Which Ella walk-in tub package is best for you and what does it include?

The best walk-in tub package is the one whose equipment matches the way you bathe, because the tub shell stays the same whichever package you choose and only the pumps, heater, light and controls underneath change. Ella builds every tub with one of the packages listed in What Comes With Each Therapy Package: Pumps, In-Line Heater, Ozone, Auto Purge, LED, Dials, Pressure Tank and Controls at a Glance: Soaking, Hydro Massage, Air Massage, Hydro plus Air, Hydro plus Independent Foot Massage, Hydro plus Microbubble, or a triple combination on certain models. This guide turns that list into a decision: which package suits which bather, what each one commits you to on the electrical side, and what to settle with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before your tub goes into production.

The Packages Compared

Three things in that table decide most orders. The step from Hydro alone to any dual package is where the LED chromatherapy light appears, so a bather who wants the light needs at least two therapies. The step to microbubble is the one that changes the electrical plan, because that circuit needs its own dedicated line. And foot massage is easy to misread: you are buying a second pump so the foot and calf jets can run separately, not a larger jet count. The Soaking package is not a lesser tub either, since it keeps the same door, seat, faucet, hand shower and drain hardware as the jetted version of the same model.

Start with the Bather, Not the Brochure

Ella's guide to choosing between the tub families reduces the choice to four questions: who is bathing, how much space you have, which door style suits the bathroom, and which therapies you want. The choosing video's chapter on designing your walk-in tub covers the jetting decision between air, hydro and microbubble therapy. Read the packages against the person first.

• Someone who mainly wants a safe door and a seat, with nothing to learn, is well served by the Soaking package.
• Someone who wants to stay warm through a long soak wants a hydro package, because the in-line heater and the ozone generator belong to the hydro system and never to air alone.
• Someone with tired feet and calves wants Hydro plus Independent Foot Massage, where the foot jets sit on their own pump with their own button and dial.
• A couple wants a two-seat model. The second video explains that Ella's two-seat tubs have two separate seats, each with its own jets and its own independent systems, so nobody shares a massage, and it warns not to confuse an extra large tub with a true two-seat tub. It also shows that one person can sit in a two-seat tub alone and rest their feet on the other seat.
• Tall or broad bathers choose the Big4One or ShaK, which ship with the digital-controller Air plus dual Hydro package included, with microbubble optional.
• Anyone who wants to bathe lying down chooses a LayDown, which takes one therapy at a time and has no LED light.
• Someone who stays in a wheelchair or shower chair while bathing may be better served by a roll-in base than by any tub package; see Should I choose a walk-in tub or a roll-in shower?

Model Limits That Narrow the Menu

Most single-seat models offer the full menu, but a few models fix or trim it, as What Is a Therapy Package on a Walk-In Tub? explains. The Deluxe ships as a fixed Air plus Hydro package. The Front Entry has no Hydro plus Foot option and does not offer the LED light with any package. The LayDown tubs take one therapy at a time with no LED. The ShaK and Big4One come with Air plus dual Hydro on the digital controller already included.

Jet counts follow the package rather than the model, which is why spec sheets print jets and electrical lines per package. A Transfer sheet lists 22 hydro jets for the Hydro package and 11 hydro plus 17 air jets for Hydro plus Air, and both figures are correct for their packages. If you compare tubs by jet count alone, make sure you are comparing the same package on each.

What Comes Along with the Package

The package is not the only thing set at order time. The first video explains that when you place an order, the tub is pulled with your name on it and drilled for the faucet you select, whether that is the 2-piece high-flow faucet, the 5-piece high-flow faucet or the TCV faucet, and fitted with the features you chose. If you prefer a wall-mounted faucet, the Waterfall wall-mount faucet is a brass faucet with a 24 inch slider bar and a hand-held shower, offered in matte black, chrome and brushed nickel, and it is roughed into the wall by a licensed plumber before the walls close.

The heated seat and backrest is never bundled into a therapy package. It is a separate add-on, and it is the only electrical item a Soaking tub can carry. The choosing video's accessories chapter lists heated seats, digital controls, headrests and a four-fold glass screen as the optional extras to consider alongside the package.

Settle It Before Production, and Plan the House Around It

The package cannot be changed after the tub is built, so confirm it with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before production starts. Then plan the supplies. The choosing video recommends the maximum capacity water heater available for your house, with anything under 75 gallons not recommended, plus 3/4 inch supply lines with accessible shut-off valves. Your electrician runs the number of dedicated lines your package calls for, with microbubble adding a second line.

Care follows the package too. A hydro tub gets the monthly vinegar flush, 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water added after filling to one inch above the highest jets, run for 10 minutes and drained, plus a pump inlet cover check. An air system self-clears with Auto Purge, which starts automatically about 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off and runs for 120 seconds. A Soaking tub needs neither. Keep the schematic that ships with your tub, because it names your package and its circuits, and support will ask which package is on your order before answering any jets question.

Watch: Two Seat Walk-In Tub with Door: Best for Couples - Voted Best/Safest 2020 | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Which Therapy Combinations Fit Which Tub: Hydro, Air, Microbubble, and Foot Massage by Model
• Electrical requirements by model: dedicated GFCI circuits for your walk-in tub

Common Questions