Icetubs IceBarrel Thermowood & Stainless Steel Cold Plunge Tub
Icetubs IceBarrel Thermowood & Stainless Steel Cold Plunge Tub
- Regular price
- $9,995.00
- Regular price
- Sale price
- $9,995.00
- Unit price
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Send us a link to the lower price. If it is the same model, new and in stock at an authorized U.S. online retailer, we match it. Already ordered? If it was lower on your order date, claim the difference within 30 days.
Excludes sale pricing, marketplace sellers and later price drops.
Read the full price match terms →An upright plunge 30.6 inches across, so it fits where a bath will not.
- 304 stainless interior and seat, not a plastic liner
- 26.8″ inside, 92.5 gallons, one bather seated
- 1 HP cooling engine included, no chiller to match
Both sizes fit any tub, so this is a choice of how much floor you cover.
Icetubs voids the warranty on salts, chlorine, bromine and homemade mixtures. Approved treatment is a condition of coverage.
A fitted working filter is a condition of the warranty, changed monthly at home or weekly in light professional use.
Check the Thermo cover still lifts freely before the last screws go in.
Professional Setup & Assembly - $749
Optional. A professional crew unpacks, assembles and positions everything on site, then takes the packaging away. You do not lift or build a thing.
What's included
- Professional crew sized for a crated tub of this weight
- Placement exactly where you want it
- Tub and cooling engine positioned and leveled; stairs and cover clips assembled
- Full assembly & setup
- Packaging & debris removal
- Completion walkthrough before the team leaves
Good to know
- Connecting the cooling engine and the first fill stay with you.
- Performed by professionals vetted through our service partners’ platforms and covered by commercial insurance or a service-guarantee program.
- Electrical work is not included, so any dedicated circuit or hardwired connection is completed by a licensed electrician you hire directly.
- Scheduling is arranged after your equipment ships.
- We confirm serviceability for your address within 2 business days of your order.
Refunds: fully refundable until booked · reschedule or cancel free with 48+ hours’ notice · $75 rebooking fee inside 48 hours or if the site isn’t ready on arrival · non-refundable once completion is confirmed. If we can’t service your location, the fee is refunded in full.
By adding this service you agree to the Assembly & Delivery Services Terms.
Curbside delivery, insured in transit
Couldn't load pickup availability
How does delivery work?
How does delivery work?
Free freight to the lower 48. The price you see is the price you pay anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. Canada is a set rate published by Icetubs and the same wherever you buy. Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are quoted case by case, so contact us before ordering.
Freight, not parcel. The lightest crate on the range leaves the warehouse at 375 pounds and the heaviest at 474, so the tub and its cooling engine travel palletized on an LTL carrier, by appointment, to the curb.
How it arrives. The carrier calls the number on your order to arrange an appointment window and someone has to be there to sign. Delivery is to the curb and the driver stops there: a 400 pound crate does not go up a drive or through a side gate on the driver's time. Arrange help, or add Professional Setup and Assembly at checkout and a crew will unpack it, assemble it, position it on site and take the packaging away.
Measure the route before the truck comes. The IceBath XL is eight feet long and the IceBarrel XL is 40 inches across the tub. Check the path from where a truck can stop to where the tub will sit, gate widths and any turn included, before you order rather than after.
If it arrives damaged, the clock is 24 hours. Check the crate and the engine carton with the driver still there and write any damage on the delivery receipt before you sign. Icetubs requires visible transport damage recorded on the delivery document at the moment of delivery and reported within 24 hours with photographs, and hidden damage has the same window. A clean signature lets the carrier treat the goods as delivered in good condition, so open everything on delivery day even if you are not filling the tub for weeks.
Lead times and accessories. Stock moves through a US distributor and most models ship promptly, and we confirm the position for your model when you order. Drip trays, filter sets, the phone holder and AquaFinesse water care are parcel items and go out with your tub order rather than separately.
What does the warranty cover?
What does the warranty cover?
