Spa Panel $50

I saw this on HD for a 50amp 240V spa panel for $49.00 plus shipping. The strange thing is the only thing in the HD near me was for $90. Would this spa panel work or am I missing something? Seems pretty straight forward to me but who knows.

I'm thinking of using this to run a 240V 5500 element for the BK. Would I be able to run a pump or two off of it as well at only 120V? Not so sure about this one.

I have the $49 50-amp spa panel. HD has a 60-amp panel which is more expensive - maybe that is what you saw for $90? I use my panel for a 2-wire with ground connection (240 volt only), but if you have a separate neutral line in your source, you can use it for 120 volts as well as 240. If your supply only has 2 hot wires plus ground you are limited to 240 volts only.

Wow - same panel at Buy.com or Ace Hardware is more than double the cost of HD.

JonW said:

Wow - same panel at Buy.com or Ace Hardware is more than double the cost of HD.

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Jeez. Maybe I'll have to get one. I don't know how much shipping is though. Can't be too bad for the shipping. I thought $50 was a rather good price which made me think it was something different than what we need.

I'd call your local HD and give them the item # first. It sounds like this is the same unit most people have been buying in store at $49. Their shelves are not always the most organized, so they may have this unit and it just wasn't readily apparent.

I'm currently doing NG burners, but I'm going to dabble with some electric heating soon and this is the unit I plan on getting.

JonW said:

I'd call your local HD and give them the item # first. It sounds like this is the same unit most people have been buying in store at $49. Their shelves are not always the most organized, so they may have this unit and it just wasn't readily apparent.

I'm currently doing NG burners, but I'm going to dabble with some electric heating soon and this is the unit I plan on getting.

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Good point. I'll give them a call and see if they stock it first.

I'm able to do some basic wiring for the house and install/replace outlets and breakers. For my basic knowledge running a 120V keggle is pretty straight forward. Switching over to 240V and hooking up PIDs and SSRs is something I feel comfortable with so long as I research what I'm doing. In essence I think electrical setups can be very complex but I'll be trying to keep mine relatively simple to avoid confusing and killing myself.

I just picked up that spa panel at my local HD last weekend. It's not a very big box, maybe 10x8x4. So it could easily hide behind some of the other breaker boxes and such around it.

Installation was pretty easy. I followed this guide because the instructions with the panel are on the door and not so clear.
http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/wiring-hot-tub-spa.htm

I would definitely take them the part number. If they don't have it in stock, they would probably order it for you so you don't have to pay shipping. Just my .02.

I think I'll buy one of these tomorrow...my pump is a 230 volt model, so I am doing my whole brewery at that voltage, and I really hate the thought of electrocuting myself while doing something fun like brewing.
What size wire should I use to connect this to my setup? I'd like to run it to a dryer outlet about 10 feet from the spa box so I can plug the brewery in and then unplug and roll the stand away when I'm done.