Spa Helpdesk

M028

Balboa M028: the heater may be dry

M028 means the heater may be dry. The guide says this is a possible dry heater, or not enough water in the heater to start it, and the spa is shut down for 15 minutes. This wording is from Balboa guide 40985-G, 26 March 2014, for BP2500 and BP2600 with a TP800 or TP900 panel. The letters dr are not printed here.

Possible dry heater, or not enough water in the heater to start it.

Models this page covers: BP2500, BP2600, TP900, TP800

Do this first

  1. Water level

    Do the flow checks before a reset

    Check low water level, suction-flow restrictions, closed valves, trapped air, too many closed jets, and pump prime. If the jets show no water after 2 minutes, turn the pumps off. Do not open the heater tube.

  1. Reset

    Press any button to restart the heater

    The guide says to press any button to reset the heater start-up. That follows the 15-minute shutdown. It is a panel button, not a repair inside the pack.

When to call a technician

Call a technician now if

  • The breaker or the RCD trips when the pump is plugged in.
  • You smell burning, see melted plastic, or the water is too hot to touch.
  • The code comes back after one reset.

Also call for these, from the manual

  • Call for service if M028 returns after the flow checks and a button reset. Do not open the heater or keep trying to heat a dry tube.

Questions

My panel scrolls dr. Is that M028?

This guide does not print dr. It prints the sentence The heater may be dry, and the message code M028, for a TP800 or TP900 on BP2500 or BP2600. Do not borrow a short code from another panel.

Manuals we checked