Advice on sauna purchse?

[joboy77]

Hey all,

So I'm thinking of buying an infrared sauna for my house. I've been doing the normal internet research, but would like to hear if anyone here has any tips, advice, or warnings about sauna ownership. Just to give you an idea of what I'm looking at, here is the brand/model I am most interested in: http://www.infraredsauna.com/is2.html Any advice is appreciated.

-Joe

P.S.

I did do a search, but it came up with bupkis.

 

[EAC]

wtf you want to sweat for? Arizona aint hot enough for you?

 

[docjohn]

a dry sauna is a nice luxury item.We have a standard electric heater element with the rocks on top.Our room is red cedar and the unit works well.Size is important.Bigger is better,more room to spread out especialy with friends/family.What specific questions do you have?

 

[joboy77]

EAC- Yes, AZ is plenty hot for me, but I'd like to get a good sweat without baking to a crisp.

Docjohn- While I would love to get a nice big sauna, due to space a 2 person unit is as large as I can go. It will mostly be only me in it. Here's few questions I have:

The unit will be kept in doors, does it heat up the rest of the room or is all the heat kept internal?

Most of these saunas say you can just plug them in to a standard outlet, but should I get a dedicated outlet just for it?

Depending on where I put it, there may be limited space above the sauna. Should I worry about the top vent causing any heat/moisture damage to the ceiling above it?


Also, just peoples general sauna ownership experiences. Good? Bad? Thanks.

-Joe

 

[alum04org]

a dry sauna is a nice luxury item.We have a standard electric heater element with the rocks on top.Our room is red cedar and the unit works well.Size is important.Bigger is better,more room to spread out especialy with friends/family.What specific questions do you have?

Right on, Doc!
But like Joe, it would just likely be me. :frown: I read up on infrared sauna operations 4-7 years ago - didn't sound all that good. Could care less about hot tub / whirlpool.

Not sure about having the sauna inside the home unless it's a built-in or a (small 2 person) barrel. A small / two person barrel outside (equipped with a couple of windows) would punch my ticket, but certainly a dedicated 220 line to it would be necessary?
Next door neighbor Jim has a wood-fired sauna. Takes 60-100 minutes lead time to get fired up but then relaxes the bad stuff right outta me. I know that takes a while (!).

So I have thought about an outdoor barrel sauna for a long time. I think I would use it year-round.
But then I wonder if the luster would soon wear off.

 

[Vega$ NSX]

EAC- Yes, AZ is plenty hot for me, but I'd like to get a good sweat without baking to a crisp.

Docjohn- While I would love to get a nice big sauna, due to space a 2 person unit is as large as I can go. It will mostly be only me in it. Here's few questions I have:

The unit will be kept in doors, does it heat up the rest of the room or is all the heat kept internal?

Most of these saunas say you can just plug them in to a standard outlet, but should I get a dedicated outlet just for it?

Depending on where I put it, there may be limited space above the sauna. Should I worry about the top vent causing any heat/moisture damage to the ceiling above it?


Also, just peoples general sauna ownership experiences. Good? Bad? Thanks.

-Joe

I had a nearly identical far infrared at my house. It was about the same size and same specs. It was nice, but I found myself using it less and less over the years (perhaps I got busy). Took about 15 minutes to heat up and to answer your questions: all of the heat was contained on the inside. You wouldn't know there was a sauna in the room; even the exterior was cool to the touch. There was no heat or moisture build up on the top or above the sauna as there was less than a foot clearance in my older house. We had it plugged like any other appliance and never had any problems with amp draw. Overall it was nice, albeit and expensive luxury. Never had an problems or maintenance issues. And despite all of the sweating, it always smelled of nice cedar on the inside. If you get cold extremities, like fingers and toes, this is a nice way of just shaking off the cold. People don't realize how cold the desert can really get, especially at night and in the winter, so when your body has acclimated to the hot summers, even the slightest bit of cold cuts right to the bone.

 

[docjohn]

Infrared heating is different then my old school radiant coil heater.My system uses lots of electricity.. 220 service.Our system was framed in in the basement having 2 walls as foundation walls and the other 2 framed in .The walls are a sandwidge of plastic membrane backer board insulation,a tin foil like reflective layer and red cedar.There are two vents.The surounding walls and rooms are unaffected by the sauna.Like vegas we use it less frequently, but its nice to have esp in the NE winters.