DIY Chest Freezer Cold Plunge for $618.89
Inkbird: amzn.to/3NP3x1V
Ozone: amzn.to/3NUQlce
pond shield (2-3 kits): amzn.to/3PSqDrb
Seam Expoxy (can take 10-20 depending on freezer): amzn.to/3JV8NjE
Primer: amzn.to/43oqT4p
foam for support: amzn.to/3Y2u157
pump: amzn.to/3XOifuH
filter housing: amzn.to/46Jb7ny
filter: amzn.to/46LVdZs
Net: amzn.to/43lP9nF
Cable Glands: amzn.to/3DfGBUF
Thermometer: amzn.to/43mlBq9
Suction Cups: amzn.to/3XUoxZV
DIY Chest freezer cold plunge. Cold plunge. diy cold plunge. artic plunge. ice bath. DIY ice bath.
Website to follow: chestfreezercoldplunge.com/Po...
Facebook Group for help: / chestfreezercoldplunge
Cost Breakdown:
Freezer: whatever you can get it for
inkbird $35
ozone $100.79
PVC $27.97
Pond Shield (3 kits) $187.14
Seam Epoxy $56.98
primer $28.13
foam for support $24.99
pump $18.49
filter housing $19.79
filter $8.06
rollers $20.94
containers $10.32
gloves $12.30
brushes $10.00
sand paper $8.99
paint stickers $1.98
net $12.87
cable glands $19.17
thermometer $8.99
suction cups $5.99
all misc items: $618.89
Cedar $102.96
pine 2x4 $22.72
hinges $16.00
gas struts $31.66
wood surround: $173.34
My Gear:
Camera amzn.to/2taS0o1
Mic amzn.to/2rIflx6
Grill amzn.to/2RO7GYP
Thermapen amzn.to/35CLqUR
Black Nitrile Gloves amzn.to/2PKMRur
Gimbal amzn.to/2YLQx3x
Tripod amzn.to/2PHaZy7
Editing software amzn.to/2yv3rtf
Ive watched about 25 videos so far and yours is by far the best, thanks!!!! Much appreciated
Looks great! I considered a freezer but went the open plunge route. Next I'll get a filter system set up. Considering its summer now, ill use the water exchange to help water the lawn.
Excellent advice. I'm glad that I had done all correctly prior to watching this. A chest freezer plunge is definitely the way to go - other options are worse and exorbitantly expensive.
Well that clears it all up. Well done. Thanks
Thanks so much for being so concise!
This is awesome! Thanks so much! I am looking into doing this so that I can have a cold plunge at my house and be able to be more consistent
I normally have no desire to do a cold plunge, but after the heat index down here in Louisiana the past month, it would feel amazing after I mow my lawn!
There have been multiple days where I've jumped in after yard work and it feels amazing. I go from borderline heat stroke to completely cooled down in about 30 seconds lol
Hahaha It truly has been horrible. 3 weeks of 100 degrees, not taking the index into account
Great video. I'm about to make a cold plunge, I'm purchasing a chest freezer with temperature settings, so I don't have to worry about separate temperature controllers and don't have to worry about the water freezing over. Then I'm taking it to my local Line-X distributor who will be lightly sanding back the surface, silicon-ing the seams, and then covering it in Line-X. This does cost AUD$750 extra, but the seal on the unit should last for ever and is much safer, as it a) should never leak, and b) is a coating that doesn't conduct electricity. Still working on what to do buy way of filtration and hygiene, hence my watching this video. Side note, I just finished the video and I didn't think about additional support under the base of the freezer, good tip.
How do you run your aldious ozone generator with the cold plunge? Do you have it on a timer? How exactly does that work with the dial timer on the ozone generator?
Great video! Did you drill holes in the top to run cables through?
I watched a lot of videos freezer ice bath convert this one this best
Great video Thanks for the info! Looking to put something together up here in Alexandria La
you are a Pro my friend! thank you very much for the tips, I recently bought a freezer and though I could just dive in and do the ice baths but I still have a lot of work to do
Take your time - it's worth it. Easy to use thereafter.
