Why does my Ella walk-in tub take longer than 80 seconds to drain?

The 80 second figure is a best case, not a promise for every bathroom. Ella drains are gravity driven, and under ideal house plumbing an average size tub drains in about 80 seconds, while the everyday expectation is two minutes or less once the tub is connected to a proper 2-inch drain line, as Drainage and Fill Time explains. If your tub takes much longer than that, the usual reasons are a drain handle that is not fully open, a larger tub that simply holds more water, or a house drain that cannot carry the water away as quickly as the tub releases it.

What the 80 Second Figure Really Means

The 80 second number comes with conditions attached. The published wording is that under ideal house plumbing an average size tub drains in about 80 seconds. That one sentence holds three conditions: the house plumbing is ideal, the tub is an average size, and the drain is fully open. Change any one of them and the time grows.

There is also a second published figure. Ella's Bubbles walk-in tubs are built with two 2-inch gravity-driven drains, and most tubs empty in two minutes or less once they are connected to a proper 2-inch drain line. Both figures describe the same drain design. About 80 seconds is the best case, and two minutes or less is the everyday expectation. A tub that empties somewhere between those two marks is working normally, even though it misses the faster number.

Tub size matters too. Most standard-size Ella walk-in tubs hold 65 to 107 gallons unoccupied, and a bather typically uses 30 to 75 gallons per bath once seated. The largest models, the ShaK, Escape and Big4Two, hold up to 145 gallons unoccupied. More water takes longer to leave through the same openings, so the owner of one of the largest tubs should not measure it against a figure written for an average size tub. One model has its own published time: the HomeCare Transfer Bathtub drains in about 150 seconds.

How an Ella Tub Drains, and Why That Points at the House

Ella tubs do not use a pump to drain. Water flows straight down through the 2-inch drain openings and out of the tub by gravity alone. Most Ella tubs have two 2-inch gravity drains, each with its own drain handle. The Ella Standard is the exception, with one 2-inch gravity floor drain with overflow and an emergency pull-up chain.

Because nothing in the tub pushes the water out, nothing in the tub can speed it up or slow it down once the drains are fully open. The tub side of the system is fixed: large openings and a straight drop. What varies from home to home is everything after the tub, which means the drain line it was connected to and the house drain beyond it. That is why the published drain time is tied to a proper 2-inch drain line. It is also why the guidance for a tub that empties slowly is that the house drain, rather than the tub, is usually the limit.

Filling works the same way. When an Ella tub fills slowly the faucet is rarely the reason, and the causes sit on the house side, as Why Does My Walk-In Tub Fill So Slowly? describes. A slow drain follows the same pattern.

What to Check, in Order

1. Open every drain handle completely. Stay seated and turn the drain handle fully to the open position. On a tub with two drains, check both handles. A handle that is not turned all the way open is a listed cause of a tub that drains slowly, and it is the easiest one to fix.
2. Time one full drain. Start timing when the handles are fully open and stop when you can see the tub is empty. Compare the result with two minutes or less, not only with 80 seconds.
3. Think about how much water was in the tub. The fill line is above the highest jets and never above the center of the drain handle, as How high should you fill a walk-in bathtub before your bath? explains. A deep fill in a large tub takes longer to empty than a modest fill in a compact one.
4. Look at the drain stem. Ella tubs have adjustable height drains. If your drain sits too high or too low, the stem can be adjusted by loosening or tightening it. The Adjustable Drain Height video shows this adjustment and gives one firm warning: do not loosen the stem too much, because it can fall off and go down the drain.
5. Have your plumber confirm the drain line. The published drain time assumes a proper 2-inch drain line. Ask a local licensed plumber to confirm what the tub was connected to and to check the house drain. If the water leaves slowly with the handles wide open, the house drain is usually the limit.

While You Wait, the Door Stays Closed

A slow drain is most noticeable because you are sitting in the tub waiting for it. Every Ella's Bubbles manual gives the same instruction: never open the door until the tub is completely empty. On an inward swing door, the weight of the water presses the door against its seal, so the door is held shut by water pressure and opens only once the tub is completely drained. On outward swing doors, the gear and shaft latches keep the door sealed until the handle is rotated fully back to the open position.

Do not pull or push on the door while water remains, because the bather's weight on the door can change its alignment. A door that seems stuck while there is still water in the tub is not a defect. The full explanation is in Why Won't My Walk-In Tub Door Open After My Bath?, which also covers what to do if the door still will not open once the tub is empty.

When to Ask for Help

Once the drain handles are confirmed fully open and the drain line has been checked, a tub that still takes far longer than two minutes to empty deserves a closer look. Contact your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support. Have the following ready:

• Your model and serial number.
• Your timed drain, from handles fully open to an empty tub.
• A photo of each drain handle in the open position.
• A note on the drain line size your plumber found under the tub.

Ella does not send technicians. If a tub part turns out to be at fault, parts ship under the warranty and a local licensed plumber does the labor. Anything in the house drain itself is part of the home, and your plumber handles it directly.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Adjustable Drain Height with chapters and a full transcript.

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