Where Are the Grab Bars on the Transfer32 and How High Is Its Seat?

The Ella Transfer32 carries grab bars on the deck and on the tub wall, placed for the sideways move from a wheelchair onto the seat, and its molded seat is 24 inches wide and sits 17 inches above the footwell floor according to the current spec sheet. The full dimension set for the model is in Ella Transfer32 32x52: Wide-Seat Transfer Tub With Three-System Packages. This page pulls the seat and grab bar details out of that profile and the product videos, reconciles the figures that differ between them, and explains what each one means when you plan a transfer.

Where the Grab Bars Are on a Transfer32

Every tub in the Transfer family, the Transfer26, Transfer30, Transfer32, Transfer60 and TransferXXL, is built with a low threshold, a textured floor and deck and wall mounted grab bars. The product tour of the 30 by 52 and 32 by 52 models describes them as well placed deck and wall mounted grab bars and shows them alongside the soft grip door handle. Ella positions its built-in grab bars for the three moments when a bather needs support: entering, exiting and standing up from the seat. The tour that shows the bars on screen is indexed in Wheelchair Transfer Tubs on Video: Transfer26, Transfer30, Transfer32, Transfer60, TransferXXL and the Legacy S-Class 3655, which also tells you which of the three transfer videos answers which question.

What makes the Transfer32 different from an inward door tub is what sits next to the seat. The L-shape door swings outward through 172 degrees and takes the whole side of the tub with it, so there is no sidewall beside the seat and nothing between a wheelchair and the seat edge. The bars are therefore doing a different job than on a step-in tub. On a step-in model you pull on the bar as you turn and lower yourself onto the seat. On the Transfer32 the bar is a handhold for steadying yourself as you slide across from the chair, and again as you rise from the seat at the end of the bath. The door closes on a two-latch gear and shaft lock that pulls it evenly onto its seal, and the soft grip handle is what you reach for once you are seated.

The Seat Figures Printed on the Current Spec Sheet

The current Transfer32 spec sheet prints a set of interior figures that together describe the seat and the space around it.

• Seat width: 24 inches, which is where the extra 2 inches over the Transfer30 go.
• Seat length, front to back: 16 7/8 inches.
• Seat to footwell: 17 inches, the height of the seat top above the tub floor.
• Seat to overflow: 19 3/4 inches, the depth of water that can stand above the seat before the overflow takes it.
• Interior length: 43 3/4 inches, with a footwell of 19 1/2 by 17 1/2 inches.

The video tour quotes two of these figures differently, giving 44 inches of interior length and a 15 1/2 inch seat length for both the 32 by 52 and the 30 by 52 model. The article that indexes the videos states that the current spec sheets are the documents that govern whenever a number differs, so plan around 43 3/4 and 16 7/8 inches for the Transfer32. The video's 14 1/2 inch soaking depth for the Transfer32 is not repeated on the spec sheet excerpt, and the narration explains that soaking depth comes from three things: the interior length, the seat length and the distance from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow. Your own body size then decides how much of that depth you actually feel.

On seat height, the spec sheet's 17 inch seat to footwell figure lands on the same number Ella quotes for most of its walk-in models, a 17 inch seat height similar to a standard chair, so sitting down and standing up use the same motion as rising from a dining chair. That measurement is taken inside the tub, from the seat top down to the footwell floor. It does not tell you how high the seat top sits above your bathroom floor once the tub is installed, which is the figure a wheelchair user compares with the height of the chair seat. That number is not among the sources gathered on this page. Before you commit to the model, ask for it through ellasbubbles.com/support or (800) 480-6850 with the model name so the team can confirm it against the current drawing for your order.

Transfer32 and Transfer30 Seat Figures Side by Side

The two models share the same 52 inch length and the same interior length in the video, so the choice between them comes down almost entirely to the seat. Ella positions the Transfer32 for larger body types who want more hip room than the 22 inch seat of the Transfer30 while staying inside a 52 inch footprint. If the bather fits a 22 inch seat comfortably, the Transfer30 gives the same door, the same threshold and the same grab bars in a tub that is 2 inches narrower, which can matter at a doorway. The Transfer32's actual size is 32 by 52 by 40 inches, and it ships with an 8 inch extension panel to finish a 60 inch alcove.

How the Seat and the Bars Work Together in a Transfer

The transfer path is the reason the seat width and the bar placement matter together. How Do You Transfer From a Wheelchair Into an Ella Walk-In Tub? lays out the sideways move, and it goes like this on the Transfer32.

1. Roll the wheelchair up beside the open side of the tub, where the L-shape door has removed the sidewall.
2. Drop the wheelchair arm and take hold of the deck grab bar.
3. Slide across onto the 24 inch seat, keeping your weight on the bar as you move.
4. Swing your legs over the low threshold into the footwell and settle back against the backrest.
5. Close the door with the soft grip handle, then fill the tub. The door stays closed as long as there is water inside.
6. At the end of the bath, drain first, wait for the water to leave, then open the door and reverse the move.

A more mobile bather can instead sit down on the seat and swing the feet in, or simply step in through the wide opening as on any other Ella tub. The door decides what is physically possible. How a particular person should be lifted, steadied or positioned belongs to that person's physical or occupational therapist. The fill and drain order that frames the transfer is in How Do You Use a Walk-In Bathtub Step by Step?.

Adding Wall Bars Around the Tub

Most seated Ella tubs include one or two deck-mount bars, and more can be added to the surrounding walls, a point made in Which accessible bathtub options work best for elderly users?. Ella's guidance for added bars places horizontal bars 33 to 36 inches above the tub floor and a vertical bar near the door, at the spot where you step in and out. On a Transfer32 the door side is the open side, so the vertical bar belongs on the wall you face or reach for as you rise, not beside the door swing, and your installer should check that it clears the 20 inch swing clearance called out on the drawing. Suction-cup grab bars are not recommended. A bar you lean on must be fastened into studs or solid in-wall backing confirmed by a licensed contractor. Ella does not send technicians, so a local licensed contractor does that work, and the team can talk through bar placement with photos of your bathroom.

Related Guides

• ADA Seat Height and Grab Bar Placement Compared With Ella Walk-In Tub Dimensions
• Operating the L-Shape Transfer Door: Front Handle, Closing, and Wheelchair Entry

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