I only put white Flex Seal on my seams & corners. None of this other stuff. Nvr had any problems with mine. Going on 3 yrs
@@owenmanadventureswild2158 You may never have any problems that way, but for something you're going to use this much, applying the most durable materials is prudent, and a not unreasonable investment in time and cost. The epoxy pond liner coating keeps the freezer interior and its machinery from ever feeling you or the water. Happy plunging, and remember to always cut the power before getting in.
Ive done 245 days (225 days straight) last year.. stopped a few months ago but have just restarted a week ago.. im really wanting to do this.. last year i was chopping ice off my plastic tub outdoors and enduring very cold temps. I like the idea of control. If i can walk into my garden room thats reasonably warm and do this at a temp to suit me ill he super happy
Please give it a go and report back!
245 days is a major accomplishment. congrats.
@@Horrble-pg1so thanks... I restarted again almost 3 weeks sho..getting back into it
@@BreakItYourself what size of freezer did you end up getting?
@@shaunjbaird1adter such an impressive run, what made you take a couple months off?
Super interesting…kinda tempted! Well done!
It's overhyped, but I've come to enjoy it weirdly. The Facebook group I linked to in the description helped me out a ton. Some mornings, I'm upset with myself that I've made the cold plunge because I'd rather not do it haha. I hope you end up building one, and if so, I'm here if you have any questions.
@@BreakItYourselfwhy do you think it's overhyped if you even make yourself do it on the days you don't want to. Just curious.
You can also buy a fabric or plastic pond liner and cut it to the dimensions of your freezer. This is water tight and you can clean it whenever you empty the water. I did this and I also used JB WW for extra protection. The wifi Inkbird is awesome, you can monitor and change water temp from the app on your phone.
I think they just want it to seem as professional as possible. Creases in plastic just make it less fancy, but what you suggest is most logical.
So is it the actual cold air that's keeping the temperature? I'd presume you'd want to add some ice initially as cooling that much water from the surface would be a long process?
awesome video man. Thank you for the info
You said not to put anything on the sides on the outside. I was looking to apply wood like your video. Does this allow heat to escape?
Great video! You worked hard to get this done!
Agricultural stock tanks work too
Thank you for the detailed video. I do have a question though - I’m getting a brand new chest freezer. Do I still need to sand it? Or just JB + epoxy on top? Thanks
Yes. You want to etch the surface, which increases its surface area microscopically so the epoxy has new, clean metal to bond to.
Great video. How did you attach the rubber on the bottom?
Thanks for amazing details, I feel lucky to come across your video. I got pretty much similar set as your, but I need your help to keeping my water clean. CCould you please share more details about your pump/filter system. I know it looks pretty straight forward, just make sure if I am doing all right. take care
How and why do I silicone coat my probe?
What size freezer did you end up getting? My boyfriend is shorter than you so whatever size you got should work great!
Great video. I’m trying to do this but I’m thinking of through trial and error plugging in the freezer and timing it to see how long it takes to get to the temperature I want. Then unplug it and get in. Instead of filtering the water just add a little chemical and drain it every week
I had a new Kenmore Freezer that had the Aluminium inside. I used a "Bonding" Primer (not Rustoleum) instead of a "Self Etching" primer...I ended up doing about 3-4 coats of EPoxy. ...do you think that primer will fail..or should i be okay?
Where you at? I'm right by Madisonville and Covington !
Very nice! Thanks for sharing! 🧠
What a great video. Very informative and helpful. My one question is what size freezer did you end up purchasing? We're about the same size. They are usually advertised by cubic feet. I do know that they do show interior dimensions as well but I wanted to know where to start. Thank you.
Yes pls, what are the interior dimensions of this freezer?
Wondering same thing.
@@Cason999 mine is about 14 cubic feet. I'll have to double check the dimensions.
What KZhead videos did you watch to show you all this stuff? So I can see more details on how to do some of the things you're mentioning.
Two questions: Do you think the pond seal is a must have? Also should I still get foam to put underneath if it’s on a pallet?
I do think the pond shield and epoxy are musts. and it depends on how much the pallet is supporting the freezer. does the floor flex at all if you get in and out when it's not filled up? If there's any give I imagine it'll get worse by adding a few hundred pounds of water.