Two years private, six months light professional. Against manufacturing defects and component failures, from the date you take delivery. Cover runs with the product's serial number, so keep your invoice. We open and manage the claim for you.
Freezing weather is a condition, not a suggestion. With the engine running the tub can sit in ambient temperatures down to 23F; with the engine off the floor is 34F. Between the two the engine has to run on automatic around the clock. Below 23F the engine must be detached and stored indoors and the tub drained. Skipping either step is a named exclusion, and a burst pipe is the failure it prevents.
Water care and filters are conditions too. AquaFinesse is the only approved treatment; salts, chlorine, bromine, shock doses and homemade mixtures are named exclusions. Filters must be replaced monthly in private use and weekly in light professional use, and the engine must never run without water or a filter fitted.
What is not covered. Filters, AquaFinesse, the ozone generator and the water pump. Labor, travel and call-out charges, even when the part itself is covered. Cosmetic damage from misuse, natural weathering of the Thermowood, improper transport or relocation, unauthorized repair, and corrosion on a tub sited within 10 miles of the coast.
How a claim is settled. Defective parts are repaired or replaced free of charge, and after the first three months a replacement may be refurbished. Repairs must be approved by Icetubs first, you may be asked to help replace simple parts, and a replaced part carries the remainder of the original term.
The reporting clocks. Damage on arrival must be noted on the delivery document before you sign and reported within 24 hours with photographs, visible or hidden. Other defects should be reported within two months of discovery, or 14 days for a business user.
What light professional use means. A business where the tub is not the primary revenue generating equipment, such as a small studio, clinic or office, with use capped at 15 people a day. A dedicated cold plunge studio falls outside this warranty entirely, so tell us before you order.
What if I need to return it?
What if I need to return it?
30 days from purchase. New, unused and resalable, with the original crating, the engine carton and all included parts. Once the tub has been filled and the engine has run it counts as used and cannot be returned. Keep the crate until you are certain, because a 400 pound tub cannot travel safely without it.
What a return costs. Full credit for the product, less a repackaging fee that typically runs about 20 to 50 dollars. There is no percentage restocking fee on a standard customer return.
Who pays the freight. You do on a change of mind, and return freight on a crated cold plunge is a real number rather than a formality, so ask us for a figure before you commit. When the cause is shipping damage or an error on our side, we cover the return and nothing is deducted.
Damaged on arrival, and the clock is 24 hours. Note the damage on the delivery receipt before you sign, photograph the crate and contents before you move anything, and call us the same day. Icetubs requires damage reported within 24 hours with photographs or video, visible or hidden. Transport damage is resolved with replacement parts rather than by returning the tub.
Cancelling before it ships. No fee before we submit the order to the distributor. After we submit it but before it ships, an administrative fee of up to 5 percent may apply, and we waive it whenever we are not charged.
Accessories and water care. Same 30 day window and the same condition requirement. An opened bottle of AquaFinesse and an opened filter set are consumables and are not returnable.
To start a return. Call (888) 500-5675 with your order number. A Return Authorization number is required before anything goes back, and product returned without one can be refused.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Jump to 15 sections
The short answer
A plunge you sit up in, with its own engine and no plumbing
The Icetubs IceBarrel is an upright tub for one person with a 304 stainless interior and a 1 HP cooling engine that stands beside it. You fill it with a garden hose and plug it in. Three things decide whether it suits you.
The ground
31 × 53 in
The tub is only 30.6 inches across. The 53 inches is tub plus engine side by side, and the engine needs about 20 inches of clear air beyond that.
The person
One, seated
26.8 inches across inside, 26.5 inches of seating depth. You sit upright on the built in seat and go under to the shoulders.
The commitment
A grounded 110 V circuit
14.5 amps when the engine is pulling hard, on a grounded GFCI protected circuit. Plus a winter rule that matters in a cold climate.
