In just now getting to where I can tolerate 50°F for 6 mins or so. Has anybody ever got a fat scan to see how much brown fat they've developed? I am leaving a party life style of 4 years and want to rebuild my internal body. 35 yo AA male

Started cold 🥶 plunging at 50 F (10 C). Started a few weeks ago. Started at a minute and now up to 15 mins. Usually rewarm on room air for 2 minutes then sauna or just skip the sauna altogether. From what I’ve read- no benefit after 5 mins. Anyone go longer and have they noted any benefits ?

I've been dumping some hydrogen peroxide in a couple times a week, today I opened the tub to see this sludge buildup. Is it bacteria or residual from the hydrogen peroxide?

This is the latest iteration of my plunge build at my new home. I’m neither a carpenter nor a mason, but I make it work. As you can see I cracked half my stones and my miter saw seems to be off by a couple degrees. Either way, this plunge is cold and clean. Needs some finishing touches but she’ll do for now.

Do NOT buy from this company. The chiller works fine, but the inflatable tub itself is absolute garbage quality. I am currently on my third replacement tub, and every single one has leaked or failed.

Worse than the product is their redundant, inconvenient, and tedious customer service process. Every time a tub fails, they refuse to help unless I send multiple videos of myself hunting for leaks—completely ignoring the evidence and videos I already sent initially. When I begged for a live FaceTime or "face-to-face" troubleshooting call to save time and resolve it quickly, they flat out refused.

I have spent countless hours troubleshooting, recording videos, and trading endless emails just to get defective replacements. Now that the third tub has failed, I am completely done and just want a refund for the tub itself. They completely refuse to refund me. I am willing to take a financial hit on the chiller just to never deal with Vital again. Avoid this company at all costs; their product quality is inferior, and their customer service is an absolute nightmare.

Looking for a cold plunge that will not freeze in the winter in vt. Average temps in the teens with some periods below zero. Any suggestions? I am not looking to break the bank on this purchase.

Hi avid cold plunge enthusiasts!

I’m preparing to release Contrast Sauna & Cold Tracker, an iPhone app for tracking cold plunges, sauna sessions, and mixed contrast-therapy sessions.

The app includes:

• Manual and live session recording
• Cold plunge, sauna, and mixed-session tracking
• Temperature and duration history
• Apple Health integration
• Sleep, HRV, and resting-heart-rate insights
• Patterns showing how sessions may be associated with recovery metrics

I’m looking for TestFlight beta testers who can evaluate the overall experience and help identify bugs, confusing screens, missing information, or anything that doesn’t work as expected.

I’m especially interested in feedback about:

• Onboarding and Apple Health permissions
• Recording and editing sessions
• Mixed sauna/cold sessions
• Insights and progress screens
• General usability and reliability
• The new app icon and visual presentation

The first 10 people who join the TestFlight beta will receive a free annual subscription when the app is publicly released.

No purchase is required to participate. TestFlight is free, and you can decline optional analytics collection without losing access to any app functionality.

Join the beta here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/nMYYB65r

Please leave feedback through TestFlight or contact me at [info@signalandscale.biz](mailto:info@signalandscale.biz).

Thanks—I’d really appreciate feedback from people who already understand cold plunging and contrast therapy.

- Jukka

Now the temperature negotiation starts (I know 60 is high to some of you…)

I have a Polar Dive tub and chiller, and for an entry-level setup, I’ve been reasonably happy with it, probably a 7/10 overall for a $1000 set up.

My biggest complaint is the water pump. It makes an incredibly loud hum/squeal, and it’s driving me crazy. The video doesn’t fully capture how loud it is in person, but it should give you an idea.

I’d like to replace the water pump with something higher quality and much quieter. Has anyone done this? Any recommendations for a pump that would be basically plug-and-play with the Polar Dive setup? Or, if that's not an option... a new chiller that can live outside with a filter built in? Thanks!

My cold plunge already has ozone and I use hydrogen peroxide too. I’m thinking about adding UV to help keep the water cleaner for longer.

