I have a '96 Hot Springs Sovereign spa that is connected to two circuit breakers (a 30amp and 20amp, 220v). Over the weekend I drained and refilled the spa and everything worked fine. A leak developed and the spa lost half of it's water. I fixed the leak (without completely draining the spa), filled the spa back up, and now whenever I flip the breakers to 'on' the 20amp breaker trips. The 30amp breaker appears to be the circuit that is connected to the control box, circulation pump, jet pump, etc since all of those parts work even when the 20amp breaker trips. The 20amp breaker is connected to the heater since there is no heat with the 20amp breaker off.

Here are some of the things I noticed:

- If I flip on the 30amp switch and leave the jets off (only the circulation pump is running) and then switch on the 20amp switch the 20amp breaker will trip in 3-5 seconds.

- If I flip on the 30amp switch and run the jets the 20amp breaker will trip as soon as it's switched on.

- If I leave the 30amp switch off and turn the 20amp switch on the 20amp breaker will not trip.

Any ideas? Interestingly, this same thing happened a couple years ago (also after a leak). I fixed the leak (again without completely draining the spa), filled the spa back up, and the 20amp breaker started tripping. At the time I figured there was something wrong with the heater so I just left it alone. A few months later I drained and refilled the spa and everything started working again.

I guess I could completely drain the spa again and refill it but I don't see how that could be related to a breaker tripping.

Thanks in advance for any ideas/suggestions,
-Mike

Chances are that the heater is shot. You would need to use a multimeter to test the continuity of the heater circuit and test current to ground.

Thanks for the reply. I couldn't find my multimeter so I couldn't check what you mentioned. However, I did open the control unit to check the wiring. The wire going from the breaker to the terminal for the heater is burnt. The insulation is brittle and falls off when touched. It looks like it's been burnt for a long time. Can a faulty heater cause and excessive amount of amperage to be drawn resulting in a burnt wire? Doesn't the breaker prevent an excessive amount of current to be drawn?

Also, I looked at the wiring diagrams for my spa and it shows the heater wire hooked up to the 30amp breaker. It appears that mine is hooked to the 20amp breaker since this is the one that trips. With the 20amp breaker tripped everything, except the heater, still works. I wonder if my spa has been hooked up incorrectly since I got it back in 1997.

I am wondering how you solved this problem? Your description sounds like my problem exactly. Did you replace your heater or was it something else?

Dave