Installing a cooling fan

[NDfar]

I was thinking of putting a cooling fan in the equipment bay. I see the air injectors take air from the motor/pump area alowing warm air to mix with the water. I put a therometer in when running on high and it was reading 125 degrees with the service door closed.
Epecially during the hot summer months wouldn't this help extend the pump and electronics life?    I have a electronic compartment cooling fan about 5 inch square and a adjustable therostat from 100 to 400 degrees F and thought of letting this kick in at about 100-110 degrees.  Would this be any benefit on my part.

[Cola]

The motors are OK at this temp but electronics are a different story.  For every 10 degree rise in temperature, the life of electronics is halved.  On the flip side, the elements are more likely to damage your spa pak than a few months of heat.  If you plan on exhausting the heat with a fan, I would recommend that you pull the air in through a filter low in the cabinet and alow the heat to exhaust near the top.

[Chas]

What type of tub is this for?

[NDfar]

I bought an Islander from a long time dealer here in Fargo, ND.  He also carries Cal Spas, Dimension One, and Great Lakes.  

[leesweet]

I'd ditto the filter idea.  You don't want to add dust/pollen/bugs to the mix inside there.  I assume this is for a foam insulated spa?  Thermostat's a good idea, but if the outside's air's hot, would it help too much?  80 degree air's still better than 100-120, I do suppose...

As was semi-mentioned, you may want to use two fans:  one for inflow at the bottom, and one for exhaust at the top, with filters on both.  Be sure rain and other (ground) water can't infiltrate either.  (Nothing's easy! )

Hm, also, may want to run this by the dealer or manufacturer. Don't want a warranty claim to be disallowed because you 'modified' the factory configuration.  You never know.

Bottom line, however, heat does affect electronics, but only if they're not designed for it, and I'd expect the control panels and other parts in these animals are made to bake in 120 degree heat all summer for years.  This all may be a tempest in a teapot (sorry..).

[Tman122]

I used a Gravity damper and duct work to direct the air right to the pump motor where it is most needed. This allows it to be sealed and insulated when it is cold outside. Yet when the fan kicks on the damper on the incoming side opens in allowing air to come in (or the air blower kicks in) and the damper on the other side opens out to allow exhaust from high in the cabinet air space. Mine is a 12 volt 36CFM 100-300 Thermostat available at Grainger. The duct is flexible dryer type duct. And the dampers were custom made in our custom metal fab facility here in Duluth Minnesota (Jamar Company) Made them myself.

In 2 hours of filtering twice daily (this time of year less use than fall, winter or early spring) It has to be real hot outside for the fan to kick on, very very seldom happens. It is set for 110. I filter in early morning and late afternoon. It may be a better system for warmer climates than here in Northern Minnesota. But it allowed me to seal my cabinet fully and increase my side wall insulation to a much higher R-Factor and have less than 0 heat loss during filtering. During winter months with heavier use I increase filtering to 4 hours a day twice daily and have it filter during the coldest times of the day and with ambients below about 10-20 I don't see heat creep, but 30-40 and above during longer filtration I do and it increase faster during Warmer days We are only talking a degree or 2 here.