Spa Pack Replacement Guide

Take Care

Please remember that water and electricity are a deadly combination and do not mix. Use any of the information contained herein AT YOUR OWN RISK.

We will not be held liable for any injuries that may result from the troubleshooting advice or installation of any electrical components in your spa / pool, since every spa and pool are different the steps taken in this guide may differ from the steps required for you pool / spa.

Overview

Your Spa Pack is basically the brains, or motherboard of your spa. Its job is controlling all your spas components like your pump, heater, lights, and more. You may be thinking of changing your system due to a replacement board not been available anymore / discontinued or the spa manufacturer charging a very high price due to it being a licensed PCB / Pack.

If we can provide the exact replacement then typically only the PCB or PACK will be needed to be replaced, but in some cases you may require a topside panel as well to upgrade your system fully.

We undertake such replacements on a weekly basis. Even if you buy the pack / spa pack + topside and get a qualified person to fit it - you will still save money on the equipment cost!!!

Take a look

Replacing your Spa Pak can be a quick and simple affair. In the worst case scenario, it may involve some light plumbing and wiring, and replacement of the top-side spa control, if purchased with your spa pack.

When shopping for a new spa pack it is important for you to know a few things about your existing one. What combination of items is your existing pack controlling? In other words make a list of everything on the hot tub that is plugged into the existing pack / board such as lights (what type), ozone and blower and also the specifications of each pump.

Please don't be daunted this is a 10 minute process, so grab your glasses and a flashlight, and get up close and personal with the existing equipment. You’ll need to locate and write down the following bits of information and take some photos as that always speeds up the process.

So:

HOW many and what speed are your pumps?For identification a single speed pump typically has 3 wires in the cable and 3 pins on the plug whilst a dual speed has 4 wires in the cable and 4 pins on the plug. Alternatively the plate on the pump will show 2 x RPM for dual speed or 1 x RPM for single speed.

In addition we do need a photo of the existing topside control for identification width and length of the hole it sits in will be needed, get you head underneath or estimate it if you can't as you need to consider what size is the new one and will it fit into the existing spa or do you need to enlarge the hole or fit an adapter plate to ensure your new topside control can fit correctly.

Do you have an ozonator?
What about lights?
How many kilowatts is your heater?
Do you have a blower, circulation pump, or both?

When shopping the easiest thing to start out doing is find control systems that match the capability of your existing system. For example, if your current system runs on 240 Volts and controls a 3KW heater, a two speed pump, an ozonator, and a light that is what you need to look for. Have a look at the above links these will cover most scenarios.

Install

Once you have purchased a new spa pack, it is recommended to have it installed by a professional spa technician, but if you find yourself to be very handy and take the proper precaution’s for working with electrical parts, it is a mornings work to swop over. The extra time is taken if you need to change your plumbing which always requires planning, more often than not it is just a straight swop though.

Once again we have done over 1000 pack upgrades, so to let you know what lies in store and to stop you worrying this is a guide as reference only on how to install your New Spa Pack.

First of plan what you are going to do, check whether the old pack and topside look like a perfect swop over to your chosen system and if not you have the relevant plumbing to make the change, so line up your new spa pack, and determine the plumbing arrangement. In most cases, all of the plumbing fittings and pipe you will need are already there, but in some situations, you may need to purchase a few fittings, or a fresh can of PVC glue and a can of primer or PVC pipe cleaner from us in advance.

If required, dry fit all of your plumbing together before gluing, to make sure that everything is lined up, and all pipes and fittings can be glued to their full depth. NOTE: A spa air blower is not glued onto the pipe. Fumes from PVC glue can be ignited by a blower, so instead, use a screw or clamp to secure an air blower onto PVC pipe, as shown right.

1. Shut off the Power, at the main RCD for the spa.
2. Close the gate valves to shut off water before and after the pump but we recommend draining the spa.
3. Loosen the unions before and after the existing spa pack, measure, and remove wire connections from the spa light, ozonator, stereo or other accessory equipment.
4. Position spa pack components and secure them to the base or skid.
5. Clean and glue the PVC joints. Use Teflon tape on threaded fittings.
6. READ the NEW PACK MANUAL (take your time) Attach wire plugs from spa light or other accessory equipment into the labelled ports on the control box. Ensure all dip switches are correctly set that mimics your system parameters (this is the time consuming bit - read the manual)

Making the electrical connections is fairly straight forward, and safe – as long as the power is off. Tape the RCD in the “Off” position, to prevent someone from accidentally turning it back on.

Make the hard wire connections from the new spa pack to the wires from the main RCD (which is still Off!). If you doubt your abilities, please contact a certified electrician to make these connections.

7. Fill the spa, and inspect for any leaks in the pipes or equipment (before it gets too full).
8. Before install the new Spa-Side control, connect it and check everything works, then mount in place of the existing top-side controls. If your new control is much smaller than the old one, you can use a small saw or Dremel tool to cut small openings in the current control, and mount the new control right on top of the old control. A bezel may be required and make life easier. Fit topside
9. Turn on power to spa, and set the temp to the lowest setting.
10. Bleed the system & run the spa jet pump on high for several minutes to purge all air from system before turning up the temp and testing the heater.

And, your done! While the spa is heating up, take some time to read the owner’s manual operating instructions.

Obviously we are here to hold your hand and answers any questions you may have!!! Good Luck and don't be daunted it is very easy really.