Hello everyone,

I have the electrician at my house and he is hooking up my 240v spa 50amp. This is a new home and I had them wire a 50amp circuit to the back of the house about 20 ft. from where the spa is. The 50amp breaker in the main panel is NOT GFI. However the built into the spa electric panel is a GFI.

My question is will I still need a Spa disconnect on the wall about 15 ft. away from it as per code? Also should it be a fuse disconnect or GFI? The electrician is saying that it can't be GFI because it will cause to much resistance and pop the breaker and I believe him because I connected a GFI spa disconnect and it popped the breaker. With the fuse disconnect it worked fine.
So the Electrician who is Licensed says that since my spa control panel has a GFI then he doesn't need to place a SPA Disconnect GFI or Not.

What do you guys think? Is this up to code in California?

Thanks,

Mike

There is no such animal as too much resistance because of a separate gfci breaker.

Yes you are required to have a separate disconnect.

Like this:

Main box -----> Disconnect -----> Hot Tub.

If you connected a gfci as the disconnect breaker and it tripped a/the breaker then it was wired incorrectly.

And I would never trust a built in GFCI in a spa control as they will normally fail early in the game, and... when they do, they fail in the ON position, leaving the spa powered up with no protection.

Let me ask you this. If the run is about 30-40 ft. and I'm running 240v with 50amp breakers what Gauge wire will I be safe with?

Mike

About half of these things I see in the field are done with 8 gauge copper, which really isn't right as far as a 50 amp installation.

They should be 6 gauge.

If 8gauge is already done will it be ok? Or should I have the Electrician come back and rewire 6 gauge?

Thanks again,

Mike

I'll leave that decision up to you. Local code will dictate what should/can be installed.

The NEC bases all of this on 80% of current carrying capacity, so the sizing of 6 gauge is intentionally overrated.

Here's one chart... http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_5/chpt_3/2.html

That said, I've yet to see a house or spa burn down because of 8 gauge wire on a 50 amp circuit.

You didn't say anything about the maximum current rating of your spa... and that will figure into all of this. If there isn't one listed (or it's disappeared), you'll need to respond with all of the voltage & amperage ratings you find on your pumps, blower, etc.

The sub panel is a must . We see more than half the 240v GFCI hook ups are done wrong -- and this is by licensed electricians. The number one problem we see is they miss wire the Neutral wire--it cannot be a ground if a GFCI is used.
If a GFCI breaker is used in the sub - the white Neutral wire is a LOAD NEUTRAL -- it must be hooked to the breaker-- not the buss bar or wire nut to another wire of any sort.
If you have a GFCI on the spa pack -- they usually monitor one side of the incoming power-- ie 110v not 240v like the sub and breaker.
I have never seen a properly wired GFCI cause to much resistance and trip because of it, thats not how they work . Even big shot electricians dont undertsand how these are suppost to work -- thats why we see grounded LOAD NEUTRAL wires all the time .

If it was me i would run the GFCI load center - fancy name for the sub box with a GFCI. near the tub as your shut off box.

All,

I have pictures of my wiring that I took and are very clear. I also have them of the spa rating.

The spa is 240v , 40amp, Frequency 60

Looks like the Electrician used 10gauge wire that is Gasoline resistant etc...etc..

I compared the wiring to the 4-circuit Spa Panel on Eaton Cutler-Hammer site and everything looks right according to their drawing.

Why would only 1 of the post on the 50amp circuit on the house breaker trip and the other stay on? IS it possible that it's bad??? Should I replace it?

Please email me with responses.

I have included photos of the SPA Disconnect wiring as well as info from the spa.

If you can't see the pics on here let me know and I can email them.

Thanks all for your help!

Mike

My greatest experience with this situation is that one side of the breaker - the wires are not tight enough, which over heats that one side - (this is usually the L1 side).

Double check the tightness of the hold down screws.

If they were loose, and then re-tightened and then it still trips, then it's time to replace that breaker. Usually about $8 at home depot.

Great...thanks for the info. I'll check the breaker to see if there is a screw loose anywhere and then if not I'm going to go buy one. That was my original plan.

Thanks again,

Mike