Spa wiring


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Old 12-16-04, 04:45 PM
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Spa wiring

I am having a spa installed in my backyard and am doing all the grunt work for the electrician; digging trench for conduit,etc.I was reading the instructions on electrical and it said to use a 50amp GFCI disconnect at least 5 feet from tub and 4 ft high (will be on side of house adjacent to spa) and to use #6 wire for all 4 conductors--the 2 hots, the neutral and ground. It also said to use #8 for bonding. What is meant by that? Everything else I was looking over made sense. My electrician won't be back in town until next week when the spa will be delivered so I can't ask him. Thanks for the input.
 
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Old 12-16-04, 05:22 PM
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Everything metal within 5 feet must be bonded together and to the pump motor. There is usually a bonding lug on the motor where you connect this.

Anything metal means anything metal. A chain link fence, a metal ladder (usually only for pools), any metal in the spa structure, etc. The idea is no voltage will develop on anything metal which might be toushed while someone is in the water.

Why are you digging a trench for conduit? If the disconnect will be on the side of the house, you can run the wires in the house. This saves on digging the trench, and on pulling wires through conduit.
 
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Old 12-16-04, 05:34 PM
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The spa will be sitting on a concrete patio. There is nothing else around close that is metal except maybe the window frame of the kitchen window. That dosen't have to bonded does it? What you said regarding the pump etc. being bonded, being a complete spa kit, would that already be done with respect to the terminal block on the spa where the all the hookups are made?Still confused. As for the trench for conduit, the home has vaulted ceilings and the main panel is all the way on the other end of the home. If you could run part of the wire through a section of the attic, it would have to exit at the second story eaves and run along them all the way down to the ground.
 
 

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