Which Ella walk-in tub options are special order and do they add lead time?

On an Ella walk-in tub, a special order is a build that goes past what a frame normally carries: infusion microbubble on the Deluxe or Ultimate, the Air + Hydro + Foot triple on the Lounger, all four therapy systems on the TransferXXL, and the H2 hydrogen system on any tub other than the Standard60. Ella publishes no lead time for these or for any other option, because every tub is assembled and tested to order and timing varies by model, options and stock, so your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 confirms current timing for your specific order. The frame-by-frame rules behind these special orders are laid out in Which Therapy Combinations Fit Which Tub: Hydro, Air, Microbubble, and Foot Massage by Model.

Why Some Options Are Special Orders and Others Are Not

Every therapy system on an Ella tub has its own pump under the seat. Back hydro, independent foot hydro, air and microbubble each get a separate pump, and Ella does not use a diverter to split one pump between two systems, so all of the systems you order run together. The consequence is a space rule. A compact 52 inch frame is limited to two systems on most models, the Royal, Monaco, Transfer32 and Transfer60 take three, and the large single-seat and two-seat frames take all four.

The six catalog packages, Soaking, Hydro, Air + Hydro, Hydro + Microbubble, Hydro + Independent Foot Massage and Air + Hydro + Microbubble, are the combinations each frame is normally built with. A special order is a request to put a system on a frame that does not normally carry it, and the team confirms whether the room exists under the seat before the order is placed. The H2 hydrogen system follows the same logic. Its generator, pump and distilled water tank sit under the molded seat, so a special-order installation in a tub other than the Standard60 depends on the space available under the deck. What Is H2 Hydrogen Therapy on a Walk-In Tub? describes the system and the way it is packaged on the Standard60.

Special-Order Options by Model

The pattern in the table is that a special order is never about a different part. It is about a frame that has to be confirmed for room before a pump, a hydrogen generator or a third and fourth system goes in. That is why the same microbubble system is a catalog choice on the Royal and a special order on the Deluxe, and why the TransferXXL can carry all four systems only after the team has confirmed the build. For your bathroom, the practical difference is planning: a special-order build should be confirmed before you finalize the electrical, because every added system means another pump drawing power under the seat.

Options Decided at Order Time That Are Not Special Orders

Several choices have to be on the original order even though they are ordinary catalog options. Every Ella walk-in tub is drilled and jetted to match the order before it leaves the factory, so these are built into the shell rather than added in your bathroom.

• The door hand, which also sets the drain side, and the therapy package, including any special order for three or more therapies on a frame that normally carries two.
• The heated seat and backrest, which is factory installed with its own keypad and warms the acrylic while the tub fills and drains.
• Aromatherapy, a four-part canister assembly plumbed into the tub for liquid essential oil.
• The faucet style and finish, the digital touchpad where offered, and a tub with no faucet or control holes if you plan to supply your own fixtures.

The faucet is a good example of how an order-time choice works. When your order is placed, your tub is pulled with your name on it and the deck is drilled for whatever faucet you selected. The faucet is assembled on the deck but is not hooked up to the supply lines when the tub ships, so the tub can travel fully drained, and your installer connects the lines on site. Using Your Own Faucet: No-Faucet Orders, Pre-Drilled Decks, Wall-Mount Options, and Which Tubs Require a Customer-Supplied Faucet covers the LayDown60, the LayDown72 and the seated tubs that can be ordered without a faucet.

What Is Never Special Ordered or Changed

Two groups of items sit outside the special-order question entirely. The first is the accessories that attach to the deck or the wall and can be added to an installed tub at any time: the 4-fold glass screen, the shower column kit, the hand shower slide bar, extra end panels, seat pillows and risers, the head pillow, the swivel tray and add-on grab bars. None of these needs to be on the original order, and Can Features Be Added to an Ella Walk-In Tub After It Is Installed? sorts them from the built-in systems.

The second group is the opposite: things that cannot be requested at all. There is no on-site kit that adds a jetting system to a tub built without it, so an air system cannot be added to a hydro tub and the hydro jet count cannot be raised later. The faucet and control holes are pre-drilled in fixed locations, and drilling elsewhere voids the warranty on that part. Clearance and fixed units are sold as configured and are never modified, upgraded or refinished before shipping, as My Clearance Tub Was Sold With a Door Leak. Can It Be Fixed? explains, so a special-order therapy cannot be requested on a clearance tub.

What Ella Says About Lead Time

Ella walk-in tubs are assembled and tested to order, and the total time from paid invoice to delivery varies by model, options and stock. The knowledge base states no specific processing, production or delivery timeframe and never promises a date, for a catalog build or a special-order build. The support team confirms current timing for each specific order, so the honest answer to whether a special order adds lead time is that only the team can tell you for the tub and options you have chosen.

To get a useful answer, have the following ready when you contact your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850:

1. The model and the door hand you need, since the drains land on the opposite side from the door.
2. The therapy package, and whether it is one of the six catalog packages or a special-order build such as microbubble on a Deluxe or all four systems on a TransferXXL.
3. Whether you want the H2 hydrogen system, and if so whether the tub is a Standard60 or another model that needs an under-deck space check.
4. Your faucet choice, including a no-faucet order on the LayDown72 or another tub that allows it.
5. Any heated seat, aromatherapy or digital touchpad request, because these are factory installed.

Once the build is confirmed, your electrician can plan around the number of pumps under the seat, and your plumber can plan the deck holes and drain side before the tub ships.

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