@@BreakItYourself I went ahead with pond shield and water weld. The freezer was free so all the more reason to go for it. As far as the bottom goes there is dead space since the freezer has built in feet so I’m going to get some foam or plywood to fill that gap in the middle.
Yes. The pond seal protects the water weld from any wear or damage.
Is your plunge exposed to outside weather, or under an outdoor roof. I want mine outside but, worried that rain may kill it.
Got nola home sick when I saw the clip of you driving by lakeside 😢
Very nice job. How many cubit feet is your freezer? What’s the dimensions? I will be appreciated, thank you
Great video!
Thank you!
You do not need self etching primers when using epoxy primer. Also, jbweld is filled epoxy, you could mix regular epoxy with a filler and fill the corners . I’d suggest making a nice radius, use a spoon or tongue depressor,. If you really want to over do it, you could even run a light fiberglass tape over the corner set in the filled epoxy, this is how some boats are built. Also, I’m sure the pond liner is good, but many epoxy paints could handle being submerged. Definitely though, if it’s not a catalyzed epoxy, or some urethane scould do it, it’s not going to hold up.
Wear. A. Respirator. When painting sanding spraying using epoxy et cetera, protect your lungs. Great work!!
You’re not wrong 😑 I’ll learn eventually
Show the wood surround build
Awesome thanks
Thanks!
Thanks for the vid! Very helpful and got me confident enough to build mine out. Noticed in your thumbnail you’ve made a wood frame for your plunge. I would like to do the same but am worried about heat radiation. Any tips? I live in a smokier climate (FL)
I left plenty of space between the wood slats and ensured they were 6+ inches from the freezer. You can see it better by searching through my shorts on YT or Reels on Instagram. What I meant in my comment in the video was mainly don't wrap something directly in the freezer.
@@BreakItYourself thanks go much for the quick reply. You think you could get away with less space than that between wood and freezer? Say 1-2 inches. Does your wood frame ever get hot?
@@timothythornton3604 you'll have to test and see. 6" was enough where the freezer walls didn't get hotter vs no wood at all. My frame does get warm.
Did you show anywhere the process of putting the filter system in?
do you leave the pump running constantly ?
Thanks for the video! Quick question: how long did it take you to cool the water down the first time?
Hours and hours and hours haha it was the heat of summer. Something like 2-3 degrees an hour. I thought i was going to burn up the compressor. The next time I bought 40 lbs of ice to help.
I use about 40-60 lb of ice for the initial cooling to prevent stressing the compressor.
"bathtub" for the win. $$$
I think you could have used rhino coat which is the black coating on the bed of your pickup truck. It sprays on. It is water proof and impact resistant. - thoughts?
Thank you so much, great video! Have you ever heared of someone that his box crashed/breaked in pieces because of the amount of water in it? I thought of strengthen the box with like a steel belt around it? And should it not be enough just to put chlorine in it? i mean, its super cold, dark, no light, only view minutes the day in use, i'll shower before...
The freezer sides will hold the water just fine. Figure 64 lbs. per cubic foot for the weight of the water when deciding how to support the bottom of the freezer.
A UV lamp for professional water purification will sterilize everything.
Some of my friends and I got in the topic of potential benefits of cold plunge. I assumed there were benefits but peer reviewed research o found only related to mostly Olympic athletes doing cold plunges after workouts. Does anyone have any good citations for benefits of cold plunge for maybe a non Olympian?
Great video! It looks like you have 3 wires and the ozone hose coming in your freezer lid: Wire 1: submersible pump wire. Wire 2: temperature wire. What is the 3rd wire for?
I’ve now got it setup with 3 cable glands with 4 items going through. Ozone hose, pump power wire, two temperature probes. 1 probe is the ink bird that maintains the temperature. The other temperature probe is for monitoring the temp in home assistant.
How do you run the pump/filter? Is it always running or on a timer for a certain amount of time? Im going to start without the ozone and see how it goes. Thank you
I have mine on the output circuit of the Inkbird controller, along with the freezer compressor. When the freezer turns on, so does the filter.
