I recently moved this HotSprings Hot Tub to my new place across town, about 10 miles away. Had it moved very professionally, not one scratch.

After having it connected and refilled the water will not get hot AT ALL. I am not sure if it is the heater element, filter, etc.

Some information on my hot tub:

HotSprings Model Sovereign
Ratings: 230v, 60Hz, 50 Amps
Heater: Is made by Watkins No Fault 6000

When I turn the jets on, the water does not flow through the tubes connected to the heater, but the jets are working on full power.


You will notice that in photo of electrical board where is says "heater on" has a red light. Next to the green light it say "LIM OK"

Any one know how I can trouble shoot this problem????

You said... 'this HotSprings Hot Tub'.

I'm assuming it wasn't yours originally.

That tub will take a number of hours to get hot.

The jet pump isn't responsible for pumping water through the heater. The small circulation pump is.... look for a jet of water coming into the tub by itself with the main pump turned off.

That said, you may want to measure the voltage for the heater power at the terminal block to be sure you've got power there -

How long will it take for the water to warm up? I had it on for about 5 hours and the water was still cold. Not even a little warm.

Also does the red light next to "heater on" mean anything?

How do I measure voltage? At the subpanel? On the 30 amp or 20 amp side?

Your heater power input I don't think is hooked up correctly. You've got what looks like to be terminals 1 and 2 jumpered together... something... hmmm can't tell much, too dark. You've got a 30 amp breaker, what terminals are it connected to? reference this one: http://spaforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4007

No it's not jumpered... but something is not right with your power input wiring.

This Sovereign is a 220volt only model and looks to be hooked up properly...

Pageup...the one in your link is a 220volt converted tub and hooks up differently than this one.

To measure voltage...turn power off remove the black and white heater leads from the relay (all the way to the left of the box). Turn power on and test for voltage with your meter on the relay board at the two terminals that you just took the leads off from.

Yeah you're right.

To add a bit more clarity -
In addition to the above - I'd be looking to measure terminals 1 & 3 for presence of 220+v if you don't get the power output at the heater terminals as Dan suggested.

(I keep forgetting that that particular h/s version uses a 3 terminal 20 amp gfci for the system power).

I will never forget...I sold a few at a homeshow after I had been on vacation for a few weeks and didn't have time to read up and find out that they were 220 volt only. (The special edition had just come out) I gave out convertible sub-panels/directions and looked like a jerk after electricians hooked up the tubs and they didn't work. ops:" title="Embarassed" />

Don't think I'd be able to find one of those breakers locally - well not without paying big bucks at a elex supply house.

The wiring at the hot tub has never been changed or touched, so if there is something wrong with the wiring, then it would be at the subpanel. So I added these photos of the subpanel in case something there was done wrong. When I disconnected the hot tub from the previous location, there were only 3 wires from the main panel powering it, but now there are 4 (there was not a copper wire on the previous hook up).

This photo is an overview of the entire subpanel

Nice photos.
However your 30 amp breaker is installed wrong.

It needs to be moved left one notch. Notice your red primary incoming wire (top left) has no destination.

I see that, ok, but my breakers have always been together. Rather than moving the breaker over to the left, should I not move the red wire over to the right somewhere?

Was it over to the right previously?

And why would you mention this?

Post a photo of your breaker cover plate.

I'll give you one more chance - but imo, you're either trolling something or you totally screwed up between previous installation and current installation; eg installation was not professional - and electrician missed the primary conductor on the right or... among other things - pumps work etc... no water thru pipes, etc... so you've got a 115 volt jet pump and 230 volt circ pump.

Post more specifics, or get a voltmeter, or get your electrician to double check this. I'm not going to tell you to do something like that in an online forum when the end result could land me in liability hell.

Again, if this was obvious to you, why didn't you question it when you posted the photos?

Based on the breaker cover plate, I cannot move the breaker to the left. I dont mean to agitate you or anyone else, but I am just trying to find a simple solution to this. I dont remember where any of the wires were before because I didnt take a photo, wish i did.

I didnt realize the red wire to the left was not directly connected to the breaker and I cannot move the breaker over because the plate wont fit then. There has got to be a simple inexpensive solution to this matter.


If anyone else knows please post, thanks.

Are you sure the cover-plate wasn't upside down or backwards?

Both breakers need to be moved over one spot to the left.

Alright here's the deal.
If you notice the scuff marks on the top right (the other L2) connector, you can probably figure out that's where the red line PROBABLY goes.

And if that's the case, then the electrician made a mistake.

i will work on this sat morning and post a photo of the final wiring when I have everything working incase someone else has this problem in the future. it seems to me that both hot terminal are on the same side, but I will figure this out shortly.

Just move both breakers over one spot to the left- it will work also. No need to re-wire anything, although you might want to go that route so the cover plate fits without having to pop out another spacer.

Here is a pic of my main panel, the 50 amp breaker on the right is connected to the subpanel. You can see the Red, White, and Black wires. There is a copper wire that was not connected.

Looks fine.

Have you fixed the problem in the sub-panel?

I don't see any problem with the way that his subpanel is hooked up. Now, I don't generally do any work in the sub-panels, just the tubs. But the three HotSpring tubs that are hooked up at my store right now have the breakers in the same position.

Did you ever check the heater for continuity or confirm voltage at the heater relay board? Did you check the thermal cutoff switch (red button) on top of the heater to see if it's tripped?

guess what? i am only getting 110v from the main where the 50 amp breaker is.

Amazing hoe easy it is to fix stuff when you have the proper tools " title="Razz" /> btw- Pretty sure I'm losing my mind- the subpanel is fine " title="Laughing" />

Yes, I got 220v from the main panel now but I have another question.

The white wire that is coming from the hot tub from the 5th position in the IQ2020 control board, does that connect to the 20 amp or 30 amp breaker in the subpanel?

I had it connected to the 20 amp, but I dont seem to have power going to the heater, and when I connect the white wire to the 30 amp breaker, the 20 amp breaker trips.

what gives?

if it's a 6kw heater, no neutral to the 30amp. 30 amp is for the heater. Vise versa for 4kw.

The neutral is the way they bring the 100v circuit in to run the circ. pump and the control circuit.

Dan the spa man was correct about why my water was not getting hot. It was the reset button on top of the heater, or the thermal cutoff switch as he calls it. Under the two tubes of the heater and under a layer of tape, there was the button. I depressed it, and within one hour of running, the water was getting warm. Two hours later the water was at 85 degrees, and the water temp was originally about 60. Three hours later the water was at 92 and still rising.

There was nothing wrong with any of the wiring previously posted in the string. I want to thank everyone for the input. The internet, specifically these forums are a vital source of information that saves the average consumer money.