Will a Hardware Store Hand Shower Hose or Head Fit an Ella Faucet?

The team asks that you not put a generic hardware store hand shower head on an Ella fast-fill faucet, because hoses and handsets are matched to your faucet set, and the same goes for the 5 foot hose that carries the head. Both parts are available as matched replacements through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, and the wand can be swapped on its own without touching the hose, deck mount or faucet. Where a hardware store does come in handy is below the deck and for cosmetic covers, which this page sorts out after the summary in Which Handheld Shower Head Is Best for an Ella Walk-In Tub?.

What the Ella Hand Shower Is, and Why It Is Matched

Every Ella fast-fill faucet set, whether the 2-piece or the 5-piece, includes an extendable multi-function hand shower with five spray settings on a 5 foot retractable hose. Flow is limited to 1.9 GPM by plumbing code. On the 2-piece set you push the diverter button to send water to the hand shower, and on the 5-piece set you turn the diverter handle. The hose ships with the faucet set and carries a back-flow prevention valve, and a small blue check valve sits inside the head where it threads onto the hose. Those two valves help protect your home's water supply, which is one reason the handset and hose are treated as a matched pair rather than as generic plumbing.

The handset threads onto the end of the hose by hand, so a cracked, squealing or side-spraying wand can be replaced on its own while the hose, deck mount and faucet stay in place. A crack above the threading cannot be repaired, and the answer in that case is a matched wand rather than the nearest head on the store shelf. If you bought the tub years ago, the team can look up your original order to identify the right handheld for your faucet set.

What to Check Before You Buy Anything

1. Unscrew the head from the hose by hand and look inside the threads for the washer and the small blue check valve. A missing washer or check valve is a common reason water sprays sideways at that joint, and neither problem calls for a new head.
2. If a washer is missing, the team can send just the washer. Hose connections on a fast-fill faucet use chrome or opaque washers, so photograph the other washers still in place on the same part so the style and color can be matched, as described in Missing or Worn Faucet Hose Washer? How to Get a Matching Replacement.
3. If the wand itself is cracked or still sprays out the side with the washer and check valve in place, contact your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support, with your tub model, a photo of the wand and a photo of the faucet.
4. If the hose is cracked or its fitting is split, request the whole hose rather than a washer. The hand shower hose, sometimes called the hand mixer line, is a separate part from the hot, cold and spout lines under the deck, so say clearly that it is the hand shower hose you need.

Where Hardware Store Parts Do Fit

The picture changes once you look under the deck. Current 2-piece and 5-piece fast-fill faucets use 3/4-inch supply lines, which the team normally has on hand. Older faucets used 1/2-inch NPT lines, and those are standard fittings you can pick up at a hardware store. You can also fit a 3/4-inch line with a 3/4-inch to 1/2-inch reducer from the same store. There is one caution before you shop locally: on some faucets the line is reverse-threaded at the faucet end, so a generic line may not thread on. Send the team a photo of the actual line, including the end that connects to the faucet, before buying. 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.

Cosmetic covers are the other place a hardware store helps. Ella does not offer plugs for the two towel bar holes on the deck, so owners who cannot install the bar cover them with a sticker or a similar small cover that tolerates water and sits flat. The hand shower deck hole is different: there is no plug for it either, but if you move the hand shower hose to a wall mount, the Leak Elimination Kit is the part the team recommends for that hole so nothing drips onto the deck or behind the tub. Both situations are covered in Unused Towel Bar or Hand Shower Holes on the Deck: Are Plugs Available?.

If What You Really Want Is a Different Shower

Owners who ask about a store-bought head are often after a taller or more traditional shower rather than a replacement wand. Ella's answer for that is the shower column kit, which is designed for deck-mounted faucets and connects to any Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet set. The video on this page shows the installation: the existing hand shower is removed, the shower column base attachment goes into the vacant receptacle, the water supply line is replaced, and a new one-half inch supply line is attached to the diverter on the faucet set. The column carries a height-adjustable, five-setting multi-function hand shower that tilts and swivels, plus a large overhead rain shower head. The rain head reaches a maximum height of approximately 90 inches, with 14 inches of adjustment to bring it down to approximately 76 inches, so it works for a standing or a seated shower. Because the kit is built around the Ella diverter and receptacle, it gives you an overhead shower without any guesswork about whether generic threads will match.

Keeping the Matched Parts Working

• Rinse the tub with the hand shower after your bath and let the hose retract into its deck mount rather than leaving it kinked over the deck edge.
• Have your plumber shut off the supply valves before removing any line under the deck, and plan easily accessible shut-off valves near the tub so lines can be isolated later.
• Keep your serial number handy for any ticket. It is on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door.
• A line with a poorly crimped end, or one that arrived kinked, is a defect, and the replacement ships at no charge once the team has a photo or a short video showing the problem.

Watch: Shower Column Kit for Walk-In Tubs: Two in One - Tub & Shower Combination | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Replacing Your Walk-In Tub Faucet Set, Valves or Hand Mixer

Common Questions