Can I Convert My Hot Tub into an Ice Bath?

Cold water therapy has become a big buzzword over the past couple of years. A focus on all things wellness since the pandemic has pushed the cold plunge into the spotlight. And for good reason too, as cold water has a lot of fantastic benefits, from reducing joint swelling to boosting your immune system. If you want to access this for yourself, and you have a hot tub at home, then can you create an ice bath with it?

Convert your hot tub for cold water therapy

It is simple and straightforward to convert your hot tub into an ice bath - all you need to do is get a cold plunge chiller. The easiest way to do this is simply to plumb in the chilled water supply and return water lines from the chiller to your hot tub. The spa pump is what will circulate water through the chiller - you can contact your contractor so that they can change the settings to enable the pump to run without the heater. Two things to note when it comes to a cold plunge chiller:

• Make sure any filtering is done before the chiller and any water treatment process happens after the chiller stage - this is to avoid a flood of treatment chemicals through the chiller heat exchange.
• Look at the average flow rate of the chiller you purchase. The average is 3 GPM/ton of refrigeration. But you’ll need a bypass for a spa pump that is sized for more flow so the chiller can be throttled back.

What temperature should you aim for?

This is entirely up to you - pick the temperature that is going to serve the purposes you’re investing in a chiller for. Any chiller that you buy should have inbuilt temperature control that gives you options when it comes to how cold the water is. Most people who are aiming to enjoy the benefits of cold water therapy will be looking at somewhere between 45FF and 55FF. But you can set this at any level that is going to be beneficial, depending on the outcomes you’re aiming for.

Picking the right chiller for you

Here are a few other things to think about if you’re thinking about investing in a chiller to convert your hot tub into an ice bath.

• The size of the chiller. The best size for you is going to depend on the hot tub you have.
• Where to install it. A chiller should be suitable for either indoor or outdoor installation. It’s worth considering when you’re going to use it though. If you want to have ice baths all year round then it may be more sensible to install it indoors to reduce the risk of freezing.
• Splitting the chiller. One solution to avoid any water freezing issues is to split the chiller, with the condensing unit outdoors and the water side heat exchanger indoors.

If you want to convert your hot tub into an ice bath this is entirely possible - get in touch if you’d like to find out more. We offer servicing and post-sales care for all of our customers to make sure that our customers get the best out of their hot tub. We are proud to have a multi-award-winning showroom located in Kent, so please come down and try out our huge range