What socket do I need to remove the faucet cartridge on my tub?

A 17 mm socket wrench is the socket that removes the cartridge on the Ella 5-piece fast-fill faucet, and it is the only socket any Ella deck faucet calls for. The 2-piece single-lever faucet does not use a socket at all, because its cartridge is clamped by a brass locking collar that comes off after the escutcheon plate. Both faucets need a 3 mm Allen wrench for the handle bolt before you reach the cartridge, as explained in What size Allen wrench removes the handles on an Ella walk-in tub faucet?.

Which Faucet Is on Your Deck Decides the Tool

Ella drills each tub for the faucet chosen on the order, so start by identifying the set in front of you. The 5-piece fast-fill faucet has a separate red hot handle and blue cold handle with a diverter lever between them. The Standard and Standard60 come with this set, and on your paperwork the code 5P-FFF means the 5-piece set. The 2-piece fast-fill faucet has a single lever on top of the spout, lift for on, left for hot, right for cold, down for off, with a diverter button under the spout for the hand shower. The Zen, Zen60 and Flow come with this set. The thermostatic set is a third faucet type with a chrome deck plate and two diverter valves. The published handle and cartridge guides cover only the 2-piece and 5-piece sets, so if you have a thermostatic set, send a photo through a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support before you take anything apart.

What the table means in practice: one 3 mm Allen wrench gets every handle off, and the socket question only arises on the 5-piece faucet. If you own the 2-piece set and have been hunting for a socket that fits, you can stop, because there is nothing under that spout handle for a socket to grip. If you own the 5-piece set, the 17 mm socket is used twice, once on the hot cartridge and once on the cold cartridge, since each handle has its own cartridge under its colored cap. If your only goal is to snug a loose handle, you never need the socket at all, and How Do I Tighten a Loose Faucet Cartridge on My Walk-In Tub? sorts out whether the play is in the handle bolt or below it.

Where the 17 Mm Socket Goes in the 5-Piece Sequence

The socket is the fourth tool action in the job, not the first, and the order matters because everything above the cartridge has to be out of the way before the socket can seat. The 5-piece cartridge video on this page shows the whole sequence on a tub deck, and it runs like this:

1. Close both shut-off valves at the tub so no hot or cold water reaches the faucet.
2. Pry off the red or blue cap on the handle you are working on.
3. Loosen the Allen bolt under the cap with the 3 mm Allen wrench and lift the handle straight off.
4. Remove the plastic collar that sits under the handle.
5. Fit the 17 mm socket wrench over the cartridge, loosen it and lift it out.
6. Check the cartridge and the valve for debris, foreign objects or calcification. If needed, clean with a soft brush and rinse.
7. Seat the new or cleaned cartridge and tighten it. Do not over torque.
8. Replace the plastic collar, put the handle back on facing the correct position, tighten the Allen bolt firmly without over torquing, and press the colored cap back on.

Lay the small parts out in the order they come off, cap, bolt, handle, collar, cartridge, because they go back in exactly the reverse order. Every Ella procedure repeats the same instruction at each tightening step: securely, without over torquing.

If Your Socket Will Not Fit Down Around the Cartridge

The published guides and the video name the socket by size only, 17 mm, and do not list a socket depth or wall thickness, so this page will not guess at one. Before looking for a different socket, confirm that the valve is actually ready for it. The socket is meant to go on only after the handle has been lifted off and the plastic collar under the handle has been removed. If the collar is still in place, or the handle has not been lifted clear of the stem, there is nothing for the socket to seat on. Confirm too that you are working on a 5-piece faucet with separate red and blue handles, because the 2-piece faucet has a brass collar in that position rather than a socket-sized cartridge body, and the thermostatic set is a different valve altogether.

If the collar is off and a standard 17 mm socket still will not seat on the cartridge, take a close photo of the open valve from directly above with the handle and collar removed, plus a photo of the whole faucet set, and open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model and serial number. Ella provides technical support by phone and video for the life of the tub and ships replacement parts, but it does not send technicians. A local licensed plumber does the labor, and these steps are what that plumber follows.

Why the 2-Piece Faucet Needs No Socket

The 2-piece faucet uses a 40 mm high-flow cartridge that sits inside the spout housing beneath the lever handle, and the parts around it are brass rather than plastic. The two-piece video on this page shows the full job. The technician removes the decorative bolt cover, loosens the Allen bolt with a 3 mm Allen wrench and lifts off the spout handle. The escutcheon plate is then unscrewed and removed, the brass locking collar is loosened and removed, and the cartridge simply lifts out. When the new cartridge goes in, its two guide posts must line up with the receptacles in the spout housing, and it seats correctly only when both posts are in position. The brass locking collar is then replaced and tightened securely without over torquing, the escutcheon plate is hand tightened, and the handle goes back on with the red side on the left for hot and the blue side on the right for cold. The specification sheets print the same job in five steps, and Faucet drips or the handle feels stiff: replacing your faucet cartridge step by step lays those printed steps beside the video.

Ordering the Cartridge and Finishing the Job

Replacement cartridges for both fast-fill faucets come through a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support, or through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Send a photo of your faucet with your model and serial number so the right cartridge is matched, since the 2-piece and 5-piece sets use different cartridges. On the 5-piece faucet, cleaning out calcification with a soft brush is part of the procedure, so a stiff or dripping valve is sometimes solved without a new part at all. The 2-piece faucet is designed for 16 GPM at 60 PSI and the 5-piece for 18 GPM at 60 PSI, and both include a hand shower on a 5 foot retractable stainless braided hose, so a cartridge swap restores the faucet you were sold rather than changing how it fills. The complete walkthrough for every faucet type, including when a thermostatic cartridge should be cleaned rather than replaced, is in How Do I Replace the Faucet Cartridge on My Walk-In Tub?.

Watch: Ellas Bubbles: Two Piece Faucet Cartridge Replacement with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Faucet Cartridge Burst and Spraying Water: Shutting It Down and Getting Replacement Hot and Cold Valves
• Why Does My Tub Faucet Drip Constantly and How Do I Fix It?
• 5-Piece Faucet: Water Keeps Flowing With the Valve Off, Low Pressure, Handle Replacements and Finish Options

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