Jacuzzi or hydromassage or hot tub

[mannyb]

Im not sure what to call it but I know if as Jacuzzi. The NEC doesnt call it that. I have a Jacuzzi that draws 29 amp motor and heater. I cant find what wire size or breaker size I would need to size both in 680. IS there a separation for motor and heater? I am at 29 x 125% is around 37amps #8 wire with 40amp breaker. Is that safe to say. what am i doing wrong. I am not sure it if heater and motor need to be treated separate for wire size and breaker purposes.

 

[Little Bill]

There should be specs on the equipment from the mfg that states the required amperage.

 

[mannyb]

There should be specs on the equipment from the mfg that states the required amperage.

my boss uses the the 125% for wire and 80 % for breaker. so basically he does what I explained in first post. something doesnt seem right. So we end up using #6 wire plus 50 or 60 disconnect. Im not trying to insult anyones intellegence but I wanted to find where its in the NEC. I was trying to find where in 680 it gave requirements. I only see things for in 680.10 for pool water heaters.

Lets just say for sake of argument and there wasnt a listing on equipment. 29amps are required and we use 125% for motor and heaters 240v 1ph. Does a #8 and 40a breaker sound closer to the OCPD and conductor size?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

IMO, you are correct. 40 amp breaker an #8 wire.

I am assuming this is a hot tub.. a hydromassage tub is basically a bathtub with a motor and gets emptied each time it is used. A hot tub stays filled with water and has chemicals added to it. A jacuzzi is a brand name often referring to a hydromassage tub

 

[Jraef]

... A jacuzzi is a brand name often referring to a hydromassage tub

The Jacuzzi Brothers were a family of Italian immigrant carpenters around the turn of the previous century who made airplane propellers at first. But when people started growing grapes in the hills of the Napa Valley here in California, they started making wood patterns for foundries that were casting pump impellers, then eventually just started making the pumps themselves. One of the second generation sons was born with Cerebral Palsy and had the characteristic "tight" muscle spasms that often comes with that and are very painful. They noticed that he liked to dangle his legs in the pump test pit, because it soothed his muscle spasms. So they experimented with him and invented the hydro-massage therapy pumps and jet system, wherein the pump was allowed to suck in air and blast the aerated water jets on his muscles. The air bubbles bursting on the skin makes your body respond as if it is being damaged, without causing any actual damage, so more blood flows and your muscles ease.

(I worked for Jacuzzi for a while when their HQ was still located here. The family sold out a long time ago and now owns a winery in Napa.)

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Thank you - that is some great history right there

 

[Jraef]

My wife calls me a "fountain of useless information".

 

[ActionDave]

The Jacuzzi Brothers were a family of Italian immigrant carpenters around the turn of the previous century who made airplane propellers at first. But when people started growing grapes in the hills of the Napa Valley here in California, they started making wood patterns for foundries that were casting pump impellers, then eventually just started making the pumps themselves.

Those old jacuzzi pumps were some really good pumps. I've had the chance to work on a couple of them.

 

[Jraef]

By the time I worked there we were only in the spa business, but the front conference room had examples of all of their products through the years on display (even propellers). Those old injector pumps were hell for stout by today's standards.

The Jacuzzi Brothers.