Sitting around and lounging in a Hot Tub is very relaxing, but keep these electrical safety tips from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) in mind before using one:
It’s important to remember that time and weather can affect a hot tub’s performance. A very well-known fact is time ages everything, including hot tubs, no matter if they are installed indoors or out. Hot tubs get old, and the internal equipment may stop working.
Outdoor hot tub installations have an added challenge of being exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light and other elements including rain and snow. UV light is proven to speed the aging process on the exposed, non-metallic electrical equipment associated with the hot tub, while rain and snow adversely impact the metallic components.
Other influences that increase the decay of hot tub equipment are the chemicals used to treat the water. These may be chlorine or bromine, which are very caustic and can cause corrosion in or on metal motor parts, electrical equipment, electrical terminals, and electrical conductors.
When was the last time you inspected the motor, terminations, bonding connections, or tested the ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection? You may be thinking, I didn’t know I needed to check my tub in this way. Why do I have to check that stuff? Again, remember that time and weather have an adverse impact on all things, especially hot tubs and the associated electrical equipment.
Hot tubs frequently receive their GFCI protection through an overcurrent protective device (OCPD), also known as a GFCI breaker, which contains similar instructions on testing. These simple and easy tests can help homeowners determine if the hot tub is safe. The usual test method includes:
- Push the colored test button on the breaker body, which should move the breaker handle to the middle position. If the handle doesn’t move, or trip, contact a qualified electrician to replace the GFCI breaker. A breaker handle that does move to the middle position is correctly operating.
- Reset the GFCI breaker by rotating the handle completely to the “off” position and then rotate it back to the “on” position. A properly functioning GFCI breaker can prevent high electric current from leaking into the hot tub water, which could result in an unfortunate electrical shock drowning (ESD) incident.
Hot tubs are a great place to relax and unwind if they are kept in good repair. Remember to test your GFCI protection and keep an eye on the other components for deterioration. Delaying maintenance could be a bigger and more expensive problem in the end.
The author of this content cannot be liable for any use or misuse of the contents. This is a guideline and is meant for information only.
