Wood stove or electric heater?

Have you asked yourself what type of heat bath do you prefer? A traditional Finnish sauna is in fact very similar to a Russian banya if to compare them with, let's say, hammam, but still there are significant differences.

A sauna is a dry heat bath. The humidity there is kept on a low level, from average of 10% up to 30% the most. Banya is more a steam bath. It has a much higher humidity than the sauna: 40-60% range.

Both options can be achieved through the style of using a stove. In banya stones contained in a closed stove are kept at a much hotter temperature than in the sauna. This, combined with the small openings in the stove and pouring of water on them produces a steam, but does not result in the fog that is typical for hammam. Banyas and saunas operate in the same general range of temperatures: 60 to 105 C, but the higher humidity in the banya leads to a much greater perception of heat. 

To make a banya or a traditional Finnish dry heat bath our of your barrel sauna, you need to choose a right stove. We offer 3 types of stoves, which differ not only in their design but also in their functionality.

Grill´d Aurora. This is a classic stove for a Finnish sauna. It has a simple design and sufficient performance important for quick heating of the sauna.

Grill’d Dubrava. It is a Aurora-based stove with a beautiful design that fits perfectly into the sauna atmosphere.

Grill’d Comet Vega. A special type of stove with internal chambers where low-dispersed steam is produced with a temperature of about 400 ° C. A high dispersion results in better heat tolerance for the body. This stove can be used for both a banya as well as a classic Finnish sauna.

How does Grill’d Comet Vega work and what is it good for? It keeps a constant temperature of about 60-75 degrees and high humidity. Water is poured on the stones all the time, steam is held by the ceiling. Due to the lower temperature and high humidity, the banya is tolerable to a wide range of people, including the elderly, pregnant women and children.

PS: Don’t forget about a whisks. It is used in both Russian banyas and in Finnish saunas. Birching in sauna to improve the blood circulation is an old tradition, that is still widely practiced in Nothern Europe.  Whisks can be made out of wide ragne of trees whose twigs are sufficiently flexible. Whisks made of eucalyptus or oak are believed to have relaxing effect as well as have beneficial effects upon the pores of the skin.