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4 Posts
Thank you in advance for your help.
I am installing a new 220 volt Hot Tub in my backyard on a concrete slab. To power the tub I am utilizing a previously discarded 220 volt circuit. This circuit was previously used to supply an electric range. The range was long ago converted to gas and the electrical connections terminated. The house being built in the 1970s used three conductor #6 Aluminum cable (two insulated hot legs and a bare neutral all covered by a cable sleeve) to supply the range. I have spliced into this cable at a junction box in the crawl space and run it to a disconnect box about 10 ft. from the hot tub using 4 conductor #6 copper wire (two hots, one neutral, one ground - all insulated within the cable) using romex, then wire and conduit where appropriate. The (green) ground wire coming from the new splice is not being utilized as there was nothing to connect to at the junction box. The 50 amp breaker for this circuit at the main panel was replaced with a 50 amp GFI Breaker. The hot tub has now arrived and is in place ready for final hookup.
I am confused about the grounding of the hot tub. What are my options for grounding the tub since the original source cable did not have a ground wire? To complicate things a bit, the house has aluminum siding. I have been reading that driving a ground rod next to the tub is not appropriate and may not be as safe as not installing a second ground rod. Must not I ground the hot tub in some fashion or another? I don't think that it would be appropriate or to code to ground to the aluminum siding of the house; and the main panel is a good long distance to where the hot tub is positioned. What is your best advice as to how to proceed in this installation? Thx.
I am installing a new 220 volt Hot Tub in my backyard on a concrete slab. To power the tub I am utilizing a previously discarded 220 volt circuit. This circuit was previously used to supply an electric range. The range was long ago converted to gas and the electrical connections terminated. The house being built in the 1970s used three conductor #6 Aluminum cable (two insulated hot legs and a bare neutral all covered by a cable sleeve) to supply the range. I have spliced into this cable at a junction box in the crawl space and run it to a disconnect box about 10 ft. from the hot tub using 4 conductor #6 copper wire (two hots, one neutral, one ground - all insulated within the cable) using romex, then wire and conduit where appropriate. The (green) ground wire coming from the new splice is not being utilized as there was nothing to connect to at the junction box. The 50 amp breaker for this circuit at the main panel was replaced with a 50 amp GFI Breaker. The hot tub has now arrived and is in place ready for final hookup.
I am confused about the grounding of the hot tub. What are my options for grounding the tub since the original source cable did not have a ground wire? To complicate things a bit, the house has aluminum siding. I have been reading that driving a ground rod next to the tub is not appropriate and may not be as safe as not installing a second ground rod. Must not I ground the hot tub in some fashion or another? I don't think that it would be appropriate or to code to ground to the aluminum siding of the house; and the main panel is a good long distance to where the hot tub is positioned. What is your best advice as to how to proceed in this installation? Thx.
