Hello.

I have a 40amp GFCI installed in my panel that powers my hot tub outside.
The hot tub is fed with 45 feet og 6/3 copper wire.
The tub calls for a 40 amp GFCI breaker.
So far so good.

The hot tub works great most of the time. However, once every week or so the GFCI will trip. Reset it and all is good for another week or more.

Today I chose to inspect the GFCI wiring in the panel. All connections are tight, but I did notice that the ground wire installed on the GFCI neutral to panel lug is of a different gauge than all the rest (6/3) the ground wire is 8 gauge.

My question is this. Will the smaller gauge neutral wire cause the breaker to falsely trip on occasion? Or should I replace with a larger GFCI like 50amp that is more suited to the wire size?

FYI the test button works like a charm.

Thanks
Paul

The equipment ground conductor is usually smaller.

Before we can advise you to increase the size circuit breaker, need to know what type of cable the #6 is.

The ground wire should not be connected to the neutral.

Can you provide a photo of the inside of the GFI breaker enclosure?

Hello.

that the ground wire installed on the GFCI neutral to panel lug is of a different gauge than all the rest (6/3) the ground wire is 8 gauge.

Will the smaller gauge neutral





So is it the ground, or the neutral?

Doesn't really matter, it wouldn't be the cause. FYI, NEC code states that with pools and spas, ALL wires need to be the SAME size. While you can undersize the ground wire in other applications, no so with pools and spas.

Changing the breaker to a larger won't make a difference... though, it could if the current breaker is going bad :-)