FAQ

FAQs ABOUT WOOD-FIRED HOT TUBs

First of all, we have a wide range of Wood-fired hot tubs. It is an opportunity to choose a suitable model, form and size. There are variants both for people who like practical items – Fiberglass hot tubs. And those who prefer natural and ECO products – Wooden Hot tubs. What is more, you can complete your customized Hot tub with numerous Hot Tub accessories.

Secondly, Baltresto carefully thinks over the Fiberglass Hot tubs. They have a perfect ergoform and attractive design. Our leading experts have developed them over the years. All the ideas and client remarks have been captured.

Thirdly, each Wood-fired Hot Tub model is being tested and checked before dispatch to the customer. All this allows us to avoid confusion and to be sure that our product has high quality.

Moreover, buying from Baltresto, you buy the products directly from one of the largest European hot tubs manufacturer. The average monthly sales are about 150 pieces. Baltresto OU is always reliability, better price deal, an opportunity to get extra bonuses and organization of the transport. We deliver all our Tubs by well known delivery services to make sure you will get the quality you have paid for.

Last but not least, this is an individual approach to each request. Professional customer assistance and support team can completely satisfy even our most demanding clients. We will help you to find the perfect product for you and your land or backyard.

Health benefits of the Wooden Hot Tub are determined by the wood species from which it is made of. Each wood has its own positive effects on the human body. It is quite difficult to highlight something as better or worse over the others. Briefly, we can say the following:

Spruce Wooden Hot tubs. Spruce is one of the traditional types of wood for saunas and hot tubs. Along with unique physical parameters, it has a lot of medicinal properties. With the spruce Wooden hot tub, you combine comfort and health together! It improves metabolism, cleanses the body, restores energy, and improves the mood.

Thermowood Hot tubs. Thermowood is also famous for its eco-friendliness, high wear resistance, and durability. Hot tub made from thermowood is more resistant to rot or mold than untreated wood. This type of wooden Hot Tub is slightly resinous and it retains its shape and size better due to less drying.

Larch Wooden Hot tubs. Larch will improve your mood and raise the overall tone of your body. Asthmatics will also be very happy with water treatments in a Larch Wooden Hot Tub because it significantly improves the condition of their respiratory system. This contributes to the normalization of pressure and overall relaxation of the body.

Both variants have advantages and disadvantages:

An internal heater often has more charisma and more atmosphere as you sit close to the fire. And on top of everything else an internal heater is cheaper.

An external heater, however, has more practical advantages once you need to clean the tub or remove the ashes. And of course, more space for people. In terms of heat up time: top models of external heater heat up the water faster than an internal one.

Assuming average posture, you can expect the following:

An Internal heater: 1,6 m tub for 3-4 people, 1,8 m tub for 5-6 people, 2,0 m tub for 6-8 persons, 2,2 m tub for 7-9 persons, 2,4 m tub for 8-10 persons.

An External heater: 1,6 m tub for 4-6 people, 1,8 m tub for 7-8 people, 2,0 m tub for 8-10 persons, 2,2 m tub for 9-11 persons, 2,4 m tub for 10-12 persons.

It depends on how often you are planning to use a Wooden Hot tub . If you don’t use any cleaning products, we recommend to empty it just after hot tubbing. In case you use the Wood-fired Hot Tub on an frequent basis, it will be better to connect a good sand filter to your Hot Tub. The filter removes substances and fats from the water. You can use chemical agents, which are used to clean home pools against algae and bacteria. The dosage of the chemical agents should be used in accordance with guidelines.

In principle, stainless steel is more durable than aluminum. If you overheat a stove without water, but notice it on time, you will have a chance to save just a stainless steel stove. Other things being equal, Stainless steel stoves will be broken later than aluminium ones. Our aluminium stoves are painted and look more attractive in comparison with stainless steel stoves. The second important advantage of aluminium stoves is faster heating water. It is worth nothing, the heating rate depends on water volume and such characteristics as fuel, the ambient temperature etc. All our heaters will heat up your Wood-fired Hot Tub within 2 hours on average.

An external heater has a special construction that is why water heating is faster. The heater can be easily connected to the hot tub with 2 rubber hoses and clamps. Once you fill the tub, the stove will be filled automatically. The heater has a double wall so the water will surround the fire pit entirely. As a result, it will heat up the water over a large surface. Hot water will rise and return back to the Tub via the upper connection. Via the lower connection cold water on its turn will be sucked into the stove.

