How to build a Far Infrared Sauna

Far Infrared is a great, natural way to detoxify and enhance your body. Here are some more benefits:

Improves Skin
Sweating purges clogged pores of deeply embedded impurities and dead skin cells leaving you with glowing skin. An increase in blood circulation encourages a healthy flow of nutrients to your skin that helps relieve acne, eczema, psoriasis, and burns. It will also encourage the healing of lesions and minor cuts.

Burns Calories and Controls Weight
One session in any good Far Infrared Sauna will burn as many calories as you would rowing or jogging for 30 minutes. Through deep penetration of fat cells, radiant heat therapy will help clear away cellulite.

Removes Toxins
The process of perspiration is nature's way of detoxifying your body of waste materials accumulated in your daily life. Far Infrared, saunas in particular, can help you sweat out these toxins without discomfort.

Strengthens the Cardiovascular System
As you use Far Infrared saunas, your heart pumps blood at a greater rate, giving you the same benefits as a cardiovascular workout. Heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate increase, while diastolic blood pressure drops, resulting in improved physical fitness.

Reduces Stress and Fatigue
The soothing warmth of Far Infrared will relax and loosen your tight, sore muscles. Radiant heat therapy also relieves the stiffness, aches and soreness associated with aging.

Conditions Far Infrared Is Known To Help

1. Fibromyalgia

2. Headaches

3. Digestive Problems

4. Chronic Fatigue

5. Eczema and Psoriasis

6. Weight

7. Arthritis

8. Acne

9. Soft-tissue Injury

10. Menstrual Pain

11. Hypertension

12. Asthma

13. Colds and Flu

14. Depression

15. Tremors

16. Joint Pain

17. Allergies

18. Insomnia

19. Candidiasis

20. Burns

 

How?

Far infrared causes water within the body to vibrate. The body is about 70% water, so this has a profound effect on our tissues. This process allows for deeper penetration of energy, which both heats the atoms and causes water molecules to break into smaller clusters. Both events stimulate the easy release of toxins. The extra heat generated causes the capillaries to expand which helps blood circulation and increases the body's metabolism. This activates the tissues to produce needed enzymes.

There are several details you will need to complete before you can ever pound nail to wood. You will need to decide on the location, inside or out. If you decide to build an outside building for the sauna you will need to check the local laws for any special requirements they may need. Building inside is less expensive than outside for you can use the existing floor and even two of the walls if desired. Once the location is decided on, a scaled drawing of the sauna should be created. The easiest method of accomplishing this is to get a tablet of engineers graph paper. Each square of the paper can be designated to be 6 inches, or even a foot. The first thing to decide is whether you need to use 120 or 240 volts. The larger your sauna is going to be the more likely you will need to have it wired for 240. If you are going to build an indoor sauna your design should consist of the room size, lighting, heaters, controller, door and ventilation locations, as well as bench details.

Most often sauna walls consist of 2×4 lumber spaced 16 inches on center. The lumber most often used to encase the inside, outside and ceiling is tongue and groove boards. This allows for a tight fit while leaving the wood with the ability to contract and expand with the heat. While it is not a requirement to use tongue and groove boards it is important to stay away from woods that split when they become extremely dry, like oak. Waterproof woods, like cedar, are not necessary. Plywood and paneling should also be avoided, because when heated they tend to release the toxins in the glue which bind their layers. The interior wood should be left unfinished to avoid any toxins within the stain, varnish or paint from being released when heated. Sauna ceilings are usually lower than in a regular room. A lower ceiling is more cost efficient as it uses less energy to heat the space.

It is not necessary to install an insulated door. The door should be hinged so it opens away from the sauna, and if desired have tempered glass for its window. If you install a pre-hung sauna door be sure to make the width of the rough opening 2 inches larger than the door. The height needs to be an inch taller, so the jamb of the door can easily fit within the space, and it can be properly squared up.

Insulation is not a requirement in a far infrared sauna, but advised as it is energy efficient and keeps the temperature from fluctuating. It is important to ventilate the sauna. Often a space is left at the threshold of the door which provides fresh air into the sauna. Outgoing vents need to be built into the sauna at roughly two-thirds up the opposite wall from the air intake. Putting intake vents near the floor is also acceptable if the space under the door does not provide enough air.

Traditionally the floor in a sauna is an elevated platform called a duckboard. This design keeps your feet from getting wet, but since far infrared is a dry heat a duckboard is not necessary. It is necessary the floor be made of fire resistance materials. Just like the duckboard, a vapor barrier on the walls is not needed, but will help insulate the room if used.

The bench is usually about 2 feet wide and as long as the interior of the sauna. But again the concept is not written in stone. Custom design the bench to create the kind of comfort you desire. It is important nail and screw heads be recessed into wood so their metal does not burn you when sitting on the heated hardware. And finally, there should be a light in the sauna, the location is up to you.

