Why Do YOU Think My Hot Tub Tripped?

In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin takes us on his trip to Breckenridge Colorado (well, a small portion of it anyways!!). See? We do more than just work here at Electrician U. well, sometimes!! Let’s dive in and see what he found out.

0:00 - The Problem
1:47 - Intro
2:00 - Merch messages
2:35 - CODE TIME
5:00 - Code violation???
6:50 - The BEARD

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In the cabin Dustin was staying in, there was a hot tub! I mean, why not right?! Well, upon trying to use said hot tub, Dustin encountered a problem where the hot tub quit working as he was toggling the buttons on the display. Why would this happen? The hot tub appeared to be all but brand new. Looking at the electrical panel, it was equipped with the required GFCI breakers feeding the hot tub like it is required to be. So, if nothing appeared to be damaged and everything seemed like it was wired appropriately, then why? Before we tend to that, lets dig into the code and see what we can find.
Article 430.6 of the NEC concerns ampacity and motor rating determination. Table 430.248 deals with full load current of single-phase AC motors (so we could check the amperage draw of the motors of our hot tub). Article 680 is all about swimming pools, fountains, and similar installations (which is the category that our hot tub would fall into) and will also have pertinent information about hot tubs.
Overall, there are a few general rules one should follow when doing a service type call on a situation like this. First thing would be to check the breaker. Did it trip and cut the power off to the equipment? Something to keep in mind when checking breakers is that the breaker handle may NOT always go to the middle (or tripped) position. Some breaker handles have a habit of barely moving, but still be tripped. It is best to actually put your hands on the handle itself and check. If the breaker did trip, the big question would be WHY? Usually, breakers do not just trip, there is almost always a reason why. Check the motor ratings in the above code article (add them together if there is more than one) and see if the breaker is capable of carrying the entire load. Remember to account for the heater also, as that would most assuredly add amperage to the circuit. Also check for loose wires within the junction boxes/panels as something may have come loose interrupting the circuit.
After some investigation, Dustin concluded that the breaker in fact did trip in the panel that was supplying power to the hot tub. There are 2 motors for the hot tub rated at 230v, 2.5hp each. Using the above-mentioned chart, he came up with 14.5a for each motor. Considering that adds up to 29a AND THEN adding the heater on top of that, the issue is most likely an overloaded circuit if both motors come on at the same time with the heater running as well!
What are your thoughts? Do you guys and gals have any ideas on why this particular hot tub would trip the breaker? Chime-in in the comments section and let’s see what we can come up with! Considering everyone viewing this has some experience in the electrical industry, if we were to add all of that together, someone is bound to have answers! Continue to watch Electrician U as we are constantly adding new content to the site! Also, did anyone happen to see who kept popping up in the window as Dustin was looking at the codebook? I wonder who that is??

#electrician #electrical #electricity