Great work man! After watching your vid (and others) I was able to get our spa wired up and ready for service. Your video was the most helpful and well done. This saved me close to $1,000 so the least I can do is drop you a comment and like :) fyi to anyone who reads this --> 6awg wire is code for the 50amp breaker in the greatest country on earth (USA!!!!!!). 8awg might "work", but isnt code here in USA...
Great job on showing the simplicity (yet complexly important) wiring of a circuit to a 240v hot tub. Can't say how many times I've missed the top plate when boring a hole myself - made me feel good knowing that somebody else has done the same thing!
Just wanted to come back to this video and say thank you for sharing your experience. This gave me the information and confidence I needed to do my own wiring for our recently installed spa. The 6 gauge wire was a lot more difficult to work with than I expected. The spa disconnect panel leaves little room to easily manage the wiring. Heck, just stripping the wiring was even a bit of a challenge. The biggest obstacle though was getting the wiring through about 20ft of conduit. After several failed attempts, I wrapped the wires in electrical tape about every 6-8" inches and then rubbed some dieelectric grease all over the exterior of the wires. Even with that it was still challenging getting the wires pushed through the conduit; my hands were quite sore the next day! All that said though we're quite enjoying the new spa! :)
Great video, thanks, no annoying music like many people do, nice simple straight forward job and great explanation, i just ran the wires for mine, but wanted to watch video on outside spa box hook up, just to make sure it's done right , safe, and nobody gets electrocuted. So thanks again, at least what i can do is comment and complement you, have a great day
Just brought home a free 3 person hot tub for the wife and I today, everything works and it was well maintained by an older lady that used it for therapy. She could no longer physically get in and out and it was free for us since it freed up her deck and she didn’t need to pay to have to thrown out Buying wire and conduit tomorrow Thanks for this 👍
Man thats a good set up. I love the little junction box before the change over to flex to the hot tub. Everything looks really good. I was looking these videos up because i did all the wiring for my parents hot tub. We got super lucky and just came out of the bottom of the breaker panel with flex, punched a hole through the wall to the outside and ran PVC to the disconnect directly. And then a little flex to the hot tub from the disconnect. Their tub was alot closer to the house and all. It was fun doing this and i just started it up today.
In the spa pack I would have definitely wired the neutral to the top lug to match the other line side wires but other then that good job, you might have been fine with #8 as well but nothing wrong with #6
I had the same thought about going to the top lug with the line side neutral, which also is good for consistency and a service loop. The #6 wire was the correct size for 50 amp service.
Its very easy to wire the disconnect box wrong so i commend you on getting it right. I too wired my own spa, actually i wired the spa and disconnect myself. A lot if people take that neutral curly wire and run it to the grounding bar, that is wrong and dangerous. Job well done
Caution.....if you intend to install a spa like a swimming pool, special requirements for grounding exist. Connecting a #8 wire to rebar is the scary one. This is a remove the concrete and start over kind of oops. Make sure you get all the right info before you start. Nec 680 has requirements for spa's and refers you to earlier code chapters for some requirements. There are overhead distances for wires and restrictions for wires under your pool or spa along with distance requirements for electrical components and more. For this install, the National Electric Code (NEC), article/table 250.122 calls for an equipment grounding conductors of #10 copper wire for up to 60 amps. Your cable back to the panel should have at least that from the manufacturer. Also, your ground to the spa must be insulated as yours is. Looks pretty good, but I may have missed something.
@@willnilson8185 if you install a hot tub by digging a hole, putting the piping in and then pouring concrete to make the walls, steps, seats etc. The rebar in the concrete must be grounded with the wire size specified. Also, not by my code book, but there maybe requirements for a concrete pad. I will try to look tonite. But yes, if you install a pad of concrete for your tub, there may be ground requirements.
@@mrniusi11 that is true, home owners can do installs how they want. Electrical codes allow insurance companies to NOT PAY when the ugly happens. If this is a risk you are willing to take, good on you.
