Is the Ella Big4Two a walk-in shower or a two-seat bathtub?

The Ella Big4Two is a two-seat walk-in bathtub, not a walk-in shower. It is a 36 by 80 by 40 inch acrylic tub with two molded seats facing each other, an outward-swinging door and a 145 gallon unoccupied capacity, and Ella's product video calls it the largest two-seat walk-in tub available on the market. The shower searches come from how it can be used: the pull-out hand shower, the optional dual rain shower heads and the four-fold glass screen let one bather stand and shower while the other sits. The whole family is walked through in Two-Seat Tubs on Video: Big4Two, Escape, Tub4Two and Companion Walkthroughs; this page pins down what the Big4Two is, what it holds and how it showers.

Why It Is a Bathtub and Not a Shower Stall

Everything on the Big4Two spec sheet describes a tub you fill and sit in. The shell is gloss white acrylic reinforced with fiberglass gelcoat, on a stainless steel frame with adjustable leveling legs. The door is a plastic composite and tempered glass outward-swing door with a three-latch gear and shaft mechanism, which the video describes as closing to a leak-proof, tight seal, and the tub has a low threshold and a textured floor for safe entry. There is a removable front apron with two access panels, one reversible end panel, a wall-mounted stainless steel grab bar in chrome, and two 2 inch four-port PVC drains with two overflows and two stainless steel cable-operated openers with extended chrome handles.

Ella also draws a line between an extra-large bathtub and a two-seat bathtub. A true two-seat tub has two independent bathing spaces, and in the Big4Two each seat has its own jets and its own share of the systems, so both bathers get the same massage from their own seat. The product video says the Big4Two has the largest interior soaking space of any two-seat tub in the industry, and that it has plenty of room for two bathers or for one bather enjoying it alone with feet up on the second seat.

How You Shower in a Big4Two

The accessories video on this page is where the walk-in shower idea comes from. It shows three ways to shower in the tub:

• The four-fold glass screen. The video describes it as a bright and airy alternative to a shower curtain. It can be combined with a three-fold glass screen, and the main product video notes the screen can be set up to fit on both sides of the tub.
• Dual rain shower heads. These provide a soft rain shower at both ends of the tub, so one bather can stand while the other sits safely.
• Dual extendable multi-function hand showers. The alternative to the rain heads, with one hand shower at each end of the tub.

Even without those accessories, the standard fast-fill faucet includes a pull-out, chrome-plated hand shower on a 5 foot retractable stainless steel braided hose with five settings. The faucet fills at up to 16 gallons per minute at 60 PSI under ideal in-home plumbing conditions, and the hand shower is limited to 1.9 gallons per minute. The main video says you can choose Ella's fast-fill 5-piece faucet set or a faucet set of your own choosing, while the spec sheet details the two-piece version, so confirm which faucet is on your order. The brochure callout diagram, which is drawn on a Big4Two, shows where the dual spout, the pull-out hand mixer and the two drain openers sit on the deck.

How Big the Big4Two Is Next to the Other Large Tubs

The figures below come from the Big4Two spec sheet and Ella's published comparison pages. Where a figure is not published in those pages, the cell says so.

What the differences mean: the Big4Two is the longest tub in the table, and it shares the 145 gallon unoccupied capacity of the Escape and the ShaK. Its seats, at 22 and 24 inches, sit between the Companion and the Escape, so the Big4Two spends its extra size on interior length and soaking space rather than on seat width. The Escape gives wider seats behind an inward door in a shorter footprint, and the two-person tub guide and the biggest tub guide compare those trade-offs in more detail. A couple who mainly want the most room to stretch out choose the Big4Two; a couple who mainly want the widest seats look at the Escape.

The Jets and Therapy on Each Seat

The Big4Two spec sheet lists these systems as included:

• Seat hydro massage. A 9 amp, 1250 watt pump feeds 16 upper seat jets, 8 on each seat, with an intensity dial and a digital controller.
• Foot and calf hydro massage. A separate 7 amp, 1000 watt pump drives 4 foot jets and 4 calf jets on an on/off push control, with a 6 amp, 800 watt in-line water heater and ozone sterilization. The video shows a bather using the foot and calf jets on their own without filling the tub.
• Air massage. A 4.5 amp, 500 watt three-speed pump feeds 18 seat jets, 9 on each seat, plus 4 foot jets, with Auto Purge that activates 20 minutes after the pump is turned off to clear water from the system.
• LED chromatherapy. A multicolor 0.5 amp LED bulb on a transformer, run from the digital control pad.

Two options are listed: a MicroBubble therapy system with a 1 HP, 7.3 amp pump, pressure vessel and agitator valve, and a heated seat and backrest, which the video calls heated seats. The brochure diagram labels the footwell as 4 foot hydro jets for each seat, and its Digital Push Control runs the hydro, the three-speed air, the LED light and the foot jets from one pad.

What a Tub This Size Asks of Your Bathroom

• Floor space. The footprint is 36 inches wide by 80 inches long, and the door swings outward, so plan clear floor space in front of the tub for the door and for stepping in.
• Delivery path. The tub ships in a 38 by 82 by 50 inch crate at 531 pounds shipping weight, with a net weight of 328 pounds.
• Electrical. The equipment runs on 115 volt, 60 hertz dedicated GFCI-protected lines, with every fixture on a dedicated GFCI outlet or breaker. Have a licensed electrician plan the circuits before delivery.
• Plumbing. The two independent 2 inch floor drains have four 2 inch ports and install in either direction, with the house drain connected to either or both ports. The faucet supply lines connect to shut-off valves that are not included, and the faucet installs through a 2-1/2 inch hole for the faucet, a 1/3 inch hole for the mounting rods and a 7/8 inch diagonal hole for the hand shower.
• Who does the work. Ella's Bubbles does not send technicians. A local licensed plumber and electrician handle the connections, and the team at (800) 480-6850 or ellasbubbles.com/support can answer their questions about the tub. Have your model and serial number ready.

Related Guides

• Choosing a Two-Seat Walk-In Tub: Companion, Escape, Tub4Two, and Big4Two Compared
• What the Two-Seat Full Package Schematic Shows: Two Foot Pumps, Two HSB Boxes and Three Dedicated Lines (Companion, Escape, Tub4Two, Big4Two)

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