How Long Does Auto Purge Run After a Bath, and Can I Change It?

The Auto Purge on an Ella air massage tub runs for 120 seconds, which is two minutes, and it starts on its own about 20 minutes after the air pump is switched off. The timing is fixed. There is no button for the purge, it cannot be stopped partway, and there is no way to retime it. What Is Auto Purge on a Walk-In Tub? explains the feature itself. This page is about the clock: how long, when, what restarts the countdown, and the one part of the timing you really do control.

The Two Numbers That Define the Cycle

Auto Purge has two figures, a wait and a run. The wait is about 20 minutes, counted from the moment the air pump is turned off. The run is 120 seconds of the blower pushing air through the air jets, after which the system shuts itself off. That is the whole cycle, and on a healthy tub it happens once per air bath.

The run exists for a good reason. After an air bath, a little water flows back into the air piping and into the jets on the floor and seat. Left sitting there, that water could grow mold and mildew. Two minutes of air pushes it back out through the jets so the lines dry out before the next bath.

Two details about the trigger are worth knowing because they cause confusion:

• The countdown starts when the air pump is switched off, not when it is switched on. Some printed manuals say the purge fires after the pump is turned on, which is a known wording error.
• One older video narration gives a shorter wait before the purge begins. The figure to go by is about 20 minutes after shutoff, followed by the 120 second run.

Can You Change, Shorten or Skip the Purge?

No. The purge is fully automatic. The deck push buttons or the digital touchpad run the hydro massage, the air massage, the microbubbles and the light, and none of them belongs to the purge. There is no setting that makes it arrive sooner or later, or run shorter or longer. Once it starts, it cannot be interrupted. It simply finishes its two minutes and stops.

That is less of a limitation than it sounds, because nothing about the purge asks anything of you:

• It runs whether the tub is full, empty or still filling. Water at bath level does not interfere with it.
• If it starts while you are still in the tub, there is no need to get out and no harm in staying. You will feel a burst of air through the jets, sometimes as a cool mist.
• If you would like to leave while it runs, drain and exit normally. The tub will sound like it is still running, but it is only the purge doing its job.

The purge does need power. An air massage tub still runs its two minute Auto Purge about 20 minutes after the air was switched off, as long as it has power. If you ever cut everything at the panel, as described in How Do I Turn the Jets Off in an Emergency?, keep in mind that the purge is what dries the air lines after a bath.

What You Can Control: When the Countdown Starts

The one part of the timing in your hands is the moment the air pump goes off, because every shutoff starts a fresh countdown. On the three-speed push control, the first press is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low, and the fourth press turns the system off. On the touchpad, holding the air icon for two seconds turns it off. That fourth press, or that two second hold, is when the 20 minutes begin.

This is why the purge sometimes seems to arrive at a strange moment. Two everyday habits explain nearly all of those surprises:

• Running the air for a moment before the bath, perhaps to test it, restarts the countdown, so the purge can land right in the middle of the soak.
• Starting a second bath less than 20 minutes after the first one ended means the purge from the earlier bath arrives during the second fill.

A simple sequence keeps the purge out of your bath time:

1. Fill the tub first, without touching the air button.
2. Turn the air massage on once the tub is filled.
3. Turn it off when you are done, so the purge arrives after you have finished.
4. If the purge does catch you mid bath, let it run its 120 seconds and carry on bathing.

The symptom-by-symptom version of this is in Why Did the Auto Purge Come On While I Was Filling the Tub?.

Normal Timing Versus a Pattern Worth a Ticket

Because the cycle is fixed, the clock is also your best diagnostic tool. Time what you hear and compare it with the table.

What the differences mean for you is straightforward. A single two minute run on schedule is the system working exactly as designed, and needs no ticket even when it arrives mid bath. Anything that repeats outside that one cycle is a control issue rather than a timer setting, and no adjustment on your side will retime it.

The first check for repeated starts is the chrome push buttons. A button that sits down instead of popping back up is air locked and keeps sending its signal to the control box. Disconnect its red air tube at the control box so the button pops up, then reconnect the tube. It also helps to note whether the air pump is plugged into the top of the control box or straight into the wall, because a pump plugged into the wall runs whenever it has power. Why Did My Walk-In Tub Turn On by Itself? walks through those checks in order.

If the starts continue, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Include your serial number, the times the cycles started, a short video showing the time between starts, and a photo of the blue control box showing where the pumps and air tubes are plugged in.

Which Systems Purge, and Which Have No Timer at All

Only the air system purges. Any Ella tub ordered with the three-speed air massage has Auto Purge, whether the air system came alone, as Hydro plus Air, or in a triple package. Hydro-only and soaking tubs have no air blower and therefore no purge cycle, which includes the Standard, Standard60, Zen, Zen60 and Flow. Hydro jets drain themselves as the tub drains and never cycle on their own.

The other pumps work differently:

• Hydro massage is one press on and one press off, and the in-line heater runs only while the hydro pump runs.
• The microbubble pump has no time limit and no automatic shutoff, as Is There a Time Limit on How Long the Microbubble Pump Runs? explains. It only responds to its own on and off control.

So if a tub starts by itself about 20 minutes after a bath, it is the air system you are hearing, not the hydro or microbubble pump.

The purge does not replace routine cleaning. Auto Purge clears the air lines, but the monthly vinegar flush still applies:

1. Combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water.
2. Fill the tub to 1 inch above the highest jets and add the mixture.
3. Run the jets for 10 minutes, then drain.

What the Videos Show

The first video introduces the three-speed air massage with Auto Purge and states that the purge activates 20 minutes after the tub is turned off, clearing leftover moisture to prevent mold and mildew. The second video demonstrates the button sequence, a gentle push for high, a second for medium, a third for low and a fourth to shut the system off. It then explains that the purge runs for 2 minutes even if you are still bathing, with no cause for concern. Its narration gives a shorter wait than the current figure, so go by about 20 minutes. It also reminds owners not to push the buttons too hard, and that a gentle push with the palm of the hand works for anyone with arthritis or limited mobility.

Watch: Walk-In Tub With Air Massage & Auto-Purge Technology for Self-Cleaning | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Why Isn't the Auto Purge Running on My Tub?
• Does Auto Purge Run if the Tub Is Off at the GFCI Breaker?

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