Well if you are at the point that your adding a circuit breaker for your new hot tub or spa the hardest part is over all the planning building the new deck or patio to put the tub on is over it is time to get down to the business of actually using your new hot tub. First if you should hire a professional certified electrician to handle the task of wiring your hot tub you are dealing with your family and friends safety here and remember water and electricity do not mix.



In order to install a circuit breaker you need to remove the cover from the circuit box keep in mind that even though you have thrown the main breaker to the off position the ‘box” is still live the main feed usually coming in the top is still hot. The only way to cut the power from these wires is to remove the electric meter. The size of your new breaker will be determined by electrical needs of your new tub see the manuals for the hot tub to determine the size of the breaker. No matter what you will need a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) if the circuit is shorted out the circuit will automatically shut off for example if you toss a hire drier in a tub and it is hooked up to a GFCI circuit a person in the tub will not be harmed. A GFCI circuit can be achieved in one of two ways first and probably the easiest way is to simply install a GFCI breaker.

A GFCI breaker look similar to a standard circuit breaker but with one very obvious difference a white pig tail. Precautions needs to be taken when hooking up the wires to your new circuit breaker, start with the ground wire and terminate it first follow this by terminating the white or neutral wire this in effect is like hooking up the drain in a sink prior to hooking up the supply, finish by hooking up the black or the power/hot wire. Make sure your connections are secure and all screws are tight.

I have included just a brief overview of this dangerous operation please consult with a licensed electrician also check with your local building department you may need a permit for a new hot tub, there are many factures that we have not gone over such as the size of your incoming electrical service is it large enough to support a hot tub? How about wire size this is also important and depends on a several factures to determine the proper size.