Can you share more about the hot tub side - when planning, how to know where to come up out of the ground for the wiring? Which side of the hot tub? How does it go from that outdoor box into the hot tub? I don't often see a box sticking up on a post like that at other peoples rentals
I’m about to start the wiring process for a bull frog m7 .. requires 60 amp breaker for the 240v … my question is I was told the manufacturer requires a whip at the end for install … all the whips I see in stores are only 6 foot long … the spa itself is longer than that ??? I will be coming off my in ground pool sub panel so I will be running a 60 amp breaker inside that sub panel and then running 6 wire the 20 feet or so to the concrete pad for the spa. I just don’t understand the needed whip at the end especially since it only comes In 6 foot lengths ??? Also side note all my wires will come out of sun panel into conduit and mounted to lower part of the house / concrete. So I will only have to go underground for like 2 feet from house to slab
This was the "whip" I used for my bullfrog spa, amzn.to/40fFXQn it's a flexible conduit that you will have your wires in. The ones your seeing that are 6 feet long are for like appliances and stuff like that and don't have the wire size you need. You will just want to make sure you're running THHN/THWN 6 gauge wires and not using a romex wire in the flexible conduit
My understanding is it's not advisable to run romex in conduit outside in potential wet environments. Romex is primarily for indoor use in walls and ceilings etc... So for the run from the spa box to the hot tub, i used a THHN/THWN individual 6 gauge wires which is meant for that application.
It is against code to use the romex outside. You have to switch to a outside rated or direct burial rated wire. It needs more protection as it now becomes a wet location.
previous owners had a hot tub at our house, our in house panel has a 50 amp gfci breaker. I believe they had just wired it directly to the tub. The wires are still there where the tub was... we are thinking about getting a tub now I hope thats correct.
Great video. I may have missed it, but could you say what size flex conduit you used? It looks like 3/4, but I thought that may be too small for #6 wire.
when you mounted your disconnect box, did you mount at a code height? is there a code height needed. also on where the wires come up to other box does that need to be a certain height, any electricians know this answer?
I have the exact same distance of wiring as you. Bought 125 ft of #6 with about 22 ft left over. I've read anything over 100ft you need to go up to #4 wire. Have you had any issues with running #6 that far? I mean we're going to have to run an extra 6-8 feet for the hot tub connection right? Of course I've already ran the #6 through the house and started the wiring process.
Good job using 6/3 AWG cable. 6/3 AWG is needed whenever the span is > 100'. Otherwise, 8/3 AWG is needed. Based on what I read, however, Romex is not intended to be installed outside. There's special underground wire. Am I off base on that?
@@Myksgarage how did you penetrate into the cabinet? I'm trying to find out how the liquid tight from my shut off will get to the spa control. Is it continuous just going through a drilled hole into the cabinet or is there some junction box or some other sealed access?
I’ve quickly learned that electricians may be the most insufferable and self-aggrandized people on planet earth. At least in the comment section on TH-cam
@kylebernal2566 NEC says minimum of 5' from waters edge no more than 25'. In otherwords it can not be within 5' of the water and can't be further away than 25'
Do you know what kind of system that is in 4 wire or 3 wire Do you know what you hooked up law hot tubs have for a while no they don't There is 3 wires well and there are also other codes regards tomato buildings And so many feet they need to be Bonded so that they don't become energized
So many code violations. People should understand electricity and the codes before installing their own electrical. Especially for a swimming pool or hot tub. 1- you can not run romex to the spa panel. The wire has to be in conduit and have an insulated ground. 2- Your panel is an Eaton BR brand panel. You can’t install Siemens brand in that panel. That’s a violation. Leave this job to the professionals. It blows my mind how people are willing to create a fire hazard within their own home. 😱
Actually, at least in my area, the code states that the breaker box has to be within 5' of the spa. So running to an outside breaker box on the house and then a junction box at the spa more than 5' away would also be a code violation.
