Hot tub

[mathew stouffer]

This is a disconnect of a hot tub. The neutral for the GFCI always needs to be connected to the neutral bar, not the ground. Correct? Long day;) GC told me today it doesnt matter. I said bs.

[Donald Farrell]

Neutral and Ground can only be connected together at the Main Service Panelboard.

Please note, that there does not appear to be a Neutral bar in this cabinet. I'll check my code book just to make sure, but right now, I've got an appointment for x-rays.

[Jim Port]

Donald is correct that there is no neutral run in that feeder or to the tub. Is the hot tub 240V only?

[Roger Frazee]

This is a disconnect of a hot tub. The neutral for the GFCI always needs to be connected to the neutral bar, not the ground. Correct? Long day;) GC told me today it doesnt matter. I said bs.

Matt

That is correct. However the GC failed to run a neutral from the service equipment to the spa disconnect panel. It doesn't matter whether the spa is 3 wire 240 volt or 4 wire 240 volt where a neutral is required for a 12O volt ozonator or other accessory. Whenever the gfci 240 volt breaker that has a neutral terminal is located at the spa disconnect you must run a neutral with the feeder in order for the gfci to function as designed for safety purposes.

As it is.... the gfci at the spa disconnect has its neutral terminal connected to the ground bar. This is incorrect but will allow the spa to work if the spa is 3 wire 240 volt only where no neutral is required to be ran from the spa disconnect to the terminal block on the spa control panel. The gfci has a completed monitoring circuit via the equipment grounding wire the GC ran with the feeder. It should not be using the egc but a neutral wire.

So the proper configuration for the spa disconnect would be to disconnect the neutral shown from the gfci breaker to the ground bar and connect it to the spa disconnect neutral terminal bar. Then a neutral is required to be ran with the feeder wiring and connected to that same insulated neutral bar. This will separate the neutral and ground and provide the human safety and design safety.

As I said the neutral ran with the feeder is not there to provide for 120 volts ... only to provide a current monitoring circuit for the gfci to measure the amperage in each hot wire. This is true for 3 wire 240 volt spas.

So if the spa is 3 wire 240 volt only. You need 4 wires (H-H-N-Grd) from service equipment to the spa disconnect panel. Then 3 wires H-H-GRD (no neutral) from the spa gfci disconnect to the spa control panel. Neutral and ground separated at the gfci disconnect.

I no longer post diagrams for liability reasons but here is a good link to show you the proper wiring for 3 wire and 4 wire spas. Scroll down to the wiring diagrams then choose the 3 wire or 4 wire tab to show the differences.

Wiring a Hot Tub - Electrical Installation and Wiring Diagrams (http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/wiring-hot-tub-spa.htm)