Moving the Control Panel on HS Grandee

[rmbudd3]

I just got a Hot Springs Grandee and of course I love it.  Right now it is sitting on my patio, but my long term plan is to put in in the ground about 24 inches and build in the rest.  As many of you know, the exterior control panel on the Grandee is located right in front of the step area of the tub, so if I put the tub 24" in the ground, the exterior control panel will be right on the ground and in front of my steps.  Is there any way to move this control panel when I build in the tub or do I just have to deal with it.    I would like to disconnect it and mount it higher on the tub and on a different side of my custom enclosure.  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[hottubdan]

How are you leaving access for the equipment? Even if you have that handled, I think moving the control panel would be considered a modification, voiding aspects of warranty.

[Chas]

I have moved them for folks. Look behind your control panel: there is nothing but a 10- pin ribbon cable to connect it to the main box. Then there is the smaller wire for the LED lighting harness. For folks with older tubs, there is also a smaller wire going off to the Aux panel. Take some time looking around in there and you'll see how it mounts, and that the ribbon cable is not very long.

Protection from the weather is imortant for the back of the control panel, the LED connections and the control head itself. If you build a box to keep rain off the back of the control panel, and if you keep the face of the control panel vertical as it was on the spa you will be fine.

The lighting for the panel front is low voltage - in fact it's all low voltage.

As far as warranty: if you damage the control head during the move, it will obviously not be covered by the factory. But if you handle it with care and mount it in the same fashion as the factory does, it will keep right on working just fine.

Be sure to close up the hole in the siding where you removed the old panel.