Get your spa panel disconnect here: amzn.to/3HxJJ13
Thanks for watching!
Great work man! After watching your vid (and others) I was able to get our spa wired up and ready for service. Your video was the most helpful and well done. This saved me close to $1,000 so the least I can do is drop you a comment and like :)
fyi to anyone who reads this --> 6awg wire is code for the 50amp breaker in the greatest country on earth (USA!!!!!!). 8awg might "work", but isnt code here in USA...
Awesome, I'm glad this was helpful!!
Great job on showing the simplicity (yet complexly important) wiring of a circuit to a 240v hot tub. Can't say how many times I've missed the top plate when boring a hole myself - made me feel good knowing that somebody else has done the same thing!
Haha! Yes that top plate can be tricky! Thanks for you comment!
Best wiring video I've seen in awhile! Bravo Myk!
Thanks!!
Just wanted to come back to this video and say thank you for sharing your experience. This gave me the information and confidence I needed to do my own wiring for our recently installed spa.
The 6 gauge wire was a lot more difficult to work with than I expected. The spa disconnect panel leaves little room to easily manage the wiring. Heck, just stripping the wiring was even a bit of a challenge. The biggest obstacle though was getting the wiring through about 20ft of conduit. After several failed attempts, I wrapped the wires in electrical tape about every 6-8" inches and then rubbed some dieelectric grease all over the exterior of the wires. Even with that it was still challenging getting the wires pushed through the conduit; my hands were quite sore the next day!
All that said though we're quite enjoying the new spa! :)
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Great video, thanks, no annoying music like many people do, nice simple straight forward job and great explanation, i just ran the wires for mine, but wanted to watch video on outside spa box hook up, just to make sure it's done right , safe, and nobody gets electrocuted. So thanks again, at least what i can do is comment and complement you, have a great day
I'm glad this was helpful. Good luck with your installation!
Great trick to use a junction box for conduit transition and no wire interpretations, will do the same.
Yeah it worked out well. Thanks for watching, good luck with your installation!
Thanks!
Thanks for the tip, i really appreciate it!!
This is some great work if you aren’t an experienced electrician. I’m impressed
Thank you for the compliment
Just brought home a free 3 person hot tub for the wife and I today, everything works and it was well maintained by an older lady that used it for therapy. She could no longer physically get in and out and it was free for us since it freed up her deck and she didn’t need to pay to have to thrown out
Buying wire and conduit tomorrow
Thanks for this 👍
Yes, good luck!!
Thanks a lot for the complete instructions
Absolutely! Thanks for watching
Man thats a good set up. I love the little junction box before the change over to flex to the hot tub. Everything looks really good. I was looking these videos up because i did all the wiring for my parents hot tub. We got super lucky and just came out of the bottom of the breaker panel with flex, punched a hole through the wall to the outside and ran PVC to the disconnect directly. And then a little flex to the hot tub from the disconnect. Their tub was alot closer to the house and all. It was fun doing this and i just started it up today.
Thanks for the comment!
Was the little flex that you ran to the hot tub longer than 5’?
@1percentSolutions23 no it was only about a foot and a half maybe? We punched a hole through the wall right below the panel.
@@1percentSolutions23 no flex to the hot tub was about 3 foot. I read that wrong lol.
👍🏼
Wonderfully explained and filmed. 👍🏼
Thank you for the positive comment
The only part I needed was when you connect the cable to the box and you skipped that part 😂
Darn!
Same
Yep
In the spa pack I would have definitely wired the neutral to the top lug to match the other line side wires but other then that good job, you might have been fine with #8 as well but nothing wrong with #6
Good feedback, thanks for watching
I had the same thought about going to the top lug with the line side neutral, which also is good for consistency and a service loop. The #6 wire was the correct size for 50 amp service.
It’s a continuous load. You need #6.
@@8989griff #8 is fine. stranded thwn is rated for 50amp.