We do not recommend to leave the Wood-fired Tub filled during persistent frost periods. If the hot tub is not used during the winter, drain water out of the Wood-fired Hot Tub and stove. Always leave the drain valve open. Do not let the water freeze in a hot tub, as frozen water will damage the fiberglass bath and stove. Therefore, during winter period we advise the following:

  • Use an electric heater with a sand filter (when filled). This combination will enable the water not to freeze;
  • Use an Insulated cover;
  • Disconnect the stove and close the flanges with the 2 plugs, as empty stove helps the Wood-fired Hot Tub to lose temperature.
  • We also advise to order Wood-fired Hot Tubs with polyurethane foam, in order to slow down water cooling.

The warm-up time of a Wooden Hot Tub depends on the volume of water to be heated and the capacity of the heater. Our Wood-fired tubs have the volume from 700 liters to 3 600 liters, and our stoves have at least a capacity of 24-35 KW! This results in a heating up time of 1- 3 hours only to a comfortable body temperature.

Thermo Wood is a wood that has been modified by steam and high heat threatment (> 180 °C). Thanks to this process most of negativeness of the wood is minimized and abolished. This process makes the physical properties of timber better, improves durability and provides an excellent colour. We use a high-quality Thermo Wood from spruce for our Wooden Hot Tubs.

Hot tub made from thermowood is more resistant to rot or mold than untreated wood. This type of wooden Hot Tub is slightly resinous and it retains its shape and size better due to less drying.

Principally, Thermo Wood does not require further maintenance but will get soon a grey colour. If you wish to sustain the original dark color, we suggest using special tar oil. Also, we recommend to prevent wood from drying. Tip! Keep 10-15 cm of water in your Wooden Hot tub and cover it with a good lid in hot summer time. Change this water at least once a week.

“Bubble system” is bottom-up bubbles of the Wood-fired Hot Tub, which gives you a relaxing feeling and pleasant white noise. So, “HydroMassage System” is a powerful water&air flow which is used as a good back massage. We recommend to use them together for strengthening SPA effect.

Salt has little effect on the airmassage system and LED lighting. Only nozzles and plafonds of the LED lamps are in contact with water; salt water affects their surface and can only spoil their appearance. The rest of the components of the airmassage system and LED lighting cannot be damaged by the salt water.

Salt water cannot be used with hydromassage system, filter and electric heater.  Maximum permissible concentration of salt in water is 250 mg / l (ppm).

There are electrolysis water purification systems that use salt for water purification.  The concentration of salt in water during the cleaning does not usually exceed – 250 mg / l, it means that you can use such system in a hot tub with a hydromassage system, filter and electric heater.

If you still want to use salt water with electric heating, we can offer you electric heaters with titanium alloy heating elements for salt water. In this case, permissible water salinity can be up to 35,000 mg / l (ppm).

FAQs ABOUT OUTDOOR BARREL SAUNAs

Outdoor barrel sauna is a cheap and beautiful alternative to building a garden sauna. A barrel sauna is designed in the shape of a barrel. Such a shape is purposefully chosen, as heat circulates down curved walls instead of accumulating at the ceiling in a barrel sauna thus evenly distributing heat over the entire sauna area. As for the speed of heating, it is much higher in a barrel sauna and noticeably exceeds standard rectangular designs. It takes no more than 30 – 40 minutes for the air in a steam room to warm up to comfortable temperatures of a Finnish sauna (+90 C). Depending on the model, barrel sauna can comfortably accommodate from 2 to 6 people. A standard barrel sauna is from 2 to 2.2 m high, so it is comfortable even for a very tall person.

  • The basic concept of a barrel sauna is its simple assembly and easy shipping. The sauna does not require an expert to set it up, once the barrel sauna kit has been received. A barrel sauna can be delivered either fully assembled or as a DIY kit.  If to compare with common saunas, it takes only one or sometimes several days to assemble a barrel sauna.
  • Outdoor barrel saunas do not take much electricity or wood, their fuel consumption is 20% less than in standard saunas.
  • Barrel saunas are quite light which allows their constructing on any hard and flat surfaces.
  • To our mind, the additional benefit of our saunas is their delivery speed.  We will spend about two weeks on realizing your project.
  • Barrel sauna is made of wood that is environmentally friendly. We employ quality and specially selected materials that are renewable and safe. The dynamic round shape of Barrel saunas provides less space loss than their square counterparts, which reduces the load on the sauna heater and the amount of smoke emitted into the air.

The barrel sauna can be delivered to a customer both fully assembled or flat-packed, with detailed assembly instructions and drawings attached. It is packed on a pallet (KIT). Two people can easily assemble this barrel within 1-2 days. This option is usually chosen by customers who do not want to overpay for the transportation because the delivery of an outdoor sauna kit is much cheaper due to its size. Assembled outdoor sauna can be used immediately after its installation on the site.

