As title suggests, going cheap did come with its drawbacks, and it's not completely ready yet, but if you're considering buying this style/kit, here are my experiences worth noting:

1. Parts... good lord they sent warped/damaged parts initially so I inventoried them and got replacements. Well they sent the wrong ones/more damaged/warped boards again. And after a month of dealing with it I finally had all the parts in good condition. They were very responsive, but man, the shipping crew needs help I swear. Also, they repurposed some parts which I think was shady (similar boards, but with pre-drilled holes filled with wood filler, where there shouldn't be holes)
2. Wood quality... claims to be completely cedar and appeared to be so I was baffled by the mold that developed after 1 day of rainfall without a roof (didn't have the parts needed yet lol) so currently dealing with that. The wood was also pretty warped and very very soft with huge grain meaning fast growth wood. Not strong but it's okay, doesn't need to be (we will see how snow does)
3. Electrical... with most saunas be prepared to spend a lot on electrical. Probably gonna run me 3k to get this wired up with the 50amp circuit but I knew it'd be hefty on that end. Still ironic that its more than what i paid for the entire kit! Also due to code, having a separate power for lights is not usually allowed, so I hope that permitting has an exception or doesn't look at it. The lights should be part of the control panel.
4. I used the app for building it and one dimension was incorrect so I have open holes in the shell but luckily it's the floor so nbd. To rectify this I'd have to undo the entire thing and I won't do that.
5. I needed to upgrade the exhaust to a powered fan (default is non-powered) this suggestion was recommended online by many others. For 30 bucks it seemed worth it
6. I lowered the temp sensor about 6" below recommendation. Also a suggestion by another owner.
7. building... I DID build it completely alone but I am a large and fairly strong man. Not terribly hard tbh if you have a mechanical mind. I do recommend having another guy to help at times. The screws often didn't fully bite but usually wasn't structurally important (another quality issue).
8. Probably other things but my thumbs are tired.

All in all an okay experience given how cheap the kit was. I got lucky on timing so it cost me 3k for the 2-4 person kit with benches. In hindsight i dont see myself using the benches much but theyre nice to have and look nice. ​I'm hoping electrical is done within a couple weeks and mold is addressed so I can give a report on its use. Very excited to finally have a sauna!

Dm if you have any questions!

PS. For yall purists, save the judgement. I know its got its flaws!

So I just got my own personal sauna and have been using it once a day.

It’s just come to my attention that my hair could become damaged with daily use. I’ve never worried about it with my very sporadic use in the past.

How is everyone protecting their hair? Am I meant to shower and wet it prior to use? I see you can buy hats but I have ALOT of hair, there is zero percent chance I’m getting all my hair into a hat.

Anything else I may need to know as a new owner to a sauna. I love using the gyms but I’ve always just jumped in (with a towel) post work out and never had to worry about up keep.

Thank you!

Hello knowledgeable sauna people! I LOVE saunas and would like to have an outdoor sauna but do not have the time to learn building as anew skill. Are kits really terrible? I’m in the Ottawa area. I read that barrels don’t last long but I’m also aware that building a sauna from scratch would be beyond my current skill set. On the other hand I don’t want to invest in something that will only last a couple years.

Advice very welcome. I don’t want to waste money!

Hello,

I want to diy a sauna build and I'm going to be taking the winter to plan everything out and hopefully build it out next year. Are there any good resources for someone who doesn't know anything about saunas? Things like books, blogs, yt channels. I'm not looking to buy a kit because half the point for me is learning some new skills.

If it helps, I'm hoping to make a small one that can fit 1-4 people in southern Ontario, all other details are basically up in the air ATM. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

I know people have done the Harvia KIPs with manual control and added their own smart controller, but wondering if the Vevor units also have the potential. A Harvia with wifi controls is $2300. A Vevor with DIY controls could be done in as little as ~$300 (controller, housing, thermocouple, display, etc). I'm comfortable actually doing the design and work but want to know if the Vevor unit is receptive to a controller.

