Owly055
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- Feb 28, 2014
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Honestly, I would put a 2 pole 50amp breaker in the main to feed the 50amp spa panel. This way you are 50amp all the way back to the main. Its just my preference as I dont like to have a smaller upstream bottleneck in my main when it comes to powering up things.
It is odd that a GFCI breaker is more expensive than a spa panel providing the same service, but it is. The GFCI 2-pole 30amp Square D breaker I have in my sheds sub panel I got from a HBT person who got the wrong breaker(but it was the exact one I needed) for $60 which was a steal as that breaker is over $100 new.
I cannot say enough to go out to one of the big box stores and grab a how-to electrical book on all of this before you go out and buy anything so you know whats what and can formulate a solid plan of attack that fits your build-out.
GFCI circuit breakers are not a typical high volume consumer item........ Spas are extremely common, and spa panels are high production. I've only seen a few GFCI circuit breakers in breaker boxes. Another solution is the power cords used for large pressure washers. A 5 HP pressure washer will have a cord with a GFCI built into it. I've worked with 240 and 480 circuits where water was involved for years ...........without any ground fault protection..... It's a relatively new thing.
H.W.