Heater stuff... BOO!

This is a 98 or 99 Viking I BTW... Wired at 240V. Went to get in the hot tub last night and the power was off... Odd. GFI was reset, turned it back on and as soon as the pump and heater turned on, it tripped again. Played around a little, got it to stay on, and it was late and cold so I figured I would deal with it later, water at 54deg. This morning I checked on it 54 deg, low jets on, heater light on. Tonight I got home at it was at 55 deg, low jets on, heater light on. Tested both legs of power into the control box 120V per leg. Tested the heater element lugs on the bottom of the box and it's getting a full 240V. Ideas? They say that the elements either work or they don't and it's currently 25 deg outside and the tub has held a 55deg for 24 hours, so it's heating a little I guess.

Quote:

http://spababes.com/symptomandcure.html The Element: (Symptoms: GFI trips, no heat) Before we start it is important to note that if the spa is heating AT ALL it is not the element. See thermostat.

Unless the thermostat is telling the heater it's up to 100deg, and the panel display it's at 55 deg, I don't see how that can be the problem Thanks! Sorry for the long post, I just want to be thorough. <img src= :" title="Question" />

Posted by on 2007-01-25 02:21:57. (8773)

Just a weird thought... is 55 the lowest the display will show?

Posted by on 2007-01-25 02:49:48. (8776)

Not familiar with a Viking tub but it doesn't sound like the heater is working. The tub will maintain temperature just from the friction of that low speed jet pump running.

When the tub 'was off' was the breaker actually tripped off on its own or was there an error code flashing on the panel and resetting the breaker reset the system?

Does your meter just have voltage on it or can you switch to amperage? If so with the power off you can test the element itself for resistance. It should read some sort of value (usually somewhere between 9.0-14.0) depending on the element. If it reads open (O.L.) then the heater is bad. You can check one of the heater leads to ground to see if it is grounded as well.

That would be the next thing to try since you stated that there is voltage to the heater.

*just saw your other post...the display may only go down to 55 on the display, so if the water temp was colder it could be heating...at 220V you should get 4-5 degrees an hour usually.

Posted by on 2007-01-25 08:01:42. Eastern CT (8777)

If you are getting proper voltage to the heater element you then you need to do a amperage test. If you have voltage and no amperage then the heater is defective.

Do not waste time test Ohms, amperage will tell if it is working or not.

Posted by on 2007-02-01 12:21:41. (8858)