How it is made
How Icetubs builds the IceBarrel
Icetubs’ own film from its factory: the stainless steel shell is cut, rolled and welded, the Thermowood cladding is fitted, and the engine is set beside the finished barrel.
Official Icetubs film1:31
Fit
26.8 inches across, and 26.5 inches deep to sit in
Those are the two numbers that decide this. The shell is 30.6 inches on the outside, and the usable interior is 26.8. Icetubs designs it for one person, seated upright, fully submerged.
| Interior diameter | 26.8 in (680 mm) · the figure to measure yourself against |
|---|---|
| Seating depth | 26.5 in (674 mm) from the seat to the rim |
| Interior | 304 stainless steel, including the seat |
| Water | 92.5 gallons (350 liters) |
| Capacity | One bather per session |
You step over a 46 inch rim rather than climbing down into a pit, which is the reason the stairs option exists. If 26.8 inches sounds tight across the shoulders, the IceBarrel XL is 35.1 inches inside, which is 8.3 inches more.

What sitting in 26.8 inches actually feels like
That is part of the point. In a tub this width your knees come up and your arms rest on or near the rim, so you are held rather than floating, and there is no room to drift into a position where a shoulder lifts clear of the water. The 26.5 inches of seating depth is what keeps you under to the shoulders while you sit upright on the stainless seat.
It is also why the standard IceBarrel holds 92.5 gallons against the XL's 113.6 on the same engine. Less water to pull down means a shorter first cool down and a smaller thermal mass for the engine to hold, which is the quiet advantage of the narrower tub.
The stairs are a variant, not an accessory
Choose the IceBarrel with stairs and you get two steps and two handrails in Thermowood and stainless to match, and the lower step stands in front of the cooling engine, with the engine protector forming the middle step. They add 8.4 inches to the footprint and 6 inches to the overall height, taking it to 61.4 inches long and 52.2 inches tall.
They cannot be retrofitted from us later as a separate part, so it is a decision to make now rather than after.
Before you order
Six checks before a 375 pound crate arrives
Every one of these is cheap to solve now and awkward to solve once the pallet is on your driveway.
- A grounded outlet on a circuit that can carry 14.5 amps.The engine's maximum draw at 110 volts. Icetubs requires a grounded outlet with GFCI protection from the main panel, on a breaker that meets local regulations. Have an electrician confirm the circuit before you order, because 14.5 amps on a shared household circuit is not a safe assumption.
- A surface that does not hold moisture.A concrete slab, timber decking or another surface that does not hold moisture, and a route to it at least 31 inches wide, because the tub is 30.6 inches across and the crate weighs 375 pounds. Icetubs rules out bare soil and synthetic grass, because moisture wicks up into the Thermowood and shortens its life.
- Floor loading, if it is going indoors or on a deck.Filled with a bather, Icetubs gives this as 250 pounds per square foot on the floor, or 260 with the stairs. Decks and upper floors are built to a specified load, so have your deck builder or a structural engineer confirm the structure can carry it before you order.
- Twenty inches of clear air around the engine.It dumps the heat it pulls from the water into the air, so it cannot sit in an alcove. Icetubs asks for 50 cm of clearance and an air outlet unobstructed by at least 20 inches.
- Whether your winter goes below 23°F.If it does, there is a mandatory shutdown routine and it is a warranty condition.
- Distance to the nearest chlorinated pool, and to the sea.Icetubs says not to site these next to a chlorinated pool, and that within 12 miles of the sea you need to rinse the stainless with fresh water every few days. Separately, corrosion on a tub sited within 10 miles of the coast is a named warranty exclusion.

Not sure on any of them? Call (888) 500-5675 and we will walk the list with you before you order.
Construction
Three things about the IceBarrel you cannot change later

The interior is 304 stainless steel. Not a plastic insert, not a liner. Icetubs' routine for it is a daily wipe with a damp microfiber cloth, an antibacterial wipe weekly and a stainless steel cleaner every one to two months. It is also why the chemistry rules are strict: chlorine, bromine and salts pit stainless, so they are named warranty exclusions rather than discouraged.
