for about 40% of the tub installations out there with no protection at all...

You have to make your own choices with this thing.

Otherwise, here are your instructions:

1. Connect and mount a spa disconnect box at least 5 feet away from the spa, and within sight of it. Occupants and everything else. That's what section 680 requires. You can mount this in series with your existing GFCI box under the tub and you'll be fine.

2. Be sure your connections are tight - double check after you've pushed the wires into the box - into their final position before putting on the cover.

3. Any further questions, refer to 1 and 2 above.

Hope this helps you.

PS: I'm sure there's lots of other techs reading this forum that could at least chime in with their own recommendations or thoughts on this subject - as everyone in this business sees this stuff all the time. This one's open for debate, conjecture, and recommendation. Post away.

The disconnect box has to be in line of sight of the spa. If not it defeats its purpose.

That is what I said....