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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 3, 2008 - 07:06pm PT
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I need another project like a nees another hole in my head, but with commercial mini saunas running $4k, I know I can build one for less. A friend made one using a small wood burning stove for heat, but it's a one man unit. I'm looking for something big enough for two.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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I have built quite a few in the last forty years both wood-fired, electric or gas--some rich for rich clients some just funky out in the woods in cabins. I love saunas!!
For a cheap wood-burning one---and these usually are the most fun if you can take the time to build the fire and wait, rather than emailing your electronic house controller to start the sauna while you are still in traffic----take a 55 gallon metal drum lay it on its side, cut a door into one end for stoking the fire, weld on hinges for it and latch. Weld on a pipe stub on the opposite top site for exhaust and run pipe with proper clearance from combustibles, through the ceiling or wall. Best to use triple wall stainless flue for this btw (here is your only real expense). Figure out some legs for it and make sure to provide fresh air inlets into the room (with damper controls) as the fire will eat all the oxygen in the room otherwise. Also provide an adjustable vent into the stove for air---the cracks around the door aren’t enough. Put this vent lower down, below the door. Create a fence on the top of the stove for appropriate sauna rocks.
When you fire this sucker up, the flue length has to be sufficiently long to draft the smoke out, and should be over 10-12 ft long. You can prime your flue stack to exhaust smoke by stuffing burning newspaper in it before lighting your wood fire; this really helps with shorter flues and stoves that aren’t so tightly made---it gets the hot air rising through the stack. Smoke management is usually the challenge.
The unit takes around a half hour or so to heat a 5 person sauna. And one of the benefits of such stoves is you can get the room really really hot as hell if you want to. You will have to stoke it occasionally too, which means opening the door, hopefully only when it is drafting well and won’t vomit out smoke into the room as you put wood in. The sides of the drum will usually be red hot....
Often I have seen people not properly observing combustible clearances around wood stoves. Firebrick or stone are good materials.
This stove can easily fire a very large sauna, even a leaky very large sauna. And its cheap, viz, just some throwaway materials, the flue and some welding.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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What about using separate airflow conduits and dampers for the stove? In other words, draw the combustion air from outside the sauna, not from the interior.
Would that be a better system?
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2008 - 08:26pm PT
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Thanks for the input!
Looking at craigslist I might be best off picking up a used one or someones project parts.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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I've built two
An 8 X 12 foot platform with half sauna half changing room
Cost me about $1000 and i can seat eight w/ no problem
2X4 walls w/ a 2X6 rafter all insulated with fibreglass batting
on one i sanded down old cedar decking and on the other I bought used cedar t&g look on craigslist
Both are wood fired. I used a barrel stove kit with a 30 gallon barrel cost about $40
I used metal roofing
Pretty fun project to do, not too big and you can get the sweat on
you could build a 6 by 8 foot design with no changing room for less that can seat 6 people
Do it
murf
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Pennsylenvy
Gym climber
Fannie's Crack, AZ
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Wood stove + cedar = excellent sauna. Heck I've got the perfect woods tove for you but I imagine I'm quite far away. We had one at a (n)dude ranch I worked at. Wood stove, tiered benches it was awesome and simple. Wouldn't take long to heat up. Grab some fresh sage dip it in water and voila nirvana.Good luck!
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there tami... say, as to finns.... say, in the U.P of michigan, nearly all finns have their "camp" and their suanas up there...
was an interesting bit of fun, to learn all this... thanks for the share....
best wishes toleman_paul... on your sauna...
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 6, 2008 - 01:48pm PT
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Tami,
Deb's name doesn't ring a bell. I'll check with my climbing partner as he's been up here for awhile and into the climbing scene. I'm more of the anti social climber who would just as well go of soloing some obscure choss pile than socialize. If it's not related to kids activities I'm pretty much disconected with others in town.
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| Messages 1 - 8 of total 8 in this topic |
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