How Long Does Auto Purge Run After a Bath, and Can I Change It?

Auto Purge runs for 120 seconds, and it starts on its own about 20 minutes after the air massage pump is switched off. The timing is built into the air system, so there is no button for it and no way to shorten it, lengthen it, retime it or cancel it. What you can choose is the moment the countdown begins, because it always counts from the last time the air was turned off. The background on the feature itself is in What Is Auto Purge on a Walk-In Tub?, and this page focuses on the timing and on what is and is not in your hands.

The Two Numbers That Never Change

Every Ella tub with the three-speed air massage follows the same schedule. There are only two figures to remember, and they are the same on every model and with every control style.

• The wait: about 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off.
• The run: 120 seconds, which is two minutes, after which the blower stops by itself.

The cycle does not look at what the tub is doing. It runs whether the tub is full, empty or still filling, and it runs whether or not anyone is sitting in it. One purge about 20 minutes after each shutoff is the normal pattern. The trigger is the air pump being switched off. Some printed manuals say the purge fires after the pump is turned on, and that is a known wording error. If your manual reads that way, go by the switch-off rule.

The video on this page introduces the three-speed air massage and states the same timing: Auto Purge activates 20 minutes after the air system is turned off and clears out leftover moisture to prevent mold and mildew.

Why the Timing Is Fixed and Cannot Be Stopped

After an air bath, a little water naturally flows back into the air piping and into the jets on the floor and seat. If that water sat there, it could grow mold and mildew. Auto Purge is the answer to that. The system waits, then runs the blower for 120 seconds to push the leftover water back out through the air jets, so the lines are dry before the next bath.

Because that job protects the tub, the cycle is fully automatic. It cannot be interrupted once it begins, and there is no purge button anywhere on the tub. The deck buttons or the touchpad run the hydro massage, the air massage, the microbubbles and the light, and none of them controls the purge. The good news is that nothing needs to be done about it:

• If the purge starts while you are still bathing, stay where you are. Water at bath level does not interfere with the cycle, and there is no harm in remaining in the tub.
• If you would rather get out while it runs, drain and exit normally. The tub will sound as though it is still running, and that is only the purge finishing its work.
• Either way, it stops on its own at the end of its 120 seconds.

What You Can Control: When the Countdown Starts

You cannot change the length of the wait, but you decide when it begins. On push controls, the first press of the air button is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low, and the fourth press turns the air off. On the digital touchpad, holding the air icon for two seconds turns it off. The 20 minute countdown starts at that moment, and it restarts every time the air is switched on and off again, even briefly.

That is the reason a purge sometimes seems to arrive at an odd time. Running the air for a moment before the bath, perhaps to test it, starts a countdown that can end right in the middle of the soak. The same happens when a second bath begins less than 20 minutes after the first one ended, because the purge from the earlier bath lands during the next one. Both cases are explained in Why Did the Auto Purge Come On While I Was Filling the Tub?. A few simple habits put the purge where you want it:

1. Leave the air button alone while the tub fills.
2. Turn the air massage on once the tub is filled.
3. Turn it off when you are done, so the purge arrives after you have finished bathing.
4. If you switch the air off partway through a long soak, expect the two minute burst about 20 minutes later and simply let it pass.

The purge also depends on power. An air massage tub runs its two minute cycle about 20 minutes after the air was switched off as long as it has power, which is worth remembering if the breakers were used to shut everything down. That situation is covered in How Do I Turn the Jets Off in an Emergency?.

Timing Patterns and What Each One Means

Since the schedule is fixed, the clock is the best diagnostic tool you have. Compare what you saw with the patterns below.

What the differences mean for you is simple. A single two minute run that follows the 20 minute rule needs no attention at all, however surprising the moment. Anything that repeats, or that does not stop, is not Auto Purge behaving differently, because Auto Purge has only one schedule. Repeats and nonstop running point to a control part instead. A chrome push button that sits down instead of popping back up is air locked: disconnect its red air tube at the control box so the button pops up, then reconnect the tube. It is also worth looking at where the air pump is plugged in, because a pump plugged straight into the wall instead of the top of the control box runs whenever it has power. The step by step checks are in Why Did My Walk-In Tub Turn On by Itself?.

Which Tubs Purge and Which Do Not

Any Ella tub ordered with the three-speed air massage has Auto Purge, whether the air system came alone, as hydro plus air, or in a triple package. Hydro-only and soaking tubs have no air blower and therefore no purge cycle, which includes the Standard, Standard60, Zen, Zen60 and Flow. Hydro jets drain themselves as the tub drains and never cycle on their own.

The microbubble system is separate as well. People sometimes assume it has a similar timer because they have heard the air purge start, but it only responds to its own on and off control, as explained in Is There a Time Limit on How Long the Microbubble Pump Runs?.

One more point on care. Auto Purge clears the air lines, and it does not replace the monthly vinegar flush. Once a month, combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub to 1 inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the jets for 10 minutes, then drain.

When to Ask for Help

A purge that follows the 20 minute rule needs no ticket. If the air keeps starting on its own after the button release and the control box reset, or the blower will not stop after 120 seconds, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Have your serial number, the times the cycles started, a short video of the tub starting, and a photo of the blue control box showing where the pumps and air tubes are plugged in, so the cause can be confirmed quickly.

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

Related Guides

• Why Isn't the Auto Purge Running on My Tub?
• Why Didn't Auto Purge Run, and Does the GFCI Breaker Stop It?

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