Just had my Jacuzzi J-355 hooked up a couple of days ago. At the advice of my electrician... I went to Lowes and got all the wires, conduit, conduit ends and brackets etc. He suggested I go with the 4 wire setup, Black/Red/White and Green. He was surprised when he arrived that the owners manual (and the sticker on the "controller box" described that it was actually a 3 wire hookup (as was my last hot tub). When he returned the work the next day, he asked around to the other electricians and no one had ever seen a 3 wire hookup for a hot tub. " title="Shocked" /> Can anyone explain the pros/cons of 3 wire vs. 4 wire?

Hook it up like the instructions - a 3 wire hookup. Doing anything else can void the warranty.

Pros and cons?

hmmmmmmmmmmm, a 3 wire hook up requires one less wire? through, the next time you replace the spa, if the new one requires 4 wires, you'll need to redo things. I'd run the forth wire (the neutral) now sine you have it. Simply don't use it (not that you could as there's no where to hook it up).

What's the difference between a 3 wire and 4 wire spa? A 3 wire spa everything operates on 230v. Heater, Pump, controls, EVERYTHING. On a 4 wire spa some things run on 230v (such as the heater, and possibly the pumps) and some things only use 115v (possibly the pumps, the electrical controls, the light).

I can't imagine how running a 4th wire, and leaving it unused could effect the warranty at all.

You are right - running a 4th wire without using it won't void the warranty. I've seen some electricians try to hook up the neutral wire - I don't know where, but some electricians are absolutely clueless.
Thanks for the correction Dr Spa.

Ya... we just used a couple of BIG wire nuts and capped off the ends of the WHITE (neutral) wire. Left the wire in the conduit. I was just wondering WHY some companies use a 4 wire hookup and why some go with a 3 wire. Also just wondering if one method was better than the other. You would think there would be a standard. " title="Shocked" />

Dr. Spa answered that one - spas that have anything running on 110 volts need a neutral wire.
I have no idea why.

So on a 3 wire seeing it's pumping 230v all the time would mean that your electrical consumption would go up alot more then a 4 wire hookup?

If this is the case it's good to know for future purchases.

No. Electricity is charged by wattage. Amps times Volts = Watts. While the voltage goes up, the amperage goes down, and the watts remain the same.

No. If you look at say a pump hooked up 110 vs 220 the 220 hookup would draw half the amps. 220 is more efficient than 110.

With spas if they don't have anything in the spa that runs off 110, all components run off 220, then you do not need a neutral wire.

My electrician tried to explain it to me - 110 volt loads don't use up the full 110 volts and the neutral is for the extra electricity to have a place to go instead of going to ground (which shouldn't carry the elec.). 220 loads use all the electricity so you don't need a neutral.

I'm still a little confused but I hope that helps.

"a pump hooked up 110 vs 220 the 220 hookup would draw half the amps."

This is correct. Lets look at the math

A x V = W

Watts are what are charged for

110v x 10amps = 1100 Watts
220v x 5amps=1100 watts
Same wattage, SAME cost to operate.

"220 is more efficient than 110."

This is not correct.

The one, or two advantages, to 220 vs. 110v is wire (and circuit breaker) size. A specific wire size will carry a specific amount of AMPS. Regardless of voltage. A pump pulling 10 amps would require a larger wire than a pump pulling 5 amps, and this is REGARDLESS of the voltage.

Thank You Sir !!!