This i belive is a mid 90's Waters Edge Countess Spa.
MFG: Waters Edge
Model: EX200SS
PUMP HP: 1-1/8
BLOWER HP: 1
HEATER 1.5/6
MAX LOAD VOLTS: 220

I got it a couple weeks ago (USED), and fixed some major leaks due to it not being drained for last winter.
Im in Maine "Very Cold Out"

Ok well here is the prob.
Im not sure what direction to turn the thermostat, I belive it goes to the right to be turned up? but thats not the major prob.

I have it set to auto. The low speed is on and the tub heats. but only gets to about 90 dagrees doe not get hot enough to enjoy or break a sweat.

and if I turn the temp to highest on the dial topside it heats for a while then kicks the Hi-Lim switch. Ive removed the filter and tryed again and it still kicks after a half hour or so of heating.. I reset it after a little bit and it works again for a little longer.. The low speed pump is deffintly moving water enough.

the second issue im having is when you hit the air button to turn on the jets "high speed" the light comes on saying they are on but the jets are not running the tub goes silent, however the blower works fine. now i will mention that the jets worked a couple days ago, then didnt.. then they did again.. but now they really dont.. "switch issue?"


POSTING PHOTOS NEXT

PageUp?

Anyone?

Im trying to get this solved and buy the right parts to fix it cause its getting to be below freezing soon.. the next week or so..

thanks to anyone who can help give some ideas as to what to look for or replace..

RE CAP:
1: Not heating above 90-95 (removed filter to try out & water flow is good) but snapping Hi-Limit when top side is set to hottest.
2: High Speed jets wont come on, but the light on topside says they are on, sometimes the jets work however most of the time they do not.
3: thats about it..

any ideas were to start and what to look for/ replace? all original equipment..

maby ill give this a try, just found it on spababes

Thermostat: (Symptoms: no heat, too hot, not hot enough)
Mechanical thermostats consist of a switch, control knob, and temperature sensor. The temperature sensor looks like a copper wire when in fact it is a tube connected to a bulb which is filled with freon which expands and contracts with temperature. It is this expansion and contraction that activates the switch. If your spa is too hot and does not respond to a turning down of the thermostat, this bulb could be corroded. Check it. If so, the gas may have escaped and thus while the switch will activate you'll have no sensing capabilities so it won't turn off at any designated temperature. Bulbs cannot be replaced. Time for a new Thermostat. If your pump does not respond to thermostat demand you may want to check through the thermostat with your meter on ohms and power off to be sure the switch is opening and closing. You can usually hear this if your ears are good. The switch will make a faint click as it is engaged and disengaged. If it is engaging your problem may be up or down the line. A power on check will assure you the T-Stat is getting power. Meter to AC volts check each side to ground. If your spa is not hot enough, you may find that the thermostat is out of adjustment. If you remove it from the heater (power off of course) you'll find an allen screw adjustment on the bottom. a quarter turn clockwise will usually increase the temperature to comfortable levels... A word of caution here. It is UNSAFE to use your spa at temperatures above 104 degrees! It raises your core body temperature and can cause flu like symptoms. It can also kill you! Even at 104 degrees you should limit your time in the spa to no more than 15 minutes. Some people shouldn't use a spa that's hotter than body temperature. Consult your doctor!!! Drugs and alcohol do not mix with spas either! If you turn up your thermostat it's your responsibility to be sure your spa is not too hot for safe use. Get a good thermometer that will give you an accurate reading.

High Limit: (Symptoms: no power, no heat, high limit trips too soon)
High limits are also temperature sensing switches. They also use sensing bulbs so the same problems that exist above can influence your high limit. If your high limit is tripping within a few minutes of activating the heater CHECK FLOW! Little or no water flow will cause this. If it trips at the end of the heating cycle it's probably because at the end, when the thermostat turns the pump off, the element is still hot, and the water is hot. The temperature at the element can go up for a few seconds and will sometimes trip the high limit. It's best to replace the high limit if this happens all the time. The high limit has an adjustment screw also. If you choose to try this it is a counter clockwise turn and it should barely be tweaked. You need this safety switch to interrupt if there is a problem. This adjustment is at your own risk! Remember flow is critical! If you adjust your high limit and your pump impeller is full of leaves you could have a complete meltdown of all pipes in contact with the heater. Not a pretty sight! If you have no power this can also indicate a "high limit tripped" condition.

Alright sorry I missed the follow up on this - I was waiting for the photos.

Main Power Wiring. Unless you've switched your hot and neutral at your disconnect or main power breaker, then your Red and White are BACKWARDS - which is probably causing your pump problem - you're sending 230v to a 115v pump, and on the verge of frying the blower.

You need to verify 100% that you were supposed to tie the White (Neutral) and Black (L1) to the left side of the heater contactor. It SHOULD be Red and Black on the contactor input, with the white tied to your neutral (which should be white).

If you HAVE swapped the red and neutral at the disconnect or main power box, then you need to fix that as it can lead to a very unsafe condition in troubleshooting procedure or future repairs.

