What is an air bath tub and how does the air massage feel?

An air bath tub is a walk-in tub whose massage comes from air rather than water. A dedicated air pump pushes air into the bath through air jets in the shell, so the water moves gently around your whole body instead of being driven at you in streams. The feel is lighter and more enveloping than the deep, targeted push of the water jets described in What Are Hydro Massage Jets on a Walk-In Tub?, and Ella describes the air therapy as the system for cleanliness, moving the water into the places you cannot reach anymore so you step out feeling fresh.

Air, Water and Microbubbles Side by Side

Ella offers three therapy systems, and the sensation in the tub is different for each. The video on this page is an Ella walkthrough of the standard and optional features, with the water massage described as the intense therapy for muscle and joint pain relief, arthritis and carpal tunnel, and the air therapy as the one that moves the water around for cleanliness. The table puts the three systems next to each other using only the figures printed in Ella's guides.

For a bather, the differences come down to pressure and purpose. Hydro is the system to choose for aches and joints, because the pump drives water at specific muscle groups and you can turn the intensity up or down. Air is the system for a soak that feels alive around the whole body without concentrated pressure, and it is the one that does the cleaning work of moving water everywhere. Microbubble is neither; it changes the water itself. Many Ella tubs combine air with water jets, and a tub that has both comes with chromatherapy lights, whose colors are meant to set the mood of the bath. Microbubble therapy is a separate factory option, covered in What Is Infusion Microbubble Therapy on a Walk-In Tub?.

Running the Three-Speed Air Control

The air massage is run from a push control on the deck, and the speeds cycle with each press. The first press starts the system on high, the second press drops it to medium, the third press drops it to low, and a fourth press turns the air off. That order is the same on every Ella three-speed air control, including older Transfer tubs, so there is no reverse ramp to learn. If the button does nothing at all, the usual cause is the air tube between the push control and the control box not being seated, and the button can be pried out of its housing to check the connection, but that is a check for your installer rather than a bathing step.

The one habit worth building is sequence. Fill the tub first, turn the air on once you are settled, and turn it off when you are done. Turning the air on for a moment before the bath to test it starts a countdown that can land in the middle of your soak, for the reason in the next section.

The Bubbles That Come on by Themselves: The Auto Purge

The most common surprise on an air bath tub is a burst of air about 20 minutes after the pump was switched off. That is the Auto Purge. It runs for 120 seconds and blows the residual water out of the air lines so nothing sits in them between baths. It is fully automatic, it has no button, and it cannot be stopped or retimed. It runs whether the tub is full, empty or still filling, and it is normal even if it starts while you are still in the tub.

If you searched for how to get rid of the bubbles in the tub, this is almost always what you are seeing, and the answer is to let the two minutes finish. A cool mist across the water during the purge is normal, and there is no harm in staying in. To keep it from arriving mid-bath, use the air only once the tub is filled and turn it off when you get out, so the purge fires after you have left. One purge per shutoff is the pattern to expect; if the air keeps starting on its own more than once per bath, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, with your serial number and the times it started. The timing cases are worked through in Why Did the Auto Purge Come On While I Was Filling the Tub?.

What an Air-Only Tub Does Not Include

Because the air system has no water pump, an air-only tub leaves out two things that come with every hydro package. There is no ozone generator, since the generator is wired in line with the hydro pump, so an air-only tub never gives off the clean, slightly metallic ozone scent described in Why Does My Walk-In Tub Smell Like Ozone or Chlorine During Hydro Massage?. There is also no in-line heater. On a hydro tub the heater holds the water at the temperature you filled it, but only while the hydro pump is running; an air-only or soaker model has no heater at all, and it cannot be added to those configurations. In an air bath the water cools the way any bath does, so fill hot from the faucet and expect the soak to follow your home's hot water rather than the tub's. The heater's limits are explained in Why Doesn't the Water Stay Hot and Why Do the Jets Blow Cold?.

An optional heated seat is a different feature. It keeps you warm while you wait for the tub to fill, while the water drains, and whenever your back rests against the backrest, and it is one of the options Ella lists when you build the tub.

Other Bubbles and Clouds You May Notice

• Cloudy white water on a tub with Infusion microbubble therapy is the therapy working. The bath turns from clear to cloudy because the bubbles are too small to see individually, and it is not a water-quality problem.
• Foam from bath bombs is a different matter. Skip them in a jetted tub, because they clog the jets.
• On hydro tubs, a faint hiss of air at the check valve on top of the ozone generator is normal and comes with the light hum of the generator.

Watch: Why Ella’s Walk-In Tubs Were Voted Best & Safest: Standout Features | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What Are Air Massage Jets on a Walk-In Tub?
• Why Does the Air Massage Blow Cold Air? There Is No Heating Element
• My walk-in tub turned on by itself: the air massage Auto-Purge is normal

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