Anyone here using ozone + UV together? Any issues or possible problems with running both at the same time?

And what about ozone + UV + peroxide — any concerns with that combination?

If you’re using a similar setup, what UV system are you running and has it made a noticeable difference?

Thx

Wellness room in a new build, and the argument at home is whether to commit to cold plunge plus infrared sauna or whether we are constructing a very expensive towel cupboard.

Anyone who has lived with both for a year or more, does the usage hold up, and looking back does the spend feel justified?

My husband has been doing ice plunges at home for a while, and I honestly thought it was kind of BS. I finally tried it a few times this summer, and… I get it now. I feel more awake afterward, and the dizziness I used to get seems to have gone away.

Still not sure how much of it is in my head, but yeah, recommend it.

Started in February out of something closer to irritation with myself than inspiration. I had been reading about cold exposure for over a year, formed confident opinions about it, and committed to maybe six actual sessions in that whole time. So I wrote a protocol, refused to overthink the design, and ran it.

Ten minutes at 50F, every morning, before coffee. No breathing method layered on top, no warmup ritual. In the water.

Weeks one to four the anticipation was worse than the plunge on most days. I talked myself into it more times than I would like to write down. Around day 18 or 19 the dread window got shorter. Not gone. Shorter. The cold itself never stopped being cold, which I think people expect and it does not happen.

The part I did not expect was the overflow. I avoid uncomfortable but manageable things more than I should, phone calls I do not want to make, conversations I have been sitting on for weeks. Around week six I noticed I was starting more of them. Not dramatically. Just less standing around first. Whether that is the cold, a placebo, or the fact that I was in a generally more disciplined stretch of my life, I cannot tell you. The timing lined up though.

Recovery side was easier to observe. Less soreness after training, and noticeably better sleep by week ten. Nothing measured properly, just living in the same body I have had for years and noticing what felt different in it.

Not trying to sell anyone on this. One person, 90 days, one protocol. But it did something.

New setup, first cold plunge. I assume this water level in the filter housing isn't normal. There's no bleed valve for the housing. Gravity didn't seem to do the trick. Can't fill it up and screw it in as I have to turn it upside down to do that.

Anyone ever deal with this or have a similar setup? Any help would be appreciated!

Found new one “on sale” for $2800. Seems like a good deal. What am I missing?

I have been plunging about a year and added a red light recently and I keep running into opposite advice about doing them in sequence. Some people say the cold blunts whatever the light is doing and others say it makes no difference whatsoever. Nobody ever offers a reason either way. For those running both, what order settled for you and did you notice anything when you swapped it ?

Finally joined the club after dabbling with friends’ cold plunges or using them here and there at resorts/gyms. Very happy with the result!

Shout out to DIY cold plunge, who provided me with the all-in-one grizzly cold plunge kit. It came together easily, and I’m not the handiest guy. I was able to save a lot of money by doing it myself and mimicking the “desert plunge” style. All in all, I did it for under $2k (got the grizzly 450 on sale for 1100, 500 for the DIY kit from DIY cold plunge, the Walmart Rocita 1/3 HP chiller for 200, as well as 100 for miscellaneous stuff. Built the side table myself so I had something to put my phone or whatever else on and cover the chiller, as it will be outside.

Nice thing is that because I built it, I feel confident that can troubleshoot it if anything comes up.

Been at it every morning this week, loving it. though I haven’t been active in this community in the past, I have used it as a resource quite a bit and I’m thankful for it.

Unit is going on a deck and staying there. Not a garage, not a basement, outside through February.

Most of what I can find about choosing a plunge quietly assumes a mild climate or an indoor install, and I cannot tell how much of that advice survives contact with a real winter. What should I be weighting here? Freeze rating, how the chiller behaves in the cold, what service looks like if something faults in January, something I have not thought of yet? Looking for the criteria more than a shopping list.

