I received a call today from someone that needs a 120 volt outlet installed on the side of the house in order to plug in their new hot tub/jacuzzi. I have installed other hot tubs and the installation was quite involved with equopotential bonding etc.
Are there outdoor spas available that can be operated in compliance with NEC that only require a 120 volt GFCI receptacle?
I have one myself, comes from factory with a 5-15 cord cap molded on the cord. Not all that large of a SPA, only holds about 250 gallons of water and is only intended for 2 maybe 3 people at a time, however get a bunch of 9-13 year olds together and you may find it will accommodate many more than that:happyyes:. It only has 1250 watt heater and will not heat during jet pump usage, pump runs on a low speed during the heating cycle so it will not draw too much current from the branch circuit.
I think equipotential bonding is something good to consider but otherwise what is to prevent the average consumer from bringing this home and simply plugging it in if there is already a receptacle near where they wish to use it? Why would you need a building permit, electrical or plumbing permit for such unit, unless you actually added something for the use by this unit. One could install a receptacle then some time later it just so happens to be convenient to plug said unit into, but the receptacle alone did not require anything in art 680 to be followed at the time of it's installation.
