Drained and refilled and now trips ground fault breaker as soon as powered on

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Beerfloater

Beerfloater

Bronze Supporter
Feb 18, 2020
168
North Carolina
I have a Leisure Bay 7 person tub with a G3 controller. It is wired for 240V and everything worked fine when I started. So I drained my hot tub to refill and be ready for fall and winter. Turned off the breaker before draining. Drained cleaned and refilled...even added salt back while it was filling. Once it was filled between the minimum and maximum marks. I went to my breaker box flipped the breaker back on and to my surprise....nothing. So I then went to the GF breaker/disconnect mounted right next to the tub and when i would flip it from off to on I could here it trip. I even had my wife flip it while I was at the display and it would come on for an instant before going back out. Everything was fine before I drained it. I simply drained it to clean it and add new water filters etc. What could have went wrong just from draining it. What steps do I need to take to trouble shoot this? Im thinking maybe worn out heater??? any advice is appreciated.
 
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Are you sure nothing got wet under there?
There are several components that will cause an immediate trip, but the heater and breaker are the most common. Like @cranbiz said, breakers can be damaged by a trip, which can happen when you turn off power.
I would disconnect the heater first, then ozone, then each component one at a time until it holds. Post results.
 
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OK thanks guys! I am not that electrically inclined but I am sure I can run these tests. I did watch a YouTube video about replacing the heater and they said the same thing about disconnecting the heater and then flipping the disconnect to see if it would stay powered up. I am leaving and going out of town for the weekend. May be early next week before I can get back to it and I will let you know what I find.

Thanks,
 
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Ok guys went out pulled cover and the heater has water leaking.....actually shooting out in 2 different spots. I took a video but cant seem to upload it. so I took a couple screen shots. I unhooked the terminals and turned breaker on and it held for approximatly 30 seconds then tripped again. I am thinking there was enough moisture in there that that is why it tripped again. I am going to start with the heater because it is bad for sure. I will keep yall posted!
 

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Guys I have ordered a new heater but I have been thinking about something. So when I took the nuts off the electrodes and turned the breaker back on...power only stayed on for about 30 seconds. I did this a couple of times and it seemed to trip quicker each time. The first time the display showed 68 and I figured that was the water temp but the last time it had 22 then went to 24 shown on the display panel just before it tripped. I had already shut the valves off on both sides of the heater. would no water in the heater cause the breaker to trip? Like I said before I know for sure the heater is bad and I am going to start with that but was just trying to figure out why the breaker was still tripping with the contractors removed from the electrodes.
 
No, you have another issue.
And I just have to say that you have one of the BEST examples of the results of bad water chemistry I have EVER seen in 26 years in this business. You corroded through 1/16 of an inch of stainless steel in multiple locations. That is NOT easy to do.
And given that fact, I am not surprised that you have other issues. I am amazed it ran before you drained it.
Is there any water on the circuit board?
Start disconnecting components one at a time and turn it on to see if it trips.
 
So @RDspaguy how did these two events become one ? Was it limping along on the verge of failure and priming the new water just push it over the edge ?

Like you said, and is clearly visible, the rust didn’t happen overnight. But why did it choose now to blow apart ?
 

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Did I do something to suggest that I am psychic? A metallurgical physicist? Superman? ;)
Things happen when you change things, like draining and refilling. It's just one of the great spa repair mysteries. :unsure:
I would check the grounding and test the breaker with a fault at the spa.
 
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Definitely multiple issues.

Possibly dry fired the heater.

Maybe the flow switch is bad and there was air trapped in the system when the heater was on.

How old is the hot tub?
 
Sorry guys I just got back from a trip out of town. The new heater was supposed to arrive today but now tracking says tomorrow. Yes you are correct about the bad water chemistry. After having a heavy bathing load the water looked very cloudy. I turned my Saltron Mini up to 12 hours a day thinking I would only leave it there for a day or two.. Fast forward several weeks because I forgot about it and we do not use the tub that much in the summer months. when I did check the water, it looked and smelled like pure bleach.... That is why I drained and refilled the tub. I went out today and turned the breakers on with the heater terminals unhooked and the breakers seemed to hold now. The hot tub is about 15 years old. I got it from a friend for free last October and set it up and everything worked fine. so if it never works again I got my moneys worth....lol ;). I will install the new heater when it gets here and let you all know whats happening. I did look under the tub and inside the cabinet and do not see it leaking any where else. Fingers crossed that I can get it going again.....
 
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Ok got the new heater today and installed it tonight...Good news. Everything is back up and running with no leaks. Salt level good and Saltron mini producing chlorine and heater light is on and heating water. I got really lucky because I am amazed at how much damage the bad water chemistry did due to my absent mind and negligence. I have attached some pictures of what very very high chlorine levels can do to stainless steel. I am amazed that everything is working again but I will not be surprised if I start having pump failures soon. Please do not make the same mistakes I did. I generally take good care of my pool but i did neglect and forget about my spa because I do not use it much in the summer. I will never make this mistake again :brickwall: The good news is the pool still looks awesome thanks to T.F.P. !!!! I had to put one photo of how good the pool looks..
 

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Beerfloater said:
Ok got the new heater today and installed it tonight...Good news. Everything is back up and running with no leaks. Salt level good and Saltron mini producing chlorine and heater light is on and heating water. I got really lucky because I am amazed at how much damage the bad water chemistry did due to my absent mind and negligence. I have attached some pictures of what very very high chlorine levels can do to stainless steel. I am amazed that everything is working again but I will not be surprised if I start having pump failures soon. Please do not make the same mistakes I did. I generally take good care of my pool but i did neglect and forget about my spa because I do not use it much in the summer. I will never make this mistake again :brickwall: The good news is the pool still looks awesome thanks to T.F.P. !!!! I had to put one photo of how good the pool looks..
Click to expand...
Nice job and I'm jealous!! Your robot has headlights!!
 
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