Can I move a push button to a different spot on the tub deck?

Ella does not publish a procedure for relocating a single push button to a different spot on the deck, and any new opening cut in the deck is permanent, so the honest answer is not to drill or cut on a guess. What Ella's guidance does cover is replacing a button in its existing hole, removing push buttons from the top of the tub, and mounting the digital control in another location, including the front apron. Can I Upgrade My Ella Walk-In Tub From Push Buttons to a Digital Touchpad? covers that upgrade; this page explains why moving a button is not a routine job, what the documented alternatives are, and what to send the team so they can say what is possible on your tub.

Why a Push Button Is Not Simply Moved

A push button on an Ella deck is pneumatic. Pressing it sends a small puff of air down a slim tube to a relay inside the control box, where the relay clicks and switches the matching pump or light, so there is no electricity at the button itself. The repair video on this page shows exactly how that connection is made: the red tube runs from the underside of the button to the control box, a locking nut secures it at the button, and when the tube is firmly connected you hear an audible click inside the box with each press. The video also shows the classic air lock, a button stuck in the down position, which is cleared by disconnecting the tube at the box so the button pops up. What Are Push Controls (Easy-Touch Buttons) on a Walk-In Tub? describes the system in full.

That design ties each button to three physical things: a hole in the acrylic deck sealed with a bead of kitchen and bath silicone, a hose routed under the deck to a labeled port on the control box or to the air switch on the pump, and access to that spot through the magnetic access panel next to the door. Moving a button therefore means a new hole in the shell, which cannot be undone, plus a hose route and a port connection that the published guidance does not describe for a new location. That is why the team asks to see the tub before anyone cuts, and why your installer should talk any opening through with the team first.

What Is Documented Instead

• Replacing a button in its existing hole. A cracked, stuck or dropped button is a stock part that ships under the warranty, and a handyman, plumber or your original installer fits it: thread a screw into the old button to pull it out, attach the new air hose, set the new button in a generous bead of clear kitchen and bath silicone, route the hose to the control box or pump, then pull the hose off and reconnect it once so the button is not air-locked. How Do I Replace a Broken Push Button and Its Air Hose? has the full sequence.
• Removing push buttons from the top of the tub. The team has a video showing how to remove buttons from the top of the tub, and it is included in the repair video library. This is the step that precedes mounting a digital control in the deck.
• Mounting the digital control in a new location. The control can go in the deck where two push buttons currently sit, or in another spot on the tub, and the team can send photos of the placement options taken on the same model as yours, sometimes with the door on the opposite side so you mirror the location. In the deck the job is to remove the two buttons, cut an opening with a router to match the body of the control, dry fit it, route its cable to the blue control box under the tub, and seal it in place with white kitchen and bath silicone. Where Can the Digital Control Be Mounted and How Is It Installed? walks through it.

Is the Digital Control the Answer When Reach Is the Problem?

If the reason you want to move a button is that it is hard to reach from the seat, the digital control is the route Ella has written up, because it can be installed on the front apron rather than the deck so a seated bather can operate it without leaning. That apron placement is an added option, so ask the team about it for your tub. The control is not offered on every model, though. It comes standard on the ShaK, the Big4One, the two-seat family tubs and the Lounger with the Air plus Hydro package, and it is available as an upgrade with Air plus Hydro packages on some other single-seat models. It needs a combination jetting package: a hydro-only tub uses push controls with an intensity dial and would have to move to a dual jetting package before a keypad could be fitted. Each control is also matched to the control box on the tub, so the team confirms compatibility from a photo of the box before one ships.

It also does not replace every button. On a dual-jetting tub the keypad runs the air massage and the hydro massage, but microbubble therapy and the independent hydro foot massage keep their own push buttons, and hydro jet intensity is still set with the chrome dial on the deck, so plan the layout around the dial. The controls video on this page shows both systems in use: on push controls the Air button cycles high, medium, low and off across four presses and the Water button starts the hydro massage with one touch, while on the touchpad the bubble icon starts the air massage, plus and minus set the speed, and holding the icon for two seconds stops it. One practical note from Digital Keypad or Push Buttons: Which Therapies It Controls and Which Is Easier to Use: the keypad's keys are smaller than the raised push buttons, so for a bather with limited vision, hand strength or coordination the standard push buttons are usually the better choice, and reach may be better solved by placement than by changing the control type.

What to Send the Team

1. Your model and serial number. The serial is on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door.
2. A photo of the deck showing the buttons as they are now and the spot you have in mind, and a note on which button it is: water jets, air massage, light, or another.
3. What you are trying to solve, for example reach from the seat, so the team can say whether a digital control on the apron or another documented option fits better than a new opening.
4. If a digital control is in the conversation, a photo of the labeled side of the blue electrical box under the tub, so the team can confirm the control matches your system.

Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with those items, and talk any opening through with your installer before cutting, because it cannot be undone. Ella ships parts under the warranty and supports the work by phone, email and video; a local handyman, plumber or electrician does the labor.

Related Guides

• Why Does a Deck Push Button Do Nothing on My Walk-In Tub?

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