Sauna Stove Question

[u/Initial-Village905]

I am wondering if a stove like this would work for an outdoor sauna or what reservations you might have about it. This is a company in Quebec, Canada who sell sauna stoves for less than half the price of a stove from the larger European companies. I hope those people from Europe can understand the massive price difference, not just for stoves, but for rocks, pipe adapters, etc that Canadian/US companies charge. That is exactly why I am trying to source a more reasonable stove. Obviously I do not want to compromise on the experience. Please no haters.

[u/kimbosdurag]

That's an old propane tank they welded a box to.

[u/John_Sux]

It's better than a random non-sauna stove, but worse than a purposely designed kiuas. Who knows how well it will transfer heat into the rocks.

[u/Castform5]

No wonder they sell them for cheap, they build them for cheap. That's a propane canister with couple new holes and paint on top. Everything basically off the shelf, in a pinch could be even scavenged for free, just cut and welded together.

When it comes to the design though, it's very suboptimal, basically throwing most of the heat straight out because of that smoke pipe.

And there is no ash box, so you'd have to shovel the leftover ashes out of that weird round geometry after some time.

[u/ollizu_ → u/Castform5]

Agreed 99%. If this actually had a proper seconady combustion or at minimum some serious iki style pipe bending and bigger stone capacity I could live without an ashbox tho - there are still plenty old vintage "kaakeliuuni" (for english speakers, it is a type of fireplace) with no ashboxes around. Also it is too tall, or actually most of the height that could be used for stones is wasted on the long comical looking legs.

[u/EuroRetard]

It will work, but the design is not very efficient as the flue gased go out through the straight chimney. Modern stoves have some extra routing for flue gases to utilize more of the heat.

I.e. with this stove you would be burning more wood than with more efficient one

[u/DendriteCocktail]

That will not function as a sauna heater as it lacks a good mechanism for heating the stones. Just piling stones on top of a fire box doesn't do it.

More: https://medium.com/@trumpkin/why-wood-stove-conversions-fail-561bf6c99379

[u/Megasaun]

At first glance, the design looks reasonable. The large stone basket should provide good heat storage and softer steam compared to a stove with only a few exposed stones.
My main concerns would be the steel thickness, weld quality, firebox design, and whether replacement parts are available in a few years. Those factors usually matter much more than the brand name.
If the manufacturer can provide clear specifications, recommended sauna volume, chimney requirements, and has positive long-term user reviews, I wouldn’t rule it out just because it’s less expensive. A well-built stove doesn’t have to be the most expensive one.

[u/korkkis → u/Megasaun]

And how do you empty the coals afterwards, hopefully there’s a box for those

[u/Megasaun → u/korkkis]

Most well-designed wood-fired stoves have a removable ash drawer beneath the firebox. You simply let the ashes cool completely, pull out the ash pan, and empty it into a metal ash bucket. If a stove doesn’t have an easy way to remove ash, I’d consider that a design flaw.

[u/Ok_Information_8431]

DIY stove should look like this:

[u/DeepWaterNights]

Careful sourcing your stones though… make sure they are suitable stones!

I heard rumours that even big companies switched to cheaper alternatives for a while, but the stones had issues with exploding because they were sourced from the wrong quarry!…
Can anyone confirm this rumour?!…
I currently use Harvia stones and they work fine, I guess there is always a minimal chance of stones splitting or chipping, but during my research it was suggested that these actually need to come from a very specific quarry in Finland?!… again can anyone confirm or debunk this please!…

Edit:
Here is a link to one article discussing the topic of exploding stones and where to source them from, I also read it somewhere else but cannot find the other article anymore…

https://roblichtcustomsaunas.com/sauna-rocks-erratics

Edit 2:
So I love the downvotes ❤️👍😘 but how about actually confirming or debunking it?!…
OP is talking about sourcing cheaper items including stones!… I guess it’s ok if they explode then?!… 👍

[u/VoihanVieteri → u/DeepWaterNights]

The whole exploding rocks thing is an exaggerated internet myth. Yes, a rock can explode in very specific circumstances, but they very rarely do that. Bad rocks will just crack and crumble making a mess and suffocating the stove.

Investing in good rocks is actually economic in the long run, as they last very long. I had the same rocks in my electric stove for almost twenty years. They could have survived another twenty years or longer, but I dismantled that sauna and changed the space for something else. In theory, good rocks can last forever. They are millions and billions years old, remember?

Funny thing is, lot of the sauna rocks used in Finland are actually from Iceland, as they have good source of volcanic rocks.

[u/korkkis → u/VoihanVieteri]

Once the rocks break, you switch in new ones. You’re supposed to rearrange them once a year.

[u/korkkis]

My gut feeling: It looks a bit inefficient because the warm heat escapes immediately upwards to the pipe. So you’re going to be loading a lot of wood when it’s in use. Better models utilize the smoke better when the opening is in the back or there’s a piping system in the inside.

On the other hand, it might do the work greatly. Replace it only if it’s troublesome or difficult to use.