What is a hydrogen bath and how do you take one?

A hydrogen bath is an ordinary warm bath in which the water has been infused with molecular hydrogen as micro and nano bubbles. On an Ella walk-in tub that is done by the H2 hydrogen therapy system, a generator and pump under the molded seat that feed hydrogen into the water through a single jet below seat level, as What Is H2 Hydrogen Therapy on a Walk-In Tub? describes. You take one by filling the tub as usual, pressing the H2 button once the water is above the inlet jet, and soaking for about 15 to 20 minutes.

How the Tub Makes the Hydrogen

Nothing is poured into the bath. You fill the tub from your faucet, and the tub makes the hydrogen while the system runs. A blue tank under the tub holds distilled water and feeds it to the generator through a hose connected to the front of the tub. The generator produces hydrogen, and the pump injects it into the bath as micro and nano bubbles through a single jet below seat level. Because the hydrogen rides in nano bubbles, it stays in the water longer instead of rising and escaping.

On the Standard60, the catalog model, hydrogen is packaged with infusion microbubble therapy as the H2 and Microbubbles System. That system runs on a 1 HP, 10A pump with a pressure vessel and agitator valve, and the single H2 button on the deck starts and stops both together, so the water turns cloudy with microbubbles at the same time it is being charged with hydrogen. Owners call the result a hydrogen bath, hydrogen water therapy or simply the H2 system.

How Much Hydrogen Is in the Water

Ella publishes the concentration in parts per billion, and 1000 PPB equals 1 ppm. By the time the tub fills to the drain overflow the water reaches 1500 PPB, or 1.5 ppm, and it can rise to about 2000 PPB, or 2.0 ppm, during an extended bath of 15 to 20 minutes. Every hydrogen tub is tested individually before it ships and comes with verifiable test results, and levels of up to 2.2 ppm are guaranteed per those results. The test sheet that ships with your tub is the authoritative number for your unit, so keep it with your paperwork.

The published test video shows how that number is measured. A 6 mL sample of water is dosed with a blue reagent one drop at a time. Each drop turns clear while dissolved hydrogen remains, and the drop that stays blue marks the end point. Plain tap water stays blue at the first drop, which the video estimates as 0.1 ppm of hydrogen or less. Water from an Ella tub fitted with a hydrogen generator stays clear until the twenty-second drop, which is 2.2 ppm. The second video explains why the nano bubbles matter and presents the reasons Ella offers the therapy, including the benefits that have been studied for hydrogen bathing.

Before Your First Hydrogen Bath

The system ships with its container secured under the tub, and it has to be set up once before it can produce anything.

1. Cut the shipping ties and remove the container from under the tub.
2. Connect the hose to the front of the tub.
3. Fill the blue tank with distilled water only. Tap water carries minerals the system is not designed for, and topping up with anything else can lead to weak output or a dirty tank over time.
4. Put the test results that shipped with the tub with your other paperwork.

A skipped step here, especially the hose connection, is the first thing the support team rules out on a new tub that seems to do nothing.

Taking a Hydrogen Bath, Step by Step

1. Glance at the blue tank. The generator draws from it, so it needs fresh distilled water before any bath where output matters. Top it up with distilled water only.
2. Fill the tub from the faucet as you normally would. The water must be above the hydrogen inlet jet and the microbubble port before the system is switched on, because the pump must never run dry. Never press the H2 button early.
3. Press the H2 button once. On the Standard60 this starts the hydrogen generator and the microbubble pump together, and the water begins to cloud.
4. Soak. The water is at its rated 1500 PPB by the time it reaches the drain overflow, and an extended bath of 15 to 20 minutes lets the level climb toward 2000 PPB. There is no timer on the microbubble pump. It runs until you press the control again, and Ella technical support confirms it will run for an hour or so if that is what you want, as Is There a Time Limit on How Long the Microbubble Pump Runs? explains.
5. Switch the system off before you open the drain, so the pump is not left running as the water level falls.

If you are unsure which deck control is the H2 button on your tub, Every Therapy and Control Video in One Place gathers the short videos for each therapy and control panel.

Which Ella Tubs Can Give a Hydrogen Bath

The Standard60, the 30 by 60 catalog model, is the tub offered with the H2 and Microbubbles System. Each Ella therapy system has its own pump under the seat, with no diverter splitting one pump between systems, so what a tub can carry depends on the space under its deck. The hydrogen generator and pump live in exactly that space, with the blue tank under the tub and a hose to the front. Installing it in any other Ella tub is a special-order question. The Petite, for example, lists five therapy packages on its spec sheet and hydrogen is not one of them, which Can the hydrogen jet system be added to the Petite walk-in tub? goes through in detail. Ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 about your specific tub before assuming either way.

If the Water Looks the Same After You Press the Button

When a hydrogen system seems to produce nothing, the cause is usually one of three things: the blue tank is not filled with fresh distilled water, the first-time setup was not finished, or the bath water was not yet above the hydrogen inlet jet and the microbubble port when the button was pressed. A gap in any one of them looks identical from the seat. Check the tank first, then the hose connection at the front of the tub, then the water level. Why Is My Ella Hydrogen Therapy Not Producing Bubbles or Hydrogen? turns that routine into a checklist. If those checks do not bring the bubbles back, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your model and serial number and the test sheet that shipped with the tub.

Related Guides

• Does an Ella Hydrogen Bath Need Distilled Water, and Is It Safe?
• Common Questions About Ella Hydrogen Therapy: PPB and PPM, How It Is Generated, Which Tubs Can Have It and the Test Video
• How Do You Make a Hydrogen Bath and What Does It Do?

Common Questions