Barrel Sauna Ideas

[PoleX]

Looking at putting in a barrel sauna. Would love some pictures of your setup or any input on things I should be considering.

I’m pretty sold on this one but open to other ideas.




What did you do for the platform?
How did you stub in electrical?
Any ideas on a simple cover or ways to preserve the wood for places like Bozeman?

Looking forward to some quality time with the Mrs. when the snow starts falling and the days shorten.

 

[Hem]

Looking at putting in a barrel sauna. Would love some pictures of your setup or any input on things I should be considering.

I’m pretty sold on this one but open to other ideas.

View attachment 381007
View attachment 381008

What did you do for the platform?
How did you stub in electrical?
Any ideas on a simple cover or ways to preserve the wood for places like Bozeman?

Looking forward to some quality time with the Mrs. when the snow starts falling and the days shorten.

I want one too..I like the barrel shape, but I dont like the cost. Thinking about building my own design.
...with a cold plunge nearby.
Empty nesters in a week.

 

[SFC B]

I can't tell you how much I am biding my time for the next move so I can have MY OWN sauna....one of my favorite things in the world is a good, HOT sauna and then cold plunge. Kippis!!!!

 

[PoleX]

I want one too..I like the barrel shape, but I dont like the cost. Thinking about building my own design.
...with a cold plunge nearby.
Empty nesters in a week.

I bet you could make a damn nice one. My buddy built a tool shed/sauna and it turned out awesome. I just don’t have the time before season starts.

 

[Gellar]

A sauna is on my list of things to build, closer to the top. If you are on the Facebook there is a group called “sauna design, construction, use and enjoyment” I’ve picked up some good tidbits from casually reading. Moisture control is paramount, as one would expect.

 

[Hem]

I bet you could make a damn nice one. My buddy built a tool shed/sauna and it turned out awesome. I just don’t have the time before season starts.

I dont think a build is complicated, nor need it be terribly fancy. I mean 30 minutes at temp is aplenty.

 

[INMT]

I have a good friend that lives in East Glacier that has had one for 10+ years. Have used it many times in subzero temperatures.

He used 8x8’s and 3/4 crush to build a pad and it’s worked fine in one of the most extreme, snowy, cold inhabited areas in Montana.

I’ve spent time in there in -20 thanksgiving temps with whipping winds and still about got blown out because of the heat.

Highly recommend.

 

[PoleX]

I dont think a build is complicated, nor need it be terribly fancy. I mean 30 minutes at temp is aplenty.

I agree but know myself too well. I like to over engineer the chit out of stuff. I told my wife I was going to build a roof and deck off the back of the house. Punch a door out from our master bathroom so we could drink coffee and sauna in the mornings. She promptly reminded me hunting season is 1 month away and no need to turn a 4K $ project into a 10k dollar project.

 

[PoleX]

I have a good friend that lives in East Glacier that has had one for 10+ years. Have used it many times in subzero temperatures.

He used 8x8’s and 3/4 crush to build a pad and it’s worked fine in one of the most extreme, snowy, cold inhabited areas in Montana.

I’ve spent time in there in -20 thanksgiving temps with whipping winds and still about got blown out because of the heat.

Highly recommend.

I’ll probably do a simple base like that. Was thinking about big pavers and some sort of frame around it like your talking with the 8x8s.

I was thinking I’d just get it in this fall then build a roof over it as we usually have a good 1-3 feet of snow in the backyard in the winter.

Something like this but on a smaller scale. Just to keep snow from the front of the door and give you a spot to hang some towels.

 

[INMT]

I’ll probably do a simple base like that. Was thinking about big pavers and some sort of frame around it like your talking with the 8x8s.

I was thinking I’d just get it in this fall then build a roof over it as we usually have a good 1-3 feet of snow in the backyard in the winter.

Something like this but on a smaller scale. Just to keep snow from the front of the door and give you a spot to hang some towels. View attachment 381028View attachment 381029

He doesn’t have a roof over it but it’s a few steps off their covered back porch where towels etc go.

 

[INMT]

The only photo I could find.

 

[westbranch]

Here is mine - Almost Heaven 6 person. Bought it on sale at Costco in fall of 2019. Helluva value with the way prices increased. I think we paid $3,500.
Base is pea gravel. Previous home owners had a hot tub at the same location so there was 220v already there. Had a friend help hookup electrical since I didn't want to mess with that.

Located in CDA ID. Winters have a lot of wet snow and rain. First winter we had no cover, rough on the wood even though it is good quality cedar. Bought 3 pieces of 4x8 steel from Home Depot to cover. Summer of 2023 we cleaned the wood and stained the outside with deck stain. Holding up really well.

It holds temps well, but we rarely get into single digits. But it still gets hot on those winter days that are below zero. With the right conditions it can hit 200+ at head level. But the temps are very stratified. I grew up with saunas in MN; barrels are not ideal but they still get the job done.

 

[westbranch]

And we do mess around with the cold plunge. Or the 12 minute drive to lake CDA in the winter

 

[Mallardsx2]

My wife wants one of these sweat containers. I'm too cheap to buy one so I will end up building her one I am sure...

Personally, I find them to be disgusting cesspools for germs......yuck.

 

[JohnCushman]

I can't tell you how much I am biding my time for the next move so I can have MY OWN sauna....one of my favorite things in the world is a good, HOT sauna and then cold plunge. Kippis!!!!

You're with the wrong woman...

 

[Hem]

Thanks @PoleX

This keeps popping up on my feed.

 

[PoleX]

I made the mistake of consulting google:

The Finnish folks are saying barrel saunas aren't a great sauna design. I've been in them and thought it was a great time so i'm looking into it some more:

Trumpkin’s Notes On Barrels | LocalMile

A properly built sauna should have the following characteristics:



I was learning about a proper pull and the Loyly pocket. Apparently there are some important features related to airflow, bench height with respect to the heat source, and ceiling height to get a proper pull(throwing water on the rocks and having the heat fall back on you)




IDK what i'm going to do. I'm torn now on just chipping away at building one myself or just getting a barrel sauna and being done with it.

There is a lot of good info on some of requirements of a well designed sauna in this article:

Trumpkin’s Notes On Building A Sauna | LocalMile

My wife is going to kill me if this turns into a 3 month project.

 

[PoleX]

Well I got back from a hunting trip and my wife informed me of a couple things....1. Costo had a 700$ sale on barrel saunas and she ordered one. 2. She was not about me spending 3 months taking on a build project over the fall, so barrel sauna it is.

I went ahead and dug a trench for electrical, ran conduit and went with @INMT simple design:

Had the helpers out there with me most of the build. They do an excellent job teaching me to chill out with my OCD tendencies...

 

[PoleX]

Pretty straight forward assembly. Maybe 6 hours, hard to say for sure as the kids were very into it....Took a lot of time getting the base built, the rest was pretty straight forward. Now I need to get my electrician buddy to help wire it in and we're good to go.

I used a large enough conduit to add in an extra run of 120 to hopefully add a switch, light and plug. The idea is to add a cold plunge and have the ability to keep it just above frozen with a stock tank heater.

We'll see, I'm looking forward using it this winter.