How do I replace a damaged air line on my walk-in tub?

Air line replacement on an Ella walk-in tub is done by your original installer or a local licensed plumber, with Ella's support team on the phone and the replacement tubing and connectors shipped under the lifetime parts warranty. Ella does not send technicians. A single pinhole is fixed by cutting out the hole and rejoining the ends with a matching coupling, and a brittle or twice-holed tube is replaced as a whole run. The valve end of the system has its own guide in Replacing the Air Check Valve and the Hoses and Pipes That Connect to It; this page covers the air lines themselves.

First, Confirm the Air Line Is the Problem

Water on the floor after a bath does not always come from the air line, even when the tubing looks wet. The drains, the jet gaskets and the air check valve all show up as water underneath the tub, and each one is fixed with different parts. Before anything ships, narrow it down.

1. Fill the tub without running any system and watch underneath. Drips that appear now point to the drains or the shell fittings, not to the air system.
2. Run the air massage and watch each jet from below. Water tracking down a jet body or its nut is a gasket or jet problem, covered in Air Jets Leaking Under the Tub.
3. Follow the air line from the blower to each group of jets and look for wet spots, pinches or kinks along the tubing. A hole in the line shows up here.
4. If water sprays from a small hose behind the tub, the check valve is the first part to look at, not the line.

Leave the two short crimped stubs on the air manifold alone. They plug the two ports your tub does not use and are part of the tested configuration, as Why Are There Two Crimped Pieces of Tubing on the Air Manifold Under My Tub? explains. A stub that hisses is a different matter and belongs in your ticket.

Send a Short Video so the Right Size Ships

Ella tubs use more than one kind of air line. The white corrugated line and the smaller rubber air lines take different connectors, so the team needs to see which line is damaged before anything is cut to size. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model and serial number, a short video of the damaged line from under the tub, and a note on where the damage is. The team identifies the line and confirms the size, then ships matching tubing and connectors under the parts warranty. Labor and any work needed to open up access to the underside of the tub are not covered, so plan on your installer or plumber for the hands-on part.

If access is the hard part, say so in the ticket. Ella tubs have a removable front apron with access panels, and the team can tell your plumber which panel to open to reach the run in question before anyone cuts into a wall or floor.

Repairing a Single Pinhole

If the damage is one pinhole and the tube is otherwise supple, the tube does not need to be replaced. Your plumber repairs it in place.

1. Turn off power to the tub at the breaker and make sure the tub is empty.
2. Cut the tube on each side of the hole, removing the damaged section.
3. Rejoin the two ends with the matching coupling supplied for that line.
4. Restore power and run the air system. Watch the joint for a few minutes while the system runs.
5. Let the auto purge run and watch the joint again. The purge starts on its own about 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off and blows residual water out of the lines, so a joint that holds through both the massage and the purge is sound.

When to Replace the Whole Run Instead

A coupling is the right fix for one clean hole. Replace the run when any of the following is true.

• The tube is brittle and cracks when handled.
• There is a second hole anywhere on the same run.
• The tubing has been chewed by pests or is pinched flat in a place that cannot be freed.

To re-run the full set, tell the team you want all of the air tubing replaced, and give your connector count and a length estimate so matching tubing can be cut for your tub, leaving a little slack on every run. Each new tube seats on its nipple at the control box with a firm twist and push. At the jet end, the tubing connects through quick-connect elbows under each jet; if an elbow is cracked, say so and the team includes elbows in the package.

How Ella Supports the Repair

Ella provides a lifetime parts warranty and lifetime technical support but does not perform repairs. The team can stay on the phone with your plumber while they work, send a photo of a correctly seated connection to compare against, and ship directly to the plumber's shop if that is easier than shipping to the house. Have your model and serial number ready at (800) 480-6850, and keep the short video you sent, because it is the fastest way for the team to pick up where the ticket left off if a second part is needed.

Related Guides

• Air Line Leaking Under the Tub: Cut Out the Hole and Rejoin With a Coupling
• Air Pump Whines or Stopped Working: Tests Before Replacement and How a New Pump Ships
• How Do I Replace a Broken Push Button and Its Air Hose?

Common Questions