How do I find where my walk-in tub is leaking under the deck?

Under the deck of an Ella walk-in tub there are only a handful of places water can escape: the drain fittings and their elbows, the unions at the hydro pump and in-line heater, the hydro return elbow and its plugs, the air jet bodies and their nuts, the push-button gaskets, the air manifold and the small air lines it feeds, and the door hardware above all of them. You find the source with a staged fill test, filling with no system running first and then adding one system at a time while you watch underneath with a flashlight. Why Is My Ella Petite Walk-In Tub Leaking and How Do I Fix It? runs that test on one model; this page applies it to any Ella tub and explains what each wet spot means.

What Is Under the Deck

The front apron or access panels come off so your plumber can reach everything in place, without moving the tub. Behind them you will find:

• The drains. Two 2 inch drains with two overflows, each ending in a drain elbow that your installer continued to the house drain.
• The hydro system. A pump and in-line heater joined by unions, the hydro return elbow sealed to the shell with a plug on each side, and a vent valve at the end of the hydro line that is tied to the frame at the highest level under the deck.
• The air system. The blower, the air manifold mounted on the back side of the tub at the very top above the water line, the check valve at the manifold, the small air hoses running from it to each jet, and two short crimped stubs plugging the manifold ports your tub does not use.
• The controls. Push buttons set in the deck with a rubber gasket under each collar, connected by air tubes to the control box.

There is no universal parts diagram for the lines under the tub, because the layout follows the therapy package that was ordered. If you need to see what correct looks like, technical support can send a reference photo and a short video showing the air manifold and vent line secured at the correct height.

The Staged Fill Test

1. Dry the floor and the underside of the tub completely, remove the access panels and have a flashlight ready.
2. Fill the tub without running any system and watch underneath. Drips that appear now point to the drains or the shell fittings, not the jets.
3. Fill above the door handle height, let the tub stand, and check the outside of the door and the floor. Water at or just below the handle while the rest of the door edge stays dry means the handle screws, a sealing problem at the screw holes rather than a gasket problem.
4. Fill above the highest hydro jets and run the hydro system for a few minutes. Watch the return elbow, its sealed joint at the shell, both plugged holes and the unions at the pump and heater for the first sign of water.
5. Run the air massage and watch each air jet from below. Water tracking down a jet body or its nut points to a gasket or the jet itself. Follow the air line from the blower to each jet and look for wet spots, pinches or kinks along the tubing.
6. Fill past the top row of jets and let the tub sit. Dripping that begins only now, after the tub stayed dry all the way up, is the signature of a dropped air manifold.
7. Photograph every wet jet, elbow, union or drain fitting and note how many are affected and at which stage the water appeared.

Reading the Symptom

When the water appears tells you almost as much as where it appears.

• Wet from the first inches of water. A drain fitting or shell fitting. Look at the drain elbows first; an elbow that cracks or drips is usually carrying strain from a drain line that pulls or pushes against it.
• Dry until the water covers the top jets. The air manifold has sagged below the water line. Leak Under the Tub Only When Water Reaches the Top Jets explains why gravity keeps water out of the air lines only while the manifold sits above them, and the fix is to re-secure it to the stainless steel frame with new ties. No line needs patching or replacing.
• Only while a system runs. Pressure finds the weak joint: a union at the pump or heater, the return elbow plug, or a jet gasket.
• Only while bathing or using the hand shower, with the door dry. Splash is running down the wall line at the corners, usually because the tile flange or the silicone at the joints is missing. Why Does My Tub Leak at the Corners or Wall When Filled? covers that check.
• Only while draining. The drain elbow or the connection to the house drain.
• Water inside the blower. Either the check valve at the manifold stuck open or the tub was filled above the overflow until the manifold went under water. Water Inside the Air Blower explains both causes.
• A hiss at the manifold. The two crimped stubs are factory plugs and should be silent. Why Are There Two Crimped Pieces of Tubing on the Air Manifold Under My Tub? shows how to tell a plug from a damaged line.

Fixes Your Installer Can Plan

• Dropped manifold or vent valve: lift both to the highest point under the deck, tie them to the frame with new ties above the highest jet, then refill past the top jets, run the air briefly and watch underneath.
• Handle screws: drain and dry the door, remove the screws, clean the old sealant out of the holes, apply silicone into each hole and under each head, drive the screws back in and let the silicone cure for the sealant maker's full time before the tub sees water.
• Return elbow plug: remove the old silicone from the leaking hole, clean it, apply 100 percent silicone, reseal the second hole on the opposite side while the area is open and allow 24 hours to cure. This repair usually needs no parts.
• Push-button gasket: the video on this page shows the procedure. Remove the button collar carefully with a flat edge so the tub surface is not scratched, lift out the collar and button, run a thin bead of silicone caulk around the rubber gasket, smooth it for complete coverage, replace the button, snap the collar back on and clean the excess with denatured alcohol.
• Drain elbow: relieve the strain on the line at the final connection to the house drain, and replace a cracked elbow with the matching PVC elbow and gasket.
• Wall line: a bead of 100 percent silicone at every joint, tub to wall on all three sides, each corner, and the extension panel and end panel lines.
• Crimped stubs: leave them exactly as they are. Do not cut them off or reroute a working line into a plugged port.

Getting the Right Part

Ella does not send technicians. Technical Support works out the problem with you from photos, video and your description, a verified defective part ships free to the original customer's address, and the repair itself is done by your installer or a local licensed plumber. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model and serial number, found on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door, a photo of each wet point, a photo of the manifold and its ties, and a note on whether the leak appears while filling, at a certain height, while a system runs, while bathing or while draining. That one sentence about timing is what lets the team match the right part the first time. You can also call (800) 480-6850.

Watch: Leak Prevention Push Control System for Walk-In Tubs | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Water Under or Behind the Tub: Finding the Source at Unions, Air Fittings, the Hand Shower, Drain Elbow and Supply Lines
• Why Does My Tub Leak Only When I Let the Water Out?
• GFCI Trips Only When the Air or Hydro Pump Starts: Test the GFCI First, Then Look for Water Under the Tub

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