Ice bathing at home has never been easier. Why? Because there are so many ways to set it up to suit your needs, whether you only have a shower or bathtub, a small balcony, or a small garden.
In this guide, we’ll show you lots of quick and easy ways to create a cold plunge at home, from budget-friendly DIY setups to professional solutions.
Table of Contents
Ice Barrels & Rain Barrels
A popular option for home cold plunging is to use a rain barrel or an ice barrel, either on your balcony or in the garden. Water can be added through a rain gutter drainpipe, or directly from a hose connection. If you install an outdoor water connection, ensure it has a volume compensator to prevent freezing and bursting your pipe during winter.
Materials: Plastic Vs. Wood
Most rain barrels or ice barrels are made of plastic, predominantly polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). Others are crafted from oak, acacia, or robinia wood.
Plastic barrels are lightweight, affordable, and easy to maintain.
Wooden barrels, on the other hand, are stylish, natural-looking, and eye-catching in gardens. However, they are heavier (approximately 100 kg when empty) and more expensive.
If you choose a wooden barrel, go for the hardest varieties, such as oak, to reduce swelling and warping.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Ice Barrels
Advantages
- Natural, outdoor feel
- Inexpensive to purchase
- Space-saving for balconies/gardens
- Usable year-round
- Low water and energy costs
- Convenient & always nearby
Disadvantages
- Requires a ladder or stool to enter
- Some tinkering is needed for the water connection
Inflatable Cold Plunge Tubs
Inflatable tubs are very popular, and many users buy one for their garden, balcony, or to take with them.
They are lightweight, portable, and easy to set up (≈5 minutes). They’re especially useful if you want to move your plunge between locations.
These tubs are insulated, so they retain the cold longer, and they can be folded up for storage when not in use. Most inflatable tubs start from 75cm x 75cm and upwards, which is enough to sit comfortably, though larger oval versions are better for tall users.
At Chief Ice Officer, we offer a triple-insulated inflatable ice tub with two lids, a pump, a carry bag, and a repair kit. It has a top price-performance ratio and is one of our most popular bestsellers. The tub can is suitable for all sizes and has a diameter of 80 cm.
There are also larger inflatable tubs that fit more than one person (suitable for stretching out your legs). In the smaller tubs, only one squatting position is possible. Oval, elongated tubs are therefore more suitable for very tall ice bathers. These are also very light and better insulated, as both the outer wall and the lid are fully inflated and therefore keep the water cold for a longer period of time.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Inflatable Ice Tubs
Advantages
- Quick setup with no expertise needed
- Very affordable
- Compact, easy to store
- Portable (ideal for travel)
- Comfortable for most body sizes
- Insulated to keep water cold longer
Disadvantages
- Durability is limited compared to solid tubs
Cooling Your Cold Plunge in Summer
There are various ways to cool the ice bath in warm temperatures. Here are some popular options for ice bathing in summer.
Continuous Flow Coolers
These are very popular and allow the ice bath to be cooled down quickly and easily at higher temperatures. The principle is a pump that draws the water from a (usually) random container and pumps it back into the pool through a flow-through cooler. This is very efficient and also relatively inexpensive.
Professional Cold Pools
Cold pools cool quickly, have a built-in water purification system, are visually more attractive, and are often suitable for outdoor installation. However, they tend to be priced in the upper range.
Chill tubs are professional cooling pools with a great design, robust cooling machines, remote control via app, and a professional water filter using ozone and particle filters.
Converted Freezer
Freezers or chest freezers are very well suited for ice baths at home. As they are insulated by nature, they retain cold for a very long time. Freezers and chest freezers come in different sizes, and many appliances have dimensions that can easily accommodate an adult lying down (see the picture of Joe below). However, you don’t really need a freezer of this size, as you can see below, much smaller freezers are also very suitable.
The water in a freezer can be cooled directly, so no additional effort is required, such as adding ice. The appliances can be kept at the right temperature all year round, they are flexible in terms of time, and very convenient to use. The amount of energy required to cool a small chest freezer to below 5 °C is very manageable. In our large test, the freezer requires less than 100 watts of power consumption and a total of approximately. 1 kWh to cool down, which corresponds to around EUR 0.35 at current electricity prices.
Explore our guide on freezer for ice bathing to learn how to customize your freezer, from size to energy consumption.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Freezers for Ice Bathing
Advantages
- Naturally insulated
- Stable, reliable setup
- Programmable temperature control
- Works indoors & outdoors
- Energy efficient (~€0.35/day)
Disadvantages
- Not portable
- Requires space and minor DIY setup
Ice Bathing in the Bathtub
Almost everyone has a bathtub at home and can use it for ice bathing. This is certainly one of the most pragmatic ways of practising ice bathing in your familiar surroundings. In principle, you only need two components: Water in liquid and frozen form. Tap water has a temperature of around 15 °C, so you need to cool it down a little with ice.
Filling quantities of ice and water for your bathtub
Bathtubs have approximately the following capacities:
Small bathtub – approx. 200 liters
Medium bathtub – approx. 250 liters
Large bathtub – approx. 300 liters
A good guideline is to fill the tub about 3/4 full with cold tap water and 1/4 full with ice. And of course, the bath does not have to be full to the brim. For a medium-sized bathtub, for example, about half of the total filling quantity is enough, i.e., 125 liters, which is made up of about 95 liters of cold tap water and about 30 kilos of ice. This gives you a good mix that brings you very close to the ice bath temperature of 5 °C. You can adjust the ice-to-water ratio depending on how cold you want it.
