My Spa Has a Blown Fuse

All hot tubs come with a fail-safe mechanism to protect people, the property, and the spa itself from minor electricity induced failures or accidents. It is more commonly known as the fuse. The fuse is a cylindrical tube widely made of glass, and its function is to regulate the amperage (or amount) of electric current flowing through the system.

A fuse breaks or blows up as a fail-safe mechanism once it senses that an electric flow has higher amperage than the fuse's rating. This could happen when there's a sudden power surge from the electricity company, or possibly even a bolt of lightning nearby. Most fuses are rated 20 and 30 amps, which is the advisable energy to flow through an appliance such as a hot tub. A power surge can measure much more than 30 amps, which will blow a fuse.

To better visualize its function, we could liken it to a balloon between two tubes with erratic airflow. Say, tube A can only accommodate limited air pressure, but tube B may transfer more than tube A's rated capability. Any amount of pressure more than tube A's capacity may break it and cause greater damage, so when tube A reaches its limit, the excess air pressure goes to the balloon, and the balloon may blow up and ultimately cut airflow through the tubes.

Each component of the hot tub has its fuse, and this is why some parts of a hot tub may malfunction or even stop working. It can be because the heater's blown a fuse—a possibility present for all the hot tub's components when it's not heating up.

Fuses are relatively cheap and easily replaceable. But when an incident of a blown fuse happens suspiciously often, it may be an indicator of a bigger problem.

When this happens, we at FixYourSpaBoard.com recommend that you give us a call at (520) 447-0741 so our trained technicians aided with the proper equipment can assist you and ensure your safety and even save you from massive expenses in the long run. If you are in Tucson, AZ, or somewhere close, we are your guys.

Photo by: Diego Barruffa