What are the different types of Ella walk-in tubs?

Ella walk-in tubs come in three types: seated walk-in tubs that you enter through a low-threshold door and soak in while sitting up, wheelchair transfer tubs with an oversized outward-swing door for moving across from a wheelchair, and lay-down tubs with a flat interior floor for a reclined soak. Widths run from 26 inches to 38 inches, and the most common footprint is 30 inches wide by 52 inches long, as How wide are walk-in tubs, and is there a 34-inch model? explains. An adapted tub is not an Ella model name. The word adapted comes from the names of the VA housing grants for adapted-housing projects, which are covered further down.

Seated Walk-In Tubs

The seated tub is the classic walk-in design: a door in the side of the shell, a built-in seat, and a soaking depth set by the interior length of the tub, the length of the seat and the distance from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow. The width by length figure for every model describes the outside of the acrylic shell, not the bathing space inside, so the exterior figure is the one to compare with your alcove and doorways. Within this type Ella offers several widths for different bathrooms and body sizes.

• Petite: listed as 28 inches wide, with an actual exterior width of 27 1/2 inches and a 19 inch seat, for openings that cannot take the common 30 inch width.
• Elite: 30 by 52 by 35 inches, the most common footprint, which fits many standard tub alcoves.
• Monaco: 32 by 52 inches with a 23 inch seat and a step-in of approximately 4 inches. The Monaco belongs to the U-shape family, whose outward-swinging door is made of PVC composite and tempered glass with a 3-latch gear and shaft mechanism.
• Standard: ships as a hydro-massage tub with 18 hydro jets, the 5-piece fast-fill faucet with pull-out hand shower and one 2 inch gravity floor drain with overflow. The Standard, Zen and Zen60 use the inward-swing acrylic S-shape door.

Use the current spec sheet for each model rather than an older chart or video. The Elite's 30 inch width on its current spec sheet supersedes the older figure quoted in the doorway-measuring videos.

Wheelchair Transfer Tubs

The Transfer family is built for bathers who move from a wheelchair onto the tub seat. The three 52 inch long sizes share the same oversized L-shaped outward-swing door with a two-latch gear and shaft lock, all stand 40 inches tall, and each includes an 8 inch extension panel so any of them finishes inside a standard 60 inch alcove. Which Ella Wheelchair Transfer walk-in tub sizes are available: 26x52, 30x52 or 32x52? compares them in detail.

• Transfer26: 26 by 52 by 40 inches with a 19 inch seat, holding 75 gallons unoccupied and 35 to 55 gallons occupied. It is the narrowest low-threshold walk-in tub Ella makes, for petite to average body types and bathrooms where a wider tub will not fit.
• Transfer30: 30 by 52 by 40 inches with a 22 inch seat, holding 80 gallons unoccupied and 35 to 65 gallons occupied. It is the standard size and, according to its product page, the most popular member of the family.
• Transfer32: 32 by 52 by 40 inches with a 24 inch seat, holding 107 gallons unoccupied and 45 to 65 gallons occupied, with a soaking depth of 14 1/2 inches. The extra 2 inches go into a roomier seat for larger body types.

Longer members of the family are the Transfer60 and the TransferXXL. There is no XXXL model; that entry on an older schematic is a misprint. Jet counts on Transfer tubs are set by the therapy package you purchase rather than by the model, so two different figures on a spec sheet are each correct for their own package.

Lay-Down Tubs

The LayDown is the type to choose when you want to recline rather than sit. The LayDown 30x60 measures 30 by 60 by 21 inches with a 46 by 20 inch flat interior floor, and it gives a lie-down soak in the 30 inch width with water 15 3/4 inches deep. A brochure cover that shows the LayDown at 30 by 52 inches is a misprint. No LayDown tub includes a faucet by default. The LayDown60 has no faucet option at all and needs a customer-supplied faucet, usually wall-mounted, while the LayDown72 at 32 by 72 inches is faucet-ready with optional Ella deck-mount sets.

The Types Side by Side

The table shows what separates the types in practice. Seated and transfer tubs share the 52 inch length, so the choice between them comes down to the door and the height: transfer tubs stand 40 inches tall with the wide outward-swing door, while the Elite and Petite stand 35 inches. Width buys seat width, since every extra inch of shell on the Transfer models goes into the seat. The LayDown trades the seat for a flat floor and a 60 inch length at only 21 inches tall, so it suits a bather who wants to lie back and a bathroom that has the length to spare.

Therapy Packages, Controls and Accessories on Every Type

Type describes the shell and the door, not the therapy. The jetting video shows how the packages are chosen: a range of air and hydro jet packages, offered differently depending on the style and size of tub, plus a three-speed air massage, a hydro massage with inline water heater and intensity control dial, and microbubble therapy. Auto Purge clears moisture from the air massage system after bathing, ozone sterilization runs with the hydro system to keep it clean for each use, many tubs can add the independent foot massage, and LED chromatherapy is available. The video then walks through accessories: heated seats, a choice of digital or push controls, headrests and seat cushions, the four-fold glass screen and a rain head shower column.

The two control types operate the same systems. With push controls, the air button cycles high on the first press, medium on the second, low on the third, and off on the fourth. On the digital touchpad, the air bubble icon starts the air massage, plus and minus set the intensity, and a two second hold stops it. Push Button Controls vs the Digital Touchpad covers every deck control on both panels.

What an Adapted Tub Means

People searching for an adapted tub are usually working from VA paperwork. The VA's Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grants help veterans and service members with certain service-connected disabilities buy, build or change a home, and the Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant applies when the veteran is living temporarily in a family member's home. They are applied for on VA Form 26-4555 and decided entirely by the VA. Ella's Bubbles does not process VA paperwork. The team supplies the written proposal and product documents an adapted-housing project may need, and the veteran applies. VA Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Home Adaptation (SHA) Grants Explained lists the qualifying disabilities and how the grants differ from HISA.

Watch: Customize Your Walk-In Tub: Jetting Options & Accessories | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Which Ella walk-in tub is right for me? Choosing between the tub families
• How to Narrow Down an Ella Walk-In Tub by Space, Door Side and Therapy
• Common Model Questions: Soakers Without Jets, Big Tubs Without Jets, Colors, Off-White Transfer Tubs, Royal Versus Ultimate, Two-Seat Doors, Inward-Only Models and Front Entry Faucet Side

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