As a Seattle Home Inspector, it still amazes me how often I finds whirlpool baths with no access to the motor or its electrical connections.
Sometimes the tub motor plugs into a GFCI type receptacle, where the receptacle itself has no access.
A while back I had one that no one could figure out why the thing would not run (had not been used for years) and it was because the GFCI had tripped and, since there was no access, no one could find it to reset it. I don’t need to go into how nasty the jets can get in this situation. To put it euphemistically—-one should never see tootsie rolls coming out of their whirlpool jets.
This brand new tub I inspected in new construction—-at least had its GFCI protection located in the adjacent closet. I was lucky enough to be able to stick my camera up under the tub through the opening around the drain in the crawl space.
The picture clearly shows the pump plugged into a receptacle—–all nicely covered over by the tile skirting around the tub. The next picture’s red outline shows where there should be access in the skirting.
While I can understand why someone might not want to break the nice flat surface with some sort of access but there must always be access to these motors and electrical connections—-even if the openings do sometimes detract from the esthetics—-time to get ones “esthetics” re-aligned me thinks.
By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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Sorry to post on such an old topic, but I built a stand for a corner aquarium to give it a built-in look. I made sure to provide access to the GFCI outlet that sat behind the tank – enough to add/remove/change plugs and reset the breaker. It turns out that even major brands of GFCI outlets will fail now and then. Let me tell you, it was an experience replacing that outlet. This time, I replaced it with a standard outlet and use two self-reset GFCI pigtails (this means if it is on when the power fails, it stays on when power is resumed – some ‘trip’ on a fault and power removal). These I can easily replace.
I’d hate to have to reset that GFCI, and worse yet, replace it.
Steven, unfortunately if you can’t change the receptacle out, it would not meet the definition of “accessible”:)
This is what happens when one tries to do the correct thing but does not think it ALL the way through. I thought it through enough to buy the most expensive GFCI on the shelf 😉 You could say the outlet for the blower fan for gas fireplaces, ranges, and above the range microwaves have the same issue. While you may want Arc fault or GFCI, it is better to place those devices in truly accessible locations. Oh, and thanks for the website – fantastic information!