The shell is Thermowood. Icetubs describes it as heat treated softwood designed to resist swelling, shrinking and moisture absorption. Sun and weather still turn it gray over time, so the manual asks for oiling once a year, and Icetubs excludes that weathering from the warranty. Normal for the material, worth knowing in advance.
The engine is a separate box, and it shows. It stands beside the tub and connects with two hoses, which is why the footprint is 53 inches long for a tub 30.6 inches across. A failed engine gets collected and replaced rather than the tub being written off. The tradeoff is that it is visible, 23 inches tall, and makes 60 decibels measured at one meter, about three feet.
This is a plumbing free cold plunge that holds its own temperature. If you are still choosing between a tub with a built in engine and a tub plus a separate chiller, compare it against the cold plunges with chillers we carry, or browse the full Icetubs range.
The ozone generator and the water pump are not covered by the warranty. Icetubs lists both as non warranted components alongside the filters and the water care. The tub and the cooling engine carry a 2-Year Limited Warranty in private use. Those two parts are not, and it is easy to miss because it sits in the warranty terms rather than on the spec sheet.
The decision that blocks the purchase
What the IceBarrel needs from your electrics
One 1 HP engine, 110 volts, and 14.5 amps when it is working hardest. That last number is the one to take to an electrician, because it is more than a lot of household circuits should be asked to carry on their own.
| Power supply | 110 V / 60 Hz |
|---|---|
| Maximum current | 14.5 A |
| Maximum power input | 1.7 kW |
| Typical power consumption | 1.35 kW while running |
| Protection | Grounded outlet, GFCI protected from the main panel |
| Cooling capacity | 2.18 kW measured, 2 to 3.2 kW range |
| Noise | 60 dB(A) at 1 m, about 3 ft |
Why we are not calling this a standard outlet load. You will see these tubs described that way. The engine can draw up to 14.5 amps while it pulls the water down and runs for hours at a stretch, which is a lot to share with a household circuit, and Icetubs' own instruction is a grounded outlet protected by a GFCI breaker in the main panel, on a circuit breaker that meets local regulations. We would rather give you the number and let a licensed electrician set the rating, so plan on a dedicated circuit.
The power cable carries its own breaker in a box part way along it, which trips on a leakage fault or a short. That box has to stay dry, so outdoors it needs protecting from rain along with the engine.
What the engine actually does
Cools to 37.4°F, set on the engine panel or from the Icetubs app over Wi-Fi. Icetubs also lists a heater option that takes the same engine up to 100.4°F. It is specified with the tub rather than added later, so ask us to confirm it for your order before you buy. The pump moves 55 liters a minute, turning the whole 92.5 gallons over roughly every six minutes through a 5 micron filter, while a built in ozone generator at 200 to 300 milligrams an hour breaks down organic contaminants as it goes. That is what keeps the water usable for weeks rather than days.
The rule that catches people out
Winter, and the two temperature thresholds
A cold plunge in a cold climate sounds like the easy case. It is the opposite. Icetubs sets two different ambient limits depending on whether the engine is running, and getting them wrong is a named warranty exclusion rather than a judgement call.
| 34°F and above | Normal. The engine can be switched off |
|---|---|
| 23°F to 34°F | The engine must run in automatic mode, around the clock, with no timers, so it holds the water above freezing |
| Below 23°F | Detach the engine and store it indoors. Drain the tub and leave it empty |
| Above 104°F | Outside the engine's operating range in either direction |
Read that middle row again. Between 23 and 34 degrees you cannot simply switch it off for a week while you travel: the engine has to keep running on automatic so the water never freezes, and a burst pipe is explicitly not covered. Icetubs publishes these as two hard thresholds rather than general advice. For other tubs built to stand outside, see our outdoor cold plunge collection.