I bought a cheap rubber tub: filter with UV capable of 85 gallons and use hydrogen peroxide 3% (food grade). Water lasts a long, long time. I also skim it! Ice blocks have been good enough!
Do you mean dont use a cover that you buy separately, or leave the lid off the unit?
He meant the sides. Don't remove the freezer lid. Keep it closed.
Can you do a video of your plumbing set up? Got everything you’ve recommended in this video but need a little lift on how to set it all up. (Filtration, ozone, pump ect.)
I put the ozonator on a wall and dangled the tube into the freezer, taped to the edge. Put the filter on the shelf inside the freezer formed by the compressor enclosure and taped the cord similarly. The lid still closes almost all the way and doesn't bother either one - no drilling needed.
You keep your freezer outside?
If you bought a "new freezer chest" would you still do the work seeming up anything in the inside?
yes, definitely
Wait. Don’t get in it plugged in? Unplug then get in?
Any thoughts on having this setup in a cold climate during winter?
The insulation that keeps the cold in should also keep even colder temperatures out. The freezer may not need to run much, so you may want to put the filter on a separate timer so it will run enough.
So how do you drain the water, lean the freezer to the side and enpty it? Im thinking what to do about that
I got an additional $20 pump off amazon to pump the water out. Or if you have some hose you can siphon the water out. It weighs far too much with the water in it to tip it over safely
@@BreakItYourself Exactly what I did. Got a pool draining pump from Amazon, 60$ bit pricey but seems nice. Thanks for the suggestion and respond. Great ice bath you got made there
@@BreakItYourself o
Is one pond seal kit 2 coats or just 1 kit 1 coat?
completely depends on your freezer size but generally speaking 1 pond shield kit yields multiple coats
@@BreakItYourself I have the same size as your freezer!
Measure the inside surfaces and compare to the kit specs for coverage.
Do you have any resources or a separate video on your filtration and ozone setup?
I use an Aqua-6 ozone generator and a Marineland aquarium filter.
Does this burn the compressor up quickly?
No. It will run less than when used as a freezer. Water holds the cold better than air.
do you need to sand the inside before epoxy?
Yes
How much time did it take to completion of your DIY cold plunge?
The epoxy process took 2 days
Im going to do this... but I'm going to use either 4200 or 5200 for the seams... then Red guard all the surfaces
Weird question but could you just put a sealed cattle trough into a large enough freezer and avoid bathing in potentially toxic chemicals?
Just use the cattle trough, build a box around it, fill the space between the box and trough with water proof marine boat foam.
Yes, if you want to haul ice or find a deal on a cold pump
The pond liner isn't toxic. When cured it's inert.
In the thumbnail it looks like you put some wood around your freezer to make it look nicer. Did you? If so can make video to show that.
awesome
2:13 "This is MY daddy. He's crazy." But I love him anyway.
😂😂😂
Even with ozone it only stays clean for about 6 weeks?
You need a better filtration system and need to keep your filter clean. Bacteria will form biofilms and be protected from the Ozone. Check out the APEX86 Danner pump and filter system.
my ozone was faulty ... now things are working well@@davidbafus2076
Do you need to sand the freezer if the inside is plastic?
Yep!
what watch is that? tells your depth and temp and is obviously water proof smart watch. I want one.
Apple Watch Ultra
Did he mention what size freezer he went with? 10 or 14 cu ft?
14 cubic feet
HOW DO YOU CHANGE THE WATER EVERY 6 WEEKS OR SO?
Either siphon or transfer pump
WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW TO CHANGE THE WATER !!
Use a hose,run water into your plunge then take the hose off the spigot, cohesion of the water will cause nearly all of the water to drain out of the hose, just make sure it is lower than the water level in the plunge. Will take about 15-20 minutes to drain. Then finish draining with a bucket, or cup. Clean out the inside with a mild bleach solution. Refill.
Did you childproof it so your little one doesn't decide to see what the plunge is about while you're not watching?
yeah it has two locks on it
@@BreakItYourself nice!
