Can I order a pre-assembled air button and hose for my Ella tub?

Yes. When you need a new air push button for an Ella walk-in tub, the button and its air hose are handled as one job: the team matches the button and the hose to your tub together when you order, and ships them under the lifetime parts warranty. Whether the hose arrives already attached to the button is not something Ella publishes, and the documented replacement steps describe attaching the new air hose to the new button during the work, so ask when you order if you want it to arrive assembled. What Is the Control Box on a Walk-In Tub? explains the box the hose runs to; this page covers how to order the button and hose, how to size the hose, and how to check whether your existing parts are simply disconnected before you order anything.

How the Button and Hose Work Together

The push buttons on the deck of an Ella tub are pneumatic, not electrical. Pressing one sends a puff of air down a small hose to a labeled port on the blue control box mounted under the tub, where a relay switches the matching pump, blower or light on or off. The ports are labeled by function: the Water button connects to Pump #1 Airswitch, the Air button to Blower/Pump #2 Airswitch and the Light button to the Light Airswitch. Because there is no wire anywhere in that path, the button and the hose are a matched pair. A button with nothing seated on its back, or a hose that has come off either end, gives you the same symptom as a failed button: you press and nothing happens.

That is why the team treats the button and hose as one order. The hose has to be one continuous run from the back of the button to its labeled port or pump nipple, because there is no fitting for joining two lengths of this tubing. If the old hose is damaged partway along, the whole run is replaced, not spliced.

What to Ask for When You Order

• Whether the hose comes attached. This is not published, so ask directly. If the parts arrive separate, the hose is pushed onto the back of the button as part of the fitting work.
• The hose size. The standard air hose is PVC tubing with a 1/8 inch inside diameter and a 1/4 inch outside diameter. Some older tubs used a different size, so send a photo of the hose end so the team can confirm which one your tub takes.
• The full length. Since the hose cannot be joined, describe or measure the route from the button to the control box and ask for the complete length you need in one piece.
• Which button it is. Say whether it is the Water, Air or Light button, and whether your tub has chrome push buttons or the digital touchpad, since touchpad tubs are laid out differently.
• Model and serial number. The serial label sits behind the magnetic access panel next to the door.

The team identifies the correct replacement from photos rather than from a parts catalog you order against yourself. Describe the problem, send photos of the button and the hose with your model and serial number, and the team confirms the exact parts and ships them under the parts warranty. Can I Get an Electrical Diagram or Parts List for My Tub? explains that photo-based process and what can and cannot be pictured in advance.

Check the Existing Connection Before You Order

Before ordering, it is worth confirming the button and hose have actually failed, because the most common reason a massage function stops responding is a connection that has come loose. The video on this page is Ella's demonstration of exactly that: a push control and a control box on the bench, with the technician showing where the air tube attaches at each end and how to check both.

1. At the control box. Find the hose for the affected button and make sure it is pushed firmly onto its nipple. The video shows the technique: twist and push at the same time to seat it. Confirm the air hose is on the blower nipple rather than the pump nipple, since the two are easy to swap.
2. At the button. The video shows how to retrieve the button from its housing: work a fine flat screwdriver, or two, around the edge of the chrome ring and pry the button off, then pull out the black pump part behind it. The hose attaches there with a lock nut. If it is loose or off, reconnect it, push the pump back into place, and refit the button and chrome ring.
3. A button that stays down. It is air locked. Disconnect its tube at the control box so the button pops up, then reconnect the tube.
4. Air that seems stuck on one speed. Check the press sequence before suspecting the parts. The first press is high, the second is medium, the third is low and a fourth press turns the air off, as Why Does My Air Massage Stay on One Speed? explains. Press gently with the palm of your hand and pause between presses.
5. Several functions acting up at once. That points to the control box rather than one button. Check the green LED on the box, make sure every power cord is on its own dedicated GFCI outlet, and follow Which Cord Plugs In Where on My Walk-In Tub?.

If the hose is seated at both ends and the button still does nothing, or the hose is cracked, kinked or too short to reach its port, that is when to order the button and hose set.

Who Fits the New Button and Hose

Ella does not send technicians. The control box sits under the tub behind the front access panel, and reaching it means removing that panel and working in the equipment compartment, so if getting under the tub is the problem, a local licensed plumber, electrician or handyman does the fitting. Ella's team is available by phone or live video to walk them through it, and the team can refer an installer from its network if you do not have one. The job itself is the one shown in the video: pry off the old button, pull the pump part, swap in the new button with its hose attached, route the hose in one continuous run to the labeled nipple on the control box, seat it with a twist and push, and test the function. Keep the equipment compartment uninsulated and reachable afterward so the next check is as easy.

Opening the Ticket

1. Call (800) 480-6850 or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support.
2. Include your model and serial number from the label behind the magnetic access panel.
3. Attach photos of the button from the deck, the back of the button with its hose, and the hose end.
4. Say which function the button controls and whether you have push buttons or the digital touchpad.
5. Ask whether the hose will arrive attached, confirm the hose size for your tub, and give the full length you need.

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

Related Guides

• Why does a deck push button do nothing on my walk-in tub?
• How Do I Replace a Broken Push Button and Its Air Hose?

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