Sauna Bath

Variety is the spice of sauna heaters. You have two choices when it comes to deciding what type of sauna heaters would work for you - either electric or wood-fueled. And no, you likely cannot use wood fueled sauna heaters in your home. First a look at nice clean and convenient electricity. You don't have to have a chimney to run sauna heaters that are electrical, not to mention the obvious fact that they run cleanly. In the USA (according to the Underwriters Laboratories code or UL), the maximum temperature for electric sauna heaters cannot exceed 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 degrees Celsius). By the way, this is the same restriction in Canada under their CSA (Canadian Standards Association) rules.

The outer shell of many electric heaters on the market today is generally made of stainless steel or pre-painted steel. Pre-painted steel isn't really a great choice because it is a baked on coating, and will lift off over time due to the conditions in your sauna. That would mean rust would form under the coating. It would be best to install sauna heaters with stainless steel shells.

Have a specific place in mind where you are going to put the sauna heater. The closer it is to the middle of the room, the more even heat distribution you will end up with. In some cases, by the time you have planned out your sauna, there will be only one or two obvious places to put the sauna heaters. Do not put a bench over the sauna heater. You will not be able to stand the heat. If you're stuck on where to put the heater, then ask an expert or surf online for suggestions.

Most electric sauna heaters are wall mounted or floor mounted. If the sauna is in your home, you'll likely prefer the wall-mounted heater as it gives you more floor room. Commercial heaters on the other hand are normally floor-mounted because they are bigger and have a heavier load of rocks on board. Interesting fact: electric sauna heaters are not allowed to run for more than an hour without having to be reset.

Here's another choice - the infrared heater. It's not really a sauna heater and in Europe manufacturers who use sauna and infrared heater in the same sentence are regarded as daft. Infrared heaters warm the surface of what they are pointing at, not the air. That means there are no respiratory benefits. So really, when push comes to shove, these are heat units not sauna heaters. Interesting fact: at one time online marketers called the infrared heater a sauna heater. Now they are being called heat therapy units.

Wood fueled heaters are your other choice. There aren't any temperatures limits with wood fueled heaters - but common sense would dictate you'd be wise to use temperance in sweating in heat that was too hot to stand. Moot point however, as you can't burn wood in your house, unless it's in a fireplace with a chimney, glass doors and a vent. Bottom line is, wood fueled heaters don't have a UL or CSA classification and would affect you being able to get insurance or not. Think twice before buying one.

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