Sauna recommendations

[mustangcy]

Thinking pretty hard about get a sauna for the house (inside) here soon. Looking through the options the price ranges depending on several factors but I really want one that will get hot enough to actually see benefits. There is the question of infrared or traditional? 110V or 240V? If you go 240 did you get an electrician to come in?

Any sauna people out there that can shed some light?

 

[Nader_uggghhh]

I don't know a lot but I'd go traditional 240V. You probably won't like infrared if you're worried about it getting hot enough. Height could be an issue indoors both for bench height and loyly. Tough to build to traditional standards with 8' ceilings.

 

[somecyguy]

I own an electrical company and install new circuits for them frequently. Here is a recent option I gave for a client installing a traditional one. There are some infrared ones that claim to work on a standard 15 or 20amp 120 circuit, but I have no experience with them.

Installation of 240v circuit for a new sauna 4.5 - 6.5kW will require a 30amp circuit and 10/3 wire
Installation of 240v circuit for a new sauna 7 - 9kW will require a 50amp circuit and 8/3 wire

 

[AgronAlum]

I don't know anything about saunas but IR heat is going to be drastically different than a traditional sauna. IR heats objects, not the air, so it will be heating your body directly instead of heating the air around you. That being said, traditional saunas are going to have moisture to deal with that IRs don't have. I imagine they are more expensive and have a lot more placement concerns because of that.

 

[psycln11]

Come to my office.... The A/C compressor went out last week and it feels like a sauna today!!

 

[nfrine]

Join the YMCA. Less maintenance in the long run.

 

[BCClone]

Thinking pretty hard about get a sauna for the house (inside) here soon. Looking through the options the price ranges depending on several factors but I really want one that will get hot enough to actually see benefits. There is the question of infrared or traditional? 110V or 240V? If you go 240 did you get an electrician to come in?

Any sauna people out there that can shed some light?

You can wire 240 if you aren’t totally clueless.

 

[ChiClone17]

I did a ton of research on this about six months ago, and ended up not installing one. I would recommend reading up on this on Reddit, as there are a lot of knowledgeable people on the topic. Basically, after all the research, I was certain I wanted a traditional sauna over infrared. I did substantially more research, and found there are very specific dimensions, sizes, materials, and designs that you should work off of to get the full experience and benefit, and there just wasn’t enough room in our utility room in the basement to do it right. I thought about buying an outdoor one or putting one in the third stall of the garage, but decided against it. But, if we ever move, putting a traditional sauna in our next house is at the very top of my list. For now, I will settle for using the sauna at the gym, but not nearly enough.

Excited to follow this thread and see what you decide to do!

 

[mustangcy]

I did a ton of research on this about six months ago, and ended up not installing one. I would recommend reading up on this on Reddit, as there are a lot of knowledgeable people on the topic. Basically, after all the research, I was certain I wanted a traditional sauna over infrared. I did substantially more research, and found there are very specific dimensions, sizes, materials, and designs that you should work off of to get the full experience and benefit, and there just wasn’t enough room in our utility room in the basement to do it right. I thought about buying an outdoor one or putting one in the third stall of the garage, but decided against it. But, if we ever move, putting a traditional sauna in our next house is at the very top of my list. For now, I will settle for using the sauna at the gym, but not nearly enough.

Excited to follow this thread and see what you decide to do!

I'm with you that traditional seems the way to go over infrared but man...it's going to me next to impossible to do traditional. First off, I'm not looking to spend 5k or whatever on it. I read too that the infrared sauna's don't really get up to the 170 plus you need for some of the benefits but I'm still thinking getting to 150-ish that some of the infrared sauna's can reach it sufficient.

But I'm still looking and reading so no decision is final yet.

 

[Nader_uggghhh]

I'm with you that traditional seems the way to go over infrared but man...it's going to me next to impossible to do traditional. First off, I'm not looking to spend 5k or whatever on it. I read too that the infrared sauna's don't really get up to the 170 plus you need for some of the benefits but I'm still thinking getting to 150-ish that some of the infrared sauna's can reach it sufficient.

But I'm still looking and reading so no decision is final yet.

I know people with Almost Heaven barrels that love them. Traditionalists **** on them but they're affordable, fit in a house and get up to 200 or more. Both people I know have Harvia heaters in theres. I would go that route over infrared all day.

 

[ISU22CY]

I did a ton of research on this about six months ago, and ended up not installing one. I would recommend reading up on this on Reddit, as there are a lot of knowledgeable people on the topic. Basically, after all the research, I was certain I wanted a traditional sauna over infrared. I did substantially more research, and found there are very specific dimensions, sizes, materials, and designs that you should work off of to get the full experience and benefit, and there just wasn’t enough room in our utility room in the basement to do it right. I thought about buying an outdoor one or putting one in the third stall of the garage, but decided against it. But, if we ever move, putting a traditional sauna in our next house is at the very top of my list. For now, I will settle for using the sauna at the gym, but not nearly enough.

Excited to follow this thread and see what you decide to do!

I've sat in a lot of saunas that wouldn't meet their standards yet I still walk out drenched and feeling better.

 

[Cycloneforever42]

We got an infrared sauna a couple of months ago. We went with Good Health Saunas, and I've been very pleased with it. It was a little expensive, but the quality has been good. It gets up to 165 degrees. We had to install a 20 amp breaker and run 12/2 wire. It was in our basement which has a drop ceiling so the electrical installation was pretty easy.

 

[cyclone618]

I’ve used traditional and IR saunas. For Christmas, my wife bought a 1 persona portable steam sauna from Costco. It worked great and I loved it. It wouldn’t get as hot as traditional steam saunas, but I would separate profusely due to the high humidity. I decided I wanted a bigger, more permanent one, so I throughly researched IR and steam saunas for home and ended up getting a 3 person Good Health Sauna that is in our basement rec room. I’ve had it a few months and use it pretty much every day I am home. It will get to 165 (max setting). I love it.
With IR, the heat goes deeper than steam, but it also takes longer for me to start sweating, but I usually have a good sweat after 10 minutes or so at 140+ degrees. GHS has been great to work with. I was able to see one in person at a couple Des Moines home shows this winter. And their showroom is in Waukesha, WI. I go to that area (Milwaukee) often so I could stop there as well.
I initially planned on getting a $2-3K sauna from Costco or Sam’s, but decided to pay much more ($7K) for this one. It should last much longer, gets to higher temp, is ultra low EMF, has a lifetime warranty, etc.
Also, pay with an HSA if you have one. You will need a Letter of Medical Necessity from your doctor to get one, but I didn’t have any issue getting that. You can use tax-free money then, thus saving >20%.

 

[clydeclone]

I have an infrared that works off of 110V. I've had it over 15 years and it is fantastic. Got it on ebay. It's a 3 person (really 2 person) that heats up to 155 degrees which is more than hot enough. Came on a pallet and took me by myself about an hour to set up/hook up.