Original > Hot Tub Forum
GFI Tripping
Botswana:
Yup, no ozone or circ pump.
I am assuming it happnes during filter or[/b] heat sessions too, but I cannot confirm that.
I honestly am not sure what it was set at when he was using the megger, but he did offer me to keep the tool (which i didnt but could still get) since he is retired and doesnt really ever use it. Who knows, maybe ill retest, or test other things as people make suggestions..
Yea, it would be nice to wire a light in so that I could tell without going outside, getting shoes on, lifting the cover, etc. just to tell if it is on in the cold weather, but I just havent done it yet.
I think what I am going to do now is use my spare baby monitor camera, sign up for a month of cloud storage and put the camera in the cabinet pointed where the LEDs are displayed. The LEDs say if the tub is on, if its heating, etc.. Maybe if I can get more insight into when its tripping, it'll help the diagnosing.
Anywho...any other test i can do with the megger? Like I said, he did the two pumps and heater. He isolated each, put one end on one of the conductors and the other to a ground (not sure if it was the ground bar or what, but it was a ground..I should have paid closer attention).
bud16415:
I would want to see the ground end clamped right to the heater unit tubes or frame. I would also disconnect the wires as to not send 500v back to the controller. The wire is rated at 600v breakthrough so the heater should be at least as high so a setting of 500v would seem fine.
I have often thought a light or buzzer if I lost power thru the GFCI would be a good thing to have. We use our tub a lot but sometimes skip even a week. Because I dose the tub manually I do get a chance to look at it most days and I hear the clean cycle run.
There is not much more than the heater and the motors that could be tested with a megger. If you are sure the GFCI is working properly and it has a test function for that. There is something in the tub that is slightly shorting to ground once in a while causing the trip.
Botswana:
Well the heater has a grounding bar on it, where each pump ground comes to. Im not sure where else you could connect the ground. Its a cylindrical tube so not many options I suppose if i had three hands or help that I could just hold it against the tube itself. You wouldnt want to connect it to the other pole sticking out..right (where the other conductor goes to)? I could disconnect the green grounding cable from the heater to the main board and hook the megger to that. The heater is metal itself obviously so I think that cable is just grounding the main board, so it shouldnt hurt to disconnect. How he tested it still had the ground cable connected to the main board, I know that for sure since we didnt take the screw for that cable out. Like I said, I wasnt exactly paying as close attention as I should. I think it would probably be best for me to borrow the tool and attempt the test again.
However, on the pumps...I wouldnt disconnect the grounding wire to the heater ground bar if I were to test them, correct? Because then the pumps wouldnt be grounded.. My knowledge of electricity is pretty limited
do you think anyone of the sensors could cause a trip? They all seem to function fine and moisture to boot around them that I can see. Only thing ive noticed is occasionally the displayed temp will not be the actual temp, but once any button is pushed, then the display temp "refreshes" and is correct.
Jacuzzi Jim:
last I left you, you had un-hooked pump 2 for an extended time, guessing it tripped when un-hooked?
You have gone through the steps of a nuisance tripping spa more than anyone I have seen in 10 years+ on this forum.
Pump 1 is new. Pump 2 unhooked, I assume tripped the breaker though it took awhile? Really leaning now at the heater. For what a new element cost compared to a pump, it's a cheap option. Possible there is some kind of really minute short? Which would be really odd, but it is cheaper then a new pump.
Botswana:
correct. the second time i unhooked pump 2 to test it, it tripped breaker. The first time it was unhooked it went 2 months without tripping. Heater is the next option I suppose, though it megged ok. The only other thing is the control board...which is an expensive guess. Id like to unhook the heater but now its fall/winter and I still think that if I purely disconnect the heater, the tub will just run 24/7 trying to heat to the set point. If I knew what soft jumper was the heater (if there is one) i could disable to jump/heater. Wish i had a dang caldera service manual or something
Would a universal type element do the trick? like this one on https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Flo-Thu-Spa-Heater-Element/dp/B01M7T4E95/ref=pd_sbs_86_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01MDPRDNG&pd_rd_r=def305de-d5ac-11e8-abbe-4f1f465cc9f1&pd_rd_w=B39L7&pd_rd_wg=lu4JQ&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7d5d9c3c-5e01-44ac-97fd-261afd40b865&pf_rd_r=V1TT8GR9PZDXY08X6FJF&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&refRID=V1TT8GR9PZDXY08X6FJF&th=1
This is the heater that is currently in the tub, just for reference -
https://www.hotspringpartshotspringfilters.com/hot-spring-watkins-parts/caldera-spa-parts/caldera-heaters-1/73994-heater-4kw?language=en¤cy=USD&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkpfWBRDZARIsAAfeXarIXo3MKrZikG212Nlcqhi3tFmOyfZ_ULBT5b7ECVsKMSy3klk6-LgaAqjQEALw_wcB
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