Infrared Lamp Sauna Electrical
Unit Plans
Essentially,
one builds an electrical unit consisting of three infrared heat lamps mounted
on a piece of wood or other material.
You can then place this unit in a sauna enclosure of your choice, or even
in a small bathroom or small closet.
The simplest enclosure is a frame covered with fabric. Plans for a frame enclosure follow the plans for the electrical unit.
Materials
á Three or four 250-watt, red infrared
heat bulbs. These
are sold at many hardware stores.
Do not use clear heat lamps as their
spectrum is not correct. My
preferences are Philips, General Electric
or Sli lamps. Sylvania and
Feit now have short, straight, tightly coiled filaments that focus the heat too
much. The effect is more like a
spotlight than a floodlight.
Westinghouse
lamps are somewhat acceptable. At
the time of this update (2009) they may be coating their lamps with Teflon,
which reduces the danger of breakage, but the lamps could outgas somewhat when
heated.
á Three or four ceramic or plastic
lamp sockets designed for 250-watt bulbs. Sockets are available that wire from
the front or from the back.
Another type of socket unscrews so that one places half the socket
behind a thin piece of wood or metal.
á Fifteen feet of heavy lamp cord, a
medium duty male wall plug and a switch or timer-switch capable of handling
seven amps. You may
use a standard wall switch with a box and switch cover plate. Others are rocker, push button or
toggle switches. You may use a
mechanical or electronic timer-switch, although they cost about $20-50.00
more. I do not recommend a dimmer
switch as they often emit strong electromagnetic fields.
á A piece of hardware cloth or welded
wire about 15" by 31". This will be bent around the lamps as a
guard to prevent anything from touching them.
á Four wood screws and four 3/16"
x 1" fender washers. These are to fasten the lamp guard to the board or
enclosure. You could also use a
staple gun to secure the guard to the wood.
á The board to mount the sockets on should be about 12Ó high and 24Ó wide. The extra width is to mount the switch
to one side of the lamps.
The
board can be of solid wood, masonite, veneer or plywood. For chemically sensitive people, it
could be of sheet metal or hard plastic like Lucite it one is not sensitive to
this material. To avoid all
outgassing, use a metallic material or a poplar, oak or
fir shelf board.
á
Wood screws and/or machine screws and nuts for mounting the sockets and
switch to a board or enclosure.
á
An 8-amp fuse is optional and a good idea, but not necessary.
Tools
required include a small screwdriver, wire cutters, and a drill to cut holes in
the board for wires, sockets and mounting screws.
Construction
Warning #1. Use extreme care when
assembling, wiring and using any electrical device of your own design. The
author cannot be responsible for misuse of a sauna, poor construction
techniques or improper wiring that can cause fires or other accidents.
Accidents
happen in saunas. Always move
slowly and carefully near a sauna.
Never allow young children to play in or use a sauna unaccompanied.
Warning
#2: Please do not alter this design if you want the best results. Many people create their own sauna with
lamps in the corners, or on several sides, or on the ceiling. These are not acceptable designs for
various reasons. Please email me
if you must before deciding to alter the suggested design. If you have a brilliant idea, I will
add it to this website. However,
most details have been worked out for four years and are the best possible way
to build the unit.
The
only possible modifications I suggest is that you may design the unit:
1)
with four instead of three lamps, with the fourth lamp near your knees or even feet. This will heat up faster and provide
more infrared.
2)
you can design the unit so you can lie down inside, instead of sitting. This is necessary for people who are
disabled or weak and cannot sit for the half hour needed for a sauna session. The book, Sauna Therapy, contains
details for modifying the design for laying down in the sauna. However, sitting is quite a bit better,
in my view, if sitting is possible for the patient.
To Begin
Mount
the sockets to the board or enclosure in a triangle shape (see the diagram at
the end of this section). If you
are using a board that is 12Ó high by 24Ó wide, the top socket is placed in the
center, 2Ó from the top of the board.
The lower sockets are mounted two inches from the bottom of the board
and 9.5 to 10Ó apart.
If
you are using a board that reaches down to the floor, the top socket should be
at chest height when sitting, about 36Ó off the floor. The two lower sockets should be mounted
at abdomen height when sitting, about 28Ó off the floor.
Place
the switch or timer-switch as far away from the lamps as possible, either to
one side or above them.
Wire
the sockets in parallel. (See
diagram below.) The lamps will not
work properly if the sockets are wired in series. When wiring the sockets, one need not cut the lamp
cord. It may be faster to connect
two wires to one socket and then run the cord to the next socket. Separate the wires at the next socket,
strip the wires just where the terminal screws are and screw down the terminals
over the wires. Then continue
similarly to the third socket. Run
the wires to the switch. A fuse is
optional.
For
the protective guard in front of the lamps, bend the hardware cloth into a C
shape with 1" flanges at each end.
It is easiest to bend it over a sharp edge of a table or desk. Make the bends in the 31Ó length, so
the 15Ó dimension of the hardware cloth becomes the width of the guard.