#####################################

The rest of this assumes the wiring is correct.


1. It would be a good idea to some things in the box, or replace the box.

A. Jets - That's a single pole air switch on the lower left, so that should not be responsible for both the jet light on top and the high speed pump activation... but if it is, then the switch may be applying power to the high speed pump motor, and the jets light - which would mean your pump motor or wiring has an intermittent fault. To confirm if the switch is supplying power to the light AND the pump, follow the yellow wire in the lower right hand back side of the box.

It probably connects to a relay that is not visible in the photos. If so, then replace that relay.

B. High Limit Switch - Replace, it's old corroded and looks like hell.
http://spapartsnet.com/Electric-Heaters ... 2_0_1.html


2. Leave the control box thermostat turned down (ccw). You use the one on the top of the tub to control temp.

3. Unless that controller can shut the heater down when the pump or blower is running, then your main power wiring is too small. The max load capable on those incoming power wires is 30 amps. That box is designed to work around 40 amps. In the interim, do not use the blower or jets on high speed if the heater is on. You'll definitely overheat your main power cabling and it could cause a fire under adverse circumstances.
That said, if what I'm assuming about this is correct and if you have a breaker feeding this thing that is larger than 30 amps, you'll also need to replace that too. It's either that or...

1. Rewire with 8 gauge (or 6 depending upon distance run).
or
2. Replace with digital system that has the capability to work in low current mode
http://spapartsnet.com/Spa-Packs-Contro ... 8_3_1.html
or
http://spapartsnet.com/Spa-Packs-Contro ... 8_2_1.html

Funny, cause just a couple mins ago the high speed started working again. then after i switched the red & white to the way you said to its not working again, however i do not think it is cause i switched the red & white to the way they should be.. it seems to be doing this one day it works, then the next it wont.. Im guess a loose connection/switch/relay?
When I got off the phone with you "im guessing" or the rep i spoke with that person told me to dissconect the top side & see if it heats more. however when i did that the heater wont turn on at all.. also the high speed then started working.. so i then plugged the topside control back in and the high speed still continued to work & the heater worked again as well.. i turned the bottom therm down and turned the topside on high.

see if that helps the temp

shortly after my high speed stopped working again.


I also traced that yellow wire.. it goes from the harness the topside plugs into, into the the long board all the other wires connect to in the middle of the box with screws then to a air switch then to the pump/motor wire harness.. its a new motor.. i replaced to fix this problum but the problum is still there.. here is a photo of the trace of yellow wire, hope it makes sence.



I will buy a new hi temp switch this week for sure. i feel it should be replaced as you said as well.

thank you for the input.
maby after you look at this photo you might have a idea about the high speed? I do not see it going to a relay not visable in the photos. however the photos are hard to see anything clearly.[/img]

Ok, I dont know if this is good or bad, but i backed the Hi-Limit switch's bulb out of the heater a little bit, and the hi limit seems to have stopped kicking out on me, however that might not be safe? it was pushed ALL THE WAY as far as it could go into the heater.. so i just pulled it back a smidge. The tub is deffinitly heating more now that the bottom thermostat is down and the topside is up. and when it gets to the temp i have set on the dial the heater turns itself off like it should. however the low speed pump stays on, thats normal right? I can use the timer to turn the tub off and only have it come on for a hour every few hours to keep the tub from freezing right? then just turn it to AUTO a couple hours befor I want to use the tub? cause thats what seems to be working.

still can not figure out the hi-speed yet..
Im going to replace the hi-limit still as it is deff faulty i feel.

Unless you can get a volt/ohm meter then there's not much else to do.

1. I don't trust the incoming power set up unless you can tell me what the voltage readings are between White Red, and White Black incoming.

2. You don't have the ability to determine if the pump is getting voltage.

3. To buy more stuff without at least a $5.00 voltmeter to do some quick checks is really an experimental use of money.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=90899

Voltage readings are the only thing that'll help in this case.

Ok, Great info.
I got a volt/ohm meter. Once the sun comes back up tommrow morning ill test that and see what im getting.. Ill then post here with the results.

I can tell you.

Its using 10gage wire coming out of the breaker on a 45amp braker then to a 50 amp GFCI next to the braker box, then to a outside 50amp gfci mounted next to the house then to the tub. from braker box to the tub is about 25 feet of wire used. tub is about 5 feet from house on the deck.

But i will check with meter in morning, I really want to thank you for your info it is helping a lot.

The heater is working fine now. therm says the tub is 102* and the heater kicks off when it gets to that and the top side says "ready" so thats good.

EDIT: ok that multi meter is better then the analog one i have. so i just ordered it. I hope to see it with in the next week. $2.99? good deal!!

I will still try the analog one for now.

Just don't use your jets (or blower) and heater at the same time.

You are way over rated on breaker sizing for the wire and current demand.

You MUST go to hardware or home depot store asap and swap one of those inline breakers for a 30 amp version.

Otherwise you are looking to set your spa/deck/house on fire here.

No joke.
Please get this corrected in some way.