The best cold plunge chillers, compared
The best cold plunge chiller for each kind of tub, picked from maker specs, running costs and what owners report. Five picks, and the one we left out.
Quick picks
Each gauge shows the coldest water temperature the maker states.
- Best for most tubs42°F
AS ColdPlunge AS-AY300
The low-cost chiller that owners report holding 50°F in a hot garage.
- $300–1,500
- Lowest running cost41°F
The Pod Company Pod Chiller (Standard)
Draws the least power of the four, and carries a two-year warranty.
- $300–1,500
- Best for large tubs36°F
TURBRO FrostCore F85
The one chiller here that publishes its cooling capacity, with ozone built in.
- $300–1,500
- Best with a cartridge filter42°F
AS ColdPlunge AS-DY300
The same chiller with a replaceable 20-micron filter cartridge.
- $300–1,500
- Owners' favourite
Active Aqua Chiller with Power Boost, 1/2 HP (AACH50HP)
The bare chiller owners on r/coldplunge recommend most. Needs its own pump and filter.
- $300–1,500
The short answer
A cold plunge chiller is a refrigeration unit that cools the water in your tub and filters it as it circulates, so you stop buying ice. For most tubs under 80 gallons, the AS ColdPlunge 1/3 HP is the one to buy. For a tub over 100 gallons, look at the TURBRO FrostCore F85.
The cold plunge chillers we recommend
We have not run these chillers ourselves. Each pick rests on the maker’s or seller’s stated specs, our own arithmetic, and what owners report on the r/coldplunge forum and on Trustpilot. Every figure below says which.
AS ColdPlunge AS-AY300
$300–1,500 on Amazon
A 1/3 HP chiller with the pump and a washable mesh filter built in. The seller’s listing gives 600 W, a low of 42°F, and a rating for tubs up to 79 gallons.
It has the best owner reports of the complete units here. On r/coldplunge, one owner keeps a hard insulated tub at 50°F after four months, running the chiller on a timer from midnight to 11am. Another holds a steady 50°F in a 100°F garage. One says the display matches a thermometer and one says it reads 3 to 4°F off. Three owners is a small sample, and none says which AS ColdPlunge model they own.
Two cautions. An owner who asked the maker was told it is not rated for rain. And the specs come from the Amazon listing, because we found no maker’s site: the listing says 42°F in its description and 39°F in its table.
Our verdict
The one to buy for a covered tub under 80 gallons. Owners report it holding 50°F in real heat, and it costs less than the others here. Keep it out of the rain.
Best for
- Tubs up to about 80 gallons
- A covered spot: a garage, a porch or indoors
- Keeping the cost down
Skip if
- The chiller will sit out in the rain
- Your tub holds well over 100 gallons
- You want a warranty longer than a year
| Size | 11.8 × 14.9 × 12.6 in |
|---|---|
| Power | 110 V, 1/3 HP, 600 W |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Opens amazon.com in a new tab
The Pod Company Pod Chiller (Standard)
$300–1,500 on Amazon
The maker states 280 W, a low of 41°F, a 20-micron filter and 39 to 45 dB. It is the only maker here that publishes daily energy use: 1.4 to 1.8 kWh in a 77°F room. At the US average electricity price that is 26 to 33 cents a day by our maths.
Owner reports are mixed. On r/coldplunge, four owners describe leaks at the hose fittings on first setup, fixed by seating the rubber washers and tightening with a tool. One found two valves shown the wrong way round in the printed manual. Two report the display reading far below the real water temperature.
On Trustpilot the company has 3,651 reviews, 89% of them five-star. Of its twenty most recent low ratings, four were chillers that failed or arrived not working, and three were about returns. Owners who needed parts under warranty say they came fast.
Our verdict
Buy it with a Pod Company tub, and set aside an afternoon for the plumbing. It is the cheapest to run and has the longest warranty here. It is not the one for a hot patio.
Best for
- A Pod Company Ice Pod or Long Pod
- A low electricity bill
- A two-year warranty
Skip if
- You are not comfortable sealing hose fittings
- You want an easy return if it disappoints
- Your tub sits in 95°F heat
| Size | 12 × 12 × 13 in |
|---|---|
| Power | 110 V, 1/3 HP, 280 W |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Opens amazon.com in a new tab
TURBRO FrostCore F85
$300–1,500 on Amazon
The only chiller here whose maker publishes a cooling capacity: 9,553 BTU an hour, at 1,030 W. TURBRO rates it for tubs of 80 to 132 gallons and sets its range from 36 to 86°F.
