Can My Walk-In Tub Use a Horizontal Drain, and Where Is the Access Panel?

Yes, within what your house plumbing allows. The 2 inch T-type floor drain on an Ella walk-in tub has four ports, so the drain pipe can be run in either direction and the connection direction is the installer's choice, with caps fitted on the unused ports. The access panels are on the tub itself: a removable front apron with, on most models, two access panels, plus a reversible end panel, with the pumps, heater and plumbing behind them and the serial number label on the inside of the panel beside the door. How the panels come off is covered in How the Access Panels Attach and What the Suction Cup Tool Is For, and this page covers the drain run and where to find each panel on each model.

How the Drain Can Be Run

On the Ella Standard 30x52 the T-type drain has four 2 inch ports, so the drain pipe can leave in either direction and caps are installed on the unused port side. Reducers can adapt smaller drain pipes. The Big4One installation video shows the same idea, with the installer deciding which ports are most efficient for the house plumbing. A 2 inch main drain is recommended for faster draining, and a T or Y connection into a 1 1/2 inch house drain can also be used. That freedom is what lets a horizontal run work when the house drain comes in from the side rather than straight down beneath the tub.

The one published recessed option is in the Flow manual, which describes recessing the drain below the subfloor. That calls for cutting access in the subfloor and trimming the apron or end panel, so it is a different job from the standard run and worth deciding before the tub arrives. Whether a horizontal run suits your bathroom depends on the model and on your house drain, so give the team the model and serial number at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 and they will go through it with you or your installer.

Two layout rules decide which end the drain leaves from. The door and the drains are on opposite sides of every Ella walk-in tub: a right-side door tub has its drains on the left, and a left-side door tub has its drains on the right, as you face the tub. And the reversible end panel goes on whichever end of the tub is open, covering the plumbing and the frame, so the open end and the drain run are planned together.

Where the Access Panels Are, Model by Model

• Every Ella walk-in tub comes with one reversible end panel that can be placed on either side. If the tub sits in the right corner of the bathroom, the panel goes on the left end, and the reverse if it sits in the left corner. A second end panel is available through your Ella dealer when the tub sits against the back wall with both ends open.
• The front apron is removable and typically carries two easily removable access panels for service access to the plumbing and other components. The Standard 30x52 has two front access panels.
• The Front Entry tub uses two side panels instead, because its seat faces the door.
• On a lay-down tub the access panel is at the front.
• The Ultra has four magnetic panels, and the one beside the door carries the serial number label on its inside face. On every model, look for the serial number on the label behind the access panel next to the door.

Any tub shorter than 60 inches also ships with an extension panel so it fits a standard 60 inch tub alcove, on the right or left side of the tub, and you can opt out of the extra end panel or the extension panel if you do not need it. The video on this page shows how the end panel reverses, where the extension panel goes, and the front apron with its two access panels. It also notes that on older tubs the apron attached with clips, screws, velcro tape or magnets depending on the model. On current Ella tubs every access panel attaches with magnets, the Flow having moved from velcro strips to magnets as well, and the hook-shaped suction cup packed with the tub is the tool for pulling a panel straight off without digging under the edge of the finish.

What Sits Behind the Panels and Why the Space Must Stay Clear

The pumps, the in-line heater and the control boxes live in the equipment compartment under the seat, behind the apron and the end panel, which is why those panels must stay reachable after the tile and surround go in. Ella tubs are plug-in, never hardwired. Each labeled line ends in a standard three-prong plug and goes into its own dedicated, GFCI-protected 20 amp, 120 volt outlet, with the Flow specified for a 15 amp outlet. The best place for that outlet is inside or directly behind the equipment compartment under the seat, so every factory cord reaches without an extension, and many installers put the GFCI at that outlet so it can be reset without pulling the tub apart. Keep other appliances at least 3 feet away and leave the compartment uninsulated. The outlet rules are set out in Where to Put the Outlet: Seat-Side Placement, Cord Reach, the 20 Amp Receptacle, GFCI Under the Tub, and the Three Foot Rule.

Access matters later as much as on installation day. When a part is replaced under the Lifetime Limited Warranty, Ella ships the part and a local licensed plumber or electrician does the work, and they need to reach the compartment through the same panels. A drain run or a finish that blocks the apron turns a simple panel pull into a demolition job.

Planning the Installation Around Drain and Panel Access

1. Settle the door side first. The drains land on the opposite side, which fixes the end the drain leaves from.
2. Decide with your plumber whether the drain leaves through a side port of the T-type drain, with caps on the unused ports, or is recessed below the subfloor as the Flow manual describes.
3. Decide which end of the tub is open and whether a second end panel is needed, and opt out of any panel you will not use.
4. Remove all removable panels, the front apron with its access panels, the end panel and the extension panels, before the tub is moved into the house and into the bathroom.
5. Keep the apron and the open end clear of permanent finishes so the magnetic panels can come off with the suction cup. Wall-mounted grab bars go into studs on the walls, not into the apron, as explained in Where Should Grab Bars Be Installed in a Shower or Around a Bathtub?.

If anything about your drain run is unusual, send the model, the serial number and a photo of the existing drain location to ellasbubbles.com/support before the plumber starts, and the team will confirm the connection for your tub.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Understanding Extension and End Panels with chapters and a full transcript.

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