Do you have to sit in a walk-in tub while it fills?

Yes. In an Ella walk-in tub you step into the dry tub, sit on the built-in seat, close and lock the door, and only then turn on the water, so you are seated inside for the whole fill. The door is part of the tub wall and it only seals once it is closed and locked, which is why the water always comes after you. How high should you fill a walk-in bathtub before your bath? covers the two water-level limits, and this page explains why you sit through the fill, what the wait is actually like, and the one Ella tub built so a bather never waits in an empty tub.

Why the Fill Happens After You Sit Down

On a regular bathtub you can run the water first and climb in over the wall whenever you like. A walk-in tub is different because the door is part of the bathing well. The door seals against the frame once it is closed and locked, and on an inward-swing door the water itself presses the door into its seal. That gives a rule with no exceptions: never enter a tub with water in it, and never open the door while water is inside. Filling with you already seated is the only order that keeps the seal intact from the first drop to the last, and it is the same order every time, as How Do You Use a Walk-In Bathtub Step by Step? lays out from entry to exit.

Sitting first has a practical benefit as well. Your body displaces part of the volume, so the level rises around you and you can shut the faucet exactly where the soak feels right. Most standard-size Ella walk-in tubs hold 65 to 107 gallons unoccupied, yet you will typically use 30 to 75 gallons per bath once you are seated. The largest models, such as the ShaK, Escape and Big4Two, hold up to 145 gallons unoccupied, and even there the occupied figure is the water you actually run.

The Seated Fill, in Order

1. If your tub has the optional heated seat and backrest, press the heater button before you get in so the surfaces have time to warm.
2. Open the door and step over the low threshold into the empty tub. On models like the Capri the step-in is roughly 3 1/2 to 4 inches. Sit fully in the seat with your back on the backrest, using the built-in grab bar as you turn and settle.
3. Close and lock the door. On an inward-swing door, keep your feet and knees clear of the door's path as it closes.
4. Close the drain completely. Most Ella tubs have two 2-inch gravity drains, and each drain handle should be fully closed before the faucet is opened.
5. Set the water temperature before the water reaches you. The manuals warn that water above 100.4 F may be harmful, so adjust the mix at the faucet first.
6. Fill until the water is above the highest jets, and never above the center of the drain handle. Then run the therapies you want.

The complete tick-box version of this sequence, including what happens after the bath, is in How do you fill a walk-in tub after you get in?. The point to remember is that the water is added after the door is locked and removed before it is unlocked, every time.

What the Wait Is Like

The wait is short by design. Ella pairs its seated tubs with a fast-fill faucet rated 16 GPM on the 2-piece set and 18 GPM on the 5-piece set at ideal home plumbing. Because the water rises around a seated bather, you reach the jets sooner than the unoccupied capacity would suggest, and the fill is finished the moment every jet is under water.

Three things keep you comfortable while the level rises:

• The glossy acrylic shell acts like an insulator, so the walls around you are not cold to lean against.
• The optional heated seat and backrest, on models that offer it, warms the surfaces you sit and lean on. It switches itself off after 20 minutes, and one press of its keypad restarts it.
• Setting the temperature before the water reaches you means the first water at your feet is already at the mix you chose.

The same logic applies at the end of the bath. You open the drain while still seated and wait for the tub to empty before the door will open. Every Ella tub uses two 2-inch gravity-driven drains rather than a pump. Ella's own video on staying warm puts the figure at approximately 80 seconds for an average size tub under ideal conditions, and the general figure is two minutes or less once the tub is connected to a proper 2-inch drain line. How do you get out of a walk-in tub safely after your bath? walks through that short wait and the step out.

The Exception: The HomeCare Tank Tub

One Ella tub is built so that the bather does not sit through a fill at all. The HomeCare Transfer Bathtub, model HC3260L or HC3260R and often called the HomeCare 32x60 or the tank tub, has an 80 gallon internal tank that pre-heats water while the bather is being prepared. The bather is transferred through the 27 inch aluminum door, which swings 180 degrees so a caregiver can move someone from a wheelchair. With the door closed, the caregiver presses the fill button and the pre-heated water moves into the tub in about 90 seconds. The tub drains in about 150 seconds and the tank refills in about 11 minutes for the next bath. Tank filling and injection never run at the same time.

The HomeCare is designed for caregiver-supervised bathing only, never for self-bathing. Its actual size is 31 1/2 inches wide, 41 3/8 inches high and 59 7/8 inches long, and it holds 78 gallons unoccupied and 35 to 55 gallons occupied. It is the answer when a household needs assisted bathing and the wait in an empty tub is the specific worry. What Is the HomeCare Transfer Bathtub? explains the keypad, the two power cords and the 20A dedicated GFCI circuit it needs. On every other Ella model, the seated fill described above is the normal routine.

The One Fill with a Fixed Height

One fill has a fixed height rather than a personal one. Before first use, and then once a month, fill the tub with water to one inch above the highest jets, add a mixture of 2 cups of white vinegar and 2 cups of water, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain. Flushing after every bath is not necessary. For every ordinary bath, the level is set by where you are sitting: above the highest jets, and never above the center of the drain handle.

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