By our maths that capacity takes 100 gallons from 70°F to 50°F in about an hour and three quarters at best. The maker’s claim of 37°F “in just 4 hours” fits the same sum for a full 132 gallons.
It filters in three stages, at 40 and 20 microns and then with ozone. We found no owner reports for it outside Amazon, so this pick rests on the spec sheet alone. We did not find a warranty term on its product page either.
Our verdict
The one for a big tub or a hot spot, where a 1/3 HP unit would run all day. You are buying on the maker’s figures, with no owner reports to back them yet.
Best for
- Tubs from 80 to 132 gallons
- Outdoor use: IPX4 with a GFCI plug
- Ozone sanitation built in
Skip if
- The socket shares a circuit: it draws up to 14 amps
- It will run in air below 34°F
- You want owner reports first: we found none
| Power | 110-120 V, 1,030 W, 14 A max |
|---|
Opens amazon.com in a new tab
AS ColdPlunge AS-DY300
$300–1,500 on Amazon
The same 1/3 HP, 600 W chiller as our first pick, with the pump and filter outside the case. The filter is a replaceable 20-micron cartridge, where the first pick has a washable metal mesh.
The seller’s listing gives a range of 42 to 107°F and a rating for tubs up to 79 gallons. It states no voltage. The owner reports above apply to “the AS ColdPlunge 1/3 HP” without naming a model, so read them as covering both.
Our verdict
Choose it over the first pick if you would sooner swap a cartridge than rinse a screen. Otherwise the built-in model has fewer parts to leak.
Best for
- Finer filtering than a mesh screen
- Tubs up to about 80 gallons
Skip if
- You want the fewest hoses and parts
- The chiller will sit out in the rain
| Size | 12.6 × 11.4 × 11.4 in |
|---|---|
| Power | 1/3 HP, 600 W |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Opens amazon.com in a new tab
Active Aqua Chiller with Power Boost, 1/2 HP (AACH50HP)
$300–1,500 on Amazon
A bare 1/2 HP chiller from the hydroponics trade, and the one owners on r/coldplunge recommend more than any other. The maker states 510 W, 4,020 BTU an hour, a recommended volume of 90 to 172 gallons and a one-year warranty.
Four owners report 12 to 19 months of continuous running without a chiller fault, one of them on a smaller model outdoors in south Florida. Several say that when theirs stopped cooling, the cause was a clogged filter and not the chiller.
It is not a complete unit. You add a pump moving 800 to 1,600 gallons an hour and a filter, and plumb them yourself. The maker also says it is approved for indoor use only, which owners who run it outside are ignoring.
Our verdict
The one to buy if you are building your own setup. It has the longest owner track record here, and it needs the most work from you.
Best for
- A DIY build, or a tub you plumb yourself
- Tubs from 90 to 172 gallons
- Indoors or a covered garage
Skip if
- You want the pump and filter included
- It will sit outdoors: the maker approves it for indoor use only
- You want a warranty longer than a year
| Size | 19 × 14 × 19 in |
|---|---|
| Power | 120 V, 1/2 HP, 510 W, 5.4 A |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Opens amazon.com in a new tab
How the five compare
| Chiller | Label | Draws | Coldest stated | Rated for | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS ColdPlunge AS-AY300 | 1/3 HP | 600 W | 42°F | Up to 79 gal | 1 year |
| The Pod Company Pod Chiller | 1/3 HP | 280 W | 41°F | Not stated | 2 years |
| TURBRO FrostCore F85 | 1 HP | 1,030 W | 36°F | 80–132 gal | Not found |
| AS ColdPlunge AS-DY300 | 1/3 HP | 600 W | 42°F | Up to 79 gal | 1 year |
| Active Aqua AACH50HP | 1/2 HP | 510 W | Not stated | 90–172 gal | 1 year |
Two chillers with the same 1/3 HP label draw 280 and 600 watts, and the 1/2 HP Active Aqua draws less than either AS ColdPlunge, so the label tells you little. Our guide to what size chiller a cold plunge needs shows how to size by cooling capacity instead.
