What Is a 4-Port T-Type Drain on a Walk-In Tub?

A 4-port T-type drain is the multi-port PVC drain body under an Ella walk-in tub that lets your installer connect the house drain from either side of the tub. It is connection hardware, not a count of drains: a T-type body sits beneath each 2 inch floor drain and offers 2 inch ports so the drain line can leave in whichever direction your plumbing needs. Any port that is not used is closed with an end cap that ships in the crate.

How It Works

Water leaves the tub through the 2 inch floor drain, drops into the T-type body and exits through whichever ports your installer has connected. On Dual Drain models each of the two drains has its own T-type body, so there are four 2 inch ports in total, and connecting all four to the house drain gives the fastest possible drainage. Many installations simply connect the two ports nearest the house drain and cap the rest. The body accepts standard PVC fittings, and the installer joins it to a 1.5 inch or, ideally, a 2 inch house drain with a T or a Y connector; a Y adds fewer sharp turns, which is why Ella prefers it. The PVC pipe from the tub to the house drain is not included, and the house drain should be tested for free flow before the tub goes in. See Plumbing and Drain Configurations and Connecting the 2 Inch Tub Drain to 1.5 Inch House Plumbing for layouts.

Which Ella Models Have It

No Ella tub has four drains. Dual Drain models, which cover the stainless-door, Ultra, outward-swing (except the Front Entry), two-seat and Transfer families, have two floor drains, each on its own T-type body, and ship with two end caps. The Standard, Standard60, Zen, Zen60 and Flow have one 2 inch drain on a T-type body with two connectable ports and ship with one end cap for the unused side (Model profile). The Front Entry uses a single 2 inch 2-port drain, and the LayDown tubs use a threaded brass drain rather than a PVC T-type body. When the spec sheet for a single-drain tub mentions the four-port T-type wording, it is describing the drain body, not extra drains. The full drain-speed story is in Dual Drain Technology Explained.

What to Know as an Owner

Before your installer starts, count the end caps in the parts box: two for a dual-drain tub, one for the Standard family. If a cap seems missing, look inside the tub and under the frame first, since every small part is individually wrapped, boxed and packed there. After installation, make sure every unused port is capped and every joint is snug rather than over-tightened, because an over-tightened union displaces its O-ring and drips. If you ever see water at the drain body, note which port is wet and whether it is a capped port or a connected one. For a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support, have your model, serial number, a photo of the drain body from below, and a note of which ports are connected and what fitting was used.

Related Guides

• Why the Door Drain on My Walk-In Tub Is Capped and Should Stay That Way
• Connecting the Dual Drains in a Tight Space and What the Drain Package Includes
• What is the Ella Flow walk-in tub and what does it include?

Related Videos

Watch: The Best Dual Drain Technology for Walk-In Tubs with chapters and a full transcript.

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