II. Doesn’t Heat
If the heater light is solid and the spa is not heating, it’s likely the heater.
Remember, spas plugged by a cord into an outlet only gain 1-2 degrees per hour.
Spas hardwired to 220-240vac will gain 5-6 degrees per hour. Typically you might
not be able to feel a different temperature of water coming out of the heater
nozzle. Even touching the heater element doesn’t always “feel” different.
The tech’s method to test the integrity of the heater element is with an ohm
meter. Set the meter to OHMS. Place each probe on the heater posts WHEN
THE POWER TO THE SPA IS OFF. You should get 11-15ohms resistance. If
not, you have a failed element. If the ohms is correct, he next checks:
The power to the spa. A perfect heater without proper current won’t heat.
PLEASE NOTE: that to check current you need a good meter and know how to
use it safely. If you do not, seek help from someone who does or have a licensed
electrician do this test.
When the heater light is ON, the heater should be receiving either 110-130vac or
220-260vac, depending on your spa and incoming power service.
To check, remove the metal cover on the control box. Turn on spa and let the
motor come on and the heat light to come on solid. Set the voltmeter to above
300vac. With the heater light on solid, place the probes on the heater’s 2 heater
post. You should have either voltage range. If you do not and the heater light is
solid, then the board has failed and you will have to replace.
If you have the proper ohms resistance on the first test AND the proper voltage at
the heater AND you gave the spa enough time to heat, several things could be
the problem.
First, it’s not uncommon for the above test to pass and still be misleading. The
test proves true and then minutes or an hour later the heater stop heating and the
heater light go out. So you have to eliminate that possibility. First, remove the
filter(s) and leave out for a day. Does the spa still not heat? IF not, check to
confirm the heater light is still solid, if you catch the heater light out or flashing or
a error code is displayed, that will lead you one direction. But, if the heater light is
solid all the time, you have voltage, and the resistance on the heater was correct
Summary of Contents for Z Builder Series
Page 43: ...balanced and not using too much or too little chemicals...
Page 76: ......
