| A day in the life of a Hot Tub specialist | | | | There is a breaker but it has been fitted |
| somewhere on the Costa del Sol | | | | INSIDE the spa and is then behind a locked |
| | | | door requiring a key. So if there was a |
| The phone rang one Saturday morning in our | | | | requirement to switch off the spa in a hurry |
| Estepona Showroom "can you look at my Hot Tub | | | | or for what ever reason the breaker just not |
| Jacuzzi Style Spa please it doesn't work". | | | | where it should be. |
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| We go through the usual pleasantries - how | | | | We move on some simple checks and surprise |
| long has he had the Hot Tub in Spain - about | | | | the spa is not earthed? The house does not |
| two years - what make is it - does it have | | | | seem to be earthed!!! Well this is Spain. But |
| good controls that I recognize like for | | | | this House has been rewired on the last two / |
| example Balboa and then the potential client | | | | three years BUT NO EARTH!!! |
| tells me that he wasn't very happy with the | | | | |
| original sale in the first place. On no | | | | We turn every thing off and open the breaker. |
| account will he go back to the original | | | | The blue wires are the wrong size to carry |
| supplier if he could find him which he | | | | the load they are to small and the colour has |
| cannot. It's a Spa from a Major American | | | | changed from blue to black as they were |
| maker a bit dated in my view from the design | | | | getting close to ignition. The ceramic part |
| point of view but a perfectly good product | | | | of the broker has started to go brown as it |
| never the less and more than adequate for the | | | | was close to ignition. It smelt like an |
| its intended purpose. | | | | incendiary device it had clearly been getting |
| | | | very hot and close to ignition. The Breaker |
| On the telephone we can get a good idea of | | | | that had been supplied was of the wrong size |
| what might be the problem and it would appear | | | | as was the cables. |
| that at this stage the Spa has no power and | | | | |
| my sense is that it is possibly a mains | | | | The spa company had just dropped off the spa |
| electrical fault of some kind. The Juice is | | | | and said here is your spa and we have a local |
| not getting through for what ever reason | | | | electrician coming tomorrow to wire it up. He |
| | | | probably did a good job but was not briefed |
| So with my pal Ulf (a Swede) we go for a | | | | or trained on the project. A bit like the |
| drive in to the country to see the Hot Tub. | | | | left hand doesn't know what the right hand |
| | | | does. |
| When we get there the first thing I notice is | | | | |
| that against the maker's instruction and best | | | | We got an independent electrician in to Earth |
| practice there is no breaker switch | | | | the Spa and rewired the Spa as required with |
| accessible to turn off the electricity. | | | | proper sized cables. |
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