Chelsee kicking circuit breaker repeatedly

6 replies

Last Reply on April 2nd, 2017 by Nigel

March 22, 2014

My 6 month old Chelsee hot tub keeps kicking the circuit breaker. I reset the breaker and it runs for a moment, and then kicks the breaker again? any idea?

I can hear the circulation pump run for a minute after resetting the breaker, and then it kicks again.

Replies

  1. March 03, 2014

    Reply

    Rick if there is a blockage at your circulation pump ie debris, ice etc this could trip your circuit breaker if you go to turn on the pump and the impellor cannot move if it is not free wheeling or it is jammed. Loosen the unions at the circulation pump to see if the water is still liquid here or if it is ice or if there is debris near the impellor. If you have a frozen area at the pump or in the circulation pump line you can place a space heater in the equipment bay on low heat and put your skirt panels back on. Let the heater run for several hrs to warm the equipment bay. Montior the area for any breaks that could occur in plumbing as it thaws. Don’t leave the heater unnattended for a long period of time. Excessive moisture around the appliances in the equipment bay could cause the circuit breaker to trip. A bad appliance could also cause your circuit breaker to trip ie a bad or corroded heater, a bad circulation or jet pump. Disconnecting these devices one by one and trying to reset your circuit breaker seeing if it will hold while the appliance is disconnected will help you troubleshoot where the problem lies. A bad circuit breaker could also trip itself. Excessive moisture around the GFCI breaker could also cause nuissance tripping. If all else fails contact our Service Support Desk to book a diagnostic or winterizing of your Sundance Spa.

  2. Rick Yallits

    March 03, 2014

    Reply

    The circulation pump is flowing (I see water coming from the waterfall when it is on), and I have tried disconnecting each pump and uv filter from the circuit board – and still no luck.

    Just a few more things that may be of interest – Prior to this problem occurring, the display on my spa was seemingly “locked up” in that it was showing me that my water temp was 102, when it was in fact 62. The pumps at that point would not turn on, only the LED lighting worked. I then reset the breaker (to clear the locked up condition), and now the breaker keeps kicking?

    I don’t know if this changes things?

  3. March 03, 2014

    Reply

    Rick check that you have good flow through your flow switch. The flow switch is the clear T fitting in the equipment bay. Good flow would be enough water flow to push the paddle against the bar in the middle of the switch. This may be difficult to see if the pump only turns on for a moment so you may need someone to flip your circuit breaker as you watch the flow at the switch. If the paddle is not making contact long enough then you have some blockage in that line be it debris or ice.

  4. Rick Yallits

    March 03, 2014

    Reply

    I will check it out – thanks!

  5. Derek K

    April 01, 2017

    Reply

    I just bought a chelsee about 5 months ago and ran the electric myself. I have a dedicated line from the main panel were im feeding the hot tub sub panel with a dbl 50 amp breaker, there is about 8 feet to the subpanel where I have a manufacture recommended dbl 30 amp GFCI breaker and #4 http wire running to the tub. With this set up I am supposed to be ale to run the heater and both pumps. However as Im sitting in the tub or near it with the heater running and the first stage pump running I can start to smell burning plastic then the breaker trips. the breaker itself is warm and if I reset the breaker tub fires back up and will run for another 3 minutes or so before the breaker trips again. Could my subpanel be too small? When I bought the house this subpanel was out there for the hot tub the had before we moved in so I just used that instead of purchasing a new one. The onl issue I have with the tub is he breaker tipping, I had a regular dbl 30 in it befor the gfci, when I took that out there as burn marks on half the breaker….what is causing that? The tub is grounded and from what I can see it looks fine that is why I believe it to be the sub panel at fault.

    • Nigel

      April 02, 2017

      Reply

      Derek you may have a bad sub panel. I would use a sub with a 50amp gfci and a #6/2 wire.
      If you would like a link to the correct sub panel and delivery options send me the serial number
      of your spa.

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