Its very easy to wire the disconnect box wrong so i commend you on getting it right. I too wired my own spa, actually i wired the spa and disconnect myself. A lot if people take that neutral curly wire and run it to the grounding bar, that is wrong and dangerous. Job well done
I appreciate the feedback, thank you
Can I ask why you used a THHN wire from you disconnect box to the hot tub instead of running the 6/3 non metallic for the whole job ?
My understanding is the 6/3 Romex should not be run underground in conduit, so that's why I transition to the THHN wire at the disconnect box
Caution.....if you intend to install a spa like a swimming pool, special requirements for grounding exist. Connecting a #8 wire to rebar is the scary one. This is a remove the concrete and start over kind of oops.
Make sure you get all the right info before you start.
Nec 680 has requirements for spa's and refers you to earlier code chapters for some requirements. There are overhead distances for wires and restrictions for wires under your pool or spa along with distance requirements for electrical components and more.
For this install, the National Electric Code (NEC), article/table 250.122 calls for an equipment grounding conductors of #10 copper wire for up to 60 amps. Your cable back to the panel should have at least that from the manufacturer. Also, your ground to the spa must be insulated as yours is.
Looks pretty good, but I may have missed something.
Thanks for the good information
what do you mean by Install tub like a swimming pool?
@@willnilson8185 if you install a hot tub by digging a hole, putting the piping in and then pouring concrete to make the walls, steps, seats etc. The rebar in the concrete must be grounded with the wire size specified.
Also, not by my code book, but there maybe requirements for a concrete pad. I will try to look tonite. But yes, if you install a pad of concrete for your tub, there may be ground requirements.
Guess what, electrical codes don't mean shit to homeowners who can do whatever they want.
@@mrniusi11 that is true, home owners can do installs how they want. Electrical codes allow insurance companies to NOT PAY when the ugly happens. If this is a risk you are willing to take, good on you.
Can you share more about the hot tub side - when planning, how to know where to come up out of the ground for the wiring? Which side of the hot tub? How does it go from that outdoor box into the hot tub? I don't often see a box sticking up on a post like that at other peoples rentals
I'll see if I can do another video about this.
Looks good good job
Thank you!
@@Myksgarage I'll have to put one in here pretty soon I just got a hot tub I got six weeks how much was that main wire from the fuse box
I’m about to start the wiring process for a bull frog m7 .. requires 60 amp breaker for the 240v … my question is I was told the manufacturer requires a whip at the end for install … all the whips I see in stores are only 6 foot long … the spa itself is longer than that ??? I will be coming off my in ground pool sub panel so I will be running a 60 amp breaker inside that sub panel and then running 6 wire the 20 feet or so to the concrete pad for the spa. I just don’t understand the needed whip at the end especially since it only comes In 6 foot lengths ??? Also side note all my wires will come out of sun panel into conduit and mounted to lower part of the house / concrete. So I will only have to go underground for like 2 feet from house to slab
This was the "whip" I used for my bullfrog spa, amzn.to/40fFXQn
it's a flexible conduit that you will have your wires in. The ones your seeing that are 6 feet long are for like appliances and stuff like that and don't have the wire size you need. You will just want to make sure you're running THHN/THWN 6 gauge wires and not using a romex wire in the flexible conduit
Thanks for sharing; great video.
👍
Thanks so much! How come you used separated wire from the junction box to the hot tub? Can’t you just continue the 6/3?
My understanding is it's not advisable to run romex in conduit outside in potential wet environments. Romex is primarily for indoor use in walls and ceilings etc... So for the run from the spa box to the hot tub, i used a THHN/THWN individual 6 gauge wires which is meant for that application.
It is against code to use the romex outside. You have to switch to a outside rated or direct burial rated wire. It needs more protection as it now becomes a wet location.
@@cenksrageshamwow295 if you use a weather-resistant conduit, it's not against code to use a Romex at least in Utah. Depends on the state.
Very clean!