The muscle of the far infrared sauna are the heat generating emitter units. Each unit has only five different kinds of parts. These are the housing tray, reflector, 2 ceramic emitters, 2 clips and 2 sets of screws and nuts (Figure 2). The housing tray and reflector are shipped as one unit. In order to install the heat emitters the 2 sets of screws and nuts holding the housing tray and reflector together must be removed (Figure 1). There are 2 screws and an inch long nut per each set. Once the housing tray and reflector have been separated the emitters can be installed.

Put the emitter wires through the oblong hole in the reflector (Figure 3). The back of the emitter fits nicely into the oblong hole. To attach the emitter to the reflector, slide a clip into the groove provided (Figure 4). The emitter wires are then put into the terminal blocks and screwed down to secure (Figure 5 and 6). Repeat this process with the second emitter.

Once the emitters have been installed it is an easy job to reattach the reflector/emitter unit to the housing tray. First screw the inch long nuts to the reflector/emitter unit (Figure 7). Put this unit into the housing tray and screw the housing tray to the same nuts from the back side (Figure 8).

There is a very simple formula for figuring out how many emitters will be required for your sauna. Simply multiply the length by the width by the height to find out how many cubic feet of space your sauna will have. You will need 17 watts of emitters per each cubic foot. So, multiply 17 by the number of cubic feet you came up with. This number will tell you how many total watts you will need. The emitters Promolife sell are 163 watts each. To figure out the number of emitters you will have to divide the number of watts needed by 163.

Emitters above the bench should be installed vertically and horizontally when below the bench. In the following photo you will see the emitters have been finished off by placing a wire grid over the unit and furring out the wall so the person taking a sauna does not touch the heating element directly (Figure 9). There is no right or wrong way to complete the encasement of the emitters, but safety should be kept in mind when designing all aspects of the project.

Each of the emitter units must be installed into the sauna walls. This entails recessing them into the 2×4 wall and hooking them up to the main electrical power. It is advised you install fire resistant insulation behind each emitter unit (Figure 10). Is is not required, but will add peace-of-mind to your sauna experience by providing the knowledge the wood behind the emitter unit is not vulnerable to combustibility.

It is advised you hire a professional electrician if you have no experience installing electrical wiring. However, the majority of locations in the United States still allow a home owner to do their own wiring, but it must go through the same building inspection a professional electrician goes through. To learn more about how to wire electricity visit the DoItYourself.com website. Be sure and check with your local building codes before installing your own electricity. Please note if you pound a nail badly you may split the wood, or end up with something that looks unsightly, but when electricity is installed incorrectly you risk the chance of a fire.

The sauna control is the last thing that needs to be installed. The photo below shows a dual control unit which has controls on both the inside and outside of the sauna (Figure 11). The black control goes on the outside of the sauna. When purchased, a schematic drawing is provided as to how the controller should be wired.

Even though building your own sauna is a do-it-yourself job, we at Promolife are here to help you figure out what you will need for your project. We are not electricians, so we can not instruct you as to how to hook up the power, but will help in every other way we can.

For your sauna you'll need wood, far infrared emitters, digital controller, housings and reflectors. Where to find wood depends on your location. Any building supplier in your area should be able to assist you in getting the right wood cuts for your project.

We can help you get the rest personally. We have optional pre-hung doors and windows you can use if you choose to, as well as two ways to get your other parts. You can either custom build your sauna completely and choose the number of emitters you use or buy one of our easy kits. Both are explained below.

These kits are for people who want to build a sauna as simply as possible. There are three kits available depending on your needs:

One Person Kit: For one person saunas (3.5 feet by 3.5 feet). This kit includes a set of eight emitters with four housings and four reflectors, plus one digital temperature and timer controller. A dual controller is also available.

Two Person Kit: For two person saunas (4 feet by 4 feet). This kit includes a set of ten emitters with five housings and five reflectors, plus one digital temperature and timer controller. A dual controller is also available.

Four Person Kit: For four person saunas (4 feet by 6 feet). This kit includes a set of twelve emitters with six housings and six reflectors, plus one digital temperature and timer controller. A dual controller is also available.

Why would I buy a kit? It's all together, plus the kits are a bit cheaper than buying individual pieces. However if you are going truly custom with sizes not included above, you can get exactly what you need below. If you want to get one of these kits, just visit our Sauna Heaters and Kits page.

What are the specifications of the controller? We've listed more specifications for these below, after the custom information.

If the sizes listed with the kits don't match your needs, you can order as many sets of emitters you want. All you need to know is your cubic feet: length x width x height. This is the sizing formula, keeping in mind that you need to have approximately 17 watts per cubic foot:

L x W x H - Cubic Feet
Cubic Feet x 17 Watts = Total Watts
Total Watts divided by 163 = Number of Emitters Needed

Because each set of emitters includes two, divide your number of emitters by two to see how many sets you need.

