Best Ice Makers for Ice Baths and Cold Plunges (2026)

Start with the tub, not the machine.

Our ice numbers come from the same heat balance as the ice calculator: ice starts at 32°F, melts, and the meltwater warms to your target. It works out to about half a pound of ice per gallon of water for every 10°F you drop.

• 100 gallons, 60 to 50°F: about 52 lb.
• 100 gallons, 70 to 50°F (summer tap water): about 103 lb.
• 100 gallons that warmed from 50 to 54°F between sessions: about 21 lb to bring back.
• 40-gallon bathtub, 60 to 50°F: about 21 lb.

Treat those as minimums. The model leaves out heat from the air, the sun, the tub walls and your body. They are still the right yardstick for comparing machines, because every machine is fighting the same physics.

What daily output actually buys you.

Summer hits an ice machine twice. Warmer air and warmer inlet water cut what it makes, and warmer tap water means each chill needs about twice the ice. That is how a machine that looks like overkill in April becomes barely enough in July.

The last column is the cheaper routine: keep the water (with real water care), cover it, and only buy back the degrees it gained since the last plunge. Measure that drift once with a thermometer and you know your daily ice bill.

Bin size decides whether you get a full chill.

The bins on these machines are storage boxes, not freezers. ROVSUN's spec page says its storage bin "does not have freezing function", and EUHOMY's manual says the machine "is not a refrigerator". When the bin fills, a full-bin sensor stops production (EUHOMY's troubleshooting table simply says to take some ice out), and the ice already in the bin slowly melts. Daily output only counts if you empty the bin.

• 50 lb bin (ROVSUN 110): about one 100-gallon chill from 60 to 50°F, waiting when you are.
• 33 lb bin (EUHOMY IM-02): about two thirds of that chill, or one and a half 4°F top-ups.
• 11 lb bin (ROVSUN 70): a top-up buffer. A full chill means banking ice somewhere else.

To bank ice, scoop it into bags and stack them in a freezer or a good cooler. For volume math, Manitowoc sizes its bins at 33 lb of loose ice per cubic foot, so a 5-gallon bucket holds about 22 lb of cubes. ROVSUN also warns that its machines drop a fused sheet of ice rather than loose cubes; you break it with the scoop.

The picks side by side.

Water line, drain, or both.

Listing photos show a machine on a counter. The manuals show the hoses. Plan these before you buy:

• Water line. The EUHOMY IM-02 needs a continuous supply at about 6 to 87 psi through a 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) connection, the common size for refrigerator ice-maker hookups. Manitowoc's NEO 240 wants 20 to 80 psi.
• Bottled water instead. Both ROVSUN listings advertise a second inlet for bottled water, yet both also say a water pipe and floor drain are essential at installation. Ask ROVSUN before you plan on running one from jugs, and plan on the drain either way.
• Gravity drain. Meltwater and rinse water leave by gravity, so the hose has to fall the whole way to a floor drain, standpipe or sink below the machine. EUHOMY's IM-02 listing says it plainly: no pump included, keep the drain hose lower than the machine. A bucket works only if you will empty it.
• Drain pump. If the nearest drain is above the machine, you need a model with a built-in drain pump or a pump accessory. Some commercial machines ship without one; Hoshizaki's AM-50BAJ is gravity drain with the pump not included.
• No drain at all. Freezer-style residential units keep ice frozen and need no drain. Summit's BIM26LHD is one, and it makes 15 lb a day with 12 lb of storage: fine for drinks, less than one top-up for a plunge.

Power, heat and noise.

Power is the easy part. These are small loads on a standard 115V outlet: 2.13 A for the ROVSUN 110, 2.2 A while the EUHOMY makes ice and 2.5 A while it harvests. For comparison, Manitowoc's NEO 240 commercial undercounter machine draws 7 A and calls for a 15 A fuse, and Hoshizaki's AM-50BAJ is listed at 3.8 A. EUHOMY's manual asks for a separate grounded circuit and no extension cord.

Heat is the hard part. Makers rate output at 70°F air and 50°F water, which Scotsman's production FAQ calls ideal conditions. The industry's AHRI rating uses 90°F air and 70°F water, which Scotsman calls typical. Commercial brands publish both, and the gap is large: Manitowoc's NEO 240 makes 215 lb at 70/50 and 160 lb at 90/70 (26% less), and Hoshizaki's AM-50BAJ is listed at 51 lb and 35 lb (31% less). The machines on this page publish one number: EUHOMY's is the 70/50 best case, and ROVSUN doesn't state its conditions. Plan on roughly 30% less in a hot garage.

