Building a $10,000 Cold Plunge For Under $1,500

How to build a cold plunge on a budget.

All Products and Tools Mentioned in this video
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***My 1/4 HP water chiller reaches 41 degrees. Having the lid open to the chiller helps cool it down more more efficiently. If it's in the budget, I recommend getting a 1/2 HP to get down into the 39˚F in the summer time easier.

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[mikemcelveen]

As many have suggested, I was thinking the pump should be inline, plumbed outside the tank, but in addition, make it a low voltage pump, like 12 or 24 VDC. That way, if it does ever electrically fail, no one can get hurt. Also, the receptacle on the wall should be GFCI, but I assume that is already the case. Double protection this way.

[christianfahey]

Improve it. Add a filter to keep the water clean, and add a drain port for when you want to empty it.

[alexg]

For the "just a hair" setting on your miter saw. What I've found works pretty well is if you put your blade down, without the saw running, and then butt your lumber against the blade and lift the blade up. Then when you cut, the blade will cut off roughly 1/3rd of the kerf depending on how big the carbide tips are on your blade. That will shave off a little bit. Which makes it pretty quick to sneak up on the perfect cut.

[DawnKrueger-ih]

Hi, my name is Rob ... Use to work for BlueCube ... you need a minimum 1/2hp chiller and a small pump (maybe WaterWay) pump should also be with chiller and two additional vents on each side next to chiller ... don't forget about an ozone and filtration.

Great job, by the way.

[themikehoncho]

Pretty cool build, thanks for sharing. I don’t really understand why you used a submersible pump though. Personally I would have went inline. You could have found one cheaper than $75 and as you pointed out it would have been safer.

[SynthaPak]

Great project, it may be beneficial to think about an inline uv cleaner like they use for hot tubs to keep the water from accumulating and growing bacteria, keep you and your family safe and healthy! A less expensive option would be to drain and clean it fairly frequently

[kaikalino]

I have learned how tedious carpentry and workmanship is. I have so much appreciation for how you educate people while entertaining us at the same time! Thank you for sharing! I have also learned to watch out for contractors renovating my house and the details.

[chads]

Well executed, looks nice. Personally after working with spray foam products I'd have just sprayed foam 2" thick directly to the sides and bottom of the trough for two reasons: it would have directly insulated the tank and would make the chiller much more efficient, and secondly you will get a lot of condensation on that galvanized tank which will probably puddle and keep the wood frame at the base pretty wet.

[cubworld]

I hope you make crazy money from youtube because they played a million ads while I watched your video lol. Awesome plunge pool!

[jasonkumnick]

Looks really nice and will certainly work well. Quick suggestion especially since you seem to be interested in heat transfer related projects lately... It's really easy to start thinking about "keeping the cold in", but cold is the absence of heat and you are really trying to keep the heat out. Reflective surfaces should face where you want the heat to stay. Flipping the insulation around would help to keep the water cooler or cool faster. For this application though, probably not the biggest issue. Nice job thinking on the fly!

[mikez]

As someone who is not very handy, this is well beyond my ability to build. I’m sure I could get it done in time but it would certainly not look that pretty and I’d waste thousands of dollars screwing things up the first few times on various steps and having to re-buy more supplies.

That being said, this is an awesome video! Great job! I’m sure other handy people probably have more suggestions on other ways it could have been done, but to someone like me this is absolutely beautiful and couldn’t imagine successfully creating a project like this!

[steffen]

I think it would have been good to put the intake and outtake on two different sides so the circulation is better :)

[yogabonnie]

ha I am 76 years old and have no idea how to build anything. BUT I love ice baths and I loved this video. Will watch them all! And if there is something I MUST have I will hire someone if they PROMISE to follow your instructions! thanks!

[lennylink]

Awesome!!!! You need both a particle filter and an UltraViolet filter and that thing is nearly perfect.

Thanks for the video!

[DavidJohnColemanII]

To solve you electrical problem, You could have bought a pump with inlet hose adapter so your pump would be outside the tub with hose going to bottom of the tub and then the pump outlet hose would goto your cooling device. You should have also put your inlet and outlet hoses on opposite sides of the tub for much better water circulation.

[justinwoods]

Everyone has mentioned the inline for safety, but it will also DRASTICALLY change how cold the water feels when ran with you in it. Definitely recommend having an inline pump that is running when you get in so you have constant fresh cold water! =D

[chrismakara-howe]

Awesome build but you should have used an exterior water pump.and filter. You need to check specs if chiller as they will give you amount of water that needs to be pumped threw it an hour. Too little and chiller will choke up and freeze. Chiller units need space to vent and get rid of the hot air difficult when in a tiny wooden box with minimal ventilation.

[undrachevr]

Great build. I've seen other guys just fill a big chest deep freezer up with water and unplug it when they want to get in it.

[sgtmango]

Enjoy your builds. You can get an external inline pump to keep all the electrical outside the tank.

[jordanswartz]

Can alomst hear the tears in his voice durring the unboxing of the cooler unit. The frustration was thick!