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 pump is switched off. The timing is fixed: there is no button for the purge, no setting that shortens or lengthens the delay, and no way to stop a cycle once it has begun. What Is Auto Purge on a Walk-In Tub? explains why the cycle exists. This page covers the exact timing, what you can and cannot adjust, and how to keep the purge from landing in the middle of a soak.

The Two Numbers That Matter

The cycle has two parts, and owners often mix them up. The delay is the wait between the moment the air pump is turned off and the moment the blower restarts. The run time is how long the blower then runs before it shuts itself off.

• Delay: about 20 minutes after the air pump is switched off. The countdown begins when the air shuts off, not when it is turned on. Some printed manuals say the purge fires after the pump is turned on, and that is a known wording error.
• Run time: 120 seconds, which is two minutes. The blower pushes the water that drained back into the air piping out through the jets in the seat, at the base of the seat and in the footwell, then stops on its own.

Older Ella videos quote a shorter delay of 15 minutes, and one walkthrough of the Ultimate puts it between 15 and 30 minutes. The published figure is 20 minutes, and that is the number to plan around. The video on this page shows Ella's air jet placement and states the 20 minute figure, along with the reason for the cycle: clearing leftover moisture so mold and mildew cannot take hold in the lines.

Why the Timing Cannot Be Changed

The purge is built into the air system rather than offered as an owner setting. The deck buttons and the digital touchpad run the hydro massage, the air massage, the microbubble system and the light, and none of them touches the purge. There is no menu, dial, or hold-to-cancel command for it. Because the cycle exists to blow water out of the air lines before mildew can grow, it is designed to run after every air bath and to finish once it has started, even if you are still sitting in the tub. The air feels cool for two minutes and then stops. There is no harm in staying put, and if you would rather leave, drain and exit normally while it runs.

The only thing that prevents a purge is a lack of power. The cycle runs as long as the tub has power, so switching off the tub's dedicated GFCI breakers at the panel would stop it, as How Do I Turn the Jets Off in an Emergency? notes. That is not a good routine. Water flows back into the air piping after every air bath, and if it sits there it can grow mold and mildew, which is exactly what the purge is there to prevent. Let it run.

Two related points keep expectations straight. Auto Purge clears the air lines and ozone sanitizes the hydro lines, but neither replaces the monthly vinegar flush: combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub to one inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain. And the purge is one of the normal sounds an Ella tub makes, because it can run after the tub has already drained and you have left the room.

What You Can Control: When the Countdown Starts

Although the clock itself is fixed, you decide when it starts, because the 20 minute countdown begins the moment the air pump is switched off. Every time the air is turned on and then off, even for a few seconds, the countdown restarts from that shutoff. That is the lever most owners are really asking for, and it needs no settings at all.

1. Fill first, then start the air. Turn the air massage on once the tub is at bathing level, so the shutoff and the purge both fall after you have finished.
2. Turn the air off when you are done, not before. On push controls the first press is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low, and the fourth turns the system off. The countdown starts at that fourth press.
3. Skip the test press. Switching the air on for a moment before the bath, perhaps to check it works, restarts the timer and can put the purge right in the middle of the soak. Why Did the Auto Purge Come On While I Was Filling the Tub? walks through that exact case.
4. Space back-to-back baths. If a second bath begins less than 20 minutes after the first bather turned the air off, the purge from the first bath will arrive during the second. Waiting for the two minute cycle to finish before refilling avoids it.

The cycle runs whether the tub is full, empty or still filling. Water at bath level does not interfere with it, and it does not interfere with the water.

Which Tubs Purge and Which Never Will

Only tubs with the air massage package have Auto Purge. Any Ella tub ordered with the three-speed air massage has it, whether the air came alone, as Hydro plus Air, or in a triple package, which covers air packages on the stainless-door, Ultra, outward-swing, two-seat, Transfer and LayDown families. Hydro-only and soaking tubs have no air blower and therefore no purge cycle; that 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 different again. Its pump has no timer and no automatic shutoff, so it runs until you press its control to stop it, as Is There a Time Limit on How Long the Microbubble Pump Runs? explains. Owners who have heard the air purge sometimes assume the microbubble pump has a similar cycle. It does not, and it only responds to its own on and off control.

When the Timing Is Wrong

Because the delay and run time are fixed, anything that does not match them is worth a closer look. One two minute burst about 20 minutes after the air was shut off is the purge working as designed. These patterns are not:

• 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, such as three purges in an hour, or restarts every 10 minutes or every 1 to 2 hours. That points to a chrome push button stuck in the down position, which keeps sending its air signal to the control box, or to a control box fault. A 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. Also note whether the air pump is plugged into the top of the blue control 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? covers the button release and the control box reset.
• The purge never seems to happen after an air bath. The team can check the air pump.

If the air still starts outside the single purge cycle after the button release and the box reset, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Include your serial number, the times the cycles started, a short video showing the time between starts, and a photo of the blue control box with its cords and air tubes, so the team can confirm the cause and ship any part needed under the warranty for a local licensed electrician to fit.

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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