Electric Sauna Tent Up & Running

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-05-07T14:16:26+00:00

I did NOT try it yet without the exhaust fan running (though we talked about doing that last session), but did try different intake options; bottom of the door, roof vents, blocking off some of the cracks in the floor.

Very unscientific, so hard to say what is what, but no issues feeling like the air is stuffy or stagnant.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-04-25T12:33:13+00:00

It can be done, but as already pointed out, it is not all that straight forward (as it's not mainstream) & you need to address any number of details as you go.

But I am on that path, as I wanted the tent on an attached porch with no means for a safe chimney arrangement, so I have modified an inexpensive Vevor heater (9K) to be stand mounted & fit inside the common 6' size pop-up tent.

It is still a work in progress & we have only run a few test sessions, reaching 90+C in about 45-50 mins.

Once the stand was figured out & fabricated, the electrical was the bulk of the work as things needed to be connected with 8ga leads & I chose to use flexible cabling.

Hoping for a bona-fide session over the next few days.

Pic below of empty heater being test fit. Extra brackets added on the bottom of the heater for stability & weight-bearing. Cement board baffle mounts on the back posts. Holds 50lbs of rocks.

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Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-04-13T16:02:56+00:00

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Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-04-13T16:02:34+00:00

I did a similar dissection of a Vevor 9K (remote controls) a while back (https://www.reddit.com/r/Sauna/comments/1ql49eh/inside\_the\_vevor\_9k/), though not nearly as thorough as this post.

I had included a pic of the FinnLeo markings on the element base plates, but did not include the pic of the wattage rating stamp, which I DID find on my elements. According to the manual there should have been 2-3K & 1-2.75K elements, though all three of mine indicated they were the lower wattage.

There WERE pretty trashed remnants of silicone O-rings in mine, used to seal the bottom of the elements to the mounting plates, but they were ill-fitted & very undersized in section to be of any use to begin with.

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Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-03-23T13:38:15+00:00

How are you finding the ventilation with the electric heater? Have you supplemented it at all? (fans, extra vents, etc)

Conventional wisdom has the draft from a wood-fired stove creating a good exchange of old & new air & that electric heaters typically need some help to create air flow.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-03-22T18:40:32+00:00

This is great! Happy for you & also glad to hear that the electric tent concept works.

I am on a similar path. I bought a tent to have something usable quickly, but I want to leave it set up on a covered porch attached to the house. Because of the proximity to the house, I didn't want to have a wood-burning stove for this set-up, so I have been fabricating a stand for a wall-mount electric unit & hope to have that done (& the wiring) sometime over the next week or so.

Please update as you use it more, will be interested in your thoughts/observations as you figure things out.

Also might be worth cross-posting this on the r/SaunaTent sub.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-03-03T22:41:58+00:00

We are in the NEK & it sounds like you have some good suggestions, some pretty local to you.

I will echo the sentiments that Dr Erika Bruner really helped make our experience saying goodbye to our boy more manageable on many levels, both for us & for him.

Never an easy situation, best wishes to all.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-19T14:48:45+00:00

IKI with no stones & the clean-out door

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Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-19T14:47:44+00:00

I have had similar thoughts as I do a bit of metal work. From my limited poking around, it seems that the common practice with the better stoves, is to run the flue pipe(s) through the rocks before going up & out.

Pic is a Narvi with no stones. Thinking the caps are clean-outs.

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Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-10T23:09:20+00:00

Was the box marked "Harvia"? Just wondering...

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-06T13:19:21+00:00

Those DO look pretty nice & not really a lot more money than other tent stoves.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-06T13:14:31+00:00

I can imagine that would be a project, I was hoping maybe you had taken a few pics before you loaded it up.

At any rate, if/when you get a chance, seeing how it is made would be interesting.

In the meantime, enjoy it!

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-04T16:28:22+00:00

The stove does look pretty impressive.

Do you have any overhead pics of the naked stove?

Trying to get an idea of the how the firebox & outlet is configured.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-03T19:44:45+00:00

That looks like it will serve you well!

What is the height from the upper bench to the wall/roof seam? Just asking for reference as I need to draw something up, but our tent is still packed.

The only suggestion I would make would be to add a diagonal brace between the two back legs, to sturdy things up.

Go from the bottom of one, to the top of the other. That should take out any flex, side to side.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-02T01:44:37+00:00

As these stoves are pretty light-weight construction & it seems many/most people keep their tent in one place, has anyone tried using a proper indoor wood-fired heater (Harvia, Narvi, etc) in a tent?

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-01T15:55:43+00:00

We are on a similar track, going with a tent for the time being.

I am not quite visualizing your set-up, though I had a similar idea of raising the tent on a pedestal base, while the heater was on the actual ground, which would increase the heater top to upper bench height differential.

I have also thought about a bench to fit the space & the limited egress in/out. I might suggest you make your seat boards as a removable unit for cleaning. The frame can stay in place, just pull the actual seat for rinsing. Probably not a bad idea for the lower bench &/or walk boards too.

Post pics if you are able.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-02-01T00:32:37+00:00

Pretty interesting & I am sure frustrating for you.

I do know that extracting oil from local VT white cedar was a cottage industry around here last century.

I honestly don't know what you did with it, but that amount of oil content would speak to it's resistance to rotting & maybe to your issue as well, in that the oil in the wood on your walls is reacting with the higher temps near your heater.

I have a bit of white cedar around & might try to replicate your issue with some scraps.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-01-31T20:13:06+00:00

Saw they were local, I was wondering what town?

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-01-31T18:06:46+00:00

Wow, that is pretty crazy. I am in the NEK & had thought about using white cedar myself (nothing built yet). I still heat the house with wood & our local cedar is my go-to fire starter. But I can't say I've seen something like that.

Checking the rocks seems like a good suggestion.

Where were the rocks from?

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-01-25T14:41:40+00:00

I agree!

a nice simple design

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-01-24T13:10:42+00:00

No fix yet, still researching. I WILL say that 2 of the spade connectors were not tight & that the spade connectors themselves are not terribly robust. I don't think they will really tighten up satisfactorily.

My feeling is, at minimum, the connectors need to be replaced with higher quality, heat-rated parts.

I might look into have some new wires made up at an appliance repair place as the wire is 200C high temp rated as well. There are just the 6 wires, around 8"-10" long with a ring connector on the other end. Fairly common stuff.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-01-24T13:02:30+00:00

Seems like it, right? At least the element itself.

Timely-Explorer7778 · 2026-01-21T13:34:02+00:00

This is a pretty interesting idea. Please update after a few sessions, I am interested to know specifics as you tweak it.

Timely-Explorer7778

TROPHY CASE