Why Didn't Auto Purge Run, and Does the GFCI Breaker Stop It?

The Auto Purge is a timer, and it needs three things to fire: an air massage system, an air pump that was actually switched off, and power to the tub for the whole wait. About 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off, the control box starts the pump for 120 seconds to blow leftover water out of the air lines, as explained in Why Isn't the Auto Purge Running on My Tub?. If you switched the tub off at its GFCI breaker after your bath, the second half of the question has a simple answer: with the breaker off, nothing on the tub has power, so the purge cannot run while the power is off.

What the Purge Needs in Order to Run

After an air bath, a little water flows back into the air piping and the small jets in the seat, hips and feet. Left there it could grow mold and mildew, so the system waits about 20 minutes after the air pump is switched off and then runs the blower for 120 seconds to push that water out through the jets. The cycle cannot be interrupted and stops on its own. What Is Auto Purge on a Walk-In Tub? covers the design in detail, including which therapy packages have it.

Three things follow from that description. First, only tubs with the three speed air massage purge. Hydro-only and soaking tubs, which include the Standard, Standard60, Zen, Zen60 and Flow, have no air blower and therefore no purge cycle. Second, the timer starts when the pump goes off, not when you get out of the tub. Third, the control box is what starts the pump, so the box and the pump both need power and the pump has to be plugged into the box. Take away any one of the three and there is no purge, and in the first two cases nothing is broken.

The GFCI Breaker and the Purge

An Ella walk-in tub runs on its own dedicated GFCI circuits, so switching those breakers off at the panel removes all power from the tub without touching anything else in the house. That is the right move in an emergency or when a blower will not stop, and How Do I Turn the Jets Off in an Emergency? notes that an air massage tub will still run its two minute purge about 20 minutes after the air was switched off, as long as it has power. The reverse is just as true. If the breaker is off, if a GFCI tripped during the bath, or if you pressed Test on a GFCI outlet within reach, the control box is dark and the timer does not run.

So if your habit is to shut the tub off at the panel right after each bath, the air lines are not getting their purge. The fix is timing rather than repair: leave the power on through the 20 minute wait and the two minute cycle, then switch off if you wish. If power was cut before the purge could happen, or a breaker tripped and you reset it, run the air massage for a minute, switch it off, and let the tub sit powered for about 20 minutes so the purge can do its work. A GFCI that trips on its own mid bath is a separate matter worth reporting, which is why support asks whether the GFCI tripped when you open a ticket.

Did the Air Pump Actually Turn Off?

The most common reason a purge never comes on a working tub is that the timer never started, because the air pump was left running on low. On the chrome push controls, the first press is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low, and a fourth press turns the system off. There is no reverse ramp, and low speed on a quiet tub is easy to mistake for off. On the digital touchpad, hold the air icon for two seconds to turn the air off. The video on this page shows both control styles and states that the purge activates 20 minutes after the tub is turned off. A gentle press is all the button needs. Pushing it too hard or too deep can damage the internal mechanism, and for anyone with arthritis or limited mobility a gentle push with the palm of the hand works.

The button can also hold the signal on by itself. A chrome push button that sits down instead of popping back up is air locked and keeps telling the control box the air is on, so the purge timer never begins. Why Did My Walk-In Tub Turn On by Itself? shows the release: disconnect that button's red air tube at the control box so the button pops up, then reconnect the tube.

Package, Plug and Control Box Checks

1. Confirm the package. Look for the small air holes in the seat, hips and feet and a button or icon for the air massage. Hydro jets are the larger adjustable nozzles. No air holes means no air system and no purge, and nothing is wrong. If your old tub purged and this one does not, the two tubs most likely have different therapy packages.
2. Run the air massage for a minute, press the button until the pump is off, and wait about 20 minutes with the power on. Expect one 120 second burst of air through the jets. It is normal for it to start while you are still in the tub, and you can drain and exit normally while it runs.
3. Open the access panel and check the air pump plug. It belongs in the female plug on top of the blue control box. A pump plugged straight into the wall outlet runs whenever it has power and is never triggered for the purge.
4. Check that the power cord and the pump cords are pushed fully in at the box and that the green LED on the box is lit.
5. Run the control box reset, noting the blink count you set. If the drying cycle still does not start, try swapping the air and water hoses at the box, since those two nipples are easy to reverse.

Keep the opposite failure in mind too. A blower that keeps running past 120 seconds, or a purge that comes on twice in the same hour, is not a purge at all but the control box failing to shut the pump off. Switch the tub off at the breaker to stop it, then follow Why Won't My Tub Stop Purging?. And remember that the purge clears the air lines only; it does not replace the monthly vinegar flush of 2 cups white vinegar and 2 cups water, tub filled to 1 inch above the highest jets, jets run for 10 minutes, then drained.

When to Open a Ticket

If your tub has air massage, the button pops back up, the plugs and cords are correct, the power stayed on, the box reset made no difference and the small air holes still do not push out the leftover water about 20 minutes after an air bath, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Include your serial number, a photo of the blue control box with all plugs and air tubes visible, whether the air massage itself runs normally, and whether the GFCI tripped. A control box that will not reset is a warranty part. Ella does not send technicians, so the replacement ships to you under the parts warranty and a local licensed electrician or plumber handles the swap if you would rather not do it yourself.

Watch: Walk-In Tubs Featuring Three Speed Air Massage & Auto-Purge Technology | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

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