What we left out, and why
The Ice Barrel chiller. It has the worst owner reports of anything we read. In one r/coldplunge thread of 47 comments, at least ten owners describe problems: pump malfunction errors within days of setup, units leaking, units arriving unable to cool, and support that answered by email slowly or not at all. A separate owner reports the pump failing at about 15 months, out of warranty, with no repair offered. Two owners say theirs works well. The maker lists it at $3,999.99. The detail is in our Ice Barrel chiller review. The Ice Barrel tubs are a different story: one is our top pick in the best cold plunge tubs. The complaints are about the chiller.
Chillers with no brand. Several listings name no maker. With nobody to hold to a spec sheet or a warranty, we leave them out.
Not reviewed yet. Owners on r/coldplunge also recommend Penguin chillers, which are made in the US and whose support two owners praise. We have not read its spec sheet yet, so it is not ranked here.
Cold plunge chiller and filter
Four of the five picks filter the water as they cool it. They differ in how.
- AS-AY300: a washable metal mesh screen inside the case. No cartridges to buy.
- AS-DY300: an external 20-micron cartridge.
- Pod Chiller: an external 20-micron cartridge. The maker sells a four-pack for $39 on its own site.
- TURBRO F85: a 40-micron screen, a 20-micron filter and an ozone generator. The maker sells a five-pack of filters for $39.99.
- Active Aqua: none. You add a filter housing ahead of it, as a DIY cold plunge tub shows.
A filter matters for more than clean water. Several owners on r/coldplunge say that when a chiller stops cooling, the cause is usually a clogged filter slowing the flow. Check it before you blame the chiller.
A chiller for a bathtub
You can chill a bathtub. The chiller sits beside the tub with one hose in and one out, and a small pump in the water feeds it.
Both AS ColdPlunge listings include a submersible pump for this use. TURBRO says the F85 works with a standard bathtub of 80 to 132 gallons, and tells you to keep the inlet and outlet apart and away from the tub walls. The Pod Company sells its chiller in a version for any tub.
The drawback is the tub, not the chiller. A bathtub has no lid and no insulation, so it gains heat faster than a cold plunge tub and the chiller runs longer.
Chiller or ice
A chiller costs more to buy and far less to use. At three sessions a week and $3 a bag, a year of ice costs about three times what a 1/3 HP chiller and its electricity do. The sums are in what a cold plunge costs, and the ice quantities in how much ice an ice bath needs.
Stay on ice if
You plunge less than once a week, or you are still finding out whether you will keep it up.
Buy a chiller if
You plunge weekly or more, or your tap runs warm for half the year.
What to check before you buy
- Tub size. Match the chiller to your gallons. A 1/3 HP unit is rated for about 80.
- Where it will live. The TURBRO is rated IPX4 for splashes. The Active Aqua is approved for indoor use only. The AS ColdPlunge, by an owner’s account of what the maker said, is not rated for rain. All of them need air around the vents.
- Winter. TURBRO says not to run the F85 below 34°F. The Pod Company says to disconnect its chiller at 32°F or below.
- The socket. The F85 can draw 14 amps, close to the limit of a 15-amp household circuit.
- Warranty. One year for AS ColdPlunge and Active Aqua, two for The Pod Company.
- Noise. Only The Pod Company states a figure: 39 to 45 dB.
Common questions
Which home cold plunge chiller is the strongest?
Of the five here, the TURBRO FrostCore F85, at 9,553 BTU an hour. The Active Aqua 1/2 HP is rated at 4,020. The other makers publish no cooling capacity, so they cannot be compared on that figure.
What temperature can a cold plunge chiller reach?
The makers state lows of 36 to 42°F. That is colder than you need: medical sources recommend 50 to 59°F, as our guide to cold plunge temperature explains. Treat a stated low as a best case in a cool room.
How does a cold plunge chiller work?
A pump moves water from the tub through the chiller. Inside, a refrigerant loop takes heat out of the water and blows it into the air, the way a fridge does. The cooled water passes through a filter and returns to the tub.
Is a water chiller for an ice bath worth it?
If you plunge once a week or more, yes. It replaces hundreds of bags of ice a year, and the smallest one here uses about $120 of electricity a year at the US average price.
What is the best chiller and tub combo?
The Pod Company sells its Pod Chiller bundled with its Ice Pod Pro for $728 on its own site, the cheapest matched pair we found. A matched pair avoids adapter fittings, which is where owners report leaks.