
Every homeowner has most likely wondered about all things concerning breakers at some point in his life. If you\’re considering wiring a hot tub, one of the most important things is to size the circuit breaker correctly for the required amperage. For the effective functioning of a spa, it has to be supplied by a circuit that meets its load demands.
For example, you may want to learn the correct 60 amp hot tub wire size. While the wire size depends on various factors, the generally accepted size wire for a 60 amp breaker is between 6 AWG (American Wire Gauge).
Below we shall discuss in detail the importance of size wire for breakers and correct 60 amp hot tub wire size.
The Importance Of Size Wire For Breakers
Size wires hold great importance in circuit breakers because of one big reason: safety.
A wire’s total size is paramount in determining if the equipped conductors of the wire are capable of handling the amperage, which will flow through it. If the wire is unequipped to withstand certain amperage, it can even melt or accidentally burn – leading to a fire disaster that could possibly burn your whole home down.
For this, you have to ensure the appropriate size wire and its capacity to handle amperage load. Generally, it is recommended that larger and thicker wire sizes have more capacity to handle higher amperage loads because they can attenuate the excessive heat generated by the electricity flowing through the wire.
The Correct Size Wire for a 60 Amp Hot Tub
Most 60 amp hot tubs operate at 220-240 volts. The recommended size wire for a 60 amp hot tub is 6 AWG.
Hooking up a 220-240 volt hot tub involves the integration of the main house panel with a 60 amp breaker, the hot tub controller box, and the external GFCI disconnect breaker panel. You have to ensure that the GFCI corresponds to the house breaker. For instance, a 60A GFCI has to be paired with a 60A house breaker.
For the majority of exterior hot tubs, the electrician runs a 4-wire number 8 or number 6 to the hot tub location. The wire that should be used is THHN (thermoplastic nylon) insulated copper wire and never aluminum. Plus, all the wire has to be installed in conduit (PVC, rigid, or flexible).
Spa Wiring & Conduit
Parts and wiring required for the electrical installation of a 240 volts spa may include flexible conduit and fittings along with either number 8 or number 6 THHN stranded copper wire depending on the amperage of your spa.
The GFCI breaker can be either located in your main house panel or a separate breaker box. Moreover, the circuits that are being used for the hot tub must be entirely dedicated to the hot tub only. This means no lights or any other sort of appliances should be on them at any time.
Regarding the conduit, all the wires that are entering the hot tub have to be in a flexible waterproof conduit (also known as sealtite). The wire must extend at least 6” from the sealtite for the final connection with the hot tub. The diameter of the sealtite must be 1” or ¾” based on the size wire. The length of the sealtite should be long enough to reach the left side of the spa’s control pack easily.