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Power Problems... Circuit Breaker Trips |
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- Digital
- Air
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Electric
Heater Troubleshooting,
Self-Contained/Portable
Spa |
GFCI Breaker
Trips
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| This problem can drive you
crazy. Heater elements, due to the nature of their construction and
the environment in which they operate, will have a mind of their own.
The thing that you must remember
with heater elements is, never trust them. Particularly if you haven't
been that observant of your water quality. I've seen new heater elements
go bad in as little as 6 months... all due to non- maintenance of the water's
ph!
The culprit: micro
size cracks (that you can't see) or breaks in the elements outer sheath.
This is especially true where the element's sheath meets (and bonds) with
the stainless steel attachment "through-bolts".
Inside a heater element is
a relatively simple design. A heater wire, that is, a wire made from
metals that create resistance to electricity, surrounded by a powdered
ceramic, encapsulated in an extremely strong metal tube. You folks
with acetylene torches, try to melt one of these things sometime.
It's not as easy as it seems.
But, as I've said many times
here, acid water knows virtually no boundaries.
A heater element can work
fine one day, and trip a GFCI the next... without any predictability.
It all depends on the severity of the breach of the outer casing of the
element itself. |
Example Elements
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| This Brett heater element
has holes big enough to crawl through. |
But... this Balboa Control
System flow-thru style heater element has been compromised just enough
to trip the breaker when it "feels" like it. Note! This is
typical acid water damage. |
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| Same flow-through element
type as the Balboa system (above right). This shows where to look
for corrosion. If you've got anything other than shiny ceramic or
steel, then your element is a canadate for replacement! |
This is a continuation of
the above left image. Notice the backing plate of the element shows
NO EVIDENCE of corrosion or failure, (one reason why these things can be
so difficult). The business end of this element however, is
toasted! |
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| All Spa Installations
There are several ways to
check the heater element integrity, and ensure that the element is defective.
1. GFCI trips constantly
A. Simply
turn the spa's thermostat all the way down. (If the water temperature
is near freezing, then skip this step). Turn the spa power back on.
Wait a minute or so to see if the spa will run normally without tripping
the breaker.
(1) 115V Spa.
Be sure that the pump is running on low speed.
(2) 230V Spa.
Be sure that the main pump is running, (high or low speed).
Turn up the thermostat to activate
the heater. If the GFCI trips, then continue with step B.
B. With the power to
the spa disconnected, remove both power wires to the element, and wrap
the wire lugs with electrical tape to ensure that they don't contact anything.
Re-energize the power to the spa, with the thermostat turned up enough
to activate the heater. If the GFCI does not trip, then continue
to step C.
C. With the power to
the spa disconnected, use an ohm meter to check the resistance from either
one of the element leads to the heater casing or a known good ground.
If you measure anything less than 5 meg, (five million ohms), then your
heater element is defective.
Realistically, you could use
any of these steps alone to pretty much determine if the element is defective.
I've presented all three to provide you with "proof positive" that the
element has failed.
2. GFCI trips when it
feels like it.
This one's a little tougher.
However, there is a rather fast way to determine the heater element's integrity
if you have an ohm meter. The spa MUST have water in it to make this
check.
A. With the
power to the spa disconnected, and with (both!) power wires to the element
removed, use an ohm meter to check the resistance from either one of the
element leads to the heater casing or a known good ground. If you
measure anything less than 5 meg, (five million ohms), then your heater
element is defective. This is where having a good digital meter comes
in handy. There may not be enough conductance to ground to trip the
GFCI, but there will typically be enough to show an undetectable crack
in the outer sheath or ceramic insulation to register on a digital meter.
B. Without the benefit
of a good meter, with the power to the spa disconnected, the best thing
to do is disconnect the power leads from the element, re-apply power, and
let it run for a day or two to see if the GFCI doesn't trip.
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