Sauna Heater Maintenance
Taking care of your residential or commercial sauna heater is easy and will make it last for many years. For heaters with internal rocks in between heating elements, simply inspecting and re-setting rocks will help avoid costly element replacement, excessive use of high cost energy and sauna down time. After many heating/cooling cycles and having water poured over them, the sauna heater stones will shift, compacting closer together in the rock bay. Rocks will also eventually crack and crumble which causes further compaction.
Compacted sauna rocks limit proper air circulation which supplies most of the heat in a sauna through convection. Because air flow is stifled, the sauna may take much longer to heat up to temperature than it used to, resulting in excessive energy consumption and higher operating costs. At the same time, moisture is trapped next to heating elements that can cause corrosion and eventually element failure.
 << Photo shows element damage caused from compacted rocks trapping moisture.
How to re-set sauna rocks: Turn off electrical breaker switch first. While heater is cold, remove top wire rock guard and take out all sauna heater rocks. Discard broken and crumbling rocks and replace with new high quality stones of proper type and size. Heater warranties are voided and damage to heater can occur if rocks are used other than supplied heater brand. These rocks are crushed to optimum size for airflow through heating elements and are of proper type to prevent damage to heating elements. Rinse any sediment off of rocks and replace rocks, stacking loosely and evenly between heating elements. Replace wire guard and you should notice a difference in how quickly the sauna gets up to temperature.
Commercial saunas should have rocks re-set every 3 to 6 months to minimize energy consumption and repair maintenance costs. Your guests will thank you for a better sauna experience and a sauna that heats up quickly. Residential saunas used once a week should have rocks re-set every year or twice a year if used several times a week.
For Sauna Heaters with rocks only in top tray and not inside heater: Remove rocks, clean and replace as needed.
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