The Finnish Sauna Explained. Part 1: The Fundamentals

The sauna is such an important part of the sailing and boating experience in Finland, that I decided to do a small series of videos to help you enjoy the sauna when you come over.
The first video is a slightly engineering/nerdish take on the sauna, what it is and a little bit of sauna development history. Enjoy!

[@alexateodor]

Beautiful, I loved the explanations, very nice listening to your video.

[@amead04]

Thanks for the excellent info. Looking forward to the next parts.

[@doeeyes2]

I have a Sauna in my condo apartment buikding here in Toronto. Just lovely.

[@mengyinlin5873]

Really enjoyed this video, focus on the facts (no unnecessary music or moving emojis). Heading to Helsinki in summer, hopefully can find a traditional Finnish sauna in July.

[@SailInFinland]

Thanks for the nice words. If you come to Helsinki without a boat, may I recommend that you visit Kuusijärvi in Vantaa, they have perhaps the best saunaexperience in the capital region with a real savusauna + "regular" ones. Just Google Kuusijärvi for more info.

[@waynesmith3767]

It’s great there🇫🇮

[@michaelfarmer537]

That was a wonderful video! I’m researching sauna construction so I can properly build one. This was my second video on the subject. And was absolutely perfect for helping me understand the concept and process behind this amazing piece of Finnish heritage. ❤🇫🇮

[@SailInFinland]

Really glad you liked it, good luck with your construction project!

[@khatack]

If you understand Sauna and you understand the Forest and the Lakes, then you understand the very Soul of Finland.

[@rudolfgulas2723]

Very interesting and educative! Well done intro.

[@Riddlemewalker]

This is the real deal and great background. Thank you!

[@SailInFinland]

Glad you liked it

[@Thestripper1]

I have tried a savu sauna and I have to say that no other sauna is as good. Skin felt very soft and clean after sitting in the sauna where small flakes of white coal was snowing down after putting water on the stones. If you ever get a chance to try it then definitely do!

[@SailInFinland]

You definitely qualify as a sauna connoisseur, thanks for your feedback!

[@damianmaynard2592]

Thanks my man that was a great explanation and you did not even break a sweat in that sauna. 🥵. Never new about the "savusauna ", quite a fire risk hey, in the wrong hands?

[@SailInFinland]

Thanks, if you want to see sweat, check out the second video in the series 😅. And indeed, the savusaunas are known to burn quite often, that is why they typically are placed a bit away from other buildings.

[@Coocoocachoo809]

Nice!

[@crystalclearcompass]

Wonderful informative video. Can you tell me more about that specific stove you have with the water jacket and spigot? Thanks!

[@SailInFinland]

Hi, is there something specific that you would like to know? This is a fairly common setup for sauna stoves to be used in places without warm water on tap. There are a couple of basic designs for this. One is the water tank setup in the video: it's not really a "jacket" (in that it does not surround the stove) but a tank of about 20 liters (5 gallons if you are in the US) on the side of the stove. Many stoves can be bought in one of 3 configs, a narrow model without the water tank and the wider models with the tank either to the left of right of the stove proper. In the video, there is cold water on tap in the sauna, so you fill the tank with cold water and then the water heats up as you heat up the sauna. The other typical design is that there is more like a jacket type tank that is put around the (metal) smoke stack, typically of the same size. Both work with the same principle, the water is being heated by the (excess) heat from the fire. So while the stove-attached tank is something you get when you choose your stove, the tank going around the smoke stack can be installed also later. The water gets quite hot and you get about 6 vats of "wash-warm" water from one tank, enough for about 3 people to wash. If you have more people, then you need to top the tank up as you go. There is an other, "heavy duty" setup for hot water that you can find in some saunas. This is a separate iron cauldron or pot of - say -100-200 liters that has its own fireplace. You then heat the water separately. Typically this is used in environments where there is a separate room for washing (so a 3 room setup - change, wash and "löyly") and you expect there will be more people using the sauna. One other benefit of this setup is that the pot keep the water warm so you have warm water for a morning wash or doing the dishes. In the small tanks, the water gets cold over-night.

[@crystalclearcompass]

@SailInFinland thank you for the very detailed response. What brand is the one you have? I've seen it a few times on the sauna videos I've been watching lately, but I am having trouble finding it online. Thanks again!

