Re: FIR Sauna - Carbon Fiber vs. Ceramic Heaters
Odysseus said:
Wow, exciting FIR sauna thread here!
Can you proud FIR sauna owners post a short report with:
- FIR sauna brand/type (plus the link? If you think it's inappropriate to post the link and/or brand, just PM me)
- where you placed it (I plan to place it in my flat's huuge living room, does this make sense?)
- how is the space (I am 200cm tall, so I have a special interest in space allocation/distribution)
- anything else you are excited to tell...
Mine is called the Malibu, bought it from West Coast Saunas in the US. All the dimensions are listed.
http://www.evolutionhealth.com/Infrared_Saunas/carbonfiber/infrared-carbonfiber_malibu.html
A two person model with some bells and whistles I find I don't even use. Like the radio/cd player. I've been using the time inside to read. And some revolving chakra-colored lights in the ceiling that you really can't see unless it's pitch dark. ;D I bought this particular model because the heaters in the walls are less exposed that other saunas, if you check the pictures you can see the heaters are behind little dowell rods instead of big, open spaces. This means you are less likely to get burned by the heaters by leaning against them.
It takes anywhere from 30-40 minutes to warm up to a temperature of 120 deg F. Supposedly the optimum FIR temperature range is between 115-145 for this model. I set mine on 120, I imaging if I wanted to heat up higher it would take even longer to warm up. I don't think I could stand it any hotter. The sauna timer only goes up to 60 minutes.
It supposedly seats two people side-by-side, but it would be really cramped unless you were both pretty thin.
I sit sideways on the bench and lean against the wall while I read. My Dot Connector mag has some stains on it from my sweaty little palms. :)
It does look like a huge phone booth in my spare bedroom. Decide where you want to put it, cause once it's up, it's not going anywhere cause I think it weighs about 400 pounds!
I like the fact that I can crank it up when I get home from work, and go do something else while it warms up, then just jump in, and when I'm finished, I just leave the door open for a while to let it cool down and air out, and I can just jump right into the shower, no cleaning up the blanket and putting it away! I do have a cushion for the bench and sit on towels.
Only downside is if I do one in the evening, I'm usually up multiple times during the night to use the bathroom because of the water I drink before, during, and after.
It does require an electrical outlet/circuit that doesn't have anything else drawing power from it. In my case, the two spare bedrooms are on one circuit, so I shut off everything else in both rooms before I start the sauna. For the 3+ person models, I believe you need a special type of outlet and may need to rewire a circuit for more power.
It was pricey, and I'm still paying on it. But according to the research I did, some of those cheap ones like you get on Ebay do not put out much FIR. The carbon fiber is supposed to burn cooler and last longer and be more durable than the ceramic, I believe.
All in all, I do like it! :)
the sauna had gone from off to flashing; not in working mode though. Tried to stop it and start it and heard clicking noise - unplugged and phoned it in; seems I have to wait for a new master control box to now arrive. 
:)
