How To Wire a Spa

A spa is a great addition to the patio or backyard.  Putting one in correctly takes some knowledge about electrical connections. Before you wire a spa, you must be aware of the limit of electrical service, to know if it can handle the load that the spa needs.  An essential part of putting in a spa is to include a ground fault circuit interrupter.  Knowing how to wire a spa is important for safety and functionality reasons.

Things you will need to wire a spa:

• Screwdriver


• 60 amp GCFI breaker


• 60 amp double pole breaker


• Outside disconnect box


• Conduit and fittings


• 10-3 cable with ground


• Utility knife


• Wire strippers

1. Take the outside disconnect box and install it in proper desired location. The box is meant to keep the house electrical panel away from surges or shorts that could happen.


2. Measure how far the electrical panel is from the area of the outside disconnect box. Cut the proper conduit for the city codes to hold the cable from the electrical panel to the disconnect box. Join the fittings to the electrical panel and the disconnect box.  Put the 10-3 cable in the conduit and be sure to secure the conduit onto the fittings.


3. Cut off the outer shield from the 10-3 cable with a utility knife.   Take one inch of insulation from all of the wires that are in the cable with wire strippers.  Take the black and red wire and connect them to the terminals that are at the top of the disconnect box using a screwdriver.  Join the white neutral wire to the neutral bus and the green wire to the ground bus using a screwdriver.


4. Join the conduit from the disconnect box to the spa.  Figure out the length of cable needed to take it from the disconnect box to the spa.  Be sure to cut it with some cable cutters and put the cable through the conduit.


5. Get rid of the outer shield like before from each end of the cable.  Take the insulation from the wires as like you did before as well.  Take a screwdriver and go the disconnect box.  Make the red wire secure to the terminal on the left bottom side of the 60 amp GFCI breaker.  Make sure the white wire is in the center and that the black wire is on the right side. Join the GCFI pigtail to the neutral bus and put the breaker in the correct place in the box.


6. Join the white wire at the spa to the neutral terminal as well as the black and red wires to the other two terminals.  Make sure the green wire is secure to the ground bus. Be aware that three wire spa control boxes don’t have a neutral terminal.  However, the other wires connect in the same fashion.


7. Turn off the main breaker that is in the electrical panel.  Take off the outer shield with a utility knife from the cable at the electrical panel.  Use wire strippers to take one inch of insulation from the wires.


8. Put the end of the black and red wires under terminal screws that are on the double pole 60 amp breaker.  Be sure to tighten the screws as well.  Join the white and green wire to the proper bus.  Put the breaker in its proper place on the electrical panel and shut it off.  Turn the main breaker on and after that turn on the new breaker.