Thanks for watching!
previous owners had a hot tub at our house, our in house panel has a 50 amp gfci breaker. I believe they had just wired it directly to the tub. The wires are still there where the tub was... we are thinking about getting a tub now I hope thats correct.
Yeah check out the wiring
Great video. I may have missed it, but could you say what size flex conduit you used? It looks like 3/4, but I thought that may be too small for #6 wire.
Yes the flex conduit was a 3/4" non-metallic and it was a great fit.
have another one, on the one box on the 4x4 post, what size is it and did you have to drill the holes to it?
Yeah I had to drill the holes in it. It was a 4"x4" cube like this one: amzn.to/46oDuX2
im prepping for 1 now. what size pipe should I have installed/burried from hot tub to disconnect?
I did 1 1/4 pipe, but you could easily do smaller, I just wanted to have larger to make pulling the wires easier
@@Myksgarage Thanks!
I have less than 50 feet of run. Is a 50-amp and 8 gauge wire good or does it need to be 6 gauge?
Depends on the wire, you could do 8 gauge thhn stranded wire that could handle that load, 8 gauge romex is boarder line
You can never go wrong by "upsizing" the wire, just never upsize the breaker. Remember, "skinny breaker, fat wire".
when you mounted your disconnect box, did you mount at a code height? is there a code height needed. also on where the wires come up to other box does that need to be a certain height, any electricians know this answer?
I'm not sure on what code is for height, but mine is around 46" from the ground
I haven’t seen a code height in NEC 680 which deals with spas, hot tubs etc
Do you need spa pack if your 50 amp breaker in your main is gfci breaker?
Well you need a disconnect outside near the spa, so you might as well use the spa pack
@Myksgarage but a spa pack is $100+ more than a regular 60amp disconnect
Yes you do need a maintenance disconnecting means per the code (NEC 680.12)
How deep did you dig the trench for the conduit? I didn’t see this in the video.
It was about 18" deep
Can I run an aluminum wire from the panel inside the house to the 50 amp breaker box? Then copper to the tub?
Not sure, you might have to upsize the aluminum wire
Don’t use aluminum wire for a hot tub
@Myksgarage where did you purchase the conduit electrical box installed near the pool spa?
I found mine on Amazon, here's a link: amzn.to/3OieMAe
There are different sizes available
Great video thanks!
👍
good video thanks !!
Thank you
where did you get the outdoor box you connected your flex cable to?
Here's a link: amzn.to/3O4e4GP
@@Myksgarage thanks, what do you call that piece on the left side of box, the plastic elbow?
I have the exact same distance of wiring as you. Bought 125 ft of #6 with about 22 ft left over. I've read anything over 100ft you need to go up to #4 wire. Have you had any issues with running #6 that far? I mean we're going to have to run an extra 6-8 feet for the hot tub connection right? Of course I've already ran the #6 through the house and started the wiring process.
I have had no issues at all. I had an electrician come look at it and he said he would have ran 8 gauge romex instead. I'm glad I did it myself!
@@Myksgarage Perfect!!! Thanks
@@Myksgarage pretty sure it’s folded to have #6 for a 50 amp breaker anyways
nice video! I am working on doing this myself. What size is the flexible conduit? 3/4 or 1 inch? TY!
I believe 3/4, thanks for watching!
Hey quick question. For your main where you ran your 6/3 did you use a 50amp breaker as well?
Yes, I use a 50 amp breaker for both panels
Good job using 6/3 AWG cable. 6/3 AWG is needed whenever the span is > 100'. Otherwise, 8/3 AWG is needed. Based on what I read, however, Romex is not intended to be installed outside. There's special underground wire. Am I off base on that?
Good question
Romex is indeed not intended to be installed outside. That’s why he switched over to pvc and thwn wire after the disconnect
@@BlueCollarGaming11he could used teck cable
0:46
Much thanks! Doing it now.
Best of luck!!
Did you run liquid tight conduit inside the tub to power the control box?
