How Do I Adjust or Close Individual Hydro Jets on My Walk-In Tub?

On an Ella walk-in tub you adjust the hydro jets in two places. The intensity dial on the deck sets the strength of the whole hydro massage, and each foot jet has a center nozzle that works as a valve, so you can open it, reduce it or shut it off by hand. Air jets cannot be closed one by one, and Ella's published guidance describes adjusting flow and strength rather than aiming a jet. The full procedure is in Adjusting Jet Pressure, Foot Jet Nozzles, and a Stiff Intensity Control Dial. This page sorts out which jets can be closed, which can only be turned down, and what to do when a jet is hitting the wrong spot.

What You Can Adjust on Each Kind of Jet

Owners often expect every jet to twist shut. That is not how the system is built. Each type of jet has its own control, and only one of them is a true shut off valve at the jet itself.

If one foot jet is bothering you, you can close that jet at its nozzle. If a back or seat jet feels too strong, soften the whole hydro stream with the dial, down to where the massage is barely noticeable. If the bubbles from the air system feel too strong in the seat, press to the third speed, which is low. Between those three controls almost every owner finds a comfortable setting without taking anything apart.

How to Reduce or Close a Foot Jet

Ella's jet adjustment video shows a technician doing exactly this on a foot jet. He turns the center nozzle, frees it when it is stiff, and then secures the jet so the setting holds. The sequence is:

1. Find the center nozzle in the middle of the foot jet. It is a valve, and turning it left or right opens or closes the jet. Turn it gently and feel the flow change.
2. If the nozzle is too hard to turn, do not force it. Loosen the butterfly handles behind the jet instead. A pair of channel type pliers seated on a handle and given a turn releases the center nozzle so it turns freely.
3. Set the nozzle where you want it: fully open, reduced, or shut off.
4. Tighten the nut for the jet so the jet is secure and the nozzle does not turn on its own.

Forcing a stiff nozzle causes its own trouble. As Why Are the Caps on My Jets Falling Off and Can I Replace Them? explains, turning a stiff foot jet nozzle too hard can unscrew the whole jet face instead of opening the valve. The face then rotates freely and eventually drops out. Loosening the butterfly handles first prevents that.

Why a Jet Can Seem Closed When Its Nozzle Is Open

The jet is half cut. The open side of that half-cut opening has to line up with the hole inside the jet body, which is where the water comes out. If the jet has rotated so the opening sits away from that hole, the jet is partly closed even with the nozzle turned all the way open. This is why the video shows the technician removing the foot jet from inside the tub, lining the open side up with the hole, threading the jet back in and then tightening the jet nut.

Do the same check on any foot jet that feels weak compared with the ones beside it. While the jet is out, wipe the inside of the jet body and the jet itself before you reseat it. Which jets come apart and which stay in place is covered in Can I Remove the Jet Nozzles on My Walk-In Tub to Clean Them?. On the larger hydro jets the white plastic inner portion unscrews for cleaning. Air jets always stay in the tub.

Turning Off a Group of Jets Instead of a Single Jet

Many owners who ask about closing a jet really want to run only part of the tub. How you do that depends on how your tub was built.

• Tubs with independent foot massage. The foot and calf jets have their own dedicated pump and their own intensity dial. Touch the foot massage button once and its pump starts while the seat jets stay off. The Ultimate walkthrough video shows the deck layout from front to back: the LED light button, the three speed air massage button, the hydro massage button for the back and hips with its intensity dial, then the independent foot massage button with a second dial of its own. Independent Foot Massage: A Foot Spa Without Filling the Whole Tub explains how to fill only the foot well for this.
• Tubs with a single hydro pump. The foot jets are part of the main hydro system and run with the rest of the jets. Here the center nozzle on each foot jet is your way to shut a foot jet off while the others keep running.
• The Standard60. Its diverter switches run the foot and leg jets only, the back jets only, or both.
• Air massage. The air jets work together as one system, so the adjustment is the speed. The first press is high, the second is medium, the third is low, and a fourth press turns the system off.

The intensity dial is an air control on an air hose, not an electrical control. Turning it does not slow the pump. It changes how much air is mixed into the water, which is why the jets feel different after someone has moved the dial.

If a Jet Is Hitting the Wrong Spot

Ella's jet adjustment video and guides cover strength and opening or closing a jet. They do not describe a step for aiming a jet in a new direction, so please do not pry at a jet face or twist it past its stop to redirect it. Work through the adjustments the guides do describe:

• Turn the intensity dial down while the hydro runs and feel the change. At its lowest the flow is very gentle, which usually fixes back jets that push you forward.
• Fill to 2 inches above the highest jets before starting the hydro pump, so the jets push through water instead of spraying.
• Adjust your seating position so the stream lands where you want it.
• For a foot jet, reduce or close that jet at its center nozzle.

More on taming a strong massage is in What Do I Do If My Walk-In Tub Jets Are Too Strong?. If you still want a particular jet changed, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Include your serial number and a photo of the jet so the team can confirm what is fitted to your tub and what is possible with it. The same applies if the dial will not turn at all, or if a foot jet nozzle stays seized after the butterfly handles are loosened. A stiff dial is usually freed in a few minutes by clearing excess silicone, and the team can confirm from photos whether yours needs attention.

Watch: Ultimate Walk-In Tub Guide: Ella's Bubbles Explained with chapters and a full transcript.

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