How Do You Open the Drain in a Walk-In Bathtub?

You open the drain in an Ella walk-in bathtub by turning the large dial opener on the tub, which pulls a stainless steel cable and lifts the floor drain cover so the water leaves by gravity. Most Ella tubs have two 2-inch drains with a dial for each, so you open the first, then the second, and stay seated with the door closed until the tub is empty. How Do You Use a Walk-In Bathtub Step by Step? places this step inside the whole bath, and this page explains how the drain hardware works, the order to follow at the end of a bath, and what to check when a dial will not open or close the drain fully.

What the Dial Is Actually Doing

Ella's Dual Drain Technology uses gravity driven T-type 4-port dual 2-inch drains, and there is no pump anywhere in the system. Each drain is operated independently with a large dial opener, with extenders for an easier grip and turn. The dial works a stainless steel cable that runs in a protective black plastic sleeve to a connection box on the drain. Inside that box the cable moves an armature, and the armature raises and lowers the drain stem, which is what lifts the floor drain cover off its seat or sets it back down. The drain cable video on this page opens the connection box and shows the cable working the armature, so you can see exactly what a turn of the dial does underneath the tub.

Two details make the system easier to live with. The dials double as overflow protection, so the same fitting that opens the floor drain also takes water that rises too high. And the dual drain works as a vent system, allowing fast air pocket relief, so the water flows out smoothly rather than in surges. The floor drain covers are height adjustable for optimum sealing and draining, which matters when a closed drain weeps or an open one does not lift enough, as covered below.

One model is laid out differently. The Ella Standard ships with one 2-inch gravity floor drain with an overflow and an emergency pull-up chain, so a Standard owner has a single drain to open rather than two.

Opening the Drain at the End of the Bath

The door of a walk-in tub is part of the tub wall, and it must stay closed for as long as there is water inside. That rule sets the order at the end of every bath.

1. Stay seated with the door closed and locked.
2. Turn the first drain dial to open it. The tub begins to empty at a fast pace.
3. Turn the second dial. With both drains open the tub empties faster still.
4. Wait until the water has left the tub. Never open the door while water is inside.
5. Open the door and step out, using the built-in grab bar as you rise from the seat.

The wait is short. An Ella tub connected to a proper 2-inch drain line typically empties in two minutes or less, and Ella's own field tests recorded a complete drain in 52 seconds. An installer who has fitted competing tubs puts the difference plainly: a standard house bathtub drain is 1.5 inches, a 2 inch pipe carries about four times the volume of water of a 1.5 inch pipe, and Ella uses two of them. How Fast Do Walk-In Tubs Drain and What Speeds It Up? covers what the house plumbing adds to that picture.

Closing the Drain Before the Next Fill

Opening is only half of the routine, because the drains have to be fully closed before the faucet is opened for the next bath. Most Ella tubs have two 2-inch gravity drains, and each drain handle should be fully closed before you turn on the water. The fill itself has two limits: the water must rise above the highest jets before any hydro or air massage is run, and it must never go above the center of the drain handle. How high should you fill a walk-in bathtub before your bath? explains both marks. Because the door only seals once it is closed and locked, you are seated inside while the water rises, which is why you sit in a walk-in tub while it fills and watch the level yourself rather than filling first and climbing in.

Keep Your Feet Off an Open Drain

The cable that opens the drain is strong, but it is not built to carry a person. Stepping on an open drain causes tremendous stress on the cable and could cause breakage, which is why Ella places warning stickers on every tub before it ships. The drains are open at the very moment you stand up to leave the tub, so look where you place your feet, keep them off the raised drain cover, and use the grab bar for balance. The same care applies before a bath: step into the empty tub, sit down, close the door, and then close both dials from the seat, rather than standing on the drain to reach anything.

When the Dial Will Not Open or Close the Drain Fully

Two adjustments cover most drain complaints, and both are shown in the videos on this page.

• The drain sits too high or too low. Ella drains have adjustable height. If the cover does not seal when the dial is closed, or does not lift enough when it is open, the stem can be adjusted by either loosening or tightening it. It is critically important that the drain stem not be loosened too much, because the stem can fall off and go down the drain.
• The dial turns but the drain does not move. In the rare circumstance that the cable has failed, usually through misuse such as being stepped on, the cable can be replaced. The video shows the steps: remove the small service panel on the drain's connection box, carefully and slowly withdraw the armature, remove the barrel end, take off one drain handle with an Allen wrench, remove the retaining ring nut and the drain vent assembly, unscrew the old cable and screw in the new one completely, then reassemble with a thin bead of silicone on the back of the vent assembly, tightening firmly without over torquing, with the flat side of the cable connection facing up and a positive connection between the drain stem and the armature.

Ella does not send technicians. Replacement parts come through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or by opening a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your tub model and a short video of the dial, and a local licensed plumber does the work. If both drains open fully and the tub still empties slowly, the tub itself is rarely the cause. The branch line it ties into should be 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches, a Y fitting beats a T because the water changes direction less, connecting more of the four ports speeds the flow, and an old, clogged or poorly vented house drain is the most frequent reason a new tub drains slowly.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Adjustable Drain Height with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Do I Adjust the Drain Cable Tension When the Drain Will Not Open or Close Fully?
• My drain will not open or close: replacing the drain cable and adjusting drain height
• Why Won't the Drain Open When I Turn the Handle?

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