HL/OH Codes -- Hot Tub Overheating?

[Jaycera]

Hi all,

Apologies if this is the incorrect place for this question.

I've had a Lifesmart Retreat DLX hot tub for approximately 3 years and it has worked wonderfully all along. Yesterday I came home to notice the "HL" error for the first time -- no pumps or heater running as far as I could tell, and the water was extremely hot to the touch. Note that ambient temperature outside was about 40F and I had the temperature setting on the tub at 102F, as per usual for us.

I uncovered the tub for about 10 minutes then restarted it, to be greeted with the OH code and a water temperature showing 116F, with the filtration system/pump running this time (and my inability to turn it off manually). I let it take in the cold outside air for a couple of hours with the cover off, but it had only dropped to 113F. I covered it for the night and awoke to it going back up to 117F, at which point I unplugged it and it has been unplugged since, as I am at work and was planning on attempting to troubleshoot further this evening.

We are in NY in November, so there should be no outside temp influence. Is it as simple as my HL switch being triggered? or is something more going on? I don't love that the temperature continually increases even after I cooled it off and with the temp set on 102 as it always is...

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[ratchett]

HL indicates High Limit tripped, and OH means overheated - do not enter tub.

There's probably a chance either a thermistor to monitor temperature has come loose from the spa (or is defective), or the relay which controls the heater is stuck in the on position.

I would bet (hope) it's the temperature probe, but I don't know enough to tell you how to check/test.  Maybe find your local spa service technician to do some troubleshooting.  A good technician should be able to troubleshoot the issue fast.

[Jaycera]

Appreciate the insight, thanks. Read in my manual that it may need to dip below 107 in order to reset, which I hadn't heard of before, so I let it get down to 100 degrees last night in the cold weather and am attempting to heat it up to 102 again today to see if it correctly stops heating at the set mark, otherwise will end up resorting to my local tech.

[Jaycera]

Hello,

I apologize for replying to this topic from so long ago, but I am following up as the original poster. Please let me know if forum rules prefer that I start a new topic.

For context, the HL/OH thing happened a few more times in the winter of 2019-2020, and I set up an appointment with a technician in spring of 2020. The issue had not happened for awhile, he came by and checked a bunch of things (adjusted filter cycles down as low as they could go) and went on his merry way. The issue did not happen again for some time, but came back later in the summer. Often after a cold night. Since then, it is now happening MUCH more regularly as we've had a string of days in the 20s and 30s. I used to think it was related to sun, but now I believe it's related to cold ambient temperature.

As I'm writing this, the HL/OH trigger has taken place probably 5 out of the last 7 days. Each day I air out the tub and get it below that point and each following morning it's tripped again, often reading temperatures of 115-118F now. I also realized that on more than one occasion I could not manually turn off the heater/filtration system, whether I unplugged the tub or hit the button on the panel. This is now leading me to believe that the heater is often staying in the on position and ignoring the temperature setting. Since it's so cold, I've been deducing that the tub falls below the desired temperature, the heater kicks on, and it stays on all night, causing me to wake up to a tub that at 115 degrees when the air temperature outside is 25, despite the fact that the tub was at 102 when I went to bed the night prior.

Before I attempt to schedule another service appointment, I was hoping this additional information would help clarify some things and point me in the right direction. Is the heater setting just stuck on periodically (this does not happen 100% of the time), or is it some sort of temperature sensor issue? Especially noting that the technician could not find anything wrong with it last spring (though admittedly it was warmer and this issue was not nearly as pervasive).

Thanks in advance for any help that you might be able to provide.

[Tman122]

Sounds like it could be the heater relay or the temp sensor in the tub itself.

[Jaycera]

Sounds like it could be the heater relay or the temp sensor in the tub itself.

Morning Tman, thanks for the quick reply.

If it's worth any additional context, the tub functioned correctly overnight from last night until this morning and stayed at its desired 102F temperature setting. It was at 101F when I went to bed, and it's correctly at 102F when I woke up this morning. That said, today has been the first warm day we've had in quite awhile (54F ambient air temperature instead of most days in the 20s or 30s). Does this help diagnosing things further? Is there a way that I can troubleshoot as a novice if I open up the side panel? Anything I should look for? Or do I need to call a local technician again?

Thanks so much. Hope you are well.

[Tman122]

A tech will be able to diagnosis the problem very quickly. I don't think your outside ambient has anything to do with the problem.

[Jaycera]

Understood, thanks. Wonder why he couldn't find anything wrong last time. Will try again -- feel free to let me know if anyone has any further insight in the interim.

[Tman122]

Understood, thanks. Wonder why he couldn't find anything wrong last time. Will try again -- feel free to let me know if anyone has any further insight in the interim.

He should owe you a visit if he didn't fix the problem, or at least a discount.............

[CanadianSpaTech]

Free Visit/discount...WHY? If the spas was working as it should while he was there how do you fix a problem that isn't there? Not his fault. You can test everything and not find an issue. He spent his time testing, driving to and from. If the problem isn't present and you can't replicate the issue while he is there that's not his fault. Call him when the issue is present so he has a chance to diagnose the problem. JMO

[Tman122]

Free Visit/discount...WHY? If the spas was working as it should while he was there how do you fix a problem that isn't there? Not his fault. You can test everything and not find an issue. He spent his time testing, driving to and from. If the problem isn't present and you can't replicate the issue while he is there that's not his fault. Call him when the issue is present so he has a chance to diagnose the problem. JMO

I would of come back at little to no cost. But I was a more receptive tech than most and made my own rules.

[CanadianSpaTech]

I do as well most of the time... my point is that it should not be expected or the tech be blamed for not finding issue when the spa is running perfectly while he was there.

[Tman122]

I do as well most of the time... my point is that it should not be expected or the tech be blamed for not finding issue when the spa is running perfectly while he was there.

I'm not putting any blame. A guy hires me to fix his tub/plumbing and I can't solve his problem I come back and go the extra mile for less cost for my labor and I fix the problem.

[Jaycera]

Hi all,

No worries on the tech -- they were actually very kind and lenient with what their typical fee structure would have been and I plan on using them again because of that. Needless to say, I'm not sure how to properly plan an appointment and be sure that the issue is happening simultaneously. For example, the problem hasn't actually happened again in the last 4 or so days, yet prior to that it was happening almost every day. For the past few days the tub has stayed at the 102F setting and the filter cycles kick on and off properly as they should. Prior to that, I'd often find it "running" in the morning to be accompanied by HL/OH codes and a very high temperature reading when resetting the GFI plug (that was the only way I could turn off the filter/heater temporarily).

Just in case any of this additional context helps to diagnose whether it is the relay or a sensor, either way it is certainly sporadic and hard to replicate on demand for a tech's visit.

Thanks again everyone.

[Sav]

Hi - I'm having the same problem.  Did you find out what the issue was?  Thanks!