Below 23 degrees it is a proper shutdown: engine off, disconnected, brought inside, tub drained. Most of the northern United States sees nights below that through a normal winter, so for many buyers this is a seasonal tub with a storage routine rather than a year round one. Plenty of owners make that trade happily. What is not reasonable is finding it out in January.
And the other end of the range, which matters in a hot state
104°F is a ceiling, not a guideline. Icetubs gives the engine an operating air range of 23°F to 104°F with it running, and running it in air above 104°F is a named warranty exclusion in the same clause as the freeze rules. An engine that overheats and stops is not covered.
There is a second thing worth knowing before a Phoenix or Las Vegas summer. The 2.18 kW cooling figure is measured with ambient air up to 86°F, inlet water at 68°F and 50 percent humidity. Icetubs does not publish what the engine delivers at 100°F ambient, and a heat pump moving heat into hotter air always delivers less. So expect a longer pull down and more running time through a desert summer, plan the 20 inches of clearance on the shaded side if you have a choice, and tell us your climate before you order so we are not guessing at it either.
If your winters go below 23°F, tell us before you order. There are places to put an engine that make the shutdown a ten minute job and places that make it an annual argument, and it is worth thinking about while you are still choosing where the tub goes. Call (888) 500-5675.
Running cost
What the IceBarrel costs to run
Two honest figures and one honest gap. We would rather give you the arithmetic we can stand behind than a monthly number we made up.
First cool down
$0.79
Taking 92.5 gallons from about 68°F to 37.4°F, roughly 4.3 kilowatt hours
Time to get there
3 to 4 hours
From tap water in mild conditions, on 2.18 kW of cooling
If it never cycled
$5.94
A day, if it ran continuously at its typical 1.35 kW draw. It does not, so read this as a ceiling rather than a cost
The arithmetic: 350 liters through a 17°C drop is about 6.9 kilowatt hours of heat to remove, and the engine makes 2.18 kW of cooling for 1.35 kW of electricity, so call it 4.3 kilowatt hours for the first pull down. Costed at 18.34 cents per kilowatt hour, the US residential average in the EIA's Electric Power Monthly for June 2026.
The gap is the holding cost, and Icetubs does not publish it. They say only that the engine needs very little power once the water is at temperature, and that in automatic mode it cycles infrequently because the insulated cover holds the cold well. Neither is a kilowatt hour figure. What we can tell you is that the true number sits somewhere between nothing and the ceiling above, and closer to the bottom of that range than the top, because a covered tub at temperature is asking the engine for very little. If you buy one and will read a meter for us over a month, we will publish the real figure with your name on it.
The running cost people forget
Filters. A new one monthly in private use and weekly in light professional use, and a fitted working filter is a warranty condition. Three come with the tub and you replace one a month, so budget nine more in the first year at home. AquaFinesse is the other consumable, and the only treatment Icetubs approves. Between the ozone system and the treatment you are not draining and refilling weekly, which is where the water bill would otherwise go.
Scope
What arrives, and what you still need
One LTL freight shipment, 375 pounds, delivered to the curb by appointment. 428 pounds if you chose the stairs. Everything the tub needs to run is in it apart from water and a circuit.
- The IceBarrelThermowood shell, 304 stainless interior and seat
- The cooling engine and its protector cover
- Two engine connectors and four rubber sealsthe hose loop between tub and engine
- Insulated Thermo cover, four clips and four screws
- Three 5 micron filters
- Gardena garden hose attachment set
- On the stairs variant: two steps, two handrails and their screws

Required before it runs
- A grounded, GFCI protected circuit14.5 A at 110 V. Get an electrician to confirm the rating
- A level surface that does not hold moistureA concrete slab, decking or another surface that does not hold moisture
- A garden hose within reachThere is no plumbing. You fill it and drain it by hose
- AquaFinesse water careThe only treatment Icetubs approves, and a condition of the warranty
Optional
- Professional Setup and AssemblyA professional crew unpacks, assembles and positions everything on site, then takes the packaging away. You do not lift or build a thing
- Drip trayCatches the water that leaves with you
- Phone holderStainless, and the cover still fits with it mounted
- Replacement filter sets
- Where to find themAll four are in the buy together block near the top of this page, including the AquaFinesse the warranty requires
Freight is included to the contiguous 48. Canada is a set rate, and Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are quoted case by case.
