Are the Heated Seat and In-Line Heater Covered by Ella's Warranty?

Yes. The heated seat and backrest pads and the in-line water heater are both supporting equipment under Ella's Lifetime Limited Warranty, so a part that support verifies as failed ships to the original purchaser at the original installation address without charge for the part. The warranty is parts only: Ella's Bubbles does not send technicians, and your installer or a local licensed electrician or plumber fits the replacement. If the seat has gone cold, start with Heated Seat Not Warming Up: What to Check First and Which Parts Support Ships, because the checks there tell a failed pad from a wiring fault before you file anything.

Why Both Parts Count as Supporting Equipment

Ella's published warranty covers the bathtub shell, frame, door, door seal and finish, and it also covers all supporting equipment: motors, pumps, fixtures, electronic controls, the faucet, the waste and overflow, and plated finishes. That coverage lasts for the life of the tub and is parts only. The heater pads under the seat and behind the backrest, the heater control button and its control box under the tub, and the in-line heater that sits in the hydro plumbing beside the pump all fall inside that list. This is why support ships a heater pad or an in-line heater under the lifetime parts warranty once the fault is verified.

Two exceptions exist in the published terms, and neither touches these parts. The thermostatic control valve that mixes hot and cold water on tubs with an Ella thermostatic faucet package carries a 1-year limited warranty rather than lifetime coverage, and a non-Ella faucet carries only its own manufacturer's warranty. The heated seat and the in-line heater are Ella electrical components, so the lifetime parts term applies to them.

The difference between the rows is not whether a part is covered but how support decides which part to send. A cold pad on one side points to the pad, a dark light points to the button, wire or control box, and a dark heater light with a running pump points to the heater itself. Describing the symptom accurately gets the right part on its way without a second round of questions, and the only component in the table with a shorter term is the thermostatic valve.

What the Warranty Does Not Pay for

• Labor, removal and reinstallation. Ella ships the replacement part but is not liable for incidental expenses or material charges connected with removing or replacing the product or its parts.
• Installation work, plumbing and electrical connections, and water damage to the home.
• Damage from improper or negligent installation, and parts modified or repaired by anyone other than Ella's Bubbles.
• Promises made by a dealer, retailer, distributor or contractor that go beyond the published terms. Ella is not bound by them.

Because labor sits with whoever did the work, ask your installer what warranty they give on their own labor. Ella's technical support is free for the life of the tub and is available to your electrician or plumber by phone or live video while the part is fitted.

Conditions That Keep the Coverage in Force

• Activate the warranty. The 2-page activation form must be completed and signed by both the customer and the installer and returned to Ella's Bubbles, online at ellasbubbles.com/warranty-activation/.
• Same owner, same address. Coverage belongs to the first purchaser at the original installation address, is nontransferable, and is void if ownership changes or the tub is relocated.
• GFCI protection. The warranty requires GFCI protection on the tub's circuit, and protection at either the receptacle or the breaker is sufficient. Every tub with pumps runs on dedicated 20 amp, 120 volt circuits; a soaking tub whose only powered item is the heated seat and backrest is one of the two cases where a 15 amp line is correct.
• Keep the serial number handy. The label is behind the magnetic access panel next to the door, and support confirms the model from it before pulling a part.

Check the Heated Seat Before You File

Press the heater control button and watch for the red light. The first video shows the option in use: push the button once to activate it, switch it on 10 to 15 minutes before you enter the tub, and expect it to turn off by itself after 20 minutes, with a second push starting it again. If the light is on and the seat still feels cool, give it time, because the warmth has to travel through thick acrylic. Open the access panel and feel the pad directly: a pad that is warm while the surface is still cool is working. Some parts of the seat surface feel less warm than others because reinforcement added under the seat thickens the shell there, and that is normal rather than a fault.

A tub with the option carries two pads, one under the seat and one behind the backrest, both wired to the heater control box under the tub, and two-seat models such as the Tub4Two have a pad for each seat. If one pad warms and the other stays cold, the cold pad is the likely fault. If both go cold at once or the light never comes on, the cause is usually the button, its connecting wire or the control box, which is a wiring part rather than a pad. The request steps for a pad are in How Do I Get a Replacement Heated Seat or Back Pad for My Walk-In Tub?.

Check the In-Line Heater Before You File

The in-line heater switches on by itself whenever the hydro pump runs and shows a red indicator light while it is heating, and there is no reset button. Its job is to hold the bath at temperature while the pump circulates water through the jets, not to heat cold water from the tap, so a tub that fills cold is a household hot water question rather than a heater claim. The second video shows the heater working with the water pump to keep the temperature you set at the faucet. Confirm the tub has power and the GFCI has not tripped, start the hydro massage, confirm the pump runs and the jets have pressure, then open the access panel and watch the heater light while the pump runs. If power is present and the pump runs but the light never comes on, or it lights for a few seconds and goes dark while the pump keeps running, the heater has failed and is replaced rather than repaired. Ella has used a straight tube style and a T-style heater, so attach a clear photo of yours and its connections so the right style ships; the full sequence is in In-Line Heater Light Stays Off and the Water Cools: How to Check It and Get a Replacement. Only hydro massage configurations have an in-line heater; soaking-only and air-only tubs never did, as Does My Ella Tub Include an In-Line Heater? explains.

How to File and What Happens Next

1. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850.
2. Give your model, serial number and where you purchased.
3. Describe exactly what happens: no light, a light with no heat, only one area warming, or a heater light that stays dark while the pump runs.
4. Attach photos of the part and its wiring or connections.
5. Confirm the shipping address. The part can go to the tub's address or directly to the installer doing the work.

Every tub is tested before it ships, so on a new installation support first asks exactly what is happening before sending anything. After verification the part ships by parcel carrier and the tracking number is emailed to you. Your installer or a licensed electrician or plumber fits it, and Common Electrical Questions covers the circuit details they may ask about while the panel is open.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: In-line Water Heater Maintains Comfortable Water Temperature with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Videos

Common Questions