hot tub

[unsure]

My husband thinks the hot tub will go on our patio near the air conditioner.
Also he thinks they will run a 220 amp from the 240 amp air conditioner panel.
I think that will over load and burn up air conditioner.
any thoughts?

 

[fatboy]

Welcome to the forum.

First off, this is basically not intended to be a forum for DYI's, although you will get some answers.

You have your terminolgy wrong, I believe you are talking about voltages, not amperages. Typical amps for A/C is 25-50, hard to say what the tub amperage draw is.

Not a good idea to piggy back off a dedicated circuit such as your a/c, unless you like jumping out of the tub and resetting a breaker whenver a/sc and tub are being used at the same time, or start a fire due to overloading.

Hire a licensed electrician.

Just saying.

Good luck!

 

[ICE]

You do realize that you'll be sitting in a tub of water that could kill you if even a small mistake were made during the installation? I applaud you husband's initiative however, the fact that he is willing to tap the AC circuit for the hot tub indicates that he might be in over his head.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

Other possibly incorrect terminology: "Panel."

The air conditioner almost certainly does not have it's own "panel." I'm certain it is fed by a 240-volt circuit from the main distribution ("breaker") panel in the garage, utility room, or basement. The size of the wires and circuit breaker for that circuit are sized to supply the electrical load of the air conditioner -- and nothing else. If you piggy-back a hot tub off that circuit from the junction box at the air conditioner, the best you can expect is frequently tripping the circuit breaker, as mentioned by fatboy. If there's ever a problem with a faulty circuit breaker, you could also be at risk of fire.

You need to run a new 240-volt circuit from the breaker panel to the hot tub. As fatboy suggested, hire a licensed electrician.

 

[unsure]

Other possibly incorrect terminology: "Panel."

The air conditioner almost certainly does not have it's own "panel." I'm certain it is fed by a 240-volt circuit from the main distribution ("breaker") panel in the garage, utility room, or basement. The size of the wires and circuit breaker for that circuit are sized to supply the electrical load of the air conditioner -- and nothing else. If you piggy-back a hot tub off that circuit from the junction box at the air conditioner, the best you can expect is frequently tripping the circuit breaker, as mentioned by fatboy. If there's ever a problem with a faulty circuit breaker, you could also be at risk of fire.

You need to run a new 240-volt circuit from the breaker panel to the hot tub. As fatboy suggested, hire a licensed electrician.

I hope they will. The breaker panel is in the garage. Other side of house from where the hot tub will/might be. If we get one, it will have to be on other side of patio from a/c condenser. Can't imagine how it will be done. The hot tub company said they have a licensed electrician.
I really don't want one, but husband does.

 

[Beniah Naylor]

My husband thinks the hot tub will go on our patio near the air conditioner.
Also he thinks they will run a 220 amp from the 240 amp air conditioner panel.
I think that will over load and burn up air conditioner.
any thoughts?

That will not affect the air conditioner itself, but it will overload the wiring feeding the air conditioner, which will constantly trip the breaker if the breaker works, and if the breaker fails it could cause the wire to heat up, melt the insulation, and start a fire in your wall or panel. They should run a dedicated circuit to feed the hot tub.

You do realize that you'll be sitting in a tub of water that could kill you if even a small mistake were made during the installation?

This is true. I would make sure they get permit and inspections - that doesn't guarantee that it will be right, but you have a better chance. I say make sure because every contractor will tell you they got a permit (especially so they can charge you a "permit fee"), but many don't. A container with water in it is pretty safe aside from the drowning hazard, but once you connect electricity to run pumps and heat the water the electrocution risk becomes a very real hazard if anything goes wrong.

The only caveat is that the inspectors in some cities are better than the inspectors in others. If you live in a city with good inspectors, the permit will benefit you, if your city has bad inspectors it may cause more harm than good. I don't know any of the guys from OKC, couldn't attest to their skill or lack thereof.

 

[e hilton]

Apparently hubby is trying to convince Unsure that the hot tub is a good idea and won’t be expensive to install, cuz we got all the juice we need right there! No need to spend a lot of money to run a new circuit all the way back to the panel.

Unsure … before you give in to hubby, and before you commit to buying the hot tub, request an all-in proposal from the seller including a proper circuit. Hubby might realize it’s going to cost a lot more than he was willing to spend.

 

[Allani Ahmed]

Apparently hubby is trying to convince Unsure that the hot tub is a good idea and won’t be expensive to install, cuz we got all the juice we need right there! No need to spend a lot of money to run a new circuit all the way back to the panel.

Unsure … before you give in to hubby, and before you commit to buying the hot tub, request an all-in proposal from the seller including a proper circuit. Hubby might realize it’s going to cost a lot more than he was willing to spend.

Did he consider that there is a reason that hot tubs need to be moved from already in-place wires and run a new circuit? Telll him that if he cuts corners now (and this is a big corner to cut) he might have some corners he can't cut or dodge in the future

 

[Mr. Inspector]

I fail 90% of hot tub inspections. Hot tubs have a whole different set of rules than anything else at your house. homeowners never get it right. Making sure you do it right the first time will save a lot of $$$.