How long does the auto purge run and can I change it?

The Auto Purge on an Ella air massage tub starts on its own about 20 minutes after the air pump is switched off, runs for 120 seconds, and then stops by itself. There is no setting, button or timer adjustment for it, so the delay and the run time cannot be shortened, pushed back or cancelled. What the cycle is for is explained in What Is Auto Purge on a Walk-In Tub?, and this page covers the exact timing, what you can and cannot control, and how to plan a bath so the purge lands after you are done.

The Two Figures That Describe the Cycle

Every Ella tub ordered with the three-speed air massage purges the same way, whether the air came on its own, as hydro plus air, or as part of a triple package. Two figures describe the whole cycle.

• The delay is about 20 minutes, counted from the moment the air pump is switched off. The countdown does not begin when you turn the air on or when you open the drain. A few printed manuals say the purge fires after the pump is turned on, which is a known wording error.
• The run time is 120 seconds. The air pump starts by itself, blows air through the air jets on the seat and floor, and stops by itself after two minutes.

The reason for the wait is practical. After an air bath a little water flows back into the air piping and into the jets on the floor and seat. If it stayed there it could grow mold and mildew, so the system gives the water time to settle back and then pushes it out through the jets. While it runs the tub sounds like it has started again, and if you are still in the water you feel a burst of air from the jets. The video on this page shows the air jetting layout and states that the purge activates 20 minutes after the tub is turned off.

What Cannot Be Changed, and Why That Is Fine

Owners ask three versions of the same question: can the delay be shortened so the purge finishes before they get out, can it be pushed back so it never lands during a soak, and can it be switched off altogether. The answer to all three is no. The purge has no button of its own. The deck push buttons or the digital touchpad run the hydro, air, microbubble and light, and none of them addresses the purge. Its timing is built in, there is no way to retime it, and once it has started it cannot be interrupted. It stops on its own after 120 seconds.

That is less of a problem than it sounds. Water at bath level does not interfere with the cycle, there is no harm in staying in the tub while it runs, and you can drain and exit normally even while the air is blowing. A purge arriving on schedule is a sign the system is doing exactly what it should. The only thing that keeps a scheduled purge from running is a tub with no power, because the cycle runs as long as the tub has power. Switching the tub's dedicated GFCI breakers off is the way to remove all power in an emergency, as covered in How Do I Turn the Jets Off in an Emergency?, and it is not a routine way to skip a purge.

Planning a Bath Around the Countdown

Because the trigger is the air pump being switched off, you control when the purge arrives by controlling when you turn the air off. A short sequence keeps it out of your bath.

1. Do not test the air before the bath. Running the air for even a moment and then stopping it starts the 20 minute countdown, and the purge will arrive in the middle of the soak.
2. Fill the tub, then turn the air massage on. The first press gives high speed, the second medium, the third low, and the fourth press turns the system off.
3. Turn the air off when you are done. Counted from that moment, the purge arrives about 20 minutes later, after you have finished.
4. Leave a gap between back-to-back baths. If a second fill begins less than 20 minutes after the first bath's air was shut off, the purge from the first bath lands during the second one.
5. If it arrives anyway, let it run. It is two minutes long and there is nothing to press.

The mid-bath case, including a cool mist blowing before the bath is over, is worked through in Why Did the Auto Purge Come On While I Was Filling the Tub?.

When the Timing Looks Wrong

One cycle, starting about 20 minutes after shutoff and lasting about two minutes, is the normal pattern. Anything else is worth a closer look.

• The blower runs continuously instead of stopping after 120 seconds. Switch the tub off at the breaker and open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support. A stuck relay or the control box is the usual cause.
• The air starts repeatedly, every 10 minutes or every hour or two, with no one touching the buttons. Look at the chrome push buttons for one sitting down instead of popping back up. That button is air locked: disconnect its red air tube at the control box so the button pops up, then reconnect the tube. If the starts continue, run the control box reset and note whether the air pump is plugged into the top of the box or straight into the wall, because a pump plugged into the wall runs whenever it has power. Why Did My Walk-In Tub Turn On by Itself? walks through these checks.
• Three purges in one hour. That is not the single cycle and points to a stuck push button or a control box fault rather than the timer.
• No purge at all after an air bath. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can check the air pump with you.

For any of these, 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 plug in, so the team can confirm the cause.

Which Tubs Purge and Which Do Not

Auto Purge exists only where there is an air blower. Air packages on the stainless-door, Ultra, outward-swing, two-seat, Transfer and LayDown families all have it. Hydro-only and soaking tubs, including the Standard, Standard60, Zen, Zen60 and Flow, have no air blower and never cycle on their own, because hydro jets drain themselves as the tub drains. The microbubble pump is different again. It has no timer and no automatic shutoff and runs until you press its control, which is explained in Is There a Time Limit on How Long the Microbubble Pump Runs?. Finally, the purge clears the air lines and ozone sanitizes the hydro lines, but neither replaces the monthly vinegar flush: 2 cups of white vinegar and 2 cups of water, the tub filled to 1 inch above the highest jets, the jets run for 10 minutes, then drained.

Related Guides

• Why Isn't the Auto Purge Running on My Tub?
• Why Do My Air Jets Not Work Even Though the Auto Purge Still Runs?

Related Videos

Common Questions