Breakers keep tripping After 6 Weeks!

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I would suggest that you look for a licensed master electrician. Explain what the issues and situation are and ask if it's something they have experience with and are confident that they can solve.

Also, the breaker quality is not the only issue. Variable speed drives create harmonics that can cause certain types of gfci breakers to nuisance trip. If the breaker is not designed and rated for vsp use, it might not work regardless of its quality.

Another thing to look for would be neutral to ground stray currents. A good electrician should be able to check for those types of things.
 
Here is some information I found that could be pertinent to the matter:

Pool Pump GFCI Protection


--BEWARE-- "According to Hayward, their variable speed, computer controlled, pool pumps create a significant amount of electrical noise when they start up and that noise is put on the power conductors going to the pump. As a result, some GFCI circuit breakers will trip as soon as the pump attempts to start. Hayward Tech Support recommends that Siemens GFCI breakers be used, although they do not identify that in their literature. I know for a fact that the Cutler Hammer BR GFCI breakers will not work with the pumps, but I do not know if the GE or Square D breakers will work or not. I personally have had problems with the CH BR breakers and have had no problems with the Siemens.

Siemens sells a SPA panel with a 60A GFCI breaker (QF260) installed (W0408L1125SPA60) and the same panel without the breaker (W0408ML1125U) that can be used a small sub-panels.

I have not received any indication from Hayward that they intend to do anything about the pump generated electrical noise.

Another quote


Re Hayward pool pump



"I am having a problem with this brand of variable speed pool pump at my house right now. It's driving me nuts because the pool company would not let me install the electrical equipment for the pool equipment (and still honor the warranty). So now I have a pool pump that trips periodically on start-up.

It all started after they installed everything and I began reading the manual on how to operate the pump controls. First page in the Hayward manual says it must be protected by a GFCI breaker. I checked the NEC, yep, sure enough. So I called the pool company and they sent their electrician out and he installed a Pentair GFCI breaker. The pump began tripping it on start up, periodically. So I called Hayward and they spec the Siemens QF220 GFCI breaker. So they swapped that and it seems to have slowed the tripping problem from 1 or 2 times per week on start up to once so far in the last 3 weeks. But it was still on start-up.

Now something even more crazy. The pump has it's own circuit and the LED lighting for the pool has it's own circuit. When turning the switch on and off (to change colors) the pool pump will trip the GFCI breaker--THE LIGHTS REMAIN ON. I haven't been able to trouble shoot it myself due to crappy weather but I did call the master for the pool company and he didn't have a clue why it would be doing it.

Things to take into consideration:

The electrician installed (2) 20 amp 12/2 circuits---from a sub-panel located by my main panel on the other side of the house from where the pool equipment is located. Approximately 100 feet away. We needed the sub-panel for the 'special' Siemens breaker Hayward recommended.

One 20 amp circuit goes to the smart controller that operates the pump/motor

One 20 amp circuit goes to a 20amp GFCI duplex receptacle. That feeds a small transformer/switch/Led pool lighting.

The control wiring (12/2 NM) for the switch (on my patio) is installed in a 3/4" PVC conduit with the two 12/2 NM cables from the sub panel (violation, I know) on the outside of my house.

It's not the way I would have done it.

Could the pump GFCI be reacting to "leakage" and tripping? I can't figure out--without pulling stuff apart--why the LED lights would have anything to do with it but I have been able to cause the pump GFCI to trip 3x by flipping the lights on and off. Again, the lights and pump are totally separate.

I spoke with the pool electrician and they think its a faulty motor, however, it will not trip on a standard 2 pole breaker.

Thoughts?"

I have not really been able to use anything else on the control panel bc it is a real PITA to get there in the mud where it is located. Not sure of invoking the lights will do this, but I am going to start up other things while the Hayward VSP is operating and see what happens...I'll post my findings.

Thanks,
tstex
 
Another update to the tripping breakers...

They replaced all 3 of the Siemens QF220 2-pole GFIC 20AMP breakers w 3 Sq-D Homeline 2-pole 20AMP GFCI breakers. They also said they replaced an LED Color Logic Spa light that had water in it. This makes the replacement of 2 of the 2 LED lights; one of the two pool lights were previously replaced.

I also found and swapped a bad 4 pin connector on the heater relay on the controller.

The pool builder said that the problem was fixed when the changed out the connector in the controller, yet a breaker had tripped that was labeled for "heater & blower", yet neither of these were active or even had been turned on for weeks when that breaker tripped. However, when I stated that how could a breaker trip when nothing was active on that circuit, I found out today that the pump is on the breaker that was last tripped. however, I am not certain that when they changed from all the siemens breakers to Sq-D that they did an exact breaker to exact wire change. Meaning, did they replace one breaker at a time, use the same wires for each breaker and keep the same location in the panel? If so, then the panel is mis-labeled bc the breaker that tripped last time is connected to the VSP, but that breaker is labeled for Heater and Blower. And the breaker above that one is labeled "Main Pump" and if you turn it off when the VSP was on, the pump kept running.

Next, the Homeline Sq-D 20AMP 2-pole GFCI breaker has a white pigtail wire on it, which they hooked to the bus-bar. Then each hot wire was connected to each respective part of the 2-pole breaker. however, the third screw on the breaker, the white "N" screw there was nothing. No white or neutral wire. Doesn't this neutral wire need to be connected to the neutral off of the motor?

In either scenario, the panel is still mislabeled and the PB and his electrician need to get it together...I've about had it. Any and all advice would be appreciated,,,sorry, but just very frustrated.

regards and thank you,
tstex
 
There is no neutral for 230V circuits. You have a ground coming from the pump that should be attached to the ground bus bar.

Sounds like they switched around the breakers on you.
 
Thanks JB....they switched out the breakers, but I am not sure if they switched them around. I have asked the PB if he knows when the breakers were changed, did they do a one-for-one exact change out for the location w the same wires/devices? If so, then the system was either incorrectly labeled all the time or it was not labeled correctly when they did the change. Either way, at least to me, one of the most fundamental premises of electrical work was breached, and that is not properly and accurately labeling the breaker to the device(s) supported on each respective circuit. If you cannot do this correctly, then my confidence level is zero. I am open to criticism from anyone for that statement if so warranted.

Thank you,
tstex
 
While properly labeling circuit breakers is certainly desirable, I wouldn't put it up as high as a "fundamental premise of electrical work". Proper labeling of circuits is not required by code, and meeting code is really the fundamental premise of electrical work.
 
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