Sauna Stove

[gorbull]

Hi gang,
I'm in the process of building an 8x6x7 outdoor sauna and I'm looking for a small/cheap woodstove that could be used as a heat source. I want to load it from another room so it would have to have a longer box and also a flat surface so that I could build a basket for the rocks on top. One other requirement is that it would have to be able to handle the shock of water being poured on it when it is firing. I have looked at the specific wood fired sauna stoves from Nippa etc. but when all is said and done they cost $1000 and up. I'm looking to spend around $350.

Any experience or stove recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[mellow]

Look for an older Jotul stove, sounds like it would fit what you want. You would just have to watch your clearance to combustibles between the walls. Not sure if you could do a metal shroud in between walls?

Edit: didnt see the "shock" requirement, that I am not sure about, it might break this stove pouring cold water on it. Maybe put a piece of soapstone on top of it?

(broken image removed)

 

[begreen]

No regular wood stove is going to be happy with cold water poured on it while its hot. What you will need is major heat shielding for the close quarters and a container on the the top to contain rocks that can be heated and have water poured on them, without any contact with the stove. Personally I would do this right with a purpose built, wood sauna stove, rather than risk a serious burn right at crotch level.

But if you are going to use a small stove, look for the Jotul 602, Morso 2B or maybe a Waterford Leprechaun? The Jotul 118 pictured above is too large. But also note the clearances to combustibles for these stoves.

 

[brokeburner]

I would build a sheetmetal shroud around the stove and put the rocks on that. Then when you pur the water on it would not be touching the stove but get the same steam effect

 

[hockeypuck]

If you take a fisher type step top stove and weld a box on the top of the lower level, then fill it with stones, perfect. Had a friend who had one and it worked great for many years. I would tell you how hot we had it in there, but you would never believe me. I will have a sauna house within the next 5 years. You have no idea what the clean means until you sit in a 200 plus sauna for 15 then step out and poor cool water over you. Repeat 4 or 5 times...sleep like a baby.

 

[gorbull]

Thanks for the advice! A welder told me that a steel stove would stand up to the splashes of water better than a cast stove as long as it was 1/4" thick he said it shouldn't hurt it. That also depends on the premise that the water thrown on the rocks is usually pretty hot already.

 

[Sisu]

Just make sure your sauna room is not air tight, if the stove is fully housed inside the sauna room. Allow some space at the bottom of the door for air to pass through. Oxygen depletion and/or CO build up can be an issue in such a small space. Some sauna stoves are designed to penetrate through the wall space, so that the wood and oxygen is fed from the adjacent room.

 

[d.n.f.]

A proper sauna should have air intake near the floor and and an exhaust at head level. Fresh air is a vital component of the sauna experience.

 

[homebrewz]

If you take a fisher type step top stove and weld a box on the top of the lower level, then fill it with stones, perfect. Had a friend who had one and it worked great for many years. I would tell you how hot we had it in there, but you would never believe me. I will have a sauna house within the next 5 years. You have no idea what the clean means until you sit in a 200 plus sauna for 15 then step out and poor cool water over you. Repeat 4 or 5 times...sleep like a baby.

I believe it. The one at a camp I used to attend was regularly 160 to 180. So said the candy thermometer on the wall.

+1 for the welded box idea above. I've seen this and it works well.
Make sure you use the right kind of rocks (igneous & metamorphic.. granites & gneisses).