Todays project

[zmaxmotorsports]

I changed out the service panel on a friends house a few years back,Well now his wife went out and ordered a giant hot tub for the back yard and they needed to run power outside for it.
I reworked the existing panel a little to make room for a 100a 2p breaker to feed the new 100a outdoor panel I had collecting dust from another project.
The guys are supposed to be out this week sometime to get the deck built and pour a slab next to it for the tub,Then Ill trench over to the pad and set a fancy post and a pull out disconnect for the tub.
The $150.00 60a gfi breakereyecrazy:) will be mounted in the sub panel next to the house,I told him I could check at the supply house to see if I could it cheaper but he was in a hurry and just ordered it through menards.It still takes 2 weeks to get it through them though.

 

[Norcal]

What is the anti-seize being used for? (Photo #1)

 

[Mustang51js]

What is the anti-seize being used for? (Photo #1)

Prob the same as I have to use, any aluminum connection they want anti-seize. Make sure you put a ground ring in or if you have rebarb in slab come off of that.

 

[Mustang51js]

And throw some silicone in that hole in the house where ac lines go in lol

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Yeah I thought I had some duct seal in the van but I was out of it,Ill be back out again this week once the concrete is poured to do some more work on it.
The service inside the house is ran to 2 ground rods out front,no copper water service to bond to out there.
Ive got to ground rods for out by the tub when its installed,when I meet the county inspector out there Ill see how he wants it done for sure to keep him happy.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Prob the same as I have to use, any aluminum connection they want anti-seize. Make sure you put a ground ring in or if you have rebarb in slab come off of that.

Yep,I always use it on aluminum wire.

 

[Norcal]

That stuff is not approved for AL connections, use a product made for electrical connections or none at all.

 

[Norcal]

Prob the same as I have to use, any aluminum connection they want anti-seize. Make sure you put a ground ring in or if you have rebarb in slab come off of that.

The rebar in a slab is not a proper grounding electrode.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

That must be some hot tub. The biggest one I've ever seen was 19'x10', had two separate sections with separate pumps, heaters, filtration, lighting & controllers. It required two separate feeds, a 50A feed for the spa & a 30A feed for the swim section.

Tommy

 

[Highbeam]

My little 8 foot tub requires a 60 amp feed. I like the overkill on this thread.

So what is the proper gunk to use on AL wire for anticorrosion?

 

[Mustang51js]

The rebar in a slab is not a proper grounding electrode.

If it's all bonded together you can use it. More than likely not there so he needs a #8 solid around it. If it's a metal frame I've had to hit each side with a lug but most seem to be wood now

 

[PRH44]

So what is the proper gunk to use on AL wire for anticorrosion?
Highbeam is offline Report Post

Ideal Noalax is the first brand that comes to mind.


Features
•Anti-oxidant and anti-seizing compound
•Reduces galling and seizing on aluminum conduit joints
•Suspended zinc particles penetrate and cut aluminum oxide
•Carrier material excludes air to prevent further oxidation
•Improves service life of aluminum electrical applications
•For use with all types of pressure-type wire connectors
•Anti-oxidant
•Reduces galling and seizing on aluminum conduit joints
•Suspended zinc particles penetrate and cut aluminum oxide
•Carrier material excludes air to prevent further oxidation
•Improves service life of aluminum electrical applications

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

That stuff is not approved for AL connections, use a product made for electrical connections or none at all.

Ive never had an inspector complain about it in 30 plus years,I could mix some black dye with it and call it nolox if it makes you feel better.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

That must be some hot tub. The biggest one I've ever seen was 19'x10', had two separate sections with separate pumps, heaters, filtration, lighting & controllers. It required two separate feeds, a 50A feed for the spa & a 30A feed for the swim section.

Tommy

I haven't seen the tub yet,he told me it needs a 60a service to feed it.
I had the panel left over from another job ,so the service was built around the freebie panel.
Im also using it for his ac disconnect since its right next to it.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Ahh, I get it. I read it as the spa required a 100A feed...

Tommy

 

[Norcal]

Ive never had an inspector complain about it in 30 plus years,I could mix some black dye with it and call it nolox if it makes you feel better.

While it is not my problem, what a inspector passes does not make it correct, the commercially available anti-oxidant compounds are not that expensive either.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Ive done work in ne/iowa/south Dakota/north Dakota/Missouri/Arkansas,even in commie fornia.
Ive held a masters license and contractors license since 1996,most of the time I prefer to use copper but in certain situations I break down and just use aluminum when theres no money in the budget,as long as its safe for the situation.
Ive never had an inspector complain about it anyway.
I still solder a lot of joints on the few big residential jobs I do,and I also wrap my outlets and switches with super 33 before installing them which drives some guys nuts.
I also tape wirenuts when I install them inside 3ph motor "pecker heads" which drives some guys nuts also.
I don't do too much anymore,buy what I do do is done above and beyond what most people accept as standard.

