Acura Spa Systems Product Information

Product Information

 

Controls Installation/Replacement Information:

  1. Spa Controls Digital or Pneumatic:
    Hot tub controls are made to manage the mode of operation in a spa regardless of the spa brand or manufacturer. Most spa manufacturers do not design their spa controls or heaters. Spa manufacturers purchase the hot tub controls from different vendors. In many cases, vendors will private label the spa control to the spa manufacturers. All our controls are made to heat the water and manage the pump(s) as well as other accessories in your spa. You may easily replace your existing spa control with ours regardless of your hot tub brand. You need to check the dimensions and make sure you have selected the proper size control and heater for your application. You also must purchase the plugs for all your accessories. All plugs are available for you to select on Table (4). Incoming power must be wired to our terminal block and must be done by a licensed electrician.
  2. Preventing Heater Dry-Fire in portable hot tubs, we offer a solution:
    Air locks have been the deadly enemy of spa heaters in hot tub applications. Hot tub heaters are destroyed if air is trapped in the heater manifold. Especially after emptying and refilling their spa, consumers often forget to bleed the air out of the hot tub plumbing. This usually results in a spa heater "dry fire" and costly hot tub heater replacement.
    Hot tub manufacturers do not warrant submersible spa heaters against dry fire. Submersible hot tub heaters are 100% efficient, but this makes dry fire a real concern.
    Acura Spa Systems engineered a simple, inexpensive, yet most innovative device to automatically bleed air out of the spa heater plumbing, preventing heater dry fire and, in many cases, helps prime the spa pump. Make sure your spa heater is protected.
  3. Electrical Connections: Incoming Power to Control Box
    1. All electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician.
    2. Please provide licensed electrician's state license number.
    3. Using a working voltmeter, test all incoming wires for proper voltages before you hook them to the Main Power Terminal Block. Your voltmeter should read the following:
      1. L1 to N = 120 Volts
      2. L2 to N = 120 Volts
      3. L1 to L2 = 240 Volts
      4. N to G = 0 Volts
    4. Mark your wires:
      1. L1 = Black
      2. L2 = Red
      3. Neutral = White
      4. Ground = Green
    5. Install your wires to match ours; L1, L2, N and Ground (See Fig. (a) below). Firmly tighten the screws to prevent electrical vibration. NOTE: For units without Neutral, you hook up L1, L2 and Ground only.
    6. All spas and hot tubs must be protected by GFCI as required per NEC and UL 1563. Read and understand the instructions provided by your GFCI manufacturer. Identify the lines and the loads of the GFCI (improperly connected, your GFCI will short to ground). Make sure to connect ony the loads from the GFCI to our control box.
    7. Fig. (a) - Incoming Power electrical hookup label for 3 connection Terminal Block. Note: The Ground Bar is separate. Fig. (b) - Incoming Power electrical hookup label for 4 connection Terminal Block.
  4. Electrical Connections: Connecting Pump Motors to Control Box
    1. All electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician.
    2. Please provide licensed electrician's state license number.
    3. Use only cords you purchased from Acura Spa Systems, Inc.
    4. Read the wiring diagram on the electrical pump motor. An example of this diagram is shown in Fig. (b) below. Note that this diagram is on an A.O. Smith motor, other motors will have different but similar labels. By law, ALL electric motor manufacturers MUST provide a wiring diagram on the motor.
    5. Wiring the 14/4 cord from our digital control to the pump motors (see Fig. (b)):
      1. Connect cord Black wire to terminal marked "High speed" on the motor.
      2. Connect cord Red wire to terminal marked "Low speed" on the motor.
      3. Connect cord White wire to terminal marked "Common" or "Line" on the motor.
      4. Connect cord Green wire to terminal marked "Ground" on the motor.
      Fig. (c) - Electric motor manufacturer label showing proper electrical hookup to this motor. Fig. (d) - Example of a damaged P.C. Board. The home owner tried installing his own electrical. The P.C. Board is shorted to ground and our warranty is voided.
  5. Electrical Connections: Connecting Other Accessories to Control Box
    1. All electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician.
    2. Please provide licensed electrician's state license number.
    3. To prevent damage to control box, use only cords and plugs with matching plug colors purchased from Acura Spa Systems, Inc.
    4. Fig. (e) - USC Accessory Receptacles.
      Please match accessory plugs to matching receptacles.
      Fig. (f) - Megatrol Accessory Receptacles.
      Please match accessory plugs to matching receptacles.
      Fig. (g) - Pump and accessory connectors and pinouts.
  6. Electrial connections: Incoming power to control box; Pump(s) & Accessories to control box:
    For a printable version, right-click and save... (Adobe Reader or equivalent required)
    Electrical Connection Hookups
  7. Improper connection to the GFCI will cause the GFCI to trip:
    On all Digital controls in the hot tub industry, you have a transformer (120 Volts AC to 12 Volts AC to 5 Volts DC) The winding on the transformer reads a continuity of 30 OHMS between the black (L1) and white (Neutral) wires; this is normal. The GFCI must be connected properly per the GFCI manufacturer installation instructions. The GFCI installer must understand the difference between Line (incoming wire connections to the GFCI) and Load (outgoing wire connections from the GFCI to the spa control box). A common mistake GFCI installers do is wiring the Neutral wires improperly by reversing the Line and Load connections on the GFCI. The Line neutral wire must be connected to the Neutral Bar and the Load neutral wire must be connected to the spa control box. Please make the proper electrical connections on your GFCI.
    To prove that our control box is good (temporarily and for testing only), all you need to do is disconnect your GFCI from your electrical circuitry and connect directly to a regular breaker.