That seems like a lot of work when you could just buy a rubbermaid tub and put frozen bottles in daily or get an ice maker. Could you possibly put pan liner in you freezer and just attach it at the top and be done with it?
I'm not the channel creator, but I did a lot of research myself before building a chest freezer cold plunge, and since you didn't get a reply, here's my 2 cents. Check on the price of ice makers that will make enough ice for your application consider you need probably 40-60lb of ice to get it to temp so you're looking at an icemaker that is $2-3,000 new. Consider how much space sufficient bottles will take up in your freezer and how many it will take to get the water to the right temp. The rubbermaid is a reasonable plunge with a chiller pump, but consider the pump and filtration will run you in the realm of $1100, and if you don't want it to be on all the time you will need insulation meaning building a cabinet and lid and filling with foam. Chest freezer plunges are probably the easiest way to go about having a plunge without spending $2-4k on a basic complete cold plunge system.
why do yous all paint it most freezers now have plastic inside its only the old ones tht have metal i used to have one till i blew up the compressor though it lasted 2 years and a1/2 never painted it just sealed it got in in it for 2 to 5 mins a day more into the benifits of what thy do than what it looks like
Ur thumbnail shows that you covered your freezer ?
Tractor supply sell massive horse water tub fill with water over night it will be super cold in morning you are welcome
There has GOT to be a simpler way
Hey mate What litre is your freezer?
Around 14 cubic feet
@@BreakItYourself you wouldn’t know the litre size by any chance 😬. I’m guessing it’s bigger than 360L? Sorry to be painful but yours looks like the ideal size. Thanks 🙏
@@DynamiteDB google says 400 liters
@@BreakItYourself awesome, thank you.
How has this held up?
Working on an update now. Overall, exceptionally well. Still going strong.
No one is talking about commercial ice makers, they're around 400$ which seems like a much cheaper and simpler method, curious if anyone else has experience with one
I would be scared the lid falls on me, and I am trapped
They don't latch.
The lid is balanced, and light weight.
you forgot about child proofing, many children die from suffocation after closing the lid on themselves.
I have two locks on mine for that exact reason
Ugh that terrible to think about 😢
I just wrote the same thing above - www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/fridge.pdf
"Scrotum pole" 😅😅😅😅
and use a foam roller
cold shower is much harder than plunging
Would just use a tub epoxy
I'm going diy my way to being a iceman.
always remember the first rule of cold plunging: If you don't post your cold plunges for social media clout you're not really cold plunging.
@@BreakItYourselftruth😅
I will never post that, simply because I can't get through a cold shower 😂
Do it!! Make sure you post it. Just like a workout; if you don't post it, it didn't happen.
Lol, after watching this, I definitely don't want to DIY it, lol.
“Break it yourself” Are you a big Andrew Bird fan?? You get points if u say yes. Lol
Lol, I had no idea who that was until I created the channel and was trying to get email addresses and websites. Then I found Mr Bird, haha
$600? What's the benefit of that over a $79 galvanized tub?
built in compressor and insulation
It’s crazy cold plunge company’s charge 5k for this same thing pretty much and it doesn’t even clean your water 😂
Just buy an ice machine and use a standard bath. Sell ice on the side.
Chest freezers are designed to circulate cold AIR, not water. Also, the risk of electrocution is severe. Bad idea.
which is why you unplug the freezer prior to plunging
Or..you go by my plan. Buy a new freezer. Use it to freeze water bags. Take the water bags and put them in a bathtub with water. The End. You got your 5 minutes exposure.
more power to you. I don't want to have to do all that moving and setting up. I'm in and out in 4 minutes and only have to change the water out occasionally
@@BreakItYourself am just kidding buddy. Or trying to anyway. Like being lazy and all.. You hard work and engineering in producing a workable manual is much appreciated.
How cold does it make your bathtub water? Have you put a thermometer in to see? I'm far more interested in doing your method just because I don't have space for a freezer anywhere. I mean a second one. One dedicated for this.
More work, less temperature control, more energy use. That's not better.
yo ur editing software link isnt available no more, mind just sliding the name for me?
adobe premiere pro
a cold shower isnt as effective?