All (also posted in plumbing section because this problem could be either -- hope admins won't mind),

A couple of months ago I came across a deal I couldn't refuse. Our neighbor had a relative getting rid of a 1999 Jacuzzi Essence 340 8 person spa that had only 39 hours of use on it. She said "it's free if you haul it away."

Now the problem: The spa had been sitting on her low deck for all this time with a TINY pinhole leak in a 300psi line running from one of the intakes inside the tub to the intake on the heater (forgive me if I don't know the lingo yet...I'll get there). The tub's entire frame ended up rotting from the ground to about six inches high. It took me many hours of blood, sweat and tears, but I managed to EXACTLY rebuild the entire frame and panels for the tub (this time using pressure treated wood which I was surprised Jacuzzi didn't use in the first place).

Last weekend a bunch of friends came over and helped heave the fiberglass shell into the frame and silicone the edges. We also had an electrician run a #6 50amp 220 circuit out to the tub and hook it up for us. Turned it on for the first time and it fired right up. Within 24 hours the 400 gallons was a comfortable 90 degrees (yeah I know it's supposed to be around 100 degrees so we turned it up) and was spa shocked.

My wife and I hopped in during the initial test run and enjoyed it for about an hour...at which time the GFI circuit popped. I tried to reset it right away and it popped again. So, I waited for about an hour and reset it and everything was fine. Checked under the tub and no leaks that I can find...no drips of water anywhere.

We used it again last night for 30 minutes, gave it a 10 minute break and then the neighbors came over and we all hopped in again. 15 minutes into it the GFI popped again.

I noticed that some of the venturi valves seem to be hooked up backwards (when the dial is turned to the smallest dot the tub throws out all kinds of bubbles) and some work fine (smallest dot is all water and no bubbles).

Does the order of the outgoing hoses on the main plumbing tree coming out of the heater matter? A friend suggested that maybe the order in which I hooked up the plumbing hoses would be causing a pump to overheat and kick the GFI circuit. ???? Maybe?

I'm inexperienced with spas but am an accomplished DIYer and can troubleshoot many electrical and plumbing problems so if someone could give me a place to START looking for the problem, I'd appreciate it.

Sorry for being long winded...just trying to give as much info as possible.

I just read the message on exactly what the admins want so I'll make an attempt:

1) Jacuzzi Essence 340 -- 1999
2) Dedicated 230v #6 wire 50amp circuit on 100 amp subpanel
3) I remember seeing Balboa Systems somewhere under the tub so I hope this helps
4) Topside control (see attached pic)
5) 2 pumps (230v) although I'm not sure of the speeds
6) Knob on topside control (see attached pic)
7) 2" stainless flowthrough heater 15" long

Anything else, please let me know!

I feel it doesn't have anything to do w/ the way you plumbed it.

Is it a GFCI breaker? IF so, it will trip not only for current leakage (5 milliamamps will set it off), but also Full Load Amps.

If it will run for extended times before tripping, may want to check the wiring connections, especially at the breaker itself and control box, to be sure everything is good and tight, and NOT overheating. Look for evidence of overheated wires, anywhere there is a connection along the electrical run. If you can, FEEL the temperature of the wires RIGHT AFTER the GFCI trips, at the main breaker, GFCI, and control box, or anywhere a junction box may have been installed. Make sure the breaker is off when you're grabbing the wire.

Heaters and ozone generators also have a nasty habit of sometimes waiting a while before leaking electricity, and tripping the GFCI.


I'd start there.

Good luck!

Well, it was professionally hooked up by a master electrician who told me that by running #6 wire to the tub with a 50amp GFCI breaker that I'd never run into wire heat problems. That was a huge concern because before I started this project I planned out that #6 wire and an additional #8 wire running together through 1.75 inch conduit along the outside of the house. I talked to several electricians and they all said there shouldn't be a heat problem. The #8 wire runs out to a mini split air conditioner that is devoted to cooling my computer room and making sure that both appliances running at the same time was a big concern.

So, assuming that the temp from the subpanel out to the GFCI disconnect box is not the problem, that only leaves the wires running from the disconnect box to the PCB and the wires running from the motors to the PCB.

I'll check those tomorrow while running the tub without one panel to make sure I see no leaks and see if heat buildup under the tub could be causing the problem. The tub was originally sitting on a deck where the heat could escape through the cracks in the deck, but I have it sitting on a 6" concrete slab. Could this be an issue?

The size of the wire is great, no problems there!

But if there is a loose connection, therin lies a problem, no matter the wire size. You don't need to check the entire run, only where there are breaks in the line, ie, at the breaker itself where the wires attach to the breaker, at the control box where the wires are connected to a terminal block..., or anywherer in between if a junction box is used. Sometimes, even in a new run, a screw won't get tightened enough on one of these connections, and it will eventually overheat. It's also possible, the breaker is simply bad. That's why it's verty important to actually feel the heat of the wire at these junctions at the time of failure. You can feel the wire overheating, or you can feel the breaker overheating.

Good luck