Any burned circuitry on the PC board is a result of a direct short from improper electrical connections and voids Acura Spa Systems, Inc. Warranty.

At Acura Spa Systems, before we ship, all controls are 100% water tested in addtion to the dielectric and Mega ohm safety tests as required by UL 1563.

When requesting warranty work from Acura Spa Systems, please read our limited warranty (https://www.acuraspa.com/limited_warranty.html) before submitting a warranty claim. Print, complete and sign the Warranty Claim Form at (https://www.acuraspa.com/warranty_form.html). A copy of your paid invoice from Acura Spa Systems, Inc. must accompany the Warranty Claim Form. All warranty claims products must be shipped to Acura Spa Systems, Inc. freight prepaid and fully insured.

 

Pump Installation/Replacement Information:

  1. Electrical connections to pump motors:
    We do not supply pumps cords unless ordered. When connecting an electrical cord to the pump motor, make sure to look at the motor voltage located on the motor nameplate. Motor voltage may be different from the incoming voltage to the electrical control box (for example, the motor voltage may be 115V and the electrical control box voltage is 240V). All motors are supplied with a wiring diagram decal located on the body of the new motor. Connect the wires to the new motor according to the wiring diagram on the new motor. When removing your existing power cord from your old pump motor, we recommend you mark the wires for "common" or "Line", "High Speed", "Low Speed" (Low Speed only if you have a 2-speed motor).
  2. Unions and pump thread tolerance between pump brands:
    Even though various pump brands may use the same thread style, thread tolerances between the pump thread and the connecting nut may vary between production dates. At Acura Spa Systems, Inc. we keep our tolerances at minimum and should not affect you when replacing your Acura Spa pump and/or connecting nut. However, we cannot control other brands production tolerances. This means if you replace another brand pump with an Acura Spa pump, you may need to replace your existing unions with ours. Throughout the years, many customers have successfully replaced their existing spa pump made by other brands with ours using their existing plumbing connections.

 

Pump Problems:

  1. Damaging the pump shaft seal when priming a spa pump:
    A spa pump motor should only be energized when the pump housing and the pipe connected to the pump intake are filled with water. All spa pumps are defined as flooded suction pumps. For adequate water supply, a flooded suction pump depends on the spa tank and the pipe connected to the pump intake to be completely filled with water. Water should flow by gravity to the pump housing. In many hot tubs, when the spa is emptied and refilled, the pipe connected to the pump intake is filled with air. This air must be bled out of the plumbing before the pump motor is energized.
  2. How to damage the pump shaft seal?
    When the motor is energized, the impeller is rotating inside the pump housing at 3,450 or 1,725 rpms. If air is present and trapped in the pump housing, the friction between the two faces of the shaft seal can reach over 200°F in seconds. Unlike water, trapped air cannot cool down the seal surfaces. The rubber jacket holding the stationary seal will be damaged due to the extreme heat. The heat transferred to the impeller will deform the plastic. In most cases, the seal will leak. Once the pump is disassembled the damage is clear and obvious.
  3. It is impossible to have a fire in the presence of water flow.
    The presence of water flowing in the pump housing cools down the friction between the seal surfaces. In hot tubs, the operating temperature is at maximum, 104°F. Under no condition can the seal burn or the plastic be deformed at spa operating temperatures.
  4. A dirty filter diminishes the life expectancy of the shaft seal.
  5. How to repair the damaged pump shaft seal?
    The pump housing must be opened, the impeller must be removed, the back volute must be removed, the spring loaded seal must be removed and replaced with a new one. Refer to "How to replace a pump wet end."