Yes I did
@@Myksgarage how did you penetrate into the cabinet? I'm trying to find out how the liquid tight from my shut off will get to the spa control. Is it continuous just going through a drilled hole into the cabinet or is there some junction box or some other sealed access?
What size conduit did you run underground?
1 1/4
What about the gauge of the wire you used was it 6 gauge only?
Nice job I thought that was very professional work, are you an electrician or just a homeowner that knows what to do?
Just a home owner trying to save a few bucks! Thanks for watching
Doesn't code require that the disconnect box be closer? Otherwise, you might just be better off relying on the breaker at the main panel...
The electrician who checked it said it was fine
NEC says minimum of 5' from waters edge in direct line of sight no more than 25' from waters edge.
What size liquid tight did you use? 3/4? And was it non metallic?
Yes 3/4" and yes it was non metallic.
I thought disconnects with no closer then 5ft no further then 10ft? maybe that's just my sate?
Yeah perhaps each state has different regulations
Nec article 280.8 section c
How much does something like this cost?
The hot tub or the wiring?
@@Myksgarage the wiring
Thanks for instructing me on what not to do
Okay
I’ve quickly learned that electricians may be the most insufferable and self-aggrandized people on planet earth. At least in the comment section on TH-cam
Can you please be more specific on what not to do?
You need an emergency stop shut off switch closer to the tub. Other than that great job.
I've had a few electricians tell me it's fine how I have it set up
That is weird because code requires a means of disconnect within 5 feet of tub.
@kylebernal2566 NEC says minimum of 5' from waters edge no more than 25'. In otherwords it can not be within 5' of the water and can't be further away than 25'
can a 40 amp breaker replace a 50 amp breaker???
Yeah that shouldn't be a problem
I think #8 wire would have been fine, seeing as it was only about 35 feet away, but overall, great job!!
Thanks Buddy!
Do you know what kind of system that is in 4 wire or 3 wire Do you know what you hooked up law hot tubs have for a while no they don't There is 3 wires well and there are also other codes regards tomato buildings And so many feet they need to be Bonded so that they don't become energized
Okay
I was thinking why not run a short piece of PVC with a box on the other side then go out to your box.
Yeah that's an idea
Why not a GFCI
This is a GFCI breaker
Please let me know what an electrician quoted you to do this job?
I got quotes from $1600-$2400
That disconnect needs to be within 5ft of the spa..
It needs to be at least five feet away from that hot tub, but no more than 50 feet from the water's edge. It must also be visible from the hot tub.
I think your disconnect needs to be closer to ur tub.
Oh?
Idk know why, but everything about your home and landscaping screams Utah to me. Where you livin’?
Hahah yes! I'm in Layton UT
@@Myksgarage holy moly me too. Go Lancers! Come over and wire my hot tub. Free beer? 😂
Don't you use RCDs¡!!!
Please elaborate
Come do mine for me
😀
No seriously lmao
AAAAHHHHH
🤷
So many code violations. People should understand electricity and the codes before installing their own electrical. Especially for a swimming pool or hot tub.
1- you can not run romex to the spa panel. The wire has to be in conduit and have an insulated ground.
2- Your panel is an Eaton BR brand panel. You can’t install Siemens brand in that panel. That’s a violation.
Leave this job to the professionals. It blows my mind how people are willing to create a fire hazard within their own home. 😱
Here we go.......
Actually, at least in my area, the code states that the breaker box has to be within 5' of the spa. So running to an outside breaker box on the house and then a junction box at the spa more than 5' away would also be a code violation.
@@ericpool4299 Most code says no closer than 5 feet, and local code here says "within sight" of the hot tub.
there is always someone, i would like to know all the codes in the areas, someone always trying to make a buck@@Myksgarage
Most spa companies say that the breaker must be a distance of 5 ft from the hot tub. That means it should not be less than 5 ft.@@ericpool4299
Hey quick question. For your main where you ran your 6/3 did you use a 50amp breaker as well?
Yeah 50amp breaker on the main panel as well as the spa disconnect box