System 07 · private homes only
A free-standing ice bath tub with its own chiller, for the private wellness room
A quiet object in a quiet room: a tub you can place on a terrace or in a wellness room, cooled by a chiller that is not in the room. No ice is delivered, none is melted, and the water is the temperature you set.
In this note
What an ice bath tub is, and what ice would cost you
Taking 500 litres from 30 °C to 4 °C removes about 15 kWh of heat. If ice does the job, it takes roughly 160 kg of it per fill, because each kilogram that melts absorbs 334 kJ and the meltwater then warms to 4 °C. A chiller does the same work from the mains, quietly, and holds the temperature afterwards. That, rather than the shape of the tub, is the difference between an ice bath you set up and an ice bath you actually use.
Where the tub goes
- A wellness room. The tub stands on a waterproofed floor with a floor drain or a drain at the wall. A limewash or stone wall behind it and a teak stool beside it do more for the room than any accessory.
- A terrace or balcony. The tub stands under a pergola; the slab is checked for the loaded weight, since 500 litres of water weigh half a tonne before the tub is counted.
- A garden corner. In a garden, a wooden tub can look better than a white tub on the lawn; this tub belongs inside or on a hard surface.
The plant is somewhere else
The chiller sits in a shaded, ventilated spot within a few metres of the tub, behind a wall, in a niche or on a service balcony, and two insulated hoses join them. The hose run and the route through the wall go on the layout; the typical limit is the length at which the pump head starts to cost cooling. The chillers page explains why the plant is sized for the hottest afternoon and not for the average one.
| Tub | Litres | Chiller | Indicative range (tub only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compact solo tub, 250 L | 250 | 1 HP | ₹2.3-3.5 lakh |
| Oval tub, 420 L | 420 | 2 HP | ₹3.2-4.7 lakh |
| Round tub, 520 L | 520 | 2 HP | ₹2.8-3.9 lakh |
| Double tub, 800 L | 800 | 4 HP | ₹5.5-8.3 lakh |
Floors, drains and electrical zones near water
The room around a tub is a wet area. It needs waterproofing under the floor finish, a fall to a drain, residual-current protection on every circuit within reach of the water, and sockets outside the splash zone. Your electrician or MEP consultant owns the classification; we mark the water edge and the splash zone on the layout so they can place the points.
Care, in a paragraph
The water circulates through a filter and a UV stage; it is changed by use, not by date. A lid keeps out dust and, outdoors, mosquitoes. Once a year the service visit checks the pump, the hoses, the condenser coil and the sensor calibration. In the first year those visits are included.
Small volumes, big hygiene
A tub holds a few hundred litres, so a single bather changes it more than a pool's water is changed by a crowd. Filtration, UV disinfection and a lid are standard on ours; the water is changed on a schedule written for your use, and a quick rinse before entering does more for the water than any chemical. Skin oils, sunscreen and hair products are the usual enemies of a small cold tub, so a shower first is a rule we recommend to every household.
Tub or pool: a comparison
| Free-standing tub | Built-in pool | |
|---|---|---|
| Bathers | One or two | One or two at standard sizes; more by drawing, with steps and a seat ledge |
| Civil works | A waterproofed floor and a drain | A structural shell and a plant room, built by your contractor to our drawing |
| Plant | Remote chiller, 1, 2 or 4 HP | One 4 HP unit at standard size; sized from the drawing above it |
| Use | Private homes, daily for the household | Homes with space, and every business |
| Indicative range | ₹2.3-3.5 lakh to ₹5.5-8.3 lakh, chiller extra | ₹8.8-15.7 lakh to ₹9.9-17.7 lakh at standard size, plant included |
Placing a tub in a room: dimensions that matter
- A clear step of at least a metre at the side the bather enters from, so that nobody climbs over a corner.
- A stool, a towel hook and a floor mat within reach of the tub, outside the splash zone.
- A path from the tub to the nearest shower that is not across a carpet.
- A wall, a niche or a service balcony for the chiller within a few metres, on the same level if possible.
Is this a portable tub?
No. It is a free-standing fixed tub with a remote chiller connected by insulated hoses, installed under our supervision and commissioned with you. It is not a bucket, an inflatable or a tub filled with market ice.
How cold does it get, and how fast?
3-5 °C. The first pull-down depends on the volume and the season: a 500 litre fill needs about 15 kWh of heat removed, so plan on a night, not an hour, in May.
Can two people use it?
The double tub takes two adults. The compact and oval tubs suit one.
Adjacent systems
The timber tub, the chiller and the built-in alternative
Wooden plunge tubs
Oiled timber staves, a smooth white liner, no metal hoops. For private homes, with a chiller sized by litres.
Open the page
Tropicalised chillers
1, 2 and 4 HP plants sized by litres and a 45 °C design ambient. Never in the picture.
Open the page
Cold plunge pools, built in
Round or square, from 1.4 m, mosaic or stone, 3-5 °C all year. The plant stays out of sight.
Open the pageSpecify this system
Send photos of the room or terrace; the tub and its chiller come back drawn in
Send the plan; the layout comes back
A floor plan or three photographs, the location of the distribution board and what you intend to build. The reply is a 3D layout, an equipment schedule and a range in lakh.
Open WhatsApp with the briefSpecify the suite first