What is a soaker tub and how deep does it soak?

A soaker tub, in the Ella's Bubbles lineup, is a walk-in tub ordered with no jets, no pumps and no therapy controls, built for bathers who simply want a safe, comfortable soak without massage. It keeps the same door, seat, faucet, hand shower and drain hardware as the jetted version of the same model, so its size and soaking depth are identical to that model's jetted configuration. The Ella definition of the configuration is in What Is a Soaking Walk-In Tub?; this page explains what the word soaker means in practice, how soaking depth is measured, and how the deep-soak and stretch-out models differ.

What Soaker Means on an Ella Walk-In Tub

Every Ella therapy system is built into the shell at the factory. A soaker is molded without jet openings, and nothing is installed under the tub. There is no hydro pump, no air blower and no microbubble system, so there is nothing to switch on. The interior is smooth, and the bather steps through the low threshold door, sits on the built-in seat, fills the tub and soaks.

Because the in-line water heater, ozone sterilization and Auto Purge all belong to the hydro and air systems, a soaker has none of them. It also does not include the LED chromatherapy light, which comes only with dual and triple packages. The one electrical item a soaker can have is the optional heated seat and backrest, which runs on its own keypad and needs a 15A 120V GFCI-protected line. Without that option, a plain soaking tub needs no dedicated electrical circuit at all, because its drains work by gravity. The electrical side is covered in Does a Soaking Walk-In Tub Need Electrical Wiring or Keep the Water Warm?.

How Soaking Depth Is Measured

Soaking depth on a walk-in tub is not the height of the shell. It is the distance from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow drains, because that is how much water sits around a seated bather before the overflow begins to take it away. The Ella Standard video on this page shows the measurement being explained and gives the Standard a soaking depth of 15 inches, with 43 inches of interior length, a 22-inch wide seat and an 18-inch seat length.

Two cautions apply to that figure. First, the Standard is a hydro-massage tub and is not offered as a soaker, so the 15-inch depth describes the Standard shell rather than a soaker configuration. Second, soaking depth varies by model, and the sources on this page publish the figure only for the Standard. Because a soaker shares the exact dimensions of the jetted version of its model, the soaking depth of any soaker is the same as the figure published for that model. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can give you the soaking depth for the specific model you are considering.

Deep Soak or Stretch Out: The Two Shapes of Soaking

Ella's models are built around different bathing preferences, and the word soak means different things in different shells. The Deluxe, at 30 by 55 inches, is designed as a deeper soaking tub rather than a stretch-out tub, so bathers sit more upright and sink lower into the water. It comes with an in-swing door. The Longer, at 27 by 60 inches, has an extended seat area so a bather can scoot down and stretch their legs out rather than sitting fully upright, and it tends to suit someone of smaller stature, such as a person around 5'6" and 125 pounds. The Transfer XXL, at 36 by 55 inches, is the wheelchair accessible, bariatric option and can be set up as a soaker or with therapy features. The models are described in Walk-in Tub Model Highlights: Longer, Deluxe, Monaco, and Transfer XXL.

What these differences mean for you comes down to how you want to sit. A deeper, upright shell like the Deluxe puts more water around the shoulders of a seated bather, while a longer shell like the Longer trades some of that upright depth for leg room. A soaker version of any model gives you that model's seat, door and depth without the jets, so pick the shell shape first and the therapy package second. Where the table says not listed, the figure was not in the published sources used for this page, and your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm it.

What a Soaker Keeps and What It Gives Up

Everything structural matches the jetted version: acrylic shell on a stainless frame, door and seal, grab bars, textured floor, fast-fill faucet and hand shower, drains, end panel, and the extension panel where offered. As one example, the Elite soaking option includes a 22-inch wide seat, the 360 degree swivel tray, the 5-piece Ella fast fill faucet, two chrome stainless steel grab bars, 2-inch dual drains with two drain openers, one reversible end panel for a left or right corner installation, and one 7-inch extension panel.

The trade-off is heat. A hydro therapy package has a built-in in-line water heater which sustains the water temperature while the hydro system is engaged. A soaker has no heater, so the bath is as warm as the water you fill it with, and it cools the way any bathtub does. If holding temperature through a long soak matters to the bather, a hydro package is the way to get the heater. The other trade-off is permanence: jets cannot be added later, and a jetted tub cannot be turned into a soaker, because the package is part of the shell. Decide on massage before you order.

Why a Soaker Is the Easiest Tub to Own

A soaker is the easiest Ella tub to care for. There is no monthly vinegar flush, because there are no jet lines to clean, and bath salts and oils simply rinse away with the drain rather than collecting in plumbing lines. Care comes down to the acrylic, the door seal and the drain: clean the acrylic with approved non-abrasive cleaners and keep the door open when the tub is not in use to protect the seal. The side-by-side upkeep comparison is in Soaking Walk-In Tub vs Jetted Tub: Which Is Easier to Maintain?.

Most models can be ordered as a soaker, including the Elite, Petite and Royal with the stainless inward-swing door, the Capri, Monaco, Front Entry, Mobile and Lounger with the U-shape outward door, the whole Transfer family and both LayDown sizes. A few models always include at least one massage system: the Ultimate, Deluxe and Ultra, the Big4One and ShaK, the Standard, Standard60, Zen, Zen60 and Flow, and the two-seat tubs. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm a specific model.

Watch: The Ella Standard: Perfect for a Comfortable Deep Soak with Hydrotherapy | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Can Hydro or Air Jets Be Added to an Ella Soaking Tub Later?
• Does My Ella Tub Include an In-Line Heater? Hydro, Air-Only, Soaker and Clearance Units
• Heated Seat and Back: How It Works, Which Tubs Offer It, and How to Add It to Your Order

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