 

[C96]

Then Ill trench over to the pad and set a fancy post and a pull out disconnect for the tub.
The $150.00 60a gfi breakereyecrazy:) will be mounted in the sub panel next to the house,I told him I could check at the supply house to see if I could it cheaper but he was in a hurry and just ordered it through menards.It still takes 2 weeks to get it through them though.

Most hot tubs now days come equipped with their own electrical panel already wired with a main breaker / disconnecting means and gfci circuit breaker protection for the entire unit, motors, lighting etc. All that is needed is the supply conductors to feed the hot tubs panel.

I think maybe you jumped the gun a little with the 100 amp outside sub panel and the 60 amp gfci 2 pole breaker. None of that will be needed to hook-up the spa, just a 60 Amp 240V branch circuit with proper grounding from the main service panel would have sufficed.

Lol…Is that thermostat wire inside the outdoor sub panel? The inspector is going to love that along with all the Romex cable jammed into one fitting at the main service.

Hope this spa hook-up doesn’t open a can of worms for you with the AHJ in your town.

 

[Mustang51js]

I haven't see a hot tub come with it's own panel yet, so I always have to get the 50 or 60 amp gfi sub panel. I doubt inspector will say anything about t-stat wire and if he does pull it out and splice it in air.

 

[Highbeam]

Ideal Noalax is the first brand that comes to mind.


Features
•Anti-oxidant and anti-seizing compound
•Reduces galling and seizing on aluminum conduit joints
•Suspended zinc particles penetrate and cut aluminum oxide
•Carrier material excludes air to prevent further oxidation
•Improves service life of aluminum electrical applications
•For use with all types of pressure-type wire connectors
•Anti-oxidant
•Reduces galling and seizing on aluminum conduit joints
•Suspended zinc particles penetrate and cut aluminum oxide
•Carrier material excludes air to prevent further oxidation
•Improves service life of aluminum electrical applications

I didn't realize that he was just using plain anti-seize like for bolts.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Most hot tubs now days come equipped with their own electrical panel already wired with a main breaker / disconnecting means and gfci circuit breaker protection for the entire unit, motors, lighting etc. All that is needed is the supply conductors to feed the hot tubs panel.

I think maybe you jumped the gun a little with the 100 amp outside sub panel and the 60 amp gfci 2 pole breaker. None of that will be needed to hook-up the spa, just a 60 Amp 240V branch circuit with proper grounding from the main service panel would have sufficed.

Lol…Is that thermostat wire inside the outdoor sub panel? The inspector is going to love that along with all the Romex cable jammed into one fitting at the main service.

Hope this spa hook-up doesn’t open a can of worms for you with the AHJ in your town.

Hes building a deck across the front,theres supposes to be a removable section of the decking to get access to the tub access panel but I haven't seen it yet.
Hes got a bunch of sheds out back that he raises pigeons in so we'll be running more power backto them off that sub panel at some point also.
All of the hot tubs Ive ever done required a disconnect/external gfi,but its been a while.
The hot tub co told him that he needs a 60a gfi protected service to feed it,so that's what Im giving them to it.
No romex in the panel,se-r cable feeding the panel.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I haven't see a hot tub come with it's own panel yet, so I always have to get the 50 or 60 amp gfi sub panel. I doubt inspector will say anything about t-stat wire and if he does pull it out and splice it in air.

It was spliced outside,I figured it looked a lot better spliced in there without the wire nuts filling full of water.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I didn't realize that he was just using plain anti-seize like for bolts.

What are the ingredients in anti seize that protect aluminum/stainless from sticking/corroding/oxidizing versus the ingredients in noa lox?
Sometimes people over think things,but Im sure somebody on some nec board has a cousin who made a killing by adding dye to anti seize and calling it noa lox.
Im no engineer,but I made a hell of a living fixing their screw ups over the last 30 years!

 

[C96]

I haven't see a hot tub come with it's own panel yet, so I always have to get the 50 or 60 amp gfi sub panel.

Here is an example of one that incorporates a gfci panel

 

[Kevin C]

What are the ingredients in anti seize that protect aluminum/stainless from sticking/corroding/oxidizing versus the ingredients in noa lox?
Sometimes people over think things,but Im sure somebody on some nec board has a cousin who made a killing by adding dye to anti seize and calling it noa lox.
Im no engineer,but I made a hell of a living fixing their screw ups over the last 30 years!

Using antioxidant paste is beneficial for preventing corrosion between copper and aluminum electrical connections. The paste consists of a lower nobility metal than aluminum or copper.

If your anti seize is aluminum based, and you have aluminum wires and bus bars, its not doing everything its supposed to do (the aluminum compound has the same potential as the metal you want it to protect).

Noalox is uses zinc dust, zinc is lower on the nobel scale and acts as an anode for aluminum. If conditions are right for corrosion, the zinc sacrifices itself.

In both cases, the carrier oil will help keep out air and reduce or prevent moisture damage.