Discover our comprehensive guide on cooling your ice bath in summer here.
Below you can see a few examples of bathtubs filled with large ice blocks and ice cubes. The large ice blocks take longer to release the cold, but it is easier to produce them in the freezer at home. The smaller ice cubes release the cold into the surrounding water within 15 minutes, so you can get in quickly and have a good cold stimulus.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Bathtubs
Advantages
- Already available at home
- No extra purchase needed
- Fresh water inlet/outlet
- Large enough for full-body plunges
Disadvantages
- Not portable
- Cooling only possible with added ice
- No outdoor/nature experience
Ice Bathing in the IBC Tank
An IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) tank is a large rectangular water container (300-1,000 liters) used in industry for the transportation and storage of liquid substances such as chemicals, foodstuffs, and pharmaceutical products.
This should not stop you from setting up an IBC tank in your garden, as these containers are also available for private individuals. And there are now countless DIY instructions on the internet for converting an IBC container into an (ice) basin. Rebekka Lütke-Frauer from our community has also created what she calls her little “feel-good oasis”. The IBC container is right next to the house, in winter, the water cools down to a pleasant ice bathing temperature without any additional help, and it even fits two people at the same time.
The most common IBC containers are the 1 square meter versions, which fit exactly on a Euro pallet with a base area of 80×120 cm or 120×120 cm. The material is usually very robust and often made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), similar to the material used for plastic rain barrels.
Advantages and Disadvantages of IBC Containers for Ice Bathing
Advantages
- Affordable compared to pro setups
- Robust material (HDPE plastic)
- Large volume, great for groups of 2-3 people
- Built-in drain taps
- Experience nature if set up outside
Disadvantages
- Industrial look (not very aesthetic)
- High water consumption
- Thin walls can crack if mishandled
Alternative DIY Options
Our ice bathing community shows how it’s done – in principle, you can practise ice bathing in any container, from garbage cans and wine barrels to grazing troughs and cisterns. It may not always be the most convenient option, but it’s always possible if the container is big enough and you’re not too fussy ;-)
Gobi Grablax from our community has made more than one attempt to create optimal conditions for ice bathing at home. It all started with the purchase of a 240-liter waste container for just 89 euros. Gobi got the idea from an article that reported on Arsenal FC players practicing ice bathing in converted garbage cans. However, as the picture below shows, this solution was suboptimal for Gobi – with a height of 190 centimeters, the waste container was simply too small.
After further research, Gobi came across grazing troughs, which seem to be very popular among American ice bathers. The popular Rubbermaid product was not available in Germany, but fortunately, similar products could be found. Today, Gobi bathes in a 1,000-liter capacity grazing tub and can now stretch out properly. At around 450 euros, the purchase costs for a grazing trough are considerably higher than for a waste container, but the experience of ice bathing is much more pleasant.
Of course, you can also practice ice bathing in a pool. Few of us will have a pool built simply because of the space required and the high purchase costs. But for those who already have a pool on their property, it definitely makes sense to use it all year round. That’s what Johann Egger from our community does: at the beginning of December, he switched off the heating for his saltwater pool, and by mid-December the water temperature was only around 7 degrees – ideal conditions for Johann, who is still relatively new to the world of ice bathing. Incidentally, if you live in Graz and the surrounding area, you should keep your eyes peeled, as Johann has already invited ice bathers from the area to enjoy a winter swim together. His pool certainly offers enough space for this. And how often do you get the opportunity to join a pool party in the middle of winter?
What Size Should Your Cold Plunge Be?
Rain barrels come in all kinds of shapes, colors, and sizes. The color is purely a matter of taste, but you can be a little more pragmatic when it comes to the shape. A round water butt is the most economical in terms of space consumption and requires the smallest dimensions, as you can’t make the best use of the space in square barrels. This means you can use a smaller barrel and therefore consume less water and energy.
The volume of your ice bath can should be at least 180-200 liters. Ideally between 300-500 liters. In terms of dimensions, you should make sure that the ice bath is around 70-100 centimetres high so that you can fit in easily in a squatting position. A diameter of at least 70-80 centimetres should be guaranteed to fit in comfortably.
Conclusion: Best Options for Cold Plunging at Home
There are many ways to set up a cold plunge – from simple bathtubs to advanced chill tubs, and even more if you get creative.
Our favorite option is ice barrels and inflatable tubs – easy to set up, mobile, and cheap. But they don’t last forever. Rain barrels and ice barrels are cheap and robust, and you can use them in a variety of ways, both in summer as rainwater storage and in winter for ice bathing. You get that fresh air feeling with both variants and also a good price-performance ratio.
If you also want to do ice bathing in summer, there’s no getting around a freezer or a special freezer/barrel combination. However, this allows you to extend your ice bathing for the whole summer season, which is, of course, a huge advantage.
For DIY enthusiasts, IBC containers, grazing troughs, or creative alternatives are also great.
Buijze et al. (2016) conducted a randomized controlled trial showing a 29% reduction in sickness absence from daily cold showers, though illness duration stayed roughly the same.
Leave a Reply