Killed my spa heater

[JodieM]

I have a stand alone spa. Master Spa Ochos Rios SE. Hanging head in shame, I was draining to do my spring refill and did not unplug the spa. I’m pretty sure I burned out the heater. This morning the fill water was still 65 degrees after 12 hours. Warranty just ended March 2022. Does anyone know if we could replace this ourself or is it better to use a MS service tech?

 

[RDspaguy]

I can walk you through it, but I'm not on here everyday so it may take a bit to find the answer.
First off, post a pic of the equipment area, circuit board, and wiring diagram so I can see what you've got and inspect the circuit board. Running it dry can damage the board as well as the heater and sensors. If left that way for very long it can damage pumps too.
Are there any error codes on the display? Is the circulation pump running?
Do you have a multimeter and know how to use it?

 

[JodieM]

No error codes. Pumps are running normally. I will get pictures of the inside and repost shortly.

 

[JodieM]

Pump works. No error codes. The spa has a feature where it’s supposed to trip the GFCI if it’s malfunctioning and it did not.

 

[RDspaguy]

Yeah, dry fire will not trip the breaker until something melts.
Here's where that multimeter comes in. With power off, set your meter to ohms and put one lead on each heater terminal. You should read about 16 ohms. If you get no reading, you have a bad heater.
Next, turn on power and set your meter for ac voltage. Test the same heater terminals for voltage when the heat indicator is on. You should read 120v. If you read 0, you have a bad relay on the board.
Working with live electrical circuits, even for testing, can be dangerous. If you are not comfortable with this type of work DO NOT DO IT. Hire a professional.

 

[JodieM]

Yeah, dry fire will not trip the breaker until something melts.
Here's where that multimeter comes in. With power off, set your meter to ohms and put one lead on each heater terminal. You should read about 16 ohms. If you get no reading, you have a bad heater.
Next, turn on power and set your meter for ac voltage. Test the same heater terminals for voltage when the heat indicator is on. You should read 120v. If you read 0, you have a bad relay on the board.
Working with live electrical circuits, even for testing, can be dangerous. If you are not comfortable with this type of work DO NOT DO IT. Hire a professional.

Thank you. I will talk to my husband. We might be able to get our electrician to pop over and do the test. He is coming soon for another electrical project. Thank you @RDspaguy for the help!

 

[JodieM]

@RDspaguy the electrician came out today and said the heater is good, but the relay is bad. He tapped it and it kicked on. I am to check it later to see if it’s still heating. It apparently kicked on through the night as the water had increased 10 degrees overnight.
He suggested we have a spa tech do the work (he does not work on spas). My question is, will he replace a part or the whole board? Can we do it or is it complicated?

 

[cranbiz]

The relays can be changed by someone who has experience with electronics repair. It's not that difficult of a job. I would recommend changing out all of them, to be safe. They are not overly expensive.

If you know how to solder, you can do it yourself, I would but I also have an electronics background. You will need to remove the board. If you are not comfortable with this, find someone who does electronics repair and let them do it. Probably cost under $200 including the relays.

 

[JodieM]

Soooo, just went out and checked the spa water again and it has reached 100 degrees. I honestly don’t know what happened, other than the electrician tested every thing and then tapped on the heater relay and it fired up and has continued to work. I told him he has the magic touch. I’m hoping it will last!

 

[cranbiz]

Your heater relay still should be replaced. Chances are that the relay contacts arced over and stuck. Your electrician tapping the relay shook loose the contacts apart but they will fuse together again.