I paid a spa-guy to come out and look at my spa after it stpped working recently. Looks like I need a new heater element and a contactor in the current pneumatic spa pack. Also the thermostat knob shaft broke so I am semi-convinced I just want to get a new Spa Pack.

My current setup has a (17" x 11" x 4" approx) medium size spa pack with two pneumatic button controller, 1- 2 speed pump (1 1/6 Hp, Hayward 115V), and 1 blower(115V?). The heater element is not working and corroded plus the thermostat control is broken. I am pretty sure the Pump and the Blower are in good shape as I was using them regularly until this recent bit of trouble.
My line from the house is 50A at breaker panel 6 Gauge wire with a GFCI enclosure and 240V flex shielded to the spa (1 red, 1 black, 1 white, 1 ground). The unit was using the 220 for the heater and the heater tube is mounted on the upper aft side of the box. It is a 15" long heater as far as I can tell. I would like to do as little plumbing as possible. So I am concerned when looking at spa packs that the heater is in the right place for my install (See photo).


Questions
How easily can heaters be moved?
Can anyone recommend a Spa pack that would work well in this application. I have looked at SpaBabes (SPASB1000), and SmarTouch (SPDACCD-12).
Do I need to get a new top controller?
Can I get a pack with a 15" heater tube?

I am looking forward to the spa pack digital-upgrade but don't know If I should buy additional hardware. Thanks..

The SB1000 (which is actually an AP4 SBSG system) is going to be your sure fire best bet to replace it.

Mainly due to top mount heater location and size, it should match straight up +- 1/2".

However, that box could be easily repaired for as little as $100 in parts only. Replacing contactor, heater element, and thermostat will take all of an hour at most - provided element is removable (not welded in).

Thanks for the reply.
Well if I could get it for less than the $200+ (+labor) that the spa guy quoted me, I'd do it myself. I feel confident I could change these parts myself.

My concern is I'm not sure where to get the equivalent parts for a price comprable to what you mention $100:
Contactor: 110 Coil 220 VAC (see photo for type)
Heater element (not sure how to specify)
Thermostat.... probably can find that

If you can point me in the right direction for these parts for less than $150 shipped let me know!!!!

Thanks for any help you guys/gals can provide.

Oops it's the contactor next to the one that I described above that is fused together.
See attached for closeup of the one next to it.

Sorry.

I need a photo of the top part of the box. Need to see where the two large wires on the output of the very top center contactor go... (ie heater element connections).

If the heater has large nuts that hold the element in place, then this should do the trick: http://spapartsnet.com/Electric-Heaters... 6_1_1.html Thermostat: http://spapartsnet.com/Electric-Heaters... 9_0_1.html Contactor: http://spapartsnet.com/Electrical-Parts... 5_0_1.html Heater Element: 40.00 Contactor: 28.00 Thermostat: 41.00 Total: 109

Wow thanks for the advice and help finding the right parts. I think this is definitely worth a shot.

The thermostat looks exactly like the one you showed except it has only 2 contacts. I will order the 2 contact one.

The heater element I have is the one with the large nuts. There is some corrosion around them so the guy said that I'd have to be careful removing them if I didn't want to buy a whole new heater.

I will make sure I can remove my heater element before buying the parts.

The contactor you show with 30 Amp Coils looks like it should work to replace mine (Joslyn Clark).

Thanks again! I owe you one from Jax.

Even if the nuts are corroded to the heater flange, you can easily cut them in half (vertically across the top) using a hacksaw (long time), or a reciprocating saw with a metal blade (fast). Just don't cut into the metal heater housing... Here: http://spasupport.com/eheater/fthtcsmain2.html

Pageup. Thanks for your help.

I changed the parts you mentioned above. I had to remove the heater since one of the elements contact points broke. i cut thru the nut easily with a couple of Dremel cutoff wheels.

I noticed the element that you specified was a lot shorter than the one that I removed. but I do not see one similar on this site. It seems to be heating well. The new element get's a little closer to the thermostat tube than the other one did. It's almost touching the tube on the inside.

While removing the heater I broke my pressure switch.. it had become brittle.. and the contacts just fell off. I replaced this locally. Not sure what PSI to put this at (1-5). But it is working.

Everything is looking and working great. Thermostat gets it about 100-104.

I have one other intermittent issue and maybe I should post in a different section but....

Sometimes when I close the door to the enclosure (hard) it kick's the breaker at the house. The door does have a magnetic reed switch.. and I listened to it and it seems to be working but I'm not sure if it is this or something else like the Red switch next to the heater (shown in my photo IMG_7502.JPG next to the yellow sticker). Or just something else like a loose spot on one of the contactors.

Any hints to figure this last anomaly would be appreciated.

Once again thanks for the solid advice I wouldn't have done it so easily without your help.

Don't close the door to the enclosure (hard).

What may be happening is that when you do this, one of the relays/contactors may be pressing closed when it shouldn't - they're right "in the face of" that door.

My best guess.

Fwiw, reason why I suggested you keep this unit and repair it instead of trying to replace it is:

1. That it's a very easy item to service in the future. There's nothing inside the spa control that will be disappearing from the market soon.

2. It looks good - like it actually belongs in the spa.

3. The box ain't rotted out, and isn't going to be anytime soon since it's constructed of aluminum instead of steel.

4. You really don't want to go the route of a replacement controller with this equipment configuration unless you're ready for serious calesthenics - it was NOT going to be easy no matter what controller you decided on. In the end going to the dentist would have been a nicer thing to do.

5. You've got experience working with it now, so in the future, you'll at least have a handle on what to do next time.

Best of luck and post again if the tripping issue repeats itself without reason.