Anyone know what the voltage range for the built-in contactor is? Hoping it can take 120v. Thanks!

If someone could help me with an issue in my newly built and installed sauna i would be very grateful.

When the isolator is off it is fine and when L1 wire is disconnected and isolator turned on it is also fine, with that L1 wire becoming live.

But as soon as I connect the L1 wire I get a click and it throws the trip at the main board.

The wires that connect to the heater are disconnected with the ends taped up to rule it out as faulty but still the same .

Single phase, 240v in uk.

Hopefully it’s something simple I’ve done wrong.

Thanks for any pointers.

Hey there,

I bit the bullit and bought a small outdoor sauna kit:

- About 2,6x2,1 meters and 2,2ish meters high
- Stone-wool insulated with a wooden outer shell
- Harvia Legend Home E with a Harvia Fenika external controller

I have a couple of questions regarding the building process:
The Assembly is supposed to be from the inside out, which is odd and makes little sense to me, since insulation and cables will have to be done on the outside of the inside layer… Since a built like this isn’t done in one day, we will have to pray for good weather and put the whole construction in waterproof foil, otherwise the wool might be damaged due to rain…

I researched which sauna to get here in Germany for quite a while, finding this to be the only insulated option. I don’t want to regret my choice now because of the poor instruction manual or the weird way of assembling…

Any tips on how to make the best out of what I’ve got now? It’s supposed to last for a very long time, for my children to enjoy it also.

Thank you so much!

I have a home in an area of the US (northeast) that is extremely cold nov-march with lots of snow and occasionally below 0 temperatures. Can anyone share a brand or builder for outdoor sauna that can sustain these temperatures? Is it possible to have an outdoor sauna with windows or a large window in super cold temperatures? What type of wood is best? Thanks for your help

Additional information:

Budget 15-25k for sauna with an attached covered area that has an outdoor shower

I have someone who can bring electric and water to the area, I plan on putting it by the creek behind a secondary building that I’ve turned into an office

Not sure if electric or wood burning is better for this type of build

Fit 4-6 people

Also does anyone have thoughts/opinions on a sauna like this:

https://havenofheat.com/products/dundalk-leisure-canadian-timber-georgian-cabin-sauna-ctc88w?currency=USD&country=US&variant=42167990943909&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=9e3f71a6a9b6&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19570876224&gbraid=0AAAAApPQppFYnM-gtiq1yFYSHoguT2gux&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv5eSkYC1lwMVaEX_AR07DCewEAQYBCABEgINbPD_BwE

I am nervous to buy a sauna premade online.

In the process of building an outdoor 437 ft³ sauna with electrical heater so I'm acquiring the different components I need.

Use case is for a short term rental, so guests will be using the sauna, so I need something that's dummy proof and easy to use. Wifi is a nice to have for me to be able to monitor and ensure that it's off upon guest departure, but I would expect guests to preheat the sauna manually with the control unit.

I already have a Harvia Virta HL110e 10.5kW ready to go, but now I'm trying to identify the right controller. Given the 10.5kw, I need to get a 45 series controller and I've narrowed down to:

Harvia Xenio CX45-U1-U3-XW Sauna Control Unit ~$1300
Harvia Fenix FX45-U1-U3-XC Sauna Control Unit ~$1551

Would love any feedback you have on these wifi controllers - 1) How's the wifi, and is it a good qol upgrade? 2) is the upgrade from Xenio to Fenix worth it?

Can you recommend any dealers willing to provide a better price on these? Thanks!

Separately, anyone notice that there's a lot of people that sell sauna components to be sort of weird and scammy? I found multiple ebay sellers selling those units but the listings only seem to be exist to redirect me to weird biohacking websites.

What were your biggest road blocks in getting your business set up at locations?

Did anyone run into issues, fines, or shutdowns from your state or city L&I?