Our website is supported by our readers. We sometimes earn a commission when you click through the affiliate links on our website at no extra cost to you.
Over the past year, I’ve been experimenting with a lot of different cold plunge setups. I started with the portable cold plunges from Ice Pod and Allevachill. Those were pretty neat in the beginning until I realized how much ice they required. Then I dabbled in making my own cold plunge chiller and that was revolutionary. Yay, no more ice! Not content, I then went all-in on the brand-new Ice Barrel 300. And yeah, a little pricey, but I love it. I should have been happy at that point, but then I came across the Warrior Willpower Spartan 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat.
Sure, my 1/3 HP DIY setup was doing more than fine, but the possibilities of this new chiller were intriguing. Wireless capabilities, built-in UV, super fast cooling, AND the ability to make my cold plunge a hot tub too? Sign me up!
In this review, I want to tell you all about my personal experience with the Spartan Willpower 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat. I’ll be sharing all of the specs, best features, and even potential drawbacks. Hopefully, I’ll be able to answer some of your questions and help you make a more informed buying decision if you’re considering buying from Spartan Willpower.
Key Takeaways
- The Spartan Willpower 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat offers efficient and high-performance water cooling.
- This cold plunge chiller is equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing for remote control and monitoring.
- With its all-in-one design and easy installation process, this water chiller offers convenience for users.
- Energy efficiency is a standout feature of the Spartan Willpower 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat, leading to potential cost savings.
Introduction to the Spartan Water Chiller
Spartan Willpower is emerging as a leading provider of cold plunge-related products. From Google Search to social media feeds, their existence seems omnipresent. Perhaps chalk that up to good marketing. Regardless, they got my attention and so far, I’m glad they did.
Browsing their website, as of this writing, they offer a variety of 6 different chillers for cold plunge and a handful of different style plunges. And what stands out to me the most is their very competitive pricing model. Compared to the competition, on average their products come in anywhere from $100 to a couple thousand dollars less.
Perhaps the only quibble I have with Warrior Willpower Spartan is the extended ship times on some of the more premium cold plunge chillers, including the 1/2 HP Wi-Fi I purchased. But that’s to be expected given the surging consumer demand for ice bath chillers at the moment. And to note, I was fully aware of the delay upfront before buying.
Given the results of a recent survey conducted on Reddit, I decided I’d give their 1/2 HP Wi-Fi chiller a look.
At this point, I’ve now had a week to test the Spartan Willpower 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat. Based on its performance thus far, I feel I can safely say it is among the best water chillers for cold plunge you can buy. Why? Because in the arena of water chillers, it offers all of the same cutting-edge features as other high-end chillers, at a fraction of the price.
Related: Spartan Barrel Cold Plunge Review
Key Features of the Spartan 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat
To say the Spartan chiller is packed with innovative features is an understatement. As far as I know, there’s nothing it lacks. Or at least I wouldn’t know what else to add to make it better. Maybe a drink dispenser?
Key Features Include:
Hot Tub Cold Plunge Combo
It’s said the 1/2 HP water chillers offer the best bang for the buck and I’d have to agree. This Spartan chiller cools things down significantly faster than say, a 1/3 HP unit. Over a 2-hour span, I was able to drop the water temperature in my Ice Barrel by 20 degrees. That’s impressive!
But do you want to know the best feature? The Spartan’s ability to heat water! Sure, icy cold temps might be all the rage, but I’m telling you now, the hot tub cold plunge combo is where it’s at.
With the temperature turned up, the heat pump kicked in and took the water from 40 degrees to 96 degrees in just under 3 hours. The thought of winter doesn’t sound all that bad now, right?
80-gallon max water volume
Spartan indicates the max cooling capacity of the Spartan 1/2 HP chiller is 80 gallons. I think that’s a huge understatement in my opinion. As I said, I’ve been using a 1/3 HP chiller for cold plunge to cool that volume for months now without issue. I see no reason why this particular model couldn’t cool up to 120 gallons, maybe more.
All-weather design for indoor/outdoor use
If you’re worried about leaving your expensive chiller outdoors, don’t be. All of the important internal components are sealed to keep water out. For those that have no option but to leave it exposed to the elements, that’s great news.
Advanced UV sterilization
Built-in UV is a standout feature of the Spartan Water Chiller. UV light is an excellent sterilizer and is capable of killing harmful bacteria that are guaranteed to overtake your cold plunge without it.
As of now, I manage to keep sparkly clean water with the help of products from Sirona. An excellent choice if you’re looking for options.
1-micron external filter (replaceable)
To prevent grass, leaves, or even bugs from mucking up your plunge, an external filter catches all of the debris. It’s user-replaceable and can easily changed out in 30 seconds. It’s yet another means of keeping your ice bath sanitary and clean.
Wi-Fi enabled for easy smartphone control
As techy as I am, I sort of groaned at the idea of adding yet another App to my phone to control the cold plunge chiller. But as I sit here writing this review, I’ve been closely monitoring the water temperature from the comfort of my office. I guess it’s not so bad after all.
Overall the functions of the App are intuitive, allowing you to turn the unit on/off, set the temperature, and also set up a timer(s). That last feature is great if you want precise control of your water temperature when you know you’re going to ice up.
Technical Specifications
- Refrigerating Capacity: 1300W
- Pump Power: 80W
- Pump Lift: 53ft (16m)
- Pump water flow: 634 gallons per hour
- Refrigerant Medium: R410A (eco-friendly)
- Input Current: 4.28A
- Input Power: 490W
- Weight: 73 lbs
- Size: 22in x 14.9in x 16.9in
- Noise: <58DB (A)
Pros and Cons of the Spartan Water Chiller
There’s no question, that there is a lot I absolutely love about the Spartan 1/2 HP Wi-Fi Water Chiller + Heat. Is it perfect? No, I think you should be able to weigh the pros and cons for yourself.
Pros
- Excellent cooling and heating capacity
- Top-tier cleaning and sanitation
- Indoor/Outdoor use
- Universal compatibility with any cold plunge
- Smart App integration for easy control
- Excellent build quality
- 1 Year Warranty
Cons
- At $1600 (with our promo code), it’s less expensive than other similar models, but still costly
- Heavy at 73 lbs, but it does have castors to move it around
- Large overall size
- Noise levels are relatively high when in operation
Summary
The Spartan 1/2 HP Water Chiller is one of those things that makes you wonder how you ever lived without it. Yes, it’s a luxury and I realize this particular model is not an impulse buy for most. If that’s the case, Spartan does sell less expensive chillers that have the same cooling capabilities, but without all the flare.
However, if the cream of the crop is what you want and you’re not willing to compromise, you’ll be very happy with this water chiller.
Editor-In-Chief at Recovatech. Dr. Ben is a board-certified Doctor of Chiropractic with over 10 years of clinical experience. He specializes in structural and neurological imbalances with an emphasis on functional movement patterns, exercise performance, and muscle recovery. He has been the team chiropractor for professional baseball and soccer organizations, as well as collegiate athletes. In his personal life, he’s always been driven when it comes to athletics and personal performance.
Just pulled the trigger on the 1Hp model for my ice barrel 300. Was wondering if it would play nice with the ice barrel and this answered my question. $200 off is pretty good too!
A few months later and it’s still working great! You’ll love the combination with the Ice Barrel.
Any special attachments that I might need to buy to get these to work? They are finally both being delivered next week! Thanks!
Depends on your setup. These come with the standard 3/4″ hose attachments, similar to that of a garden hose.