Setup
Getting the IceBarrel running
There is nothing to build. The tub arrives assembled. What you are doing is positioning it, connecting the engine, filling it, purging the air and fitting the filter, in that order.
- Position the tub and the engine together, then level both.The engine's inlet and outlet have to line up with the connections on the water loop. There are adjustable feet under both. Level it empty, because moving it filled is not an option at 1,274 pounds.
- Connect the two engine connectors with their rubber sealsto the lower inlet and the upper outlet, with the other ends on the engine. Leave the engine off for now: Icetubs asks for it to stand upright for 24 hours after unpacking before it runs.
- Fill, purge the air, then fit the filter.Once the water reaches the upper outlet, hold the garden hose against the upper outlet and then the lower inlet separately to push the trapped air out of the loop, because air left in it can make the pump noisy. Submerge the filter to release its air and screw it onto the lower inlet before the engine starts. The engine must never run dry or without a filter, and neither is covered.
What Icetubs asks of you in the water
Worth reading their own user guidance before the first session rather than after. Icetubs asks for sessions of one to three minutes and a five minute maximum, your head completely above water at all times, entering and leaving slowly rather than jumping in, and never using the tub alone. Children only with close adult supervision, shorter times and warmer water. Cold immersion is not for everyone, and Icetubs says the following should avoid it unless a healthcare professional has cleared them. Ongoing conditions: serious heart or cardiovascular disease including uncontrolled high blood pressure, circulatory disorders, epilepsy, fainting disorders or impaired temperature regulation, Raynaud's syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, asthma or chronic lung disease, and recent surgery or injury. Passing situations: a fever, cold, flu or other infection, open wounds or skin infections, just after intense exercise, within an hour of a heavy meal, and under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Specific groups: pregnancy, and children under 12 unless medically advised and closely supervised. Get medical help straight away for severe shivering, numbness, disorientation or loss of coordination. It is all set out in chapter 8 of the operational manual that ships with the tub.
Before the first session
Plug the engine in and check the breaker box on the cable hangs clear of the ground and out of standing water. Set the temperature on the panel or pair the app, then leave it. From tap water, expect three to four hours in mild conditions.
Or add Professional Setup and Assembly in the buy box above and a professional crew unpacks, assembles and positions everything on site, then takes the packaging away. Connecting the engine and filling stay with you.
Reference
Icetubs IceBarrel specifications
| Footprint | 30.6 × 53 in, tub and engine together |
|---|---|
| Interior diameter | 26.8 in |
| Water capacity | 92.5 gal (350 L) |
| Cooling range | To 37.4°F · 100.4°F needs the heater option |
| Power | 110 V / 60 Hz, 14.5 A maximum |
| Shipping weight | 375 lb, or 428 lb with stairs |

Full specification tables
| Overall, without stairs | 30.6 × 53 × 46.2 in |
|---|---|
| Overall, with stairs | 30.6 × 61.4 × 52.2 in |
| Height with the cover on | 49.8 in |
| Tub alone | 30.6 in diameter |
| Cooling engine | 23 in wide × 26 in deep × 23 in high |
| Interior diameter | 26.8 in (680 mm) |
| Seating depth | 26.5 in (674 mm) |
| Empty weight | 326 lb, or 379 lb with stairs, engine included |
| Filled, with one bather | approx. 1,274 lb |
| Floor loading | 250 lb per sq ft, or 260 with stairs |
| Stair steps | Two, 11.8 in and 11.5 in deep, 25.9 in wide |
| Volume | 92.5 gal (350 L) |
|---|---|
| Circulation | 55 L/min, full turnover roughly every 6 minutes |
| Filter | Replaceable 5 micron cartridge, three supplied |
| Ozone | Built in generator, 200 to 300 mg/h output |
| Water treatment | AquaFinesse only. Chlorine, bromine and salts are excluded |
| Plumbing | None. Garden hose fill, drain valve |
| Engine | 1 HP, 110 V / 60 Hz, 14.5 A max, 1.7 kW max input, 14 AWG |
|---|---|
| Cooling | 2.18 kW measured, R32 refrigerant |
| Control | Engine panel or the Icetubs app over Wi-Fi |
| Noise | 60 dB(A) at 1 m (about 3 ft) |
| Clearance | 50 cm around the engine, air outlet clear by 20 in |
| Ambient range | 23°F to 104°F engine on, 34°F to 104°F engine off |
| Warranty | 2-Year Limited (private use), 6-Month Limited (light professional). Ozone generator and water pump excluded |
| Delivery | Free LTL freight to the contiguous 48, delivered to the curb |
Choosing within the range
Icetubs IceBarrel against the rest of the range
Same engine in all three, same water care, same warranty. What changes is the posture you plunge in, how much room you get, and what it does to your floor.
