Michael Ducharme, co-owner:
This is my favorite of all sauna heaters. The Saunatime is like a giant, heavy-duty Thermos
built around an excellent sauna stove. The first time you use this heater,
its powerful, low-density elements will heat up a large volume of rocks. A large rock capacity
is always best for those that like to pour water on the rocks to increase the humidity
in the sauna. (Breathing in steam increases the health benefits of a sauna... you'll
improve most respiratory problems and you'll bring more oxygen to all of the cells of your
body because there will be more blood flow to the capillaries in the bronchioles, and
this is where your body takes oxygen from the air we breathe.)
When you are finished using
the sauna, you close the lid to trap in the heat.
While the lid is closed, a low-wattage element turns on
to make sure that the sauna rocks stay really hot. The electrical consumption during this stage is
similar to that of an ordinary lightbulb. In other words, it is not expensive to keep the rocks
at full temperature.
The best part: as soon as you're ready to have your next sauna (hopefully every day so you
can keep your body free of harmful toxins!) you simply open the lid and the sauna will be hot in
mere seconds! With regular sauna heaters, there's about a 30 minute heat-up time. Too many times,
I've turned on my sauna, then went back to work on this Web site, or started talking saunas with
customers, and by the time I remember my sauna, the heater timer has long since expired. That's
why I love the Saunatime so much! With this heater, my sauna is always ready for me, so
as long as I have a few minutes to relax, I never miss a sauna session!
The only disadvantage is that it's larger and heavier, so it's not UPS-able.
That's not an issue if you're buying a sauna kit or a modular sauna, since those products
go by common carrier anyway.
