View Full Version : I have power to my heater but the spa is not hot
krazylove
04-12-2009, 06:54 PM
Hi , my husband says we have power to our heater but the water wont get hot. What do we do ?
Well ... first i need to ask - what exactly did your husband check and how to determine the proper power is getting to the heater?
krazylove
04-13-2009, 06:10 AM
He says he tested the heater terminals and got 120 volts on both terminals.
Hope this helps.
Okay -- here is an important piece of info , on 240v parts like your heater you must test across both heater terminals at the same time. You need to see 230-240v on the meter to be sure you have proper power.
Have him turn the system on - heat ON - and test across both terminals ( be careful as these wires are the high voltage leads) just dont touch anything except the tops of the terminals.( either the nuts or the wire connector itself)
In the event that you do have 240v at the heater and you dont get any heat --at that point we can safely determine the element is bad. To back that up we would do an AMP check on each of the heater wires.
marc
krazylove
04-13-2009, 05:01 PM
Looks like we do have 237 volts across the heater element terminals, so do we need a new element ? Which one ? are they expensive?
thanks for our help.
Yep --your element must be bad. We can also do an OHMs test to make sure but if you have 237 volts to the heater and no heat what so ever then its safe to say the element needs replaced.
The flow through style heaters like yours are the cheapest style --so thats good news. You may need to remove you element and look close at it --to see the kilowatt rating that is stamped into the metal-(tiny little letters). There are usually on two different 240v elements available --one is a 4.0kw or 4000 watt, and the other is a 5.5kw or 5500 watts. You can usually use either or... but if you have the lower rated element now you should stick with that one.
Now if you have a 120v heater --its still the same element but since you only have 120 volts --it only works as a 1.5kw heater or 1500 watts. Some elements will only show the 120v rating --if it does then the manufacturer has rated that element as a 120v only.
You can go to hottubworks.com and see lots of different elements and some tool box explanations on how to do this repair.
Marc
krazylove
04-14-2009, 04:26 AM
We got the heater element out and it says its a 5.5kw . My husband did OHM test it and got no reading so it appears the element is dead. We did order a new one from hottubworks.com and i was quite surprised at the cost -- it was much cheaper than i expected. Well the part is on its way - and we have learned a thing or two. THANKS for all the help , you saved us at least 100.00 in repair labor.