A leak at the drain elbow under an Ella walk-in tub usually traces back to the elbow being overtightened when the tub was installed, and the repair is a replacement elbow fitted without the same mistake. The drain pipes themselves are standard 1 1/2 inch PVC, so a plumber can cut and re-join them with ordinary couplings, and complete drain assemblies are available when more than the elbow is damaged. This article explains what to look for, what to photograph and what Ella's Bubbles supplies. Slow draining, the house-drain connection choices and tracing water under the tub are covered in their own articles.

Why the Elbow Cracked

When the team reviews photos of a cracked or weeping drain elbow, the finding has been overtightening during installation. Forcing a plastic fitting down with a wrench stresses the material and can produce a hairline crack that may not show itself until the tub has been used a few times. For that reason the instruction that goes with every replacement elbow is simple: snug, not forced. Do not overtighten the new one.

What to Photograph

• The elbow itself, close enough to show the crack or the wet spot.
• A wider shot of the drain assembly so the team can see which side of the tub and which port the elbow is on.
• The connection to the house drain, including any T or Y fitting the installer used.

Send the photos with your serial number (on the label behind the magnetic access panel by the door), whether you are the original owner, and a street address for UPS. The team will confirm whether you need just the elbow or more of the assembly. The replacement parts article lists everything a parts ticket should include.

Standard PVC That a Plumber Can Work with

The drain pipes under the tub are standard 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe. If a section is damaged, or an installer needs to reroute a run, the pipes can be cut and reconnected with standard couplings from any plumbing supplier. There is nothing proprietary about the pipe, only about the drain body and its fittings, which come from the team. Where the tub's 2 inch drain outlet meets 1 1/2 inch house plumbing, connecting the 2 inch drain to 1.5 inch plumbing shows the reducer and the straight-down exit.

What Is Available

• A replacement drain elbow.
• A replacement drain plug on its own.
• The entire drain assembly, including for older Standard tubs with a single drain.

The team does not recommend swapping the factory drain assembly for an aftermarket one in a different finish. The holes for the drain are already drilled to the Ella assembly, and removing it creates leak risks and voids the warranty on the affected parts. Drains and overflows are available in chrome. Owners of older or discontinued tubs will find the legacy options in parts for older and discontinued Ella tubs.

How the Drain System Is Laid Out

The video shows why there are several ports under the tub. Where the industry standard is a single 1 1/2 inch drain, most Ella tubs use two oversized 2 inch drains, each with a four-port T-type body. The house drain can be connected to any of the four ports, and the unused ports are capped, which is what the installer in the video did when choosing two of the four. A 2 inch main drain is recommended for ideal draining, but a T or Y connection into a 1 1/2 inch house drain also works, and your installer determines which side is the most effective way to connect. The drains are gravity driven with no pump, so there is nothing electrical in the drain path to fail, and a standard-size tub drains in about 80 seconds under ideal conditions. One published fact to keep straight: the door and the drains are on opposite sides of the tub. A right-side door means the drains are on the left, and a left-side door puts them on the right, as you face the tub. Plumbing and drain configurations and plumbing common questions cover P-traps, T versus Y and center drains.

After the Repair

Fill the tub a few inches and open the drains while you watch the elbow and the house connection, then run each pump for a few minutes if the tub has therapy systems and check the connections again. Snug, not forced, is the rule for every plastic fitting. If water is appearing under the tub and the elbow is dry, the article on finding the source of water under the tub takes you through the other connections, and if the tub empties slowly after the repair, tub drains slowly lists the checks. A drain that will not open or close at all is a cable matter: see drain cable replacement.

Common Questions

For anything specific to your model, serial number or drain, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 and the Ella's Bubbles team will confirm the exact part.