Check the operating range too. ROVSUN lists 50 to 100°F room temperature; EUHOMY's manual says to install between 50 and 90°F. An unheated garage in January is outside both. Air-cooled machines also need to breathe: EUHOMY asks for about 8 inches open in front and 2 inches at the back, top and sides.

Noise comes in cycles every 8 to 20 minutes. EUHOMY's manual lists what's normal: the water valve filling, water splashing over the evaporator, compressor hum, the condenser fan, and ice dropping into the bin. ROVSUN lists the 70 lb machine as under 40 dB without saying how it was measured. Put it in a garage, laundry or utility room rather than against a bedroom wall.

Countertop nugget makers vs undercounter commercial.

Countertop nugget makers are built for drinks. GE's Opal 2.0 is listed at 24 lb a day (38 lb for some versions) with a 3 lb bin. Collecting the 52 lb for one 100-gallon chill would mean emptying that bin about 17 times. Small nuggets also melt fast: quick to chill, gone just as quickly.

True commercial undercounter machines from Hoshizaki, Manitowoc and Scotsman are mostly sold through restaurant-supply dealers. On paper they make less ice per amp than the budget machines, but they publish the 90/70 number along with full drain and water specs. Hoshizaki's AM-50BAJ: 51 lb at 70/50, 35 lb at 90/70, 22 lb bin, 3.8 A, gravity drain, and UL approved for outdoor use. That outdoor approval is the reason to look at one if your plunge lives on a covered patio.

For a studio or a team, size a commercial machine by its 90/70 rating and plan the drain first. Manitowoc's NEO 240, for example, makes 160 lb at 90/70 into a 90 lb bin, about three 100-gallon chills a day from 60 to 50°F.

When bagged ice or a chiller beats owning a machine.

Bagged ice wins when you plunge occasionally.

If you plunge once or twice a week, drain between sessions, or have no drain where a machine could live, buy bags. Check the label: Reddy Ice now sells 5, 7 and 16 lb bags after replacing its 10 lb bag with a 7 lb one. A 100-gallon chill from 60 to 50°F is about eight 7 lb bags; from 70°F it's about fifteen. Multiply by your sessions per week and your local bag price, then compare that with a machine plus its plumbing.

A chiller wins when you plunge daily in water you keep.

The numbers aren't close. The Penguin chiller kit is rated at 7,500 BTU/h on a 3.9 A, 110 to 120V draw. A pound of ice melting and warming to 50°F absorbs about 162 BTU, so that rating equals roughly 46 lb of ice per hour. A 100 lb/day ice maker averages about 670 BTU/h. Real chiller output depends on conditions too; Sauna Marketplace's Penguin page says tub volume, insulation, shade, outdoor temperature and plumbing decide what it can hold. But it never needs scooping. Ice is also an indirect way to cool: Manitowoc lists 7.9 kWh to make 100 lb of ice at 90/70, so making the 52 lb for one chill takes about 4 kWh of electricity to pull about 2.5 kWh of heat out of the tub.

Sauna Marketplace sells the Coldture Water Chiller Pro and the Penguin kit. Before choosing one, run your tub through the chiller sizing guide.

FAQ

What size ice maker do I need for a cold plunge?

Work out one chill first: about half a pound of ice per gallon for every 10°F, so about 52 lb for 100 gallons from 60 to 50°F. Look for a bin close to that and a daily output that covers your week; 100 to 110 lb/day suits one daily plunger who keeps the water.

Can a countertop ice maker fill an ice bath?

Not well. A 24 lb/day nugget maker with a 3 lb bin needs more than two days and about 17 bin-emptyings for one 100-gallon chill. It can top up a bathtub.

Does an ice machine for an ice bath need a drain?

The cube machines here do. ROVSUN calls a floor drain requisite and the EUHOMY IM-02 is gravity drain only. Freezer-style units skip the drain, but the Summit example makes 15 lb a day.

Can I put an ice maker in my garage?

Only inside its room range: 50 to 100°F for ROVSUN, 50 to 90°F per EUHOMY's installation guidance. Expect roughly 30% less ice in summer heat, use a GFCI outlet and keep it away from splashing.

How much ice does a 100 lb ice maker really make?

About 100 lb at 70°F air and 50°F water. Commercial makers that publish both ratings lose 26 to 31% at 90°F air and 70°F water, so plan on roughly 70 lb a day in a hot garage.

Is an ice machine cheaper than buying bags of ice?

It depends on your bag count. Multiply chills per week by pounds per chill and divide by the bag size; if that's a handful of bags a week, bags win, and if it's every day, a machine or a chiller usually does.

Ice maker or chiller for a cold plunge?

Daily plunging in water you keep: a chiller. Occasional plunges, a bathtub, or drain-and-refill sessions: bags or an ice maker.