Canadian Wiring help

[Snowjob]

Hi,
I am preparing to connect a J-470, it will be setup on the 60 amp option so the pumps and heater can run at the same time (it gets real cold here)

Does anyone see a problem with the following plan. (location is Ontario Canada)

1) In the main breaker panel inside the house I will install a new 60 amp 2 pole breaker
2) approx 45 feet of 6/3 NMD 90 cable will run from the new 60 amp breaker in the main panel through the inside of the house and punch out the rear house wall to a new Eaton Spa pack mounted outside in view of the tub (more than 10 feet away)
3) the Eaton spa pack contains a 60 amp GFCI breaker - spa pack part # CH60SPA
4) from the Spa pack, approx 30 feet of Teck - 90 6/3 cable will be run to the hot tub.  The tub will be located on top of a deck, the Teck 90 cable will be secured to the under side of the deck.

A couple of questions;

a) does anyone know what the J-470 electrical connection area looks like, I am assuming I do not need a teck connector on this end as a normal metal connector will be ok as it is in a dry location?
b) I don't see any actual rule in the Canadian code that says the outdoor GFCI spa pack actually has to be in sight of the tub.  Mine will sort of be in sight depending on the angle you look at.  ie mine will be under the deck and 15 feet to the right of the tub - if you stand at the tub you will not see it, but as you approach the deck and climb the stairs you will.
c) does anyone see any issues to routing the Teck 90 6/3 directly into the tub, ie will the cable opening in the tubs base accept a 1 inch diameter teck 90 cable?

thanks

[bud16415]

I did mine pretty much the same as you except didn’t use the Teck 90. I ran individual conductors thru sealtite under the deck and thru the deck into the bottom of the equipment compartment for a nice clean look. Lots of tubs have access openings on the outside of the surround on the corners but you see the conduit running along the bottom edge and into the tub. I used sealtite as I had more wires my tub has a dual / split GFCI but even with the (4) #6 wires I would pull them. Nothing wrong with your way though as long as everything is rated for outdoors.

In the states, they might have an issue with your sub panel location as they would want it readily assessable and below the deck might not pass. I mounted mine about 5’ high off the tub deck on the wall. High enough kids wouldn’t be tempted to mess with it. With GFCI you should really test them once a month and in the winter you don’t want to have to dig thru snow to get to it. 

[Snowjob]

thanks,
as best as I understand the code, in Canada we can only use 5 feet or so of Sealtite to connect a device.
I have the Teck 90 - it will interesting trying to bend that Teck to make the needed turn to connect to the control panel inside the tub.  Its a tight spot there.  I am fairly sure inside the tub I do NOT need to use a waterproof Teck connector as it is dry in there - so I can probably use a normal 90 degree connector.

[bud16415]

We I am not sure about the distance of a sealtite run in the states but I know our industrial requirement is very short something like 18”. We have a couple pros here that will know for sure one I know is from Canada but hasn’t posted in a while. I figured with it being run below the deck and attached to the deck it is as safe as anything and did it for the same reason you mentioned once I got into the tub I was in a dry area and I wanted to terminate the sealtite and have the freedom to loop the wires around. I was glad I did once we got the tub I couldn’t believe the connections they give you for power. Your tub might be different but mine were a flimsy push in connector strip that made contact with spring pressure only. There was no plan B so I used them and I have to say they have worked ok for a couple years now. I’m old school and wanted to see a screw I guess.

If I was running the Teck 90 I think I would put a terminal strip in, if yours looks like mine.     

[Snowjob]

thanks Bud16415,

I thought I read someplace in the Jacuzzi docs about push in connectors, but in other doc's including their delivery guide it says 'Connect the red, black and green wires to the spa terminal blocks and tighten securely....." so I really hope they are not push in.

I acquired 10 meters of Teck 90 6/3 yesterday for $0 so will use that - Jacuzzi does not need the neutral to the tub but I will run it anyway.  If I cannot make the 'bend' into the panel with the Teck I may have to terminate the teck inside the tub area in another approved box and then change to loose conductor inside LiquidTight.

One of my challenges is the remoteness of the location - so go to HomeDepot on Friday, buy 3 of everything, then return 90% of it on Monday type of thing.....

[bud16415]

After doing a lifetime of work on industrial machines with heavy duty Hoffman boxes and such when I took the cover off my Caldera Geneva electronic / power box (not a cheap tub by any means) it was a thin plastic box with a funky removable cover and the whole thing wouldn’t meet fisher price’s standard. I actually put the sealtite lock nut on backwards because I felt the dig in side would cut thru the enclosure. I wasn’t impressed at all. If I bought a $4000 tub I might have expected that but when spending over $12,000 I thought I would find something better, I go on line and look around at installs and most of them just have the wires stuck thru the holes no seal between the pump side and the electronics. Then I see this massive circuit board with all kind of chips on it and I wonder why does a tub need a brain like that. I quit looking and hooked it up and it runs great and haven’t had a problem. So I guess it is good enough.

Seems like you would need the neutral to get the GFCI to work right.       

Good luck and good deal on the wire.   

[Snowjob]

thanks,
yes you need the neutral to the GFCI breaker, but there is no place to connect the neutral inside the tub.  I will run it but will just have a wire nut and tape over it.

[bud16415]

The GFCI works by looking for an imbalance between the neutral and hot wire. As in if the current returning isn’t equal going out it assumes some has found a path to ground. One common point is in the heating circuit and current comes in contact with water and the GFCI trips. Without the neutral connected I wonder how the GFCI would function properly. Scratching my head on this one.   

[bud16415]

I guess page 29 shows what is going on with the two methods they are using for the GFCI.

https://www.jacuzzi.com/media/4075/2014en-jht-predelivery-guide.pdf

They are using the green as the neutral and the safety ground both on your tub.

Not sure I know if I agree with that setup or not, but I see how it works.