What is a hydrotherapy tub with built-in spa jets?

A hydrotherapy tub is a bathtub with water jets built into its walls and fed by a pump that recirculates your own bath water, so the tub delivers a massage instead of simply holding water. On an Ella walk-in tub those are the hydro massage jets explained in What Are Hydro Massage Jets on a Walk-In Tub?, and they arrive as part of a therapy package on most models in the line, from the hydro-only Standard, Zen and Flow to the two-seat tubs. Someone searching for a hydro tub or a hydrotherapy bath is almost always looking for exactly this: a walk-in tub ordered with a hydro massage package.

What Turns a Bathtub into a Hydrotherapy Tub

A walk-in tub on its own is defined by its door, its low threshold and its built-in seat, as described in What is a walk-in tub and who is it designed for?. Most Ella models can be ordered as a soaker with no jets at all, so the tub becomes a hydrotherapy tub only when a hydro massage package is added at the factory. That package brings a small set of parts that work together every time you press the Water button.

• The hydro jets. Also called hydrotherapy jets, water jets or whirlpool jets, they are set into the tub walls to deliver a deep, targeted massage to the back, hips, legs and feet.
• The hydro pump. It draws bath water in through the inlet cover and pushes it back out through the jets. Nothing is added to the water; it is your bath water moving in a loop.
• The in-line heater. It runs automatically with the pump and holds the water at the temperature you filled it, so a long session does not turn cool.
• The ozone generator. It also runs with the pump and sterilizes the water as it circulates.
• The intensity dial. This is an air control on a small hose rather than an electrical part. Turning it adds or removes air in the water stream to make the massage firmer or softer.

Many hydro jets can be aimed, and the foot jet nozzles can be opened, reduced or closed by turning the center of the jet face. A single jet assembly is a jet body, a chrome face cap, a spring and a gasket, which is why individual jets can be serviced without touching the plumbing behind them.

How a Hydro Massage Session Actually Works

1. Step in, close the door, and close the drains.
2. Fill the tub until the water sits 1 to 2 inches above the highest hydro jet. The pump must never run dry, because a pump run without water is permanently damaged and that damage is not covered by the warranty.
3. Press the Water button. The pump starts, and the in-line heater and ozone generator come on with it without any extra step.
4. Set the strength with the intensity dial and aim any adjustable jets toward the spot you want worked.
5. Press the button again to stop the pump before you open the drains.

The 32 by 72 inch LayDown tub in the video below shows every one of those parts on a real tub: the easy-touch push button, the hydro intensity dial, the in-line water heater, the ozone sterilization and the oversized 2 inch drain that empties the tub quickly when the session ends. That tub is 15 inches deep compared with a standard tub depth of 11 inches, is long enough for someone six feet tall to be completely immersed, and carries seven adjustable hydro jets. Its straight, narrow sidewalls give more interior width than a curved-wall tub and reduce the risk of tripping when you step in.

Which Ella Tubs Come with Built-In Hydro Jets, and How Many

Hydro massage runs across the Ella line, and jet counts belong to the therapy package rather than to the model name. The published figures that appear in the live articles and videos are:

• The Standard ships with 18 hydro jets on an 8.1A 900W pump, with an in-line heater and push control with an intensity dial.
• The Elite's hydro package has 16 jets, 10 in the seat and 6 in the foot area.
• On the Transfer family, the Hydro Massage package lists 22 jets, 16 seat jets and 6 foot jets.
• The 32 by 72 inch LayDown shown on video carries seven adjustable hydro jets.

Because the count follows the package, two tubs with the same model name can have different jet counts if they were ordered with different therapy packages. When you compare tubs, ask which package is being described rather than assuming a number from the model name alone.

Independent Foot Massage: A Foot Spa Without a Full Tub

A second layer of hydrotherapy is the option Ella also calls the Hydro Foot package, covered in What Is Independent Foot Massage on a Walk-In Tub?. A tub built with it has two separate hydro pumps, one for the seat jets and one for the foot and calf jets, each with its own push button and its own intensity dial. There is no diverter valve robbing power from one side to feed the other, so each circuit gets full flow, and on these tubs the in-line heater is attached to the foot pump so it helps hold the temperature while the foot jets run.

The practical payoff is that you can fill only the footwell, to just below the seat and just above the calf jets, press the foot button, and have a foot spa in minutes without filling the whole tub. On the model featured in the video for Independent Foot Massage: A Foot Spa Without Filling the Whole Tub that is four dedicated foot jets and two calf jets, and exact placement varies by model. Per the current schematic the option is available on the Royal, Monaco, Elite, Capri, Shak, Transfer60, Transfer32 and TransferXXL, and it is standard on the Ultimate. The second pump, its jets and its dial are built in at the factory, so it cannot be added to a tub later; decide with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before the order is placed.

What Owning a Hydrotherapy Tub Involves

Because the jets recirculate bath water through hidden lines, the lines need a periodic flush. Before first use and once a month, and any time the jets feel weak or debris appears, combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub to one inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain. Flushing after every bath is not necessary. Clean the pump inlet cover at the same time, and skip bath bombs, which clog the jets. Keep the flush going for both circuits on a tub with independent foot massage.

If the pump will not start, the first checks are the water level and the power to the tub. For a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support, have your therapy package name, which jets are affected, the intensity dial position, the water level you used, and your model and serial number ready, and the support team will guide you or your plumber from there.

Related Guides

• What Are Air Massage Jets on a Walk-In Tub?
• What the Hydro Massage Schematic Shows: One Pump, the In-Line Heater in the Jet Loop, Ozone and One Dedicated Line
• Hydro Massage vs Air Massage vs Microbubble: What Each System Does and How They Combine

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