| IcetubsIceBarrelYou are here | IcetubsIceBarrel XL | IcetubsIceBath | Icetubs IceBath XL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Posture | Seated upright | Seated upright | Lying back | Lying back |
| Interior | 304 stainless | Fiberglass | 304 stainless | 304 stainless |
| Room inside | 26.8 in across | 35.1 in across | 23.2 in wide | 26.6 in wide |
| Footprint | 30.6 × 53 in | 40.2 × 62.3 in | 27.5 × 88.9 in | 31.8 × 96 in |
| Water | 92.5 gal | 113.6 gal | 106.7 gal | 132.1 gal |
| Floor loading | 250 lb/sq ft | 170 | 83 | 79 |
| Stairs option | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Two rows decide most of these. If you want to lie down rather than sit up, you want an IceBath. If the tub is going on a deck or an upper floor, read the floor loading row twice, because the IceBarrel is three times the load per square foot of an IceBath. Still deciding between cold water and a chamber? Our cryotherapy versus cold plunge comparison sets out the difference, or call us.
Independent reports
What we can and cannot tell you yet
Icetubs is new to our range and we have not sold enough to have reviews of our own. We are not going to borrow anyone else's.
The figure to weigh on this model
Icetubs gives 250 pounds per square foot filled with a bather, the highest of the four Icetubs plunges we carry. That one number decides where this tub can go: on a concrete slab, or on a deck only once a deck builder or structural engineer has confirmed it.
What is easy to miss
The electrics, the two winter thresholds and the 104°F ceiling beside them. All three sit in the warranty terms rather than on a spec sheet, and all three are conditions of cover.
What we are still collecting
Real standby consumption through a winter, and how the shutdown routine works out in practice for owners in cold states. If you buy one and will tell us, we will publish it.
One thing worth knowing about the manual. The manual supplied with these tubs carries the European electrical specification, 220 to 230 volts at 50 hertz. The engine built for this market is the 110 volt, 60 hertz version drawing 14.5 amps, which is what the cooling unit documentation and US dealer spec sheets give. Same tub, different regional specification, so read the amperage off this page rather than off that section.
Buyer questions
Icetubs IceBarrel, questions buyers ask before ordering
Does it really plug into a standard household outlet?
It plugs into a grounded outlet, but the load reaches 14.5 amps at 110 volts while the engine is pulling the water down, and it runs for hours at a time, which is a lot for a shared household circuit. Icetubs asks for a grounded outlet protected by a GFCI breaker in the main panel, on a breaker that meets local regulations. Plan on a dedicated circuit and have a licensed electrician set the rating.
Can I leave the Icetubs IceBarrel outside through a freezing winter?