[@SailInFinland]

@crystalclearcompass it's an older Helo model. This is a link to a local hardware store for stoves with water tanks: www.taloon.com/puukiukaat-vesisailiolla

[@danobenchain4761]

awesome video. We hope to build one for our back patio. Now I know how to pronounce "Sauna". Thanks

[@SailInFinland]

Good luck with the project! Having the sauna as a separate building has many benefits so sound good!

[@jonnybkuehl878]

Good information here. Is there any particular wood that works best for the sauna?

[@SailInFinland]

In general birch, pine and fir are considered "quality" wood. Personally I think that any wood that is chopped (ie not small branches, sticks etc) and well dried after felling will work very well. If the wood feels very light and "papery" then it has probably been outside rotting for too long and will not work very well.

[@tomvidqvist4768]

Kiitos, kerrankin sitä oikeata tietoa.

[@SailInFinland]

Kiitos, todella mukavaa jos pidit asiallisena.

[@samil5601]

Is that Benny from ABBA?

[@SailInFinland]

And he wasn't cheap 😜

[@NPow94]

What’s your thoughts on wood fired stoves vs electric?

[@SailInFinland]

@@NPow94 This is an eternal debate here in Finland 🤔. So let's define our goal, to me the goal is a nice sauna experience. The stove is just a (smallish?) part of the overall experience. Sauna design, location, facilities etc are all important as well. So it's possible to have a bad sauna (experience) with a wood-heated stove and a great experience with an electric. Both have their use. But if there is a well-designed sauna, by the water, with a nice view and nature all around, then I would definitely want a wood-heated stovev in *that* sauna. But for the sauna where I play badminton, I would definitely want to have an electric stove for reliable, instant löyly. So both have great uses and can offer a great sauna experience in the right setting. But for ultimate experience, nothing beats the wooden sauna when everything else around are contributing as well.

[@NPow94]

@@SailInFinland incredible response. Thank you for this. As an American who is looking to build their own backyard sauna, I will take your words to heart. Thank you!

[@SailInFinland]

@@NPow94 idea if you don't have a pool, a lot of people here add an outdoor barrel/tub to complement the sauna.

[@NPow94]

@@SailInFinland I am currently looking to move my family to a new home and a pool is a top priority! The backyard will be a place we spend the majority of our time when the weather is and I have pictured a small cabin style sauna to be built close by. I think it would be best to have a wood stove for the home sauna. I wonder if it is common in Finland for some to have both an outdoor and an indoor sauna at their homes?

[@SailInFinland]

@@NPow94 sounds great. 2 saunas are not unheard off, the indoor would typically be electric and mainly used in the winter (so you don't have to shovel show before heating it ☃️) and the outdoor would be for summer use.

[@masonbiker01]

What time of day do people sauna? Has it changed historically?

[@SailInFinland]

Hi, really good question. I don't have absolute facts, but a few observations. Traditionally, because the emphasis has been on cleaning, people have enjoyed the sauna when back from (dirty) work. There is a rather rowdy Finnish song describing a workers Saturday (this when we still had a 6-day working week) "viideltä saunaan ja kuudelta putkaan" meaning "going to sauna at 5 pm and being arrested - for drunken behavior 🙂- at 6pm." Also for instance in our block of flats, there is a communal sauna that you can book and there are times available Thursday thru Saturday 6pm - 10pm if I remember correctly. But ofcourse this is just part of the story. An other important sauna tradition are saunas connected with various festivities such as "christmas-sauna", "midsummer-sauna" etc. These would have been more mid day events, so that you then had time for the actual party/festivity afterwards. And if you will tour the marinas (or Finnish hotels), you will find perhaps a more modern concept, that of "morning-sauna" (aamusauna in Finnish) which could be perhaps 8am - 10am:ish. Overall this still get's back to my main tenet in the video: the sauna is about enjoying oneself, so whatever floats you (sauna)boat, that's what you should do.

[@companyjoe]

@@SailInFinland Good answer. I'd like to add a short reply: When it's convenient. Ideally you'd have the rest of the evening for to just relax.

[@SailInFinland]

@@companyjoe indeed, good point!

[@pvahanen]

I don't understand how people clean themselves otherwise.

[@pvahanen]

I don't understand how people clean themselves otherwise.

[@SailInFinland]

Nowadays there are perhaps alternatives but in the olden days not so much.

[@nemesis1970]

kerta is better