If you are considering a Brass Monkey ice bath for home recovery or a gym upgrade, the very first question is usually cost. This guide pulls together current 2025 pricing, delivery options, and realistic ownership costs, including electricity, filters, water, and optional consumables. It finishes with first-year total-cost-of-ownership examples so you can budget with confidence.
At a glance
- Headline prices (2025): The Ice Bath from £11,750; Cold Plunge Barrel £6,950. Commercial Spa and Pro models are by quotation.
- UK delivery options: Kerbside £150 or delivery, positioning and set-up £595. International shipping is price on request.
- Typical electricity use: Brass Monkey states the chiller runs about 20–25 per cent of the day once at temperature. One user manual lists around 0.41 kWh per hour while cooling and about 0.13 kWh per hour when idle. On current Ofgem unit rates, many households will see around £1.20–£1.30 per day in electricity for a residential unit kept cold continuously in a temperate room.
- Filters and consumables: Residential Ice Bath particle filter £50 each, monthly. UV bulb £45 every six months. Barrel filter multipacks from £20.
1. What a Brass Monkey costs to buy in 2025
Residential range
The Ice Bath (residential, three sizes): £11,750 at the time of writing. You can choose finishes and sizes, which can influence the final figure.
The Cold Plunge Barrel (restored oak whisky, sherry or port barrel with external chiller): £6,950. Includes the barrel, chiller, access step and app control.
Media coverage sometimes quotes higher “from” prices for bespoke or compact builds, which helps explain why you may see different numbers in the press. For operational budgeting, the official product and collection pages are the most reliable source.
Commercial range
Pro Plunge and Spa range: commercial units are presented as price-on-request. Commercial baths broadly fall in the £10,000–£30,000 bracket depending on capacity and specification, with custom Spa installations beyond that. Treat this as directional and ask for a formal quote for your site.
2. Delivery, installation and what to expect on the day
Brass Monkey offers clear UK delivery choices for residential buyers:
- UK kerbside delivery: £150. The bath arrives fully wrapped on a pallet at your driveway for you to position.
- UK delivery, positioning and set-up: £595. The team positions the bath, installs filters, fills it, and walks you through operation and maintenance.
- International delivery: Shipped via FedEx, price on request. UK VAT is removed at export, local duties and taxes payable on import.
You will need a flat, level surface that can take the load, a standard 230 V socket within a few metres, and hose access unless you opt for integrated water and waste connections. If the room is typically over 25 °C, Brass Monkey recommends venting warm air to the outside for efficiency.
Weights and water volume: A residential Ice Bath weighs about 219 kg empty and around 739 kg filled, which implies roughly 520 litres of water when full. The Barrel holds around 400 litres. This matters for siting, water cost and cooling time.
3. What really drives running costs
Running costs fall into four main areas.
- Electricity to chill and hold temperature
- Filters and UV bulb
- Water
- Optional water treatment for high-use scenarios
3.1 Electricity: how to estimate it accurately
Brass Monkey says that once the bath is down to your set temperature, the chiller typically runs 20–25 per cent of the day, with filtration drawing very little power the rest of the time. The exact duty cycle depends on ambient temperature, your set point and ventilation.
One Ice Bath manual lists around 0.41 kWh per hour while actively cooling and about 0.129 kWh per hour when idle, with a listed current draw of about 2.55 A at 240 V. These figures are in line with larger 1 hp cold-plunge chillers that commonly draw 700–1,000 W when running.
UK electricity price to use in 2025: Ofgem’s average default-tariff electricity unit rate was 25.73 p/kWh for July to September 2025, rising to 26.35 p/kWh for October to December 2025.
Worked example: a typical home setup
Assumptions:
- Cooling energy: 0.41 kWh/h
- Idle energy: 0.129 kWh/h
- Duty cycle: 25 per cent cooling, 75 per cent idle once at temperature
Daily energy = (0.41 × 6 h) + (0.129 × 18 h) ≈ 4.78 kWh/day.
At Ofgem’s 25.73 p/kWh, that is about £1.23/day, £37/month, £449/year. At 26.35 p/kWh, it is around £1.26/day, £39/month, £460/year. This reflects a continuously cold, well-sited bath in a temperate room.
Hot-room scenario
Efficiency can drop sharply in 30 °C pool rooms. If your chiller runs twice as long in summer to compensate, daily energy could rise into the 6–9 kWh band, implying about £1.55–£2.37/day at current prices. Good ventilation or ducting can bring this back down.
First cool-down after filling
Initial cool-down is the most energy intensive. Timings vary widely with room temperature, starting water temperature and volume. Brass Monkey says getting down to around 0 °C can take up to 24 hours. Third-party testing on similar 1 hp systems suggests about 5 kWh to cool 300–400 litres from warm to 3–5 °C in a well-ventilated space. That equates to roughly £1.30 at current Ofgem rates for a single cool-down.
