Before I jump into the details, I recommend joining my Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) facebook group.
Daily 3-5 minute cold plunges have been the single biggest impact on my mood, productivity and health. I don’t miss a day.
But in order to do it daily, you have to have cold water consistently available. Filling a stock tub full of ice is time consuming, expensive and temporary. Cold showers are a great entry into cold therapy but to maximize the benefits, you need it colder.
The best option is to either buy a premade plunge like The Cold Plunge (use code TROY150 for $150 off) or build one yourself.
But before I jump into building one…
If you’ve found this article, you probably already know the many benefits of cold plunges. If you don’t, here’s a quick rundown —
Cold water therapy — whether it’s a quick swim in an icy lake, a post-workout ice bath, or a brisk shower — can benefit your health in several ways.
It may help you:
- cut down on muscle soreness
- cool down after a sweaty workout
- get into a better mood
- aid your immune system
- boost your metabolism and calorie burning
- increase insulin sensitivity and help control blood glucose levels
It can also convert belly fat into metabolically active brown adipose tissue, which will increase your fat-burning capacity.
Some advocates say it can also decrease inflammation, improve your sleep and recovery, sharpen your mental focus and potentially fight certain types of cancer as well as promote overall longevity. But more research needs to be done to determine if these benefits are supported by science.
A chest freezer ice bath allows you to avoid having to continuously purchase ice and have access to a desired temperature at all times.
Now, the details to getting started with a chest freezer ice bath.
Table of Contents
Required Equipment & Material
- Freezer: Frigidaire 14.8 CuFt (you can go even larger with a 19 CuFt if you’re over 6’5″)
- Food-grade Silicone sealant or JB Water Weld
- The Ultimate Chest Freezer Cold Plunge DIY Guide (e-Book) – If you want a step-by-step guide to build your cold plunge the RIGHT way, I highly recommend this book.
- My ebook Exposure 101 Heat & Cold Guidebook
Cleaning/Sanitizing
- Marineland Magnum Filter
- Evob Skimmer net
- Hydrogen peroxide or a much better option is an ozone generator
- 8 lbs Epsom salt – keeps the water clean and prevents ice from forming
Temperature
- Inkbird Digital Thermostat – controls the preset temperature automatically
- Etekcity Lasergrip digital thermostat
- Polar bear thermometer
Other Stuff
- Clear Water Fun garden hose filter – filters out the chemicals in treated water
- Gooseneck iPhone Holder
- BINO Collapsible Basin – to clean feet in before going in
- Rubber Ducky – for nostalgia 🙂
- Personal Harmonizer for native EMFs
- Magnesium flakes – I add this for the health benefits of soaking in magnesium salts. If you really want to revitalize and optimize your cold plunge solution, I recommend grabbing a back of Max Vitality Magnesium Salts (use code TROY for 10% off). In addition to magnesium, the sodium ascorbate in the blend will totally neutralize any toxic chemicals like chlorine or fluoride that may be in your cold plunge water, within just five minutes! Every bag of their salt is also blasted with powerful heart opening, grounding and magnesium healing frequencies to accelerate healing and sensations of peace during and post-plunge.
- My favorite supplement stack for maximizing the benefits of cold thermogenesis – contains 1) select from coffee of green tea for a bit of caffeine which can upregulate mitochondrial biogenesis even more when stacked with cold therapy and 2) Meriva (curcumin) which can activate brown adipose tissue, enhancing the energy expenditure through heat production to burn more fat.
- JED 303 Ozone Generator – Not mentioned in this video but I did end up getting this to sanitize the water. I discuss it in more detail in this video: Upgrades to My Chest Freezer Ice Bath
Instructions
- Place you freezer in a location that you will be able to drain it and have access to water, like a hose.
- Place boards under your freezer to support the bottom (see picture below).
- Seal all seems with the proper caulk or JB Water Weld.
- Let the seal dry for at least 24 hours.
- OPTIONAL: Place a pond liner in your freezer for extra leak protection
- Install your ozone generator, thermometer and water filter.
- Add hydrogen peroxide and Epsom salt.
- Fill with water. Be sure to mix the Epsom salt a little.
- Dump 100-200 lbs of ice to speed of the cooling process, otherwise the freezer will have to run for several days. NOTE: The chest freezer will get pretty warm from running.
- Prior to jumping in, UNPLUG THE FREEZER.
- Take the plunge!
A great resource is my Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) facebook group.
Upgrades
Related Articles
- Upgrades to My Chest Freezer Ice Bath
- How to Properly Clean a Chest Freezer Cold Plunge, Step-by-Step
- How to Enhance the Benefits of Cold Thermogenesis
- My Review of the Jacuzzi Clearlight Sanctuary Y Infrared Sauna
- How to Hack Your Sauna Experience for Increased Benefits
- The Ultimate Chest Freezer Cold Plunge DIY Guide (e-Book) – If you want a step-by-step guide to build your cold plunge the RIGHT way, I highly recommend this book.
- My ebook Exposure 101 Heat & Cold Guidebook
Here’s a list of studies if you’d like to take a deeper dive into the benefits of cold thermogenesis.
