New hot tub tripping gfci breaker

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Stevenfyeager

Senior Member
Location
United States, Indiana
Occupation
electrical contractor
I’ve never had this before. New hot tub circuit trips the gfi 50 amp breaker, but not immediately. It does not trip the panel breaker. It may go a day or hours without tripping. Then sometimes it will trip. I’ve checked all connections and voltages. Have you experienced this ? I don’t think I’ve seen a defective new tub before. Thank you.
 
I would try replacing the breaker first. Your supplier will usually give you a replacement and return that breaker. If that doesn't solve the problem, I would then tell your customer to contact the hot tub manufacturer. That sounds really strange.
 
Stevenfyeager said:
I’ve never had this before. New hot tub circuit trips the gfi 50 amp breaker, but not immediately. It does not trip the panel breaker. It may go a day or hours without tripping. Then sometimes it will trip. I’ve checked all connections and voltages. Have you experienced this ? I don’t think I’ve seen a defective new tub before. Thank you.
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I have .
 
finally today, the gfi tripped while I was still there. I reset it, it tripped in 3 seconds. I reset it, it tripped again in about 5 seconds. So I immediately disconnected wires inside the hot tub. Reset worked and stayed on. I'm assuming it has to be the tub. I told customer to call the dealer.
 
If you need proof that it's not your install I'd disconnect the wires and cap them in the control box and wait 24 hours since this is tripping more often than that. Then you have proof that it's the spa. Other thing to consider is do you have a Siemens GFI breaker if not try a siemens spa panel they tend to have less issues with nuisance trips.
 
Larry has it right!... As a hot tub owner the most likely fault is a bad heater. If the tub is under factory warranty, let them deal with it. Otherwise a megger or ohmmeter will USUALLY confirm a "leaky" element, with the heating element disconnected. Also with the element disconnected, see if the tub runs... This is then an absolute confirmation.


Howard
 
Stevenfyeager said:
Thank you, all. The dealer replaced the heater and it's been almost 2 weeks with no tripping.
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Did anyone turn power on before tub was filled? Not that it really should matter but if something malfunctioned and it did send any power to the heater with no water to absorb that heat, it could damage the heater. These tubs usually have methods of proving there is water flow before they energize the heater. I presume this was a new tub from what you said in OP.
 
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