Wood Sauna Heater - For an Authentic Sauna Experience

Building a sauna or looking to replace your current sauna heater? Have you considered using wood as your heat source for you sauna? If you don't mind a little longer heat up time, and have a plentiful supply of wood around then it's about as authentic as you can get to being in a Finnish sauna.

Wood sauna heaters, like electric or gas powered units still use sauna rock to hold the heat and provide steam. The difference is that it's a wood fire in the heater that keeps the rock hot, rather then an electric element. Similar to a wood stove in your home versus an electric baseboard heater the wood sauna heater takes longer to heat up, the first takes time to get going and then requires constant attention to keep it going.

So what's the attraction to a wood sauna? The answer is two fold, first off the first saunas invented in Finland used wood as their primary heat source. Without any electricity yet, and natural gas quite a few years away it was the only option to create that much heat in a small room. The downsides initially of having to vent the smoke are still here, how ever chimneys are used in sauna rooms to exhaust any smoke.

The second attraction to using a wood fired sauna heater is the wonderful smell of the fire, as well as many heaters offer a glass door at the front where you can enjoy the fire while sitting in the sauna. That is one thing you can't say about an electric, or infrared sauna heater. They provide the heat, but no entertainment value.

One thing for sure about a wood sauna heater is the fuel is reasonably inexpensive if you have a current supply. For a first time sauna buyer it's probably ideal to consider an electric sauna heater, it's less expensive up front, but easier to install and there's no need to have a supply of wood on hand to keep it running. If the sauna is for home use, then it's likely not going to be on all day long, meaning when you want to enjoy it you need to build a fire in the heater, wait for the rock to heat up then enjoy. While with the latter type of heater it's a bit easier to turn the knob, set the temperature and you're all set for relaxation time.

If you're set on purchasing a wood sauan heater, just be educated in the pros and cons before committing. AS mentioned the heat up time is quite a bit longer then an electric unit. Also keeping a healthy supply of wood on hand is a must. How ever, if you have a good sized lot where you can get your own wood this isn't a problem. This is usually the type of customer who purchases a wood fired sauna heater. They're generally a little more expensive to purchase, but it's only upfront, without having to pay the electric bills for using your sauna you'll find that the wood sauna heater comes out less expensive in the end.