Only within limits, and they are warranty conditions rather than advice. Down to 34°F you can switch the engine off. Between 23°F and 34°F it must run in automatic mode around the clock so the water never freezes. Below 23°F you detach it, store it indoors and drain the tub. A burst pipe is specifically not covered.
How long does it take to cool down, and what does that cost?
From tap water at around 68°F down to 37.4°F, expect three to four hours in mild conditions. That is about 6.9 kilowatt hours of heat to remove from 350 liters against 2.18 kilowatts of cooling, so roughly 4.3 kilowatt hours of electricity, or about 79 cents at the current US residential average. Holding temperature costs far less because the engine cycles, but Icetubs publishes no standby figure and we are not going to invent one.
Will I fit, and can two people use it?
One person per session. The interior is 26.8 inches across with 26.5 inches of seating depth, and you sit upright on the stainless seat and submerge to the shoulders. If that sounds tight, the IceBarrel XL is 35.1 inches inside on the same engine and the same warranty. Measure your own shoulder width rather than guessing, and call us if it is close.
Should I take the stairs option?
They replace a step over the 46 inch rim with two steps and two handrails, in Thermowood and stainless to match. The lower step stands in front of the cooling engine and the engine protector forms the middle step, and they add 8.4 inches of length and 6 inches of height. They are a variant of this product rather than a part we can add afterwards, so choose now.
What maintenance does it actually need?
A new 5 micron filter monthly, weekly in light professional use, with a working filter fitted at all times. AquaFinesse water care, the only treatment Icetubs approves. A daily wipe of the stainless with a damp microfiber cloth. What you must not use is chlorine, bromine, salts, magnesium, shock doses, flocculants or anything home made, because they pit stainless and are named warranty exclusions.
Who fixes the IceBarrel if the engine fails?
We open the claim, you deal with us. Under Icetubs' terms defective parts are repaired or replaced free of charge, a replacement after the first three months may be refurbished, repairs are approved by Icetubs first, and you may be asked to help replace simple parts. Labor, travel and call-out fees are excluded, as are the ozone generator and the water pump. A replaced part carries the remainder of the original term rather than starting a fresh one. Full terms are on our Icetubs warranty policy page.
Can I use it in a gym or a clinic?
Yes, on a 6-Month Limited Warranty rather than the 2-Year Limited Warranty. Icetubs defines light professional use as a business where the tub is not the primary revenue generating equipment, which they give as a small studio, clinic or office, and filters go weekly there. A dedicated cold plunge studio, where the tub is the business, falls outside this warranty entirely and needs separate commercial terms. Tell us before you order if that is you, and see the rest of our commercial cold plunges if you are comparing.
Note also that the published limits of fifteen bathers a day and three an hour are a condition of the warranty in any use, private or professional, not only commercial.
How loud is the Icetubs IceBarrel?
60 decibels at one meter while the engine runs, which is conversation level. It is a heat pump with a fan, so it sounds like an air conditioner rather than a pump, and it does not run continuously once the water is at temperature. Worth thinking about under a bedroom window or against a neighbour's fence, and remember it needs 20 inches of clear air on the outlet side, so it cannot be boxed in to quieten it.
What happens if it arrives damaged?
Note it on the delivery receipt before you sign, photograph everything before you move it, and call us the same day on (888) 500-5675. This one is genuinely time sensitive: Icetubs requires visible transport damage recorded on the delivery document at delivery and reported within twenty four hours with photographs, and hidden damage has the same window. A clean signature lets the carrier treat the goods as delivered in good condition. A fault that appears later runs on a different clock: Icetubs asks a consumer to report a defect within two months of discovering it, and a business user within fourteen days.
One last thing
Settle the circuit and the winter plan first
Ten minutes on the phone covers the two things that are expensive to get wrong: whether your circuit can carry 14.5 amps, and where the engine goes so a winter shutdown is a ten minute job.
ChaddyCold therapy specialistMon to Sat, 9am to 6pm ET

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Icetubs IceBarrel Thermowood & Stainless Steel Cold Plunge Tub
$9,995.00