Which Ella walk-in tub has the widest seat and the deepest soak?

No single Ella walk-in tub has both the widest seat and the deepest soak. The widest single seat in the line is the 29 inch seat on the TransferXXL, while the deepest published soaking depth is the 22 inch seat-to-overflow figure on the Big4One. Whether the water reaches your shoulders depends on your own seated torso compared with that seat-to-overflow number, a measurement explained in What Is Soaking Depth on a Walk-In Tub?.

Why the Widest Seat and the Deepest Soak Are Two Different Tubs

Seat width and soaking depth are set by different parts of the shell. The seat is molded into the tub as one piece, measured across the seat surface at hip level, and Ella seats run from 19 inches to 29 inches wide. Soaking depth is the distance from the top of that seat to the center of the overflow opening, because the overflow caps how high the water can rise. A tub can be built with a very wide seat and an ordinary overflow height, or a narrower seat with a tall overflow, so the two figures move independently.

On the seat side, the TransferXXL leads with a 29 inch seat, the ShaK follows at 28 inches, and the Big4One and Transfer32 both offer 24 inch seats. Two-seat tubs list a width for each seat, and the Escape, for example, has 27 and 29 inch seats. On the depth side, the Big4One stands alone at 22 inches from seat to overflow. The Deluxe is next at 19 inches, the Ultimate at 18 1/2 inches, the Ultra at 17 1/2 inches as stated in its video, and the Capri at 17 1/4 inches. The stainless inward-door tubs such as the Elite and Royal sit at about 15 1/2 inches, the Petite at 15 3/8 inches, and the Standard at 15 inches.

What this means in practice is that a wide seat is not a promise of a deep soak. What Are Seat Width and Seat Height on a Walk-In Tub? covers how the seat is measured and why it has to be wider than your seated hips, and the rest of this page puts the two figures side by side so you can see where they line up.

Seat Width and Soaking Depth Side by Side

Read the table in two passes. If hip room is your first concern, the TransferXXL, ShaK and Escape top the seat column, and the seat-to-overflow figures for those three are not printed in the material on this page, so ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the current spec sheet before you count on a particular water depth. If depth is your first concern, the Big4One's 22 inches is well ahead of everything else, and its 24 inch seat is still wider than most of the line. The Deluxe and Ultimate are the answer for a bather who wants a deep soak but has only a 30 inch wide space. The full chart with seat length, interior length and footwell for every model is in Interior Length, Seat-to-Overflow and Seat-to-Footwell by Model: The Soaking Depth Table.

Can You Actually Soak to Your Shoulders?

The published depth tells you how far the water can rise above the seat. Whether that reaches your shoulders depends on you, because a taller bather sits higher in the same water than a shorter one, and a long torso feels a shallower soak than a short torso in the same tub. There is no soaking depth calculator. The reliable check is to measure yourself.

1. Sit upright in a straight chair.
2. Measure from the chair seat to the top of your shoulders.
3. Compare that figure with the seat-to-overflow depth of each tub you are considering.
4. While you are seated, also measure across your hips and shoulders at their widest, and your seated length from the top of your head to your feet, and compare those with the seat width and interior length.

If your seat-to-shoulder measurement is greater than the seat-to-overflow figure, the water will stop below your shoulders when the tub is full, no matter how wide the seat is. Interior length changes the feel as well: a longer interior lets you stretch out and settle lower, while a shorter interior keeps you more upright. That is one reason the Big4One and ShaK, with their long seats and long interiors, suit bathers around 6 feet and taller, while a larger bather who is not tall is usually happier in the TransferXXL, the Transfer32 or the Monaco. Is There a Weight Limit? Bariatric and Large-Bather Walk-In Tub Options explains that fit, not a weight limit, is what decides.

What the Standard Video Shows About Measuring Depth

The video on this page introduces the Ella Standard and states the rule that applies to every seated Ella tub: soaking depth is measured by the distance from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow drains. It gives the Standard's own figures as a 22 inch wide seat, an 18 inch seat length, 43 inches of interior length and a 15 inch soaking depth, and shows the 7 inch extension panel that lets the tub fit a 60 inch alcove. Those numbers are a useful contrast with the tubs above. The Standard's seat is wider than the Deluxe's, yet its soak is shallower, which is the widest-seat-versus-deepest-soak distinction in a single example.

Measuring a Tub You Can Reach

If you can stand at a tub in a showroom or a home, measure it empty. Stand a tape upright on the seat surface and read it at the center of the overflow opening, not at the rim, because water runs out at the overflow and the rim height says nothing about how deep you will sit. Measure the seat from its front edge to the backrest, and the interior from end to end. Only the first figure is a depth; the other two shape how you sit in it. The step-by-step is in How do I measure the soaking depth of a walk-in tub?. Seat height is about 17 inches on most models, within the range used for accessible seating, and the Ultra's 17 inch seat is called ADA-compliant on its spec sheet. If you would like to sit a little higher, a seat pillow riser adds a few inches on the models it fits.

Getting the Deepest Soak from the Tub You Choose

Fill to the overflow for the deepest soak, and never fill above the center of the drain handle. The jets need water well above them before any pump runs. The in-line heater maintains the temperature you fill with rather than heating cold water, so start with the water as warm as you like it within safe bathing guidelines. If the soak feels shallower than you expected after installation, the fit is usually the question rather than a fault. Re-measure yourself seated, compare with the drawings, and have your model name, serial number and seated measurements ready when you contact your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850.

Watch: Ella’s Standard: Best Compact Walk-In Tub For A Deep Comfortable Soak | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

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