My tub was without power for 4 days in sub-freezing weather - and was OK!

[Scoobmaster]

As a first-year hot tub owner facing my first winter, I was apprehensive about possible power failures and my hot tub.  As usual, life threw me an unexpected curve:

On Thursday night (1/12) I went out on the back deck to enjoy a nice before bed soak (air temp was 36 degrees).  After climbing in to my Beachcomber 350, I went to turn on the LED lights and jets only to discover that the control panel was dark and unresponsive.  I got out and went to the GFCI breaker - it was tripped.  I reset it and turned it on - and it INSTANTLY tripped again.  I repeated this process a few times and then got that sinking feeling - my hot tub has an issue and the coldest air of the season was coming.  i have no heater and not even the circulation pumps will be running.  I called the dealer on Friday morning and they were pretty sure it was the heating element (it was), but they were booked and could not get to my house until Monday afternoon (1/16).  The weather forecast for the Southern-Tier of NY was for single-digit lows - the coldest air of the season.  At this point I am near panic...

The dealer instructed me to place a lamp under the steps in the control pack area (Beachcombers have their pumps and control pack outside the tub under a step enclosure) to keep the pumps and external plumbing warm.  After experimenting with a few lights (including a chick brooder 125 watt heat lamp) I ended up with a 60-watt plastic "trouble light" on one side, and a 100 watt clear bulb in a metal clamp-light fixture on the other.  I wrapped the stairs with a mylar "space blanket" and then an old heavy blanket.  I had a wireless outdoor thermometer sensor under there to monitor - it stayed 75-87 degrees under there all weekend despite average (F) temps of 28,14,5, and 15 (lows were 18,7,-3 and 1)

The dealer tech showed up on Monday at 1:00PM and quickly swapped out the heater.  The tub fired right back up and then I got a pleasant surprise.  I lifted the cover to check the water temperature in the tub - it was 80 degrees.  Four days of below-freezing (and a night near zero) and it only dropped to 80.  I am very impressed with the insulation in my tub - and now know that as long as I keep the pump/pack area warm, I don't need to worry so much about a few days without power.

I posted this long-winded tale of my issue to maybe put other new owners minds at ease if their tubs lose power in the cold for a little while.  I would guess that most other full-foam tubs insulation values are very similar.  These things retain heat VERY well, and as long as you keep the cover closed the water will stay warm a very long time - even in frigid weather.

-Happy to have my tub back running!

 

[Spatech_tuo]

That hos fully insualetd spas work and the trouble light keeps the equipment area warm which is the first line of defense. Beyond that approach, next time if this happens and the weather is maybe worse another thing you can do is to disconnect the item causing the tripping, in this case the heater (sometimes the blower, sometimes the ozonator... you can try each item one at a item to see which is the culprit). This will allow you to run everything else on the spa once the offending item is disconnected. For those like yourself who do not have a circ pump you would instead turn the main pumps on and go out periodically to turn them back on as the have a timeout feature no doubt. All pumps actually transfer some heat to the water plus you obviously want to keep the water flowing in the plumbing especially that nearest the outside walls which gets coldest.

[Chas]

Or just do what you did - seemed to work ok... 




 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

good informative post, I hear the "panic" you experienced on almost daily basis here during our MN winters...assuming circulation is not possible a trouble light in the equipment area goes a long ways and in a worst case scenario a "cattle tank" heater that can be placed in the spa to warm the water works good as well.  I'm glad you avoided disaster and happy soaking 

[Spatech_tuo]

Or just do what you did - seemed to work ok... 

 

But for longer outage times and in colder weather turning the pumps on as well is a simple yet very effective method. Regardless of his outcome this time it would be wise to do both next time. Better safe than sorry.

[Scoobmaster]

For the record, my Beachcomber DOES have a 24-hour circulation pump.  

Thanks for the tip, Spatech.  In hindsight I probably could have disconnected the power leads to the heating element (which was the suspect and did turn out to be the cause of the open short). and most likely get the tub to function normally (circulate water and cycle the jet pump every so often) minus the heat.  I suspect that wrapping the bare contacts of the heater feed wires with electrical tape and securing them so they don't touch anything would be a good idea in that scenario

In the end, all is well.....  enjoyed a nice 30 minute soak last night under the stars of a mild NY winter night.