Newbie with Bengal M - getting started

[BillT]

Howdy all.

I've never owned a hot tub, but just got a Tiger River Bengal Model M spa for free a couple days ago. We're not serious spa enthusiasts or anything, but my wife has wanted a hot tub for a while and we figure this would be a relatively cheap way to get into one (assuming it might need some parts replaced or something) for her to lounge in and for my kids to goof around in.

Anyhow, looking up the serial number online tells me it was made in the 4th quarter of 2003, which really surprised me, because it look a lot newer. It appears to be in excellent condition and I would have sworn it was only 3 or 4 years old.

I found and downloaded the owner's manual and have taken a good look inside the panel, and everything looks good - i.e., I don't see any scorch marks or anything indicating that something fried itself. And everything looks very clean and dry - it's not full of rodent nests or wasp nests or anything, which is why I was surprised to find it's 10 years old.

I have every reason to believe it works, or will work, but don't know anything about its history - i.e., whether it was working or something broke or whatever. I plugged it in just to see if the power would come on and if the pump would spin - just to get a sense of whether it works or not or whether I should just drag it over to the landfill. Every time I plug it in, the GFCI in my circuit pops.

So -

Any ideas what could cause this?

I note that the owner's manual says not to hook it up to power unless the tub is full - is that really a huge no-no, or are they just being overly cautious?

Also, any suggestions or guidance as to how to go about re-commissioning a used tub like this would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure I'm going to need to give everything a good cleaning and flush out lines, etc. 

I just noticed the other day that there is a hot tub and spa shop near my house, so that might be a useful resource.

Thanks very much!

[meriflower]

I don't know anything about repairing hot tubs so can't help you there.  I do know that the manual is correct, you cannot operate the hot tub without the tub being full of water.  Since you don't know the tubs history it is a good idea to give it cleaning and flush it out.  There is a product called Swirl Away that helps clean out the lines.  You can probably get this product from a local spa dealer along with other water chemicals needed to upkeep the water once you get it up and running.

If you're in a cold climate and fill the spa and find that it doesn't work be prepared to having to drain it as you don't want water to freeze in the lines and in the pumps.  Good luck!

[Tman122]

Good advice. You don't say whether you filled it or not so, a GFCI tripping is likely if there is no water.

[BillT]

I put *some* water in it, but did not completely fill it. I'm trying to understand why not having it full would cause the GFI to trip?

Thanks!

[tjr]

Location is key this time of year. i am in NY and if you fill the tub and don't get at least the circulation pump running it will freeze causing expensive repairs. Does the cordset have a gfci plug or is it a gfci outlet. either way disconnect the spa from the power supply and see if the gfci holds and tests.If it does you have a bad component in equipment ,most likely circulation pump or heater.