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I have recently purchased this 9KW European sauna heater:

HUUM drop 9KW

A similar question was asked in this post. I am looking for more specifics on how to connect the TECK cable from the breaker box into the main controller.

Here is the heater (5) and input connection diagram on the main controller:

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Can this be wired in Canada/US where the TECK cable comming in from the breaker would have two hots, a neutral, and ground? If so, how (what connects where)? The breaker box would be wired with a 50A double pole breaker. The full manual for the main controller is here. The plan would be to also have the electrician add a disconnect unit as described here. Anything I'm missing? Thank you!

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In US/Canada, you would connect it according to the 230V diagram: L1/2/3 together to 1 hot , N to the other hot, ground to ground. The European neutral is basically the same as the 2nd hot in a double-pole 240V US/Canada circuit. This is based on the device not needing a true neutral but really just needing to have hot and neutral ~ 230V apart. Two things though to make 100% sure you are safe:

  • Neutral != ground. That is extremely important here, because if you had the equivalent of a typical 3-wire dryer connection where neutral and ground are bonded, it would be potentially deadly here because it would put a hot wire on ground. To make sure check with a multimeter to make sure that when the device is not connected that you do not have any continuity between device N and ground and when the device is connected you should see ~ 240V device N and ground.
  • GFCI - Absolutely 100% critical that this be on a double-pole GFCI breaker.

But wait ! You can't do that! One of the links said "As per the heater’s manual, this should NOT be a GFI breaker." and another link to the manual says "It is recommended to connect the unit to the mains without an earth-leakage circuit breaker."

Which means they are saying to not use a GFCI. But normal US/Canada code (and common sense) says use a GFCI. Those conflict. Unlike some alterations related to code, this is not approved by UL or ETL (unless I missed something...). They aren't even involved as this is designed for the European market (230V/400V). When approved by UL or ETL, manufacturer instructions different from the usual code are allowed.

So either install with a GFCI, and run the risk of any warranty being invalidated due to not following directions, or install without a GFCI and run the risk of fatal problems if there is ever a serious malfunction. Don't do that!

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  • Thanks you - I'm a bit confused. I think you are saying that for the TECK cable I would connect one hot to L1, one to L2, neutral to N, and ground to ground. Do I just leave L3 unused? Isn't the voltage between hot and neutral going to be 120V in this case? Thanks again!
    – alexvpickering
    Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 21:01
  • @alexvpickering it's all confusing. The upshot is that neutral is an arbitrary designation... they're all hot wires, we just picked one and called it neutral. However the way we picked it, our neutral is useless to a European appliance.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 21:25
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    One hot from panel to l1 l2 l3 combined. Other hot from panel to N. Ground to ground. Neutral from panel not used.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 21:39
  • This answer is a lot more complicated than it needs to be. Devices must be installed in accordance with manufacturer instructions. The instructions do not say it can be hooked up to US/CA style split-phase 240V power, so it can’t be. End of story.
    – nobody
    Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 21:44
  • Connecting one hot to the L1/L2/L3 input and the other hot to N would work (produce the expected power) but could be dangerous - parts normally at 0V from ground (with Euro style supply) will now be 120V from ground. Likely at all times because the device likely doesn’t switch neutral.
    – nobody
    Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 21:48

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