How Do I Replace the Faucet Cartridge on My Walk-In Tub?

How you replace the faucet cartridge on an Ella walk-in tub depends on which faucet set your tub was built with. On the 2-piece and 5-piece fast-fill faucets the cartridge sits directly under the handle and lifts out once the handle and its collar are removed, while the thermostatic faucet has a thermostatic cartridge inside the temperature control valve that is cleaned first and replaced only if cleaning does not bring back a warm mix. The symptoms that point to a fouled thermostatic cartridge are covered in Tub Fills Only Scalding or Only Cold and Will Not Mix to Warm, and this page walks through the replacement itself for all three faucets.

First, Identify Your Faucet

The three Ella deck-mounted faucets are easy to tell apart. The 2-piece fast-fill faucet has a single spout handle and a diverter button under the spout. The 5-piece fast-fill faucet has separate hot and cold handles with a middle lever between them that works as the diverter. The thermostatic faucet sits on a chrome deck plate with a temperature dial and two diverter valves, one for the spout and one for the sprayer. If you are not sure which set you have, What Is a Hand Shower Diverter on a Walk-In Tub? shows the layout of each faucet and how its diverter works.

The cartridge is the part behind the handle that opens, closes and blends the water. On the 2-piece and 5-piece sets it is the mixing cartridge under each handle. On the thermostatic faucet it is a thermostatic cartridge, and a fouled one shows up as water that runs only scalding or only cold, water that runs hotter than the dial setting, or hot and cold crossing over into the rest of the house while the tub is off.

Replacing the Cartridge on the 2-Piece Faucet

The first video on this page shows the complete 2-piece replacement from the bolt cover to the final handle check. Shut off the hot and cold supplies to the tub before you start.

1. Remove the decorative bolt cover on top of the spout handle, insert a 3 millimeter allen wrench and loosen the allen bolt.
2. Lift the spout handle off the top of the cartridge.
3. Unscrew and remove the escutcheon plate.
4. Loosen and remove the brass locking collar, then lift the cartridge straight out.
5. Set the new cartridge in place so that its two guide posts line up with the receptacles in the spout housing. The cartridge seats correctly only when both posts are in the right position.
6. Replace the brass locking collar and tighten it securely without over torquing.
7. Thread the escutcheon plate back on and hand tighten it.
8. Set the handle back onto the top of the cartridge, tighten the allen bolt securely without over torquing and replace the bolt cover.

Before you call the job done, check the handle orientation. The red side should be on the left for hot and the blue side on the right for cold. Restore the water and run the faucet through its full range at the spout and at the hand shower.

Replacing the Cartridge on the 5-Piece Faucet

The 5-piece faucet has one cartridge under the hot handle and one under the cold handle, and the second video shows the procedure on one of them. Shut off both supplies first.

1. Remove the red or blue cap from the top of the handle.
2. Loosen the bolt beneath it with a 3 millimeter allen wrench and lift the handle off.
3. Remove the plastic collar under the handle.
4. Loosen the cartridge with a 17 millimeter socket wrench and remove it.
5. Look into the housing for debris, foreign objects or calcification. If you find any, clean it with a soft brush and rinse.
6. Install the new cartridge and tighten it. Do not over torque.
7. Replace the plastic collar, set the handle back on facing the correct direction, tighten the allen bolt firmly without over torquing and replace the colored cap.

Because the 5-piece faucet blends the water with two manual handles, it has no thermostatic cartridge to foul. That is why tech support sometimes suggests it for owners in hard-water areas who find themselves cleaning a thermostatic cartridge again and again. It does not hold a set temperature on its own, so the choice is a trade between less maintenance and a preset temperature, and your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can help with that change.

Cleaning or Replacing the Thermostatic Cartridge

On a tub ordered with the Ella thermostatic faucet package, the cartridge lives inside the thermostatic control valve, or TCV, and it collects calcium, iron and debris carried in by the supply water. Cleaning comes before replacement, because a cleaned cartridge often works again.

1. Shut off the hot and cold supplies to the tub.
2. Remove the control handle and the cover plate, then the washers and the escutcheon plate.
3. Unscrew the metal collar and lift out the cartridge.
4. Clean the cartridge and the intake screens of scale and debris.
5. Reinstall the cartridge and the collar without over torquing, restore the water and test the dial through its full range.
6. If the water still will not blend to warm, replace the cartridge with a new one. If the valve itself has failed, the whole TCV is replaced.

Support can send a video that shows how to retrieve the cartridge and clean it, so ask for it when you open a ticket. A worn or fouled thermostatic cartridge is also the first thing to check when the whole house loses hot water with the tub off, as explained in Why Does the Mixing Valve Cross Hot and Cold When the Tub Is Off?. Once the new cartridge is in, fit an inline filter or mesh on the water lines and clean it periodically. That protection is required for the TCV, because the fouling comes from the water, and a new cartridge will foul just as the old one did if scale keeps reaching it.

The TCV carries a 1-year limited warranty and is excluded from the lifetime parts warranty. Cartridge fouling caused by calcium, iron or contaminated water is not a covered defect. When a part is covered, Ella ships it under the warranty and a local licensed plumber does the labor. Ella does not send technicians.

When the Cartridge Is Not the Problem

Two other parts produce symptoms that get blamed on the cartridge. If the faucet delivers only hot water no matter where the dial is set, and the cold line has pressure with a clean inlet screen, the cause is usually the check valve at the cold inlet of the TCV rather than the cartridge. Cold Water Reaches the Tub but Will Not Come Out of the Faucet: Unlocking the TCV Check Valve shows how a plumber frees it. If hot and cold are crossing over, check the hand shower before the cartridge: a missing blue check valve inside the handset threads, or a hose installed backwards, is the other crossover path. And if the water simply runs hotter than you expect on a tub with no TCV, such as one with the 5-piece faucet, there is no thermostatic cartridge at all and the temperature is set by hand at the two handles every time. Why Is the Water in My Walk-In Tub Too Hot? explains how to confirm from your order whether your faucet package includes a TCV.

Getting the Right Cartridge

Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your serial number, which is on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door, a photo of the faucet and a description of the symptom. If you have already had the cartridge out, a short video of the cartridge and the housing lets the team confirm which part you need. Tech support will call you to talk through the diagnosis, so include the best number to reach you. Replacement cartridges and whole valves are matched to the faucet set your tub shipped with, which is why the photo matters more than a written part description.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Cartridge Replacement 5 Piece with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Faucet Cartridge Burst and Spraying Water: Shutting It Down and Getting Replacement Hot and Cold Valves
• Why Does My Tub Faucet Drip Constantly and How Do I Fix It?
• How Do I Tighten a Loose Faucet Cartridge on My Walk-In Tub?

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