  6. NOTE: Since 1987, all spa pumps produced by Acura Spa System, Inc. are 100% water tested with no exception. No pump is shipped out that is not 100% operational.

 

How to Replace a Pump Wet End:
The wet portion of a pump is called the pump wet end or pump volute. It consists of a face plate with a piston seal O-ring, back plate, impeller, shaft seal, and a cover.

  1. Unscrew and remove the bolts from the wet end face plate.
  2. Using a flat screw driver, gently insert the tip of the screw driver between the back of the front cover and the front of the back plate. Try to insert the screw driver at different locations around the circumference to prevent indentation in one spot caused by the tip of the screw driver.
  3. Pull the cover Off. (You will notice a piston seal O-ring that is part of the front cover)
  4. Hold the impeller and rotate counter-clockwise while holding the motor shaft steady.
  5. Unscrew the impeller from the motor shaft.
  6. Using a nut driver unscrew the 4 true-bolts holding the back of the wet end to the motor.
  7. Insert the new volute back through the motor shaft. Using the nut driver, screw the true-bolts located on the front of the motor to the brass inserts located on the back of the volute. Tighten the 4 true bolts evenly against the motor by screwing the true bolts each little at a time. This method will ensure the impeller is concentric with the motor shaft and the volute.
  8. Rotate the impeller one full circumference clockwise by hand and listen to make sure the plastic pieces are not rubbing against each other. If you noticed rubbing sounds unscrew the 4 true-bolts and retighten them evenly to mount the volute evenly to the motor.
  9. Check the o-ring to be sure it is lubricated, if not add marine grease lubricant.
  10. Insert the front cover to the back plate. Insert the front screws and tighten each screw little at a time around the circumference to push the front plate evenly against the back plate.
  11. Using your finger, rotate the impeller clock-wise and listen to make sure the plastic parts are not rubbing.

 

Pump Wetend Exploded Views:

  1. Maverick and Stealth Circulating Pumps:
       
  2. Magnaflow 48-Frame and 56-Frame Pumps:
       
  3. Megaflow Pumps:
       
  4. Aquaheat Pumps:
       
  5. Aquaheat Plus Pumps:
       
  6. Supercharger Pumps:
       
  7. Supercharger II Pumps:
       
  8. Maverick 48-Frame Pump Wetend Dimensions:
       
       
  9. Magnaflow 48 & 56-Frame Pump Wetend Dimensions:
       
       

 

Automatic Air Bleeder Installation on any Portable Hot Tub:

  1. Find a rigid PVC pipe or pipe fitting [Figure (2)] as close as possible to the heater manifold. The AABV can be instaqlled before or after the heater manifold. The AABV must be installed on the Pressure side of the pump.
  2. Using a 7/16" drill bit (drill bit size 0.4375" or 7.4mm [Figure (3)]), drill a hole in the rigid PVC pipe as shown in Figure (4).

 

Automatic Air Bleeder Installation:

       Automatic Air Bleeder
  1. Automatic Air Bleeder Installation on Any Hot Tub:
  2. Automatic Air Bleeder Installation on a Megatrol Control:

 

 

NOTES:
All electrical work must be performed by a licensed electrician according to National Electrical Code and all local codes and regulations.
All plumbing work must meet I.A.P.M.O., UL 1563, and all local codes and regulations and must be performed by a licensed plumbing contractor.
All pump suction must be connected to two drains (VGB certified) in the spa to meet all safety requirements.
All shipments are F.O.B. Riverside, California.

 

 

*Free Freight only for Fedex SmartPost. Other forms of shipping incur additional shipping costs.

**Beating competitor's price: We will meet or beat any competitor's written quotation for hardware of the same capability, such as: plumbing size, voltage, motor horsepower, motor 1 or 2-speed, heater length, safety test report, etc.

A $9.95 Handling charge is applied to all orders.

All products sold per our "Terms and Conditions" found in the "Support" section of our menu.

When your order is produced, the pump motor used (A.O. Smith, Regal Beloit, Marathon Electric, etc.) will be whatever is in stock in our factory at the time.