r/Sauna

I am in the process of designing an outdoor 8x8x8.5 sauna, drawing from Tumpkin's notes as much as possible. For heaters, I'm torn between a Harvia Legend Pro PO12E (12.5kw) or PO15E (15kw).

The Harvia calculator suggests the power of a 11.4kw heater should be sufficient, accounting for a window of 8 square feet.

My concern is that it will be a four seasons sauna and winters in my part of Canada can be below -20C. The build will be well insulated, with the exception of the window (but it seems most on this sub recommend a window despite the R loss).

Will 12.5kw provide enough overhead to cover the temperature drop in winter for a sauna of these dimensions?

The PO15E will be significantly more expensive stone wise, and will take up more space, which is limited given that I am trying to maximize bench space at the proper heights. So I don't consider it a trivial upgrade.

Many thanks in advance. This sub has been invaluable to my planning.

We bought an Oasis Lux outdoor Sauna on-line and received it 60 days later. We paid for an updated heater that was set up for European electric (only 2 wires) in the US we need 4 wires (2 hot, neutral and ground). They sent us a Harvia 6KW heater and the company confirmed this heater is not for US. Oasis Lux told us, "all we need it 2 wires, many of their US customers connect this 240v heaters with only 2 wires"

After spending $8,000 for $700 for an updated heater; we received a nice wooden box that we had to rewire, add our own lighting and speakers. The panel did not work.

Owner or person to contact for help; Tim (or Nancy) only avail through WhatsApp messaging, promised to refund some of the extra $3,000 we had to put into this to get working safely, we received nothing.

Credit card company is trying to help but it is not fun.

Please do not buy from this company!

There was four of us in my public gym sauna, as soon as the couple that was with us left, this guy starts staring at me, as in, turning his whole head to look at me.

Guy asks what’s the normal amount of time to spend in here

I say it’s normal to flip a timer about 15 mins, some people do ten, some twenty

He says it’s really hot

I said this one’s cool compared to the other one, it’s even hotter. And you’re on the top bench, it’s cooler if you sit lower

He goes oh really? I thought it was because of you

I said oh ha thanks

A minute later he goes
I’m sorry that I’m staring but I would really love to massage your body , it would be a dream come true

Eeeeeeyuck

I just wanted to share because maybe someone doesn’t know, it’s really not an appropriate place to try to pick up women.

And I guess I also just wanted to share my experience as a way to get this out of my system. I was just trying to unwind and relax and this random stranger brought upon me the absolute opposite feelings of what I was going for.

New sauna owner here. We recently installed a small custom Finnish style sauna inside a remodeled bathroom.

What maintenance is required to keep it looking and working great?

Hi! I recently bought a backyard discovery Lennon outdoor sauna. Is anyone putting a clear waterproof sealant on the outside of these?

Also, the sauna took a few days to build and of course it poured before the roof was on properly. There is some mold on the inside and outside of the unit. I researched what to do and I dried the sauna out completely, sanded the areas, and sprayed it with a diluted vinegar solution.

The roof is installed properly at this point and the spots are not growing that I can tell.

Has anyone else had this problem and is it safe to use even though the spots are still there?

Does sealant need to be applied? It has rained a lot in my area and it seems some of the outer boards have some mold on it but I’m not sure if it is just from when the roof was not on properly.

Thank you in advance for your help!!

I'm planning to get some custom sized dimension (~4x3) for double pane, tempered glass windows, building cedar boxes, and then setting the glass inside.So basically get the cedar and make perfectly square jamb boxes. Set them in place with shims. But I have a question about the gasket material - what is the best gasket material, especially for the bottom/heaviest area, what is the best compression gasket material?

Im 16y old male and i was in a sauna in Austria. It was a wellness place and there was this guy sitting in front of me sitting beside the door 4m away from me and he started playing with his penis. He wasnt hard. We were only 2 people in the sauna. So is this unusual? (Probably a stupid questions but i dont know 🫤)

I've been using a sauna consistently for about 6 months and kept falling down research rabbit holes. Figured I'd share what I found — most of this isn't stuff people talk about when they say "oh it's so relaxing."

1. It's basically cardio for your heart

Your heart rate hits 100–150 bpm in a sauna session — the same range as a brisk jog. A long-term Finnish cohort study found that people who sauna 4+ times a week had up to 40% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Not a replacement for exercise, but not nothing either.

2. Growth hormone spikes hard

This one blew my mind. Two 20-minute sessions at around 80°C, with a 30-minute cool-down in between, can spike GH levels by up to 16×. That's relevant for muscle repair, fat metabolism, and cell regeneration. The protocol matters though — one long session doesn't do the same thing.

3. The brain fog thing is real

Heat stress triggers a norepinephrine surge — some studies put it at around 310% above baseline. Prolactin also goes up, which plays a role in myelin repair. Anecdotally I noticed this before I knew the mechanism: I just felt sharper and weirdly calm for hours after a session.

4. Evening sauna = better sleep

When you leave a hot sauna, your core body temperature drops. That drop mimics the natural thermal signal your body uses to initiate deep sleep. I started doing evening sessions specifically for this and the difference in sleep quality was noticeable within a week.

5. Heat shock proteins — the anti-aging angle

This is the nerdiest one. Repeated thermal stress activates heat shock proteins (HSPs), which act as molecular chaperones — they identify and repair misfolded proteins. Misfolded proteins accumulate with age and are linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Regular sauna use appears to upregulate this repair mechanism.

Practical starting point if you're new to this:

• 2× per week, 15–20 min per session
• Drink water before and after — more than you think you need
• The split-session protocol (2 sessions with a break) seems to be the most effective for the hormonal benefits specifically
• Benefits appear to compound over months, not days

I’ve reached out to Harvia support on this, but it’s been a slow back-and-forth so far. Perhaps asking here would get some quick answers or tips or things I might be missing.

Got the Almost Heaven Escape Sauna up and running, 240V wired up to the Harvia KIP 8kW. Tried it for the first time and it took almost 2 hours for the sauna to heat up only to 130F. I’m measuring temperature about 7.5 feet away from the heater. It was about 70F outside. I don’t think my stones are too compacted and I followed the install exactly as written. Electrician followed manufacturer’s instructions. I saw online that the coils are supposed to glow red. Mine do not.

Am I missing something obvious or do I have a faulty unit? What else do I need to explore here?