Immersing yourself in cold water is a great way to ease your recovery after a harsh workout. A cold plunge can help prevent injuries, and stimulate your body for positive results on many fronts.
But exactly how do cold tubs work? How does The Plunge function?
Plunge tubs celebrate simplicity in design and are built to high quality standards with proper cooling and filtration. Here’s a look at what happens inside.
How Does a PLUNGE Tub Work?
The Plunge is an acrylic white tub that sits just 24 inches tall, making it easy to get in and out of and simple to clean. It’s covered with a lid to keep the contents clean and insulated. The lid opens and folds in half and has handles for easy removal so you can quickly set it aside.
Due to the careful construction of the tub’s electrical components, there’s no risk of electric shock and you don’t have to unplug anything before getting in.
You do have to plug something in however. The Plunge comes with a 15-foot cord that plugs into a 110 GFCI electrical outlet and you can add an extension cord to it if needed.
How does it work? Water is constantly circulating in The Plunge, being pumped out on both sides of the tub, cooled by the chiller, and then pumped back in. One intake pulls the water into the pump and another sends it back out to the tub.
One of the less talked about benefits of having a pumping chiller attached to your tub is that, as opposed to using ice water or previously cooled water to soak in, the act of sitting in moving water pulls the heat away from your body faster. Plunge users have commented that their body feels colder sooner when sitting in The Plunge compared with still water of the same temperature in something else.
Are you hoping to plunge at night? The Plunge has lights on the interior sides to illuminate your water, creating a cool and relaxing ambiance. Turn them on for a night time glow or keep them off to be in the dark.
To drain your Plunge just open the outtake valve at the back and bottom of the tub. This release valve is 1 inch in diameter, resulting in the water draining quickly, and being piped out onto the ground in just minutes.
How a Plunge Water Chiller Works
The Plunge is so wonderful to experience because it comes with its own water chiller. This means you no longer need to cart bags of ice from the grocery store to get the healing and soothing effect you’re looking for!
First, fill your tub with filtered water from a hose. Next, you turn on The Plunge system. This pumps water out from the tub into the chiller and back in again, as stated above. Our chiller can cool water as low as 39 degrees Fahrenheit and heat it up to 103 degrees, if you want to go hot.
Generally speaking, the standard Plunge cools down water at a rate of about 1 to 2 degrees per hour. The Pro is more powerful and cools at a rate of about 8 to 10 degrees per hour. If you have more than one person using your Plunge or you live in a pretty warm or hot climate, getting a Pro is probably the best way to go as it has 3 X the cooling power of the standard Plunge.
What do you need to do to get started? Just set your desired temperature on the chiller settings. Once your water reaches two degrees above your desired setting, the chiller will turn on and get to work. This means you don’t have to worry about setting timers or turning the system on and off yourself.
All the equipment needed to run the system is connected to the tub side except for the chiller, which sits separately and that you connect through two hoses.
If you like to oscillate between cold plunging and soaking in hot water, you can. The Plunge can be transformed into a hot tub of up to 103F. It takes about 12 hours to heat the water from 50F to 103, so plan ahead.
If you live where the weather dips below freezing and you want your cold plunge to be outside, you’ll need the Hot & Cold Plunge to prevent ice from forming on the inside of the tub’s pipes.
How much energy will your Plunge use? This depends on a few factors including what temperature it is outside (if your tub is outside), and whether you get direct sunlight. When the environment is just over 70F, the Plunge uses about 4Kw per day set at 45F.
Which Plunge is right for you? Check out the options now. For our fastest cooling tub check out our Commercial Plunge Pro.
How a PLUNGE Cold Tub Filters Water
You want clean water and we have it! Each Plunge comes with a comprehensive filtration system that includes an ozone filter, a UV filter and a 5 micron water filter. These work together to keep your water crystal clear.
The ozone filter injects ozone into your tub water by charging oxygen to create ozone, which acts as an oxygenator. The ozone in the water neutralizes contaminants. and cleans your water by removing things like hydrogen sulfide, manganese, iron, viruses, and bacteria. It does this by causing them to become unstable and break down.
An oxygen filter is a great alternative to using chlorine as it's more environmentally friendly and just as effective.
The UV filter in The Plunge also works by inactivating contaminants. These are things like bacteria, E. coli, and viruses. UVC light has a particular wavelength that disrupts the DNA of microorganisms, which stops them from multiplying.
What about things like visible dirt and grass? The micron filter works by catching larger unwanted particles like sediment and hair. All three filters work to keep your soaking water amazingly clean and pure!
It’s recommended that you change your main filter about once a month if you’re plunging regularly. The 5 micron filter is housed in a clear casing so all you need to do is take a look to see if it’s getting grungy. Yes? Time to swap it out for a new one.
We send you a large custom wrench with your purchase to help change your filter easily.
Just shut off the water circulation, and exchange the old filter for a new one. Easy!