A quick example. If you want to build a sauna that is 4 feet x 4 feet x 6 feet:

4 x 4 x 6 = 96 Cubic Feet
96 Cubic Feet x 17 Watts = 1632 Watts
1632 Watts / 163 = 10 emitters needed, or five sets. Each set comes with two emitters, one housing and one reflector.

If your size requires an odd number of emitters, always round up. It's better to have one too many than not enough.

To buy your emitters, you can visit our Custom Sauna Kits page. If you do that, you will also need to buy a Digital Temperature and Timer Controller.

Dimensions - Housing Reflector Combo: Each housing/reflector holds two emitters. Housing comes with removable swivel wall bracket which, if used, will add one inch to the depth. 23&5/8"L x 3&3/8"W x 3"D

Dimensions - Reflector Only: 19&3/4"L x 3.5"W x 2&1/2" D

A variety of housings are available. If you have any questions at all, call 888-742-3404 and we will help you out. You can also email info@promolife.com and we will call you or answer your questions through email.

All of our emitters have been marked with a wattage and voltage. Ensure that sufficient control is exerted to keep the elements operating within these parameters. When the element is in use it may be extremely hot. The following is recommended:

• Protect emitters from physical damage and do not expose to water
  
• Replace broken or partially damaged emitters at once
  
• You the operator and/or installer are 100% responsible for the operating conditions of these emitters.

Wavelength comparison ceramic to steel (Incoloy)

Ceramic is considered a raw natural earth element and Incoloy a highly processed from of earth element. Ceramic heaters are known to emit 95% + of the total heat in Far Infrared form. Incoloy is known to emit only 50-60% of its heat in Far Infrared form. Ceramic has also shown to emit the majority if its FIR between 7-12 microns (as shown below). Incoloy emits the majority of its FIR between 0-7 microns. You will benefit from both ceramic and incoloy, but you will get a much higher concentration of 9.5 from Ceramic and very little from Incoloy. Overall, you get more bang for your buck with ceramic emitters.

Emitters are UL Approved and Terminal Blocks are CE Listed and recognized by UL. Your completed sauna as a whole will NOT be UL Approved. Seek the council of a professional licensed electrician before installing and wiring these units. Promolife and the manufacturer are not responsible nor liable for improper installation. Improper installation could create a fire hazard. Promolife does not council nor recommend any electrical wiring configuration. You will need a licensed electrician to professionally wire your sauna. Wiring diagrams are not included. Color of FIR Emitter and style of Housing/Reflector may change due to availability.

The digital timers are necessary to run the sauna, and have been approved for Electric radiant far infrared saunas, Conventional Saunas (convection type heaters) and Spas and Steam Baths.

They're easy to use:
1. Rotate "TIME" knob to 0 then set desired time.
2. Rotate "TEMP" knob to set desired temperature.
3. Thermostat will start automatically.
4. To Stop: Turn "TIME" knob to 0.

More specifications:

• 120 or 220 Volts
  
• REMOTE temperature sensor probe
  
• Long life electrical contacts
  
• Accurate temperature reading and control
  
• Adjustable differential option
  
• Simple installation and operation
  
• Automatic failure detection and display
  
• Digital Pre-settable Timer- 5-60 minutes
  
• Selectable Fahrenheit or Celsius Preset Control Range: (100 F to 194F)
  
• Large bright digital LED displays
  
• No programming required
  
• Quiet Arc-Free direct load switching without external contactor for loads up to 6000 Watt @ 240VAC or higher with external contactor, fits in 3-gang electrical wall box, wall surface mount or in panel (Not supplied)
  
• Dimensions: 5 3/8"W x 2 3/4"H x 2"D (136mm x 70mm x 51mm)

Promolife offers pre-hung doors and windows. These are optional if you want to build your own doors and windows. We offer a variety of sizes, including ADA-compliant 36" doors.

We have octagon, rectangular, tinted and clear windows made of tempered thermopane glass.

For sizing, pricing or to order, call us at 888-742-3404. You can find some more information at our Pre-Hung Doors and Windows page.

Once you have built your sauna undoubtedly you will want to proudly show off your handiwork, as well you should, you will have earned bragging rights. However, the best part is not the chest thumping you can do, but the years of health benefits you will receive for having done something that may just prolong your life.

If you're ready to start building, we can help you get many of the parts you need. Just visit our Sauna Heaters and Kits page.

You can also call us at 888-742-3404 with questions or if you want to order parts over the phone.

We hope that if you do build a far infrared sauna you enjoy it and get all of the wonderful health benefits they can bring.

If building it yourself is not for you, you can check out our pre-built saunas, outdoor saunas, personal portable saunas and steam saunas on our Saunas page.

Parts of this article originally appeared on our PromolifeNews.com and Promolife.com websites. It is owned by us here at Promolife, and added to Squidoo to contribute to the do-it-yourself Squidoo mentality!