COOLMAN Cold Therapy System, Therapy Ice Machine After Knee Surgery, Including Extra Backup Connector and Flexible Universal Pad Suitable for Knee, Shoulder, Ankle, Cervical, Back, Leg and Hip

Having an older IceMan which looked like a cooler with the hose permanently attached, this is a welcome upgrade. The best features for me are the compact size. The detachable hose which can be stored inside the base. The quickness of water circulation. The buttons are easy to operate and instructions are easy to comprehend. I also appreciate the manufacturer including replacement connectors and o-rings. I taped the bag to the back of the base so they don't get lost.My experience with performance: (1) The water flow control function adjusts the temperature by reducing the amount of water flowing. (2) The 30-45-60-90 minute timer is great and you can feel the water drain out of the pad so it's not continuing to cool the location. The timer emits a sound to let you know when the time is over as well.Things I didn't like but can live with. The hose connections are tight and snap into place. However, if the hose gets twisted too far, they will slightly leak so be cautious of that. (2) The pad needs more reinforcement where the tubes connect — when it gets twisted, water flow is mostly hindered. (3) I do wish the controller display had a temperature readout so I knew exactly how cold the water is while operating.Tip for greatest effectiveness. Don't follow the instructions on the base. If you add your ice first, then fill with water...the ice melts faster. Instead. Add the water to the container first — you will need to judge this on your own. Then fill with ice until the water reaches the maximum line. The ice will remain for hours on end. Which makes total sense scientifically.Overall. I am satisfied with the build quality. The durability when carrying it full of ice and water. And the quick performance. Hopefully it will last as half as long as the Joyden IceMan - it serviced me well over 12 years before "gunk" in the lines clogged up the irreplaceable hose.

Have used it for three weeks and it works great. However, there are some areas of confusion. Here are the Pros and Cons.PROs: The plastic water container is hollow-walled making it well insulated. The container and handle is very sturdy such that it should not leak or crack even with heavy use. The cover holds the pump and electronics and seems well constructed. The display is brightly backlit so it is easy to see in a dark room. The pump is very quiet. The tubing that connects the unit to the cooling pad is of adequate length and is well insulated. Though not perfect, the connectors don't leak at all even if disconnected while running. Others complain of the connectors leaking and being hard to connect.They do include a set of two replacement connectors. That's nice. I rubbed a bit of body lotion on the rubber seals and that made insertion much easier. However, it does take a serious push to get the "click" showing they are locked in place. The cooling pad fits pretty well, at least on my knee after knee joint replacement. The maximum running time is 90 minutes. You can control the flow rate with 5 settings. You get a three-bell warning when the water temp gets to about 60 degrees F.CONs: It works great but it is not perfect. The only time setting possible is 90 minutes. It is not changeable as indicated in the description and instructions. Other vendors seem to have a 30 minute maximum so having a 90 minute max is better. I wish it had a continuous option so it could run all night. The instructions are confusing or wrong when it comes to the settings. Setting the flow rate was easy once you figure out how to do it. You can't set the time. It always starts at 90 and counts down to zero when it stops. You do not see the numeric temperature of the water but there is a old-style uncalibrated thermometer which goes from cold to warm in four steps. The fourth step blinks indicating 60 degrees F (I checked it with a good thermometer.) and sounds three bells but continues running till the 90 minute timer expires. The cover has a rubber seal but easily leaked out when the unit was tipped. Not a problem for me. The description and the instructions indicate a warrantee of six months and an expected service life of one year. Unfortunately, the only method of contacting the manufacturer is via a phone number in China.The water/ice container holds 6 liters-- half ice and half water. It consumed ice faster than my frig could make it. I switched to using three half-liter water bottles that I frozen in my freezer. Running at 3/4th of the max flow rate, the three bottles would give me two 90 minute cycles before the water reached the 60 degree three bell warning. Using ice rather than bottles lasted longer and was cooler but inconvenient for me.BOTTOM LINE -- Five stars. I would buy again and recommend to others. The product is well constructed and did what I needed, i.e., circulated cold water, quietly and with no leaks.

Used after knee surgery, works well, so much more convenient than ice packs, elastic and Velcro straps hold it in place well.

I used this for a few weeks after knee replacement and it worked reasonably well. Recently, I had a second knee replacement and it turned into an expensive paperweight. It will not recirculate the cold water - it cools the pad once, then it returns to room/skin temperature. It is worthless. I have tried to troubleshoot with no luck. I missed the return date so I guess I'm just stuck with it. Into the garbage it will go. Does ANYONE know one of these devices that works long term?

I used this when I recovered from two knee replacements, 6 weeks apart. The machine is very quiet and delivers evenly-cooled water to the bandage. The included universal bandage fits well over the knee, so that no specialized bandage is required. The bandage would also work well for other surgical sites--ankle and foot, hand, shoulder, elbow. It's attached with velcro straps that are extremely grippy and hard to untwist and fit around the bandage because a lot of strength is required to pull the velcro areas apart. That's why I deducted a point from my rating. Every time I needed to put on, remove, or adjust the water bandage, I had to summon a lot of strength--and I'm not an especially feeble person. If you own less grippy velcro straps, you might want to use them instead. In the past I've used other brands of water-cooled bandages, and they've been much noisier, with smaller tanks that have to be refilled frequently.I didn't like using the machine at night because it would shut off automatically after 90 minutes, or if the ice melted quickly in the tank. I often woke up with a throbbing knee because the cooling had stopped. But during the day, when I could see the interface and punch the start button, it provided soothing and efficacious cooling that helped greatly to reduce swelling and pain.