Takeaway: For most UK homes, budgeting around £35–£45 per month in electricity for a residential Brass Monkey kept ready to use is sensible. If your room is very warm or poorly ventilated, expect more.
3.2 Filters and UV bulb
Brass Monkey’s filtration does most of the hygiene work without chlorine. For typical use:
- Particle filter (residential Ice Bath): £50, replaced monthly.
- UV bulb: £45, replaced every six months.
- Barrel filter multipack: four filters from £20, changed monthly.
3.3 Water cost
Water is inexpensive compared with electricity. Use your local volumetric rates to estimate the cost of each fill.
Examples from UK water companies (metered customers, per cubic metre = 1,000 litres):
- Northumbrian Water: £1.53/m³ for water and £1.35/m³ for sewerage.
- Welsh Water: £1.92/m³ water and £2.50/m³ sewerage.
So a 400-litre Barrel fill works out to roughly £1.15–£1.77 depending on region, and a 520-litre residential Ice Bath fill is £1.50–£2.30. Even if you refresh several times a year, water remains a tiny fraction of the total cost.
3.4 Optional water treatment for high-use scenarios
For heavy shared use, Brass Monkey recommends Huwa-San (silver-stabilised hydrogen peroxide) as a non-chlorine biocide. Typical UK retail prices at 2025 rates are around £56 ex-VAT for 5 litres of TR-5 and £110 ex-VAT for 10–11 kg of TR-20.
4. Putting numbers together: first-year ownership examples
These examples combine purchase price, delivery, electricity, filters, UV, and water. They assume a UK household on Ofgem’s July–September 2025 price cap of 25.73 p/kWh.
Example A. Residential Ice Bath, UK delivery and set-up
- Purchase: The Ice Bath £11,750
- Delivery and set-up: £595
- Electricity: around £449/year
- Particle filters: 12 × £50 = £600
- UV bulb: 2 × £45 = £90
- Water: two fills at about £2 each
Estimated first-year total: around £13,490.
Example B. Cold Plunge Barrel, UK kerbside delivery
- Purchase: Cold Plunge Barrel £6,950
- Kerbside delivery: £150
- Electricity: around £449/year
- Filters: 3 packs × £20 = £60
- Water: three fills, around £5 total
Estimated first-year total: about £7,615.
5. How to keep costs down without compromising the experience
- Site it smartly. Keep the bath away from direct sun and high-heat rooms. Above 25 °C, efficiency drops. If you must install in a warm space, add ventilation or consider ducting.
- Use the cover and app scheduling. Covering between sessions reduces heat ingress. Many owners set a daily schedule so the chiller pulls down before planned dips, then relaxes at other times.
- Set a realistic temperature. The last degrees cost the most. Most cold-water benefits are retained above the absolute minimum. Even moving from 3–4 °C to 5–7 °C can reduce duty cycle noticeably.
- Keep the water clean. Clean water reduces gunk on filters and inside lines, which helps maintain flow and efficiency.
6. Frequently asked cost questions
Do I need a special power supply?
No. Residential units use a standard 230 V socket.
How noisy are they and does noise affect cost?
Noise itself does not affect cost, but it correlates with compressor runtime. Manuals list idle noise around 39 dB and cooling noise about 56 dB.
How often will I need to change water?
With proper filtration and pre-shower hygiene, Brass Monkey advises periodic rinses and occasional water changes, more often for high-traffic use.
What about warranties and service plans?
Residential baths include a two-year limited warranty. Brass Monkey also offers service plans that bundle parts and maintenance on a schedule.
7. How Brass Monkey’s electricity usage compares
Most plug-in cold-plunge chillers sit in a similar real-world band, often 0.7–1.0 kW when running and a small draw when idle for pumps and control. Daily energy depends almost entirely on duty cycle. Independent guidance suggests 1–6 kWh/day across the market depending on size, weather and set point, which aligns with the worked examples above.
8. Bottom line: what should you budget?
Residential Ice Bath buyers in 2025 should plan for around £11.8k–£12.5k to purchase depending on finish and size, £150–£595 for delivery, and £500–£750 per year to own and run in a typical UK home, dominated by electricity and filters.
Barrel buyers should plan for £6,950 plus delivery, and similar annual running costs, with filters notably cheaper. A warm outdoor site increases summer electricity, so allow a buffer.
If you need precise numbers for a specific room and routine, time a week of usage with your chosen set point and multiply by 52. A smart plug with energy metering can pay for itself in a week by helping you optimise schedules.
