Help Pleeeeeeeeeese?

[barryuk99]

Hi Hot Tubbers, I'm hoping that I can find and answer on here to a problem I have with my hot tub and here's all the info I think you'll need:-

I purchased a Balboa Sports Deep hot tub in latter end of 2015 and we had 18 months of very happy hot tubbing without any problems at all. We then noticed  a "popping" or bang sound coming from inside the hot tub, which definitely sounded electrical. The occurrence of this sound was rare, but after several weeks it popped again, which took out the main circuit breaker in the house! When trying to power it back on, it always took out the circuit breaker, so was shorting somewhere. The heater element resistance checked out ok. However, there were signs of electrical "flashover" between the live (UK 240V) and neutral. I tried again to power the hot tub on whilst observing the electrical connections and confirmed the electrical flash was present at that point. So I purchased a replacement GS500Z control board and this fixed the problem!

Its been 13 months since fitting the replacment PCB and its unfortunately failed again in exactly the same way. We heard some popping a couple of weeks ago, then it failed over the weekend, again taking out the main house circuit breaker.

I havent removed the PCB yet, but can see the same electrical burning marks. I've checked the resistance between the hot tub earth and main house earth and found this to be 1 Ohm, which I think is ok?

I'm guessing that if I replace the PCB again, all will be fine, but dont want to have to do this again a year from now.

Do any of you have any ideas what could be causing this, or is it a known issue with Balboa's with this PCB?

By the way, the hot tub is left powered on 24/7.

Thanks in advance.

[Astropin]

First...I would bring out an electrician. Way too many possibilities. If you're willing to fork out $$ for a new board then I would think getting a good electrician to come out and track down the issue would be well worth it.

[Tman122]

Hi Hot Tubbers, I'm hoping that I can find and answer on here to a problem I have with my hot tub and here's all the info I think you'll need:-

I purchased a Balboa Sports Deep hot tub in latter end of 2015 and we had 18 months of very happy hot tubbing without any problems at all. We then noticed  a "popping" or bang sound coming from inside the hot tub, which definitely sounded electrical. The occurrence of this sound was rare, but after several weeks it popped again, which took out the main circuit breaker in the house! When trying to power it back on, it always took out the circuit breaker, so was shorting somewhere. The heater element resistance checked out ok. However, there were signs of electrical "flashover" between the live (UK 240V) and neutral. I tried again to power the hot tub on whilst observing the electrical connections and confirmed the electrical flash was present at that point. So I purchased a replacement GS500Z control board and this fixed the problem!

Its been 13 months since fitting the replacment PCB and its unfortunately failed again in exactly the same way. We heard some popping a couple of weeks ago, then it failed over the weekend, again taking out the main house circuit breaker.

I havent removed the PCB yet, but can see the same electrical burning marks. I've checked the resistance between the hot tub earth and main house earth and found this to be 1 Ohm, which I think is ok?

I'm guessing that if I replace the PCB again, all will be fine, but dont want to have to do this again a year from now.

Do any of you have any ideas what could be causing this, or is it a known issue with Balboa's with this PCB?

By the way, the hot tub is left powered on 24/7.

Thanks in advance.

Have you metered your incoming power at the board?

[barryuk99]

Many thanks for the feedback guys.

The hot tub was installed by a fully qualified electrician, but guess an error could have been made, so wont rule that out. But if an error was made surely the issue would be there all of the time? It takes more than a year for the fault to appear. My concern is that its a known issue and have contacted Balboa for their comments.

I've measured the incoming voltage at 238V AC which is correct for the UK and also checked the earth resistance at less than 1 Ohm

[bud16415]

I don’t know particulars on that specific tub, but in terms of general trouble shooting something failing twice could be a coincidental. I would be asking the manufacture if there is a known problem as you are doing. If the problem is not coincidental and is a true problem in your tub only I would be thinking along the lines of cause. Is there some slight moisture issue say that is effecting the card but taking a year to cause the GFCI condition. These type of problems are hard to find.

Wish I could help more.   

[castletonia]

I would get an electrician out before replacing anything.  If you repeatedly fry the circuit board, it usually means there is an issue with the incoming power.

Are the burn marks on the terminal block?  If so, could indicate a loose wire.

[Blane]

Loose connections will cause problems. There are certain torque requirements for various connections. And over time, due to vibration, if the connection became loose(er) it could lead to 'arcing and sparking'. This may not at first be readily apparent even if not properly connected. But over time it can rear its ugly head. Also, over tightening of smaller wires can cause the same effect. >Loctite< Get a "qualified" electrician.

[Tman122]

Loose connections will cause problems. There are certain torque requirements for various connections. And over time, due to vibration, if the connection became loose(er) it could lead to 'arcing and sparking'. This may not at first be readily apparent even if not properly connected. But over time it can rear its ugly head. Also, over tightening of smaller wires can cause the same effect. >Loctite< Get a "qualified" electrician.

Loose connections are a very common problem and I recommend all tubs have them tightened by a qualified tech or person every year, electricity vibrates. It's weird.

But I think we have a different issue here. Let us know what Balboa says.

[barryuk99]

Hi All, MANY THANKS for all of the great advice which I've checked out. Qualified electrician says all is OK and there's really not that much to check in this area, the voltage is right, and resistances OK between live/neutral/earth, plus connections tested right back to the main house distribution board.

Like the idea of checking the connections periodically and on giving this some more thought, all failures have occurred in the winter.

Balboa (Europe) did not respond to my enquiry at all. However, they did via their UK sales agent (Hydrospares) and simply advised me to purchase another new PCB, which I have done. Won't be able to install the new PCB until the weekend, but guess it will work fine for at least another year!!!! Will consider swapping out this hot tub later in the year for a different manufacturer.

Can't say I'm happy with Balboa's support and will be leaving a suitable comment on their Twitter page! At the very least I was hoping for a "check this, or check that", but got nothing.