Finnish sauna, in America

[tuulen]

...Oh yeah, and always when leaving sauna fill up the stove with big chunks of wood. Not small. Purpose is to help sauna dry up by providing heat for prolonged time.

Yes, good idea!

[Jukka Aho]

Best arrangement I know is to have incoming air come from as low as possible, like commonly in Finland beneath the door, and another as high up as possible to help remove excess heat.

If you use a separate “in” or bottom vent, instead of relying on the under-the-door airflow, the vent is typically located low on the wall beside the stove. (That is, if there’s an outside-facing wall next to the stove.) If that is not possible (the sauna is located in the middle of the house and there are no outside walls or they’re on the wrong side) the bottom vent might be realized as a small length of pipe coming out of the floor next to the stove; maybe about 10cm in diameter. In this latter case, the pipe protruding from the floor should be tall enough so that it doesn’t take the role of a drain, but not much taller – probably something like 10—15cm in its visible length at max – and possibly with a protective cap to prevent water splashes or trash getting in.The pipe would go under the floor; the other end coming out somewhere next to the house (in case of a concrete slab foundation), or simply ending up under the bottom of the house (if the building has ventilated crawlspace underneath.)

The top vent is usually located either in the ceiling paneling, facing downwards, or high up on the wall – as high as possible. I linked to pictures of these before, but just to recap: this (the round one with a knob) is a fairly typical vent used in many Finnish saunas. The middle cone is attached to a long screw which goes through a threaded hole in the middle of the frame. Rotating the cone adjusts its distance from the frame, making the opening for the airflow on the sides larger or smaller. Or it could also be a push-in, pull-out type of a mechanism. The wooden knob is optional but quite handy in a hot sauna so you don’t need to burn your hands on the hot, painted metal.

Yet another method of adjusting the airflow – and more importantly, the draft that controls the burning process – is via the blade in the chimney. In Finland, it has been customary to install such adjustable blades in each flue of a brick chimney when it is being built, with the handle (and a part of the blade itself) jutting out of the side of the chimney towards the room where the fireplace (or sauna stove) is located... usually at 2m height or higher up the wall (see here as well; part of the blade is clearly visible... and since we were talking about vents above, notice the vent on the wall too.) The advantage of this kind of a blade is that, besides adjusting the draft, it can be used for closing the flue completely when the fireplace is not in use, which helps reduce heat loss through the chimney, especially during wintertime when it is cold outside and letting the heat go out would be a waste. However, the blade should never be closed unless the fire has completely gone out and the glow in the ember died; otherwise there’s a risk of getting carbon monoxide poisoning.

Such blades are available for simple metal pipe-type chimneys as well. Adjusting the blade is an easy way to adjust the draft, and by that way, also the speed or “volume” of burning in the fire chamber.

There’s also a supplementary (but helpful) method of draft adjustment: via the ashbox of the sauna stove, located below the fire chamber. If you open the box a bit, not too much, not too little, you will get a better airflow in the chamber through the bottom grill. This may help things if you’re having trouble getting the fire going.

[Jukka Aho]

(Removed a double post.)

[Upphew]

Finnish sauna can be used, also in America, to store sugar in case of Peak Sugar

http://apareena.arvopaperi.fi/forum/msg ... g=7008954/
Linked pictures doesn't seem to work anymore, but here is thumbnail from gis:

Yes, that is cat standing on sugar bags in sauna...

[Jukka Aho]

While “tuulen” is not constructing a smoke sauna, I thought this would be a good thread to post these links anyway:

• A microprocessor-based smoke sauna!
• The majestic “command bridge” of another smoke sauna. (Looks almost like a movie set.)
• As traditional as it gets.

[SaxonManFinland]

Some really good tips and design advice from Tylo, Go to their website. Full DIY manual available FOC

[autio010]

No sauna stove makers here?! Check out Kuuma, made in Tower, Minnesota @ http://www.lamppakuuma.com/index.php Or FinnLeo @ www.finnleo.com . Just to name two sauna stove makers from Minnesota!