How do I inspect and replace a cracked pneumatic button on my tub?

A cracked pneumatic push button is inspected from the top of the deck: work a fine flat screwdriver under the chrome collar, lift off the ring and the button, pull the black core up out of its housing, and look at the bellows, the lock nut and the hose on its nipple. A bellows that no longer springs back, a cracked nipple, or a cracked base with stripped threads means the button is replaced as a stock part, ordered with a photo and your serial number through ellasbubbles.com/support or (800) 480-6850. The ports, hose connections and sealing are covered in Push-Button Air Hoses: Which Port on the Blue Box, Reconnecting a Hose That Pops Off, Red Hoses, Sealing and Replacing a Button; this page takes the cracked button itself, from the first sign to the replacement order.

How the Button Is Built

Ella push buttons are pneumatic. A bellows under the chrome button sends a puff of air through a small hose to a labeled nipple on the blue control box, and a relay inside the box switches the matching pump or light. There is nothing electrical in the button, which is why nothing about it is dangerous to work on. From the top down, the parts are the chrome ring or collar that holds the button in the deck, the chrome button cap, the black core with the bellows inside it, the lock nut that secures the button from below the deck, and the hose that runs from the nipple on the core to the box. Each hose has a home: the Water button goes to Pump #1 Airswitch, the Air button to Blower/Pump #2 Airswitch, and the Light button to the Light Airswitch, with the light on its own box and transformer.

Signs the Button Top Has Cracked

• The button only works when you press very hard, or feels mushy and stays partly down. The air signal is leaking away before it reaches the relay.
• Blowing through the hose helps for a while and then the trouble returns. That points to moisture or debris inside the pneumatic line, which an opened button top lets in.
• The button sticks after a long soak. Water is getting behind a button whose seal has opened.
• The hose keeps falling off the nipple no matter how firmly it is seated, which points to a cracked nipple on the button or the coupling.
• The button dropped through into the tub. The lock nut worked loose or the plastic base broke, for example after the button was pressed too hard.

Please do not press harder or deeper to compensate. A gentle palm press should be all it takes, and forcing it can damage the mechanism. Why Does My Tub Button Only Work When I Press Very Hard? walks the hard-press symptom in its diagnostic order.

Taking the Button Apart and Inspecting It

1. Work a fine flat screwdriver under the chrome collar. A second screwdriver helps you work your way around and pry the ring off evenly.
2. Lift off the button and pull the black core up out of the housing. The lock nut and the hose are on the end of the core.
3. Press the bellows with your thumb. It should spring back fully. A bellows that stays down or returns slowly is tired or cracked.
4. Look at the nipple for cracks, and at the base for a crack or stripped threads. Look inside the housing for grout, silicone or other construction debris.
5. Check the lock nut, reseat the hose fully on the nipple, then snug the nut.
6. Behind the access panel, pull that button's tube off the blue box, let the line relieve, blow gently through it to clear moisture, then refit it with a twist and push.
7. Push the core back in, refit the button and press the chrome ring back on.
8. Press with your palm and listen for the click inside the box. A clean click at light pressure means the line is clear and the bellows is doing its job.

The first video on this page shows the button retrieved from its housing with a flat screwdriver, the black core pulled out to reach the lock nut and hose, and the button and chrome ring put back in place. The second shows the lock nut at the button, a button stuck down by an air lock, and the click inside the box once the tube is reconnected.

Reseal or Replace?

If the bellows springs back and the only complaint is sticking after a long bath, reseal rather than replace: lift the collar, run a thin bead of silicone around the rubber gasket, refit the button and clean the excess with denatured alcohol. Replace the button when the bellows no longer springs back or has cracked, when the nipple is cracked, when the base is cracked or its threads are stripped so the lock nut will not hold, or when construction material is inside the housing, since grout or silicone inside a button usually means a new button rather than more cleaning. If the hose is the problem instead, older clear tubing that has hardened is replaced with red hose, and a hose cut too short gets longer tubing; nothing needs stretching or improvising. All of these are stock parts. What Do I Do If a Push Button Fell Through Into the Tub? covers the broken base case, and Why Do the Little Air Hoses Keep Falling Off My Tub Controls? covers hose replacement.

Ordering the Replacement Button

Order through your Ella dealer, where you purchased, or the team at ellasbubbles.com/support or (800) 480-6850. Send a clear photo of the button with its collar off, a photo of the hose end and lock nut, and your model and serial number, and tell the team whether your hose is clear or red and whether the white mounting nut is still attached, so the right button and hose go out together. A short video of the press and the click helps if the fault comes and goes. Whether a button assembly can ship without the chrome trim is best confirmed with the team when you place that request. The serial number is on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door.

After the New Button Is in

Reconnect the hose to its labeled port with a twist and push, pull it off the box for a second so the line returns to room pressure, refit it, and listen for the click. If one button still misbehaves, swap its hose with a working button's hose at the box: if the fault follows the hose, it is the button; if it stays with the port, it is the box input. A box input that stays unresponsive is checked from photos, and the full order of button, air hose, relay and pump is in Pump or Massage System Not Working: Connections, Relay Switch, and What to Check First. If any function misbehaves after the hoses are back, run the control box reset and test each feature.

Watch: How to Secure Air & Hydro Connections in Your Walk-In Tub | Ellas Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Videos

Common Questions