What are the features and dimensions of the Ella Front Entry tub?

The Ella Front Entry is the shortest walk-in tub in the Ella's Bubbles line, with an actual size of 32 inches wide by 40 inches long by 40 inches high and an outward-swing U-shape door set into the end of the tub instead of the side. It weighs 200 pounds empty, holds 70 gallons unoccupied, seats the bather on a 25 inch wide seat, and can be ordered as a soaker or with hydro massage, air plus hydro, or hydro plus microbubble therapy. Because it fits a space only 40 inches long and passes narrow doorways, it is one of the two models the team recommends for single-wide manufactured homes, as explained in Are walk-in tubs a good option for mobile homes?.

Dimensions, Weight and Water Capacity

The figures below are the imperial values printed on the current Front Entry spec sheet, which are the authoritative specifications for the model.

• Actual size: 32 inches wide, 40 inches long, 40 inches high.
• Shipping size: 35 by 43 by 43 inches. This is the crate your installer or helpers must bring through the front door and hallway, so measure that path against it before delivery day.
• Net weight: 200 pounds. Shipping weight: 280 pounds.
• Seat width: 25 inches.
• Water capacity: 70 gallons unoccupied, and 25 to 55 gallons with a bather seated, because the bather displaces part of the water.

The 40 inch length is what sets the Front Entry apart. The Capri, another model in the outward U-door family, is 30 by 52 by 40 inches, and even the Ella Mobile, the smallest tub in the line, is 45 inches long. An alcove or corner that is too short for either of them can still take a Front Entry. The 40 inch height matches the Capri, so the shorter footprint does not mean a shallower seated soak. Water weighs about 8.34 pounds per gallon, which means a full Front Entry concentrates the weight of the shell, the water and the bather onto a small footprint. The floor beneath it must be level, able to carry all three loads together and meet local code, and in a manufactured home or on an older wood floor a contractor or engineer should confirm the joists before the tub is ordered.

The End-Mounted Outward U-Shape Door

The Front Entry shares its door platform with the Capri, Monaco, Mobile, Lounger, ShaK and Big4One: a plastic composite and tempered glass outward-swing door that opens 165 degrees and locks with a 3-latch gear and shaft mechanism. The video on this page shows the door and describes the three latch gear and shaft design as what gives the tub its tight, leak-proof seal, along with the low threshold and textured floor that every Ella walk-in tub has for safe entry. The difference on the Front Entry is where the door sits. It is mounted in the 32 inch end wall, so you walk up to the end of the tub and step straight in rather than approaching from the side, which is how the model got its name. The whole outward U-door family is shown on video in Outward U-Door Tubs on Video: Capri, Monaco, Lounger, Front Entry, Mobile, Big4One and ShaK.

Two planning points follow from that layout. First, an outward U-shape door needs about 21 inches of clear floor in front of it to open, and on the Front Entry that clearance is needed at the end of the tub, not along its side. Second, the tub ships with two removable access side panels, so it can stand against a single wall or in a corner with its exposed sides finished, and the panels come off for access to the plumbing underneath. The video points to those removable side panels as the reason the tub is easy to place anywhere in the bathroom. Because the door is on the end, have your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 confirm the door orientation and the drain side against your bathroom drawing before you order.

Drain, Faucet and What Comes in the Box

Unlike most Ella walk-in tubs, which ship with two 4-port drains, the Front Entry has a single 2 inch, 2-port PVC drain. It comes with one end cap for the unused port, two overflows, and two stainless steel operated drain openers with extended handles in a chrome finish. The video describes it as an oversized 2 inch drain with an emergency pull chain for fast, efficient draining. The cap is installed on whichever port is not connected, and reducers can adapt the drain to a smaller house drain pipe. The PVC connections themselves are not included.

The faucet is a 2-piece fast fill set rather than the 5-piece deck set found on the Capri and other larger models. It delivers up to 16 gallons per minute at 60 PSI under ideal in-home plumbing conditions and ships with two 5 foot, 3/4 inch water supply lines and a pull-out hand shower in chrome with a 5 foot retractable stainless steel braided hose. The supply lines connect to shut-off valves, which are not included. The video adds that the two-piece faucet is offered in chrome or in a brushed nickel finish and that the hand shower is an extendable multifunction type.

Every package, including the soaker, includes the gloss white acrylic shell reinforced with fiberglass gelcoat, a stainless steel frame with adjustable leveling legs, the outward swing door, the two access side panels and the drain hardware described above. The warranty line printed on the sheet is the lifetime limited warranty on the shell, frame, door and parts to the original purchaser at the original address. Labor and installation are not covered, and a non-Ella faucet carries only its manufacturer's warranty.

Therapy Packages and Electrical

The Front Entry spec sheet lists four ways to order the tub: Air + Hydro, Hydro Massage + Microbubble, Hydro Massage, and Soaking. Two things stand out. There is no Hydro + Independent Foot Massage package on this model, and the LED chromatherapy light is not included with any Front Entry package, which differs from the dual packages on larger tubs. If a separate foot massage pump or a colored light matters to you, look at the Capri or another larger U-door model.

The systems are printed as follows:

• Hydro massage: 7 amp pump, 13 jets (11 seat jets and 2 calf jets), intensity dial air control, on/off push control, ozone sterilization rated 0.04 amps, and a 6 amp, 650 watt in-line water heater. The video notes that the intensity dial lets you set the hydro massage level to suit your comfort.
• Air massage: 4.5 amp, 500 watt three-speed pump, 16 jets (10 seat jets and 6 foot jets), on/off push control, and auto purge, which starts automatically 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off and runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. It cannot be stopped and is normal even if it begins while you are still in the tub.
• Microbubble therapy: 1 HP pump at 7.3 amps with a pressure vessel, agitator valve and on/off push control.

The optional comfort features are the heated seat and backrest and a digital controller, both chosen when the tub is ordered. All electrical fixtures connect to a dedicated GFCI protected outlet or a GFCI protected circuit breaker on a 110/120 volt, 60 Hz line, and the sheet warns that pump amp values can change based on availability, so have the team verify them before purchase so your electrician sizes the circuits correctly.

Who the Front Entry Suits

The Front Entry is the tub to consider when length is the tight dimension, or when the only way to approach the tub is from its end. The video introduces it as the perfect size for a smaller bathroom or a smaller home while still giving a comfortable oversized seat for larger bathers, and the 25 inch seat on the spec sheet is wider than the 19 to 20 inch seat of the Ella Mobile, the other compact model the team recommends. Its outward-swing door also eases entry for a bather who would struggle to stand inside the tub and close an inward door past the knees, which is one of the first questions covered in How Do I Choose the Right Walk-In Tub for Mobility Issues?. If your space is longer and you want to stretch out or sit deeper, the Longer, Deluxe, Monaco and TransferXXL are profiled in Walk-in Tub Model Highlights: Longer, Deluxe, Monaco, and Transfer XXL.

Watch: Front Entry Walk-In Tub, Acrylic, Outward Swing Door & Low Step Entry | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Your Outward-Swing Door Owner's Manual, Section by Section, With the Corrections to Know (Capri, Monaco, Front Entry, Mobile, Lounger, Shak, Big4One)
• Monaco vs. Capri: What Actually Differs Between Ella's Two Outward-Swing 52-Inch Tubs
• How Wide Is the Door Opening? Published Door Widths, Swing Arcs and Clearance by Door Family

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