We produce saunas of two types of timber: spruce and Thermowood.

Thanks to its durability, flexibility and natural beauty spruce is an excellent choice to build saunas. Spruce timber distinguishes by its high aesthetic qualities: a pleasant white color and easy treatment. Barrel saunas made of spruce are cheap, but you have to remember that such barrel saunas are difficult to maintain and they need regular cleaning. We always recommend choosing Thermowood to low the risk of a lot of unpleasant but natural timber changes, such as resin extracting, rotting and cracking.

Thermowood is darker than natural timber, is more resistant to atmospheric effects and rotting untreated wood. We employ only high quality thermowood treated according to the Finnish technique without using any additional substances (only steam and high temperatures from 170 to 230 degrees Celsius). Wood scorching is an environmentally pure process. The heat treatment provides timber with a very long service life and its dimension stability.

Both electric and wood-fired heaters can provide steam room with temperatures around 70-100 ° C. When you choose a heater, it is necessary to consider its technical characteristics, steam room capacity as well as observing secure distances. Both heaters work in the same way: they heat stones, which heat a sauna. Of course, these heaters use different heat sources.

The main advantage of installing a wood-fired sauna is that you do not need an electrician to perform the wiring necessary for its operation, as it is in case of an electric sauna. In addition, the smell of burning wood creates traditional atmosphere in the steam room. The main disadvantage of wood-fired saunas is that it is much more difficult to control the temperature in the sauna, and heating the sauna to 90°C takes more time than in case with the electric heater. Baltresto online shop offers Harvia heaters marked with CE, which is mandatory in all countries of the European Economic Area. Germany has its national requirements (BImSchV), and, therefore, there is a special set for wood heaters to comply with this marking. Thus, you can be sure that you are choosing high quality products.

Electric heaters are the best option for those who want cleaner sauna environment and faster sauna heating than a wood heater can provide. Also, electric heaters are chosen by residents of big cities, where firewood is expensive. It is much easier to manage the temperature in an electric sauna, as you can lower it when necessary. Finally, electric heater is easier to maintain.

  • After installing sauna to its permanent place treat the joints between sauna walls and profiles with silicone.
  • It is important to regulate the hoops in time, as untimely regulation may lead to door sagging or damage of sauna profiles.
  • Treat the external surface of the sauna with some wood preservative or impregnate it with wood antiseptics at least once in two years.
  • In order to protect the ends of the wooden planks from cracking and protect your sauna from fungi, mold or insects, treat all the internal surface with special agents at least once a year.

The main reasons for the mold appearance:

  1. Improperly used/closed ventilation. By all means, keep ventilation holes open! We recommend you to check the ventilation cleanness and condition regularly.
  2. Excessively humid air: for example, frequent rains or the location of your garden close to a water reservoir. Antiseptic impregnation allows protecting a barrel sauna from mold, rotting and maintaining its well-kept look. We recommend treating surfaces with protective impregnation at least once a year.

Read more about the causes of the mold appearance and ways of solving this problem in the article in our blog >>

The acceptable sauna temperature can be considered the one that makes a person sitting on a bench without moving sweat but he/she feels comfortable. There are no right or wrong temperatures in the sauna, as each person has different temperature sensitivity, but it is necessary to take into account their age and state of health.

On average, the temperature in a standard Finnish sauna is about 90 degrees Celsius.

Basic Set Includes:

  • Spruce / Thermowood barrel
  • Benches from Alder
  • Brown Tempered Glass Door
  • Bitumen Shingle Roof
  • Wood-burning (with chimney) or Electric heater
  • Sauna Stones – 20 kg (with stove only)
  • Stainless steel hoops

Our goal is to offer our customers excellent quality at the best price! Baltresto has 12 years of experience and it is one of the largest European manufacturers.

Click here and you can find top reasons that will be decisive in choosing the Outdoor Sauna or Wood-fired Hot Tub Baltresto.

This symbol means the diameter of a barrel sauna. The standard barrel sauna is diameter from 2 to 2.2 m , so it is comfortable even for a very tall person. The key factor for arranging barrel saunas is their length, it is this parameter that determines the arrangement of premises and their capacity.

As a rule, you own a kind of an addition close to the main residential building. Small extensions and sheds do not usually require any construction permits, but you may need to get a commissioning permit or notify the municipality and your neighbors that you are going to construct a sauna. We recommend you to check the information according to your country legal regulations.

Low weight of a barrel sauna allows assembling the construction on any hard and flat surfaces. We recommend setting up a barrel sauna on concrete covering or standard asphalt.