Do Ella Faucets Come With Supply Lines Included in the Box?

Yes. Both Ella fast-fill faucet sets, the 2-piece and the 5-piece, ship with two 3/4 inch by 5 foot braided supply lines, one for hot and one for cold, plus a third line under the deck that feeds the spout and a 5 foot braided hose for the hand shower. What is not in the box is the shut-off valves and the PVC drain fittings, which your plumber supplies. What Are the Supply Lines on a Walk-In Tub Faucet? describes each line under the deck.

What Ships with the Faucet Set

• Hot supply line and cold supply line: two 3/4 inch by 5 foot braided lines that bring hot and cold water to the faucet valves. Each fast-fill set ships with both.
• Spout line: the line that feeds the spout from the valves. It is a separate line from the hot and cold supplies.
• Hand mixer line: the hand shower hose, a separate part of its own. On both fast-fill sets the hand shower rides on a 5 foot braided hose with a back-flow prevention valve.

Both sets are deck-mount faucets designed for high flow. The 2-piece set fills at 16 gallons per minute and the 5-piece set at 18 gallons per minute, which is why the lines are sized at 3/4 inch rather than the 1/2 inch lines found on older faucets. The hot water supply video on this page ends with the same reminder: when you order an Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet set, 5 foot supply lines are included.

What Is Not Included, and What Your Plumber Brings

Shut-off valves are not included with the tub, and neither are PVC drain fittings. Your plumber supplies them, and it is worth planning easily accessible shut-off valves near the tub so the lines can be isolated later for a cartridge change or a line replacement. Ella's hot water guidance recommends 3/4 inch supply lines to the tub with easily accessible shut-off valves, and a 5 foot line only reaches as far as the rough-in you give it, so have the plumber confirm the stub-out positions against the faucet location before the tub arrives.

The same video covers hot water capacity. Ella recommends the maximum capacity hot water heater available for your house, anything less than 75 gallons is not recommended, and a professionally installed high-capacity heater is advised for consistent hot water, especially with the larger tubs. A fast-fill faucet only fills fast when the supply keeps up with it, so the lines, the valves and the heater all belong in the same conversation with your plumber.

Where to Find the Lines When the Tub Arrives

Supply lines travel inside the crate like every other small item. They are individually wrapped, boxed and placed inside the tub or under the frame before the tub is crated, and the hand shower hose ships with the faucet set. If a line seems to be missing, look inside the tub and under the frame first. If it truly is not there, photograph the packing, keep all packaging material and report it within 48 hours of receipt. A line that arrived kinked or with a poorly crimped end is a defect, and the replacement ships at no charge once the team has a photo or a short video showing the problem. Have your plumber shut off the supply valves before removing any line.

Older Faucets, Replacements and Non-Ella Tubs

Current 2-piece and 5-piece fast-fill faucets use 3/4 inch supply lines, which the team normally has on hand. Older Ella faucets used 1/2 inch NPT lines, which are standard fittings you can pick up at a hardware store, or you can use a 3/4 inch line with a 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch reducer. One caution before shopping locally: on some faucets the line is reverse-threaded at the faucet end, so send the team a photo first to be sure a store-bought line will fit. Sizes, threads and how to identify the right line are in Replacement Hot and Cold Faucet Supply Lines: Sizes, Threads and Where to Get Them.

If a discontinued faucet is being replaced with the 5-Piece Fast Fill set, the new set arrives with its 3/4 inch lines while the check valves under the tub may have 1/2 inch connections. Your plumber fits a 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch NPT adapter, a standard plumbing part, and you can keep the existing spout and hand sprayer and change only the handles and valves. That changeover is covered in Replacing Your Walk-In Tub Faucet Set, Valves or Hand Mixer.

The fast-fill sets are also available on their own, and both come with 5 foot supply lines when ordered through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. On a tub that is not an Ella, plan how those lines will reach the faucet, because the space below the deck may be limited on a sunken or concrete-set tub and the lines have to be routed before the tub is enclosed. Installing the Ella Fast-Fill Faucet on a Tub That Is Not an Ella lists what to check with your contractor.

Shower Columns and Second Faucets

The Ella shower column attaches to the 5-piece faucet rather than to the house plumbing directly. The shower column install video on this page shows the sequence: the column base seats in the pre-drilled deck hole with silicone and its washers, the elbow joint and the column's supply line attach to the base, and that supply line connects to the underside of the 5-piece faucet set. The hand shower extension hose then attaches to the elbow joint. The video recommends 7 inches of clearance from the tub deck to the center of the on-off lever, and warns that over-tightening damages the rubber washer and could cause a leak.

On the Tub4Two, a second faucet can be requested at the time of order so each bather has a spout close at hand, and your plumber ties both faucets into the hot and cold supply. Adding a faucet does not change the drain layout, but the plumber must plan hot and cold supply for two faucet locations rather than one and combine both onto the home's water supply, which is additional work to write into the installer's scope. Adding a Second Faucet to the Tub4Two: What Changes for Ordering and Plumbing explains the ordering side.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Determining Correct Hot Water Supply For A Walk-In Tub with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Do I need 3/4 inch supply lines for the Ella fast-fill faucet?

Common Questions