Pandemic Project – Deck & Hot Tub

During our “Stay at Home” time here in Minnesota, my husband and I decided to complete some long-postponed tasks at our home. Life is generally too busy and hectic to do some of these projects, and they get put on the back burner. No more excuses! We are home, let’s get working on that “to-do list”.

Instead of picking the easiest of items to do, my husband and I decided to pick the most time-consuming, labor-intensive, body aching project instead; our deck! The only obstacle sitting in our way (literally) was our hot tub. Smack dab in the middle of our deck to be exact. When we purchased our hot tub we put it on top of the deck as a temporary home because we were going to revamp the deck. However, procrastination set in, and two years later during a Pandemic, we were finally going to move this beast.

The design we decided upon involved lowering the hot tub and building our deck around it. This required some maneuvering because we only wanted to move the tub once, which was into its permanent home. Once our deck was completed 3 weeks later, our final job was to hook the hot tub back up. My first reaction after the panel was removed was how clean it was inside. I was impressed with how sealed up everything was, thus keeping the components inside in pristine condition.

I should mention that once that panel was open, I entered my own little world and started to look at everything. Once I removed the inside panel box, I could see all the electronic components within and instantly recognized that many of these components are those that we sell at DigiKey. Here is a list of components I could see immediately:

• Fuses - Eaton - Bussmann SC-25-ND
• USB (Vertical) – Molex 1050570001 and other suppliers
• Programmable Timers and Oscillators, such as the 555 Timer
• A general purpose relay by Panasonic Electric Works- PN: JQ1AP-B-12V-ND. However, it looks like that is now obsolete and the recommended replacement is 255-3556-ND
• A crystal with an HC-49/US packaging/case
• A common mode choke by Shaffner EMC - PN: 817-1034-ND
• A non-insulated quick disconnect by Molex - PN: 0190160043 (DigiKey PN: WM6911TR-ND)
• Aluminum electrolytic capacitors

When we bought this unit, we didn’t have them connect up the speaker system because we had enough Bluetooth devices that we didn’t need them. When digging around, I did find the connectors for the speakers that we had neatly tucked away in the back. These appear to be Molex Mini-Fit Jr two position plugs - Molex PN: 0039012021 (DK PN: WM3600-ND).

Once everything was done, it was finally time to enjoy our new deck and hot tub. Below is the final image of our deck. This Pandemic project was something we needed to get done, and many sore muscles later, we are finally able to soak in the hot tub!

What is your Pandemic Project?