Buying an infrared sauna cabin can be too expensive, especially if you are not sure you will benefit from it. Infrared sauna blankets, bags or domes force you to lie in one place for half an hour and they are not cheap either. However, there is another option: make an infrared sauna yourself.

In this article I want to tell you about two ways to build a sauna completely with your own hands, without pre-made kits. It can be a relatively inexpensive solution, so you can enjoy a sauna in your home environment for a reasonable price. You can build it to show that infrared will provide some benefit to your health before you buy an infrared sauna cabin, or it can be a convenient way to have a sauna at home when you don’t have a lot of free space in your home.

Before going into explanations, I want to warn you about safety. Building a sauna yourself may involve making some electrical wiring. Infrared heaters used in a sauna usually require a lot of power, up to 1000 watts. Please don’t try to build a sauna yourself if you don’t know what you are doing. Better ask or hire someone who has experience with electricity to do it for you. If you are going to install a sauna in a bathroom, be aware that as a humid place you have strict requirements for the safety of electrical wiring.

Infrared sauna with two infrared heaters

Jim Clements describes the first way to set up a sauna at home in his article The Bathroom for FIR Sauna, in which he explains how to use two infrared heaters placed in a relatively small room (5 × 11 feet suggested). It uses two 500-watt, 9-amp infrared heaters from THMI, and says these heaters provide an experience similar to that of an infrared sauna cabin. He does not give specific information on these heaters other than wattage and he does not know if any other brand of heaters will suit this sauna setup. I think it is important that the heaters are not too high wattage (not higher than 600 watts).

These two heaters should be placed on both sides of the room (5 to 6 feet apart). Since they are 9 amps, you should either use a 20 amp outlet or use an extension cord from some other outlet in your house to divide the current between two 15 amp outlets. Make sure the extension cord can safely handle the power requirements of an infrared heater.

In the warm-up stage, Jim recommends converting the heaters into a door or wall for faster heating. Do not place heaters too close to walls or other objects due to the risk of ignition. The warm-up time is usually longer than with the infrared sauna cabin and can range from 30 minutes to an hour. When the room heats up, you can use it as a common infrared sauna, just go and sweat in there. You may want to put a towel under the door and not use ventilation as it will let the air flow at a lower temperature in a room. You don’t necessarily have to use a bathroom for a sauna; you can use any suitable place or make a special enclosure.

As a supplement to two heaters, Jim uses a 250-watt infrared lamp hung from the ceiling of the room (in his description he suggests connecting to a shower curtain rod. He says he uses a Sylvania light bulb, but I think than other manufacturers will be fine Try to get a lamp with radiant but not focused infrared light.

Infrared sauna with infrared lamps

Dr. Lawrence Wilson proposes another way to build an infrared sauna in your home. On his page on sauna therapy, he describes how to use three 250-watt infrared light bulbs to build an infrared sauna. You will need three 250-watt infrared bulbs (not light heat, as you write they have the wrong spectrum). Recommend the use of Philips, General Electric or Sli lamps. You’ll also need three ceramic or plastic lamp sockets for the bulbs, fifteen feet of heavy lamp cord, a medium-duty male wall socket, and a switch, or better yet, timer-switch that is capable of handling seven amps of current.

The skirting board should be mounted to a board 46 ′ ” high by 15 ′ ” wide (or 12 ′ ” high by 24 ′ ” wide if you want to mount it to a wall) made of wood, plywood, or plating. They should form a triangle with the middle socket at the top. The upper basin should be at chest level when sitting. Plugs must be connected in parallel. Connect the plug cord to a switch. After connecting the sockets to the plate with screws, you need to make a cover with metallic cloth to prevent the bulbs from touching something.

Be very careful when using this sauna, always secure a board to the wall to make sure it doesn’t fall off. Do not allow children to play with it or use it without your supervision.

Dr. Wilson also describes how to build an enclosure for your sauna with a set of pipes. They form a frame that can be covered with blankets or other fabric to create a small room that can be used for sauna sessions.

Comparison of two methods

The first method described, by Jim Clements, is much easier to implement than the second, by Dr. Lawrence Wilson. Most importantly, it uses pre-built equipment, so no additional wiring is needed, so the risk of damage or malfunction is low. The heaters are covered so they cannot be touched by the design and all wiring is done at the factory. The downside is that infrared heaters cost more than infrared heat lamps.

On the other hand, the Dr. Wilson sauna, if well made and accurate, is no worse than the first one, but it costs significantly less. To build it you have to know how to do the electrical wiring or have someone do it for them. The safety of this sauna depends on the skill of the person who made it and can be dangerous if done incorrectly.

Once again, I want to warn anyone who wants to build a sauna that they should only do it if they are sure that they are doing it. You must be familiar with electrical wiring and have the skill and knowledge to do it right. The authors of the original articles or I cannot be held responsible for the misuse of a sauna or any problems with poor construction. Remember: safety comes first.

I hope this overview of the ways to build an infrared sauna is helpful. If you are interested, I recommend reading the original instructions from the authors of these methods.

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