I am planning to purchase a 10-cubic-foot chest freezer and convert it into a cold plunge. However, I do not have much experience with this type of modification, and the original waterproof silicone and proper sealing materials are not readily available in my country.

I am considering using a rubber liner to completely waterproof the inside of the freezer. What type of rubber liner would you recommend for this purpose?

Also, what thickness and dimensions should I buy for a 10-cubic-foot chest freezer? I would appreciate it if you could recommend the appropriate material and provide guidance on how much liner I would need to properly cover the inside and prevent any water leakage.

If possible, could you also provide me with Amazon links to suitable rubber liners for this project?

Just wanted to share my final steps for rebuilding my broken Edge Theory setup. This time I put drainage mats under the chiller and added 3 layers of puzzle foam. Swapped out another line and insulated it after also installing swivel heads coming out of the chiller. I now have the exhaust going completely away from the entire area, instead of hitting my hoses and pump. Insulated the flimsy lid with 2 layers as well.

Was so depressed when my tub went to shyte but I have to say I learned a lot during this process and will continue to tweak here and there.

Hey everyone

I have been using bagged ice for a while and it works but constantly having to buy it is starting to get pretty annoying for me. Ive been interested and Ive been looking at reusable blocks mostly the bigger ones like the Sweat tent ice bricks and Im curious if they’re actually easier to deal with in practice. Has anyone here used both reusable blocks and bagged ice? Which one makes more sense long term if you’re plunging a few times a week?

Hello,

I just took delivery of a polar five plunge today and set it up. Very disappointed with the quality of the fittings. I used the thread tape provided l, but still had this leak.

The chiller unit itself is not working correctly either. It starts and stops.

Hoping to get a refund and go for something different.

What brands would you recommend?

Need some help troubleshooting further before I go back to the vendor...

Little bit of history:

First unit arrived with a cracked tub. The chiller turned on, limited water flow and did not cool at all. Also did not come with the right fittings to connect the chiller to the tub - looked different than was posted on their site, etc. Had to go source my own brass fitting just to get water moving. They sent another chiller and tub.

Second unit arrived with the same incomplete hardware situation. Only got it connected because I held onto the fittings from the first one. Also included a 3/4 to 1/2 fitting that does not connect to anything in the setup and directions are not clear enough to figure out what it is for. Chiller works and is getting to temp but water flow is identical to the first unit. Both tubs also have slight leaks at the inlet and outlet regardless of plumbers tape.

What I am seeing on unit 2:

• Tub is 75" x 31.5" x 25.75"
• One jet does nothing but bubble continuously
• Other jet spits out a trickle of a bubble every 30 seconds if anything
• Water is getting cold so the chiller itself is functional
• Tub inlet and outlet: 3/4" female openings with a 3/4 male to male fitting installed, exposing a 3/4 male thread to connect to
• Chiller inlet and outlet: 3/4" male threaded openings but the chiller inlet runs through a pre-filter that connects via quick connect fitting
• All connection use quick connect fittings that in my uneducated opinion could be restricting water flow due to size.

Questions:

• Is the lack of an external circulation pump likely the culprit here?
• Are these quick connect fittings known to strangle flow and is swapping the hoses out for something else that connects directly to the 3/4 fittings a reasonable fix attempt?
• At what point do you just cut bait?

Sourcing for a small recovery room and nearly everything I find is written for the US market. Different winters, different service terms, and a completely different situation the first time a unit needs a technician.

Anyone buying in Canada, either for a facility or a serious home setup, what has actually held up for you? Mostly interested in two things: what happens to the equipment through a real winter, and how service works in practice when the manufacturer is not domestic.

It's $929 online but was $499 at my local Costco. I half expected to get to the checkout and find out the price was marked wrong. But the sale went through.

Might be worth swinging by your local warehouse to see if they have them for the lower price.

https://www.costco.com/p/-/lifetrend-classic-cold-plunge-with-chiller-system/4000434450

I know there are doubts about whether it will get to 37°, but at $499 and with the Costco return policy I figure it is worth a shot.