Eaton Corporation GFCB250 GFI Circuit Breaker Logo
Posted on Sep 20, 2010
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I have a 240V hot tub and when I turn on the Cutler-Hammer GFCB250 GFI Circuit Breaker, 50A, it trips immediately. I spoke with a tech support guy from the hot tub mfr who says that the heater and pump don't even kick in for 6-8 minutes after power is applied so it isn't those as the breaker trips immediately. By the way, the tub worked fine for the last 5 years and even for a couple days this year after I filled it. He thought the problem was electrical so I pulled the cable from the system and turned on the power and sure enough I have 240 V. So it’s not electrical. In fact, I can connect everything except the two leads to the heater and it works just fine. As soon as I connect the two leads to the heater, the breaker trips. I measured the resistance of the heater and it reads about 15 ohms which is what it should read according to the support guy. I'm fairly convinced this is not a problem with the hot tub or with my electrical. What I suspect is the circuit breaker itself. Does it seem reasonable to replace the circuit breaker as a potential cause? I don't really want to spend the $80 to $100 for one of these if it might be something else. Thanks in advance for any assistance you might have. Dave

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  • Posted on Sep 20, 2010
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It is very possible breaker is bad. If you have another 50 amp breaker in the box try swapping them and see if it still trips. GFIC breakers are finicky and they do go bad. I would make sure that the heater is not shorted out before replacing the breaker. It shows 15 ohms which is not what you would normally see which is 9-12 ohms. The reading of 15 ohms you got is high but if the manufacture says that is acceptable then we must assume it is. You also need to test for a short before eliminating the element as a possible cause. Test it with your ohm meter set to the highest setting. Measure between one element terminal and the sheath of the element. Any reading indicates a short to ground indicating the element is bad. If you find it is good then a defective GFCI is really about all it can be.

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