First
bend the 31" piece of mesh 90¡ at 1". Make another 90¡ bend at 9", another at 22" and
another at 30". Make all
bends in the same direction. This
should form a C shape with 1" flanges at each end for fastening to the
wood with wood screws and large washers, two on the bottom and two on top.
To
mount the board in an enclosure, you may drill holes in the corners for
screws. If you will mount the
electrical unit on a PVC pipe frame, you will need mounting holes for four 3/4Ó
pipe straps. Click here to view a wiring diagram of
the electrical unit or view it below:
Mounting and Ventilation. If
oneÕs unit is for a bathroom or closet, secure it to a wall so it will not fall
over if accidentally bumped. In a bathroom tub area, the unit can be hung
from the shower pipe. However, also tie it back so it will not move.
If
you will mount it in a wooden or other enclosure, you can secure it using four
wood screws, one in each corner. To mount to a PVC pipe frame, use four
pipe straps.
Ventilation can be important. Most bathrooms have ventilation. In a
closet, the door may not fit tightly at the top. If necessary, open the
door slightly every 10 minutes or so as needed to provide ventilation. If
building an enclosure, leave a 1" wide opening across the top at the front
and back.
Enclosures.
The electrical unit may be mounted in any suitable enclosure including a small
closet, wooden box, frame enclosure or other space. If the space is larger than
about 4' by 4' and 5'- 6' high, it may need an auxiliary heater or another lamp
to bring the sauna to 110¡ F. within 20-30 minutes. For much more information
about enclosures, see Chapter 12 of the book, Sauna Therapy.
Cautions and Disclaimer
Observe
all cautions as with any electrical appliance exposed to heat and moisture. Do not touch the lamps during use, or let
water, sweat, towels or anything touch them. I will repeat, accidents
can happen in saunas. Always move slowly and carefully. Never allow
young children to play in or use a sauna unaccompanied. The author cannot
be responsible for misuse of a sauna or poor construction.
Sauna
Frame Enclosure Plans
An excellent inexpensive enclosure suitable for apartments and portable use
consists of a frame over which one places blankets, a cloth drop cloth or other
fabric. It works well, though it may be a bit delicate and requires care
in its use. The frame parts cost less than $50.00.
Materials. The frame requires five 10-foot sticks of the thicker
(SCH 40, 480 PSI) 1-inch white PVC pipe. Also required are four 1-inch
PVC T-connectors and eight 1-inch PVC elbows. You will also need four 1-inch
pipe clamps and eight machine screws and nuts to fasten the clamps to the lamp
unit. PVC cement is not needed.
If you are chemically sensitive and are concerned about using PVC pipe,
building supply stores sell long pieces of L-shaped, thin stainless steel used
for stucco walls. It is inexpensive and already has holes in it along its
length. It can be cut with tin ships and could be used to make a metal
frame. Wood could also be used.
Tools required are a hack saw or pipe cutter to cut PVC pipe, tape measure and
a rubber hammer to tap pieces together if they are stiff. No PVC glue is
needed.
The enclosure is designed to be connected to an electrical unit that contains
the lamps with guards over them for safety and with all safety requirements
needed for any home appliance or piece of equipment. One forces the PVC
frame to narrow where it connects to the board. It will flare out and
become wider as one moves away from the board. The design shown is five
feet high, high enough for most people.
Enclosure Assembly. Cut the
PVC pipe into four 5-foot sections, six 4-foot sections and four 3-inch
sections. Assemble as shown. Push pipe sections into the connectors
and use a rubber hammer to gently tap the pipe firmly into the
connectors. Assembling the unit on a hard floor will help, as one can
place the pipe on the floor when tapping them with a hammer. No cement
should be necessary unless pipe is very loose in the connectors. The
order of assembly of the sections does not matter. Click here to
view a diagram of the sauna frame.
Secure a board about 24 inches wide containing the lamp sockets to the PVC
frame with four 3/4-inch pipe clamps. The frame will bend to accommodate
the size of the board. This in fact adds rigidity to the structure.
The lamp height will be adjustable by moving the board up or down along the
vertical PVC pipe sections. The upper lamp should be at chest height when
sitting and the lower lamps at abdomen height.
The Frame
Cover. One may cover the frame with two queen or king-size
blankets, fabric such as fleece, flannel or velour, quilts, comforters or
canvas. A cloth painter's drop cloth that is 14Õ x 24Õ is sold at Home
Depot and works beautifully as long as the width of the frame is reduced to
three-foot wide instead of 4-foot wide.
To fasten fabric or blankets to the frame, an excellent way is to buy large
(2Ó) paper clasps, sometimes called butterfly clips, at an office supply
store. These work very well. One could also use large safety pins
or clothespins to hold the blankets or fabric in place.
You will also need a small stool or chair without a back to sit on. The
stool or chair may be of metal, wood or even plastic. The bottom part of
the sauna does not get too hot, so outgassing is usually not a problem. A
painted surface is also okay.
Warnings: Be sure to have a
guard in front of the lamps and that fabric or blankets are 12 inches or more
from the heat lamps to avoid a fire hazard. Pull blankets or fabric tight
near the lamps so it does not hang loosely near the lamps. Avoid leaving
the lamps on when no one is present.
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