- Cold exposure increases adiponectin levels
- Adiponectin burns fat
- Cold exposure increases powerful anti-oxidant glutathione
- Adiponectin, obesity, insulin resistance, and fat-burning
- Adiponectin resistance in obesity
- Intermittent fasting likely produces new BAT
- BAT and food digestion
- Women and BAT levels
- Capsinoids increases BAT activity
- Sleep, light-cycles, melatonin and BAT in humans
- Cold exposure, blood glucose, and BAT in rats
- Glucose utilization, BAT, and intermittent fasting in rats
- Carb and fat burning ratios vary during shivering
- Cold exposure and longevity in mice
- Cold exposure boosts the immune system
- Low adiponectin related to inflammatory heart disease
- BAT burns glucose and boosts metabolism in humans
- BAT therapy to combat obesity
- BAT burns fat in the blood stream
- BAT, glucose, insulin, and cold stimulus
- BAT activity in humans inversely correlate to obesity
- BAT-disabled mice become obese
- Rising environmental temperatures linked to obesity?
- Brown Fat (BAT) detected in subjects after cold exposure
- Age, gender, insulin sensitivity, and other factors in BAT activity
- Exercise in humans and mice can create new BAT (backup)
- BAT in various age groups
- Exercise increases adiponectin levels in obese men
- Cold therapy, but not ephedrine, activate BAT
- BAT, thermogenesis, and bone density
- The sympathetic nervous system and fat-burning during cold exposure
- Skeletal muscle uncoupling after thermal loading
- Adiponectin as a treatment for obesity and heart disease
- Adiponectin, fasting, and circadian rhythms
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Oftentimes, I’ve worked out a discount for you. Please understand that I have experience with all of these products, and I only recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
How long have you had the chest freezer in use, total time? Thanks for the info too! Your setup looks great.
Appreciate it! October will be one year.
How much and how often do you add hydrogen peroxide to your freezer?
Also how often do you put the MarineLand filter in the tub?
Thank you!
1 32oz bottle of H2O2. It runs 24/7.
How much, soup to nuts for the initial setup? And how much does it cost you (roughly) monthly in supplies?
A little over $700 to setup. ~ $30 every 3 or 4 months when I drain, clean and refill it.
The chest frezzer is always on, or you just turn it on when you go to bathe?
It’s plugged into a thermometer timer so it only turns on when it gets above a certain temperature. I unplug it before I get in.
Hey Troy, thanks for the article. At what temperature range do you like to set your thermometer timer? I’ve read some places that there is no further benefit from going less than 10°C (50°F) but people seem to have it closer to 0°C (32°F). Is colder better if you can handle it and is that what you do?
I keep my temperature around 38 F. I wouldn’t start at that temp though. Start at around 55F. A rule of thumb is the colder it is, the less time you have to spend in the water for the same benefits. I usually do 2-3 minutes at 38. At 54, you’ll want to stay in longer.
Hi Troy, thanks for sharing 🙂
Can you add a link to the EMF protection you use? I have my freezer all set up and EMFs are really my only concern so looking for some guidance. Thanks!!!
https://www.greenfieldwater.com/product/harmonizer-cartridge-emt-protection-sleep-aid/
Hey Troy thanks for posting your tutorial very helpful.
What would you say the cost to maintain it is on your electric bill?
It runs so little (~2-3 hours a day) that it has an insignificant impact on my electric bill
I would like to place my ice bath outside. Are there any considerations for protecting it from the elements? Thank you!
Hey Tim, Make sure it’s covered and not exposed to the elements.
Troy, thank you for the great article. I have a question that I’m not sure you’ll be able to answer but figured I’d try. I recently purchased the same exact freezer you’re using, sealed it up, added water, and it won’t get cold. I can hear the condenser running and all external sides get very warm, but the water temperature does not drop, even after being on for hours. Obviously the warranty is voided due to the modifications, but do you have any idea what I could be doing wrong? Thanks!
Hi Jackson, It can take up to 48 hours for the water to get cold enough, depending on how warm your water is to start with and how cold you’re trying to get it. That means your freezer will be running for that long so the area near the compressor will get pretty warm. To speed things up, I add about 100 lbs of ice to fresh water.
Hey Troy,
I’ve got the InkBird ITC-306T WIFI unit for my bath setup. For the life of me I can’t get this thing figured out. Any tips?
Yeah, the inkbirds are a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. I would refer to the manual https://media.s-bol.com/mY7rRMERQnN9/original.pdf
All this info was super helpful, thanks Troy! I bought a second hand Frigidaire which is a couple of years old. I got it down to 50F with 200lb of ice but when the compressor starts up the outer walls get almost too hot to touch. I wondered if this is the same as yours or something I should be concerned about. I know freezers heat up as they cool the inside, but I do worry about how hot it’s getting! It doesn’t get nearly as hot when it has no water in it. Any guidance based on your experience would be much appreciated!
The outer wall getting hot is normal if you’re talking about it just cooling down to the temp that you maintain it at. If you’re at the maintenance temp and it’s still staying hot, something’s wrong.
Thanks Troy, appreciate the reply! It only gets hot when cooling so hopefully all good.
Hey – is yours still running with no problem? I was going to get set up with this this weekend.
No issues so far!
Hey Troy,
Do I need to seal the drain plug? I was hoping to be able to drain the water directly from the plug at the bottom of my chest but in most of the videos I watch it looks like they seal the drain plug shut.
Thanks
No, but you can get a gasket that fits it. That’s what I did.