Far Infrared Saunas

The most commonly asked question is in regards to the emitters. There are several ways to produce infrared in a sauna. The most common way is through a ceramic emitter. There are a few different ceramic emitters out there that produce far infrared. All ceramic emitters give you the ability to zone heat ( treat specific areas more than others) If anybody tells you there emitters produce exactly 9.4 microns, they are lying. There is no such thing as an emitter that produces exactly that. It is not physically possible, heaters run through cycles and as such will produce in a frequency range. If there was an emitter that produced exactly 9.4 microns, all manufacturers would use the same emitter. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each emitter.

Fusion Duo-Walled ® Ceramic Emitters- A excellent emitter constructed with two walls. The inside portion of ceramic has a current run through it and is used to evenly dissipate heat to the outer wall that actually radiates out the heat. The inside wall does the same job in distributing heat evenly that filling the emitter with sand does. These type of emitters can be run for hours and you can still place your hand on top of them and not burn yourself, they operate at a low temperature. It has a surgical stainless steel (#304) shield behind it to reflect any energy from the back of the emitter forward. It produces over 90% of its energy in far infrared form, over 70% of that is in the 7-10 micron range with a large portion targeted at the 9.4 micron.

These are the only ceramic emitters that Far North Saunas uses. Be careful of other companies that tell you their emitters are the same as ours. Ask for a spectral analysis of their emitters…..they won’t be able to provide you one.

Sand Filled Pure Ceramic Emitters- A good quality emitter, that has the sand ( zirconia crystals ) inside the tube. This helps to evenly distribute heat throughout the emitter. It will have a stainless steel or polished aluminum shield behind it to reflect any energy from the back of the emitter forward. It produces over 90% of its energy in far infrared form, the majority of it being in the 5-7 micron range with a portion in the 8-10 micron range. The only drawback to this style is that it has a tendency to be a little fragile. These were one of the first emitters made, they are good but we get a lot of companies claiming that books refer to their emitters in their writing…..10 years ago this was one of the only emitters available so any research done then would refer to sand filled emitters. Be careful of companies telling you that crystals will make the infrared more in tune to your body. There are no scientific references to this at all. We worked one home show where a lady selling “Ceramic with Crystals” told one lady that it would help her communicate with her dead father. Ask for a spectral analysis of their emitters….they won’t be able to provide you with one.

Concave Ceramic Emitters- A good quality emitter that is shaped to direct it’s energy forward. These will sometimes have a stainless steel or polished aluminum shield behind it to reflect any energy from the back of the emitter forward. Produces over 90% of it’s energy in infrared form, the majority of it in the 4-7 Micron range, there is a very small portion in the 7-10 range.

Note* It is amusing that companies selling these emitters claim that they only produce 9.4 microns and they post the research on their site that clearly shows the emitters producing the majority in the 4-7 micron range. We have used these emitters before and they were good, but we have found our clients report better results using the Fusion Duo-Walled® emitters . Some of the companies using these have tried to mislead their consumers into thinking that because they use double the emitters in the saunas that they are better. If you look at the emitters, they are only 12” high as opposed to 23” high and only half of the emitter (front) side is producing infrared. You need twice as many to do the same job. Also when you spread the smaller wattage over a smaller area, you get the same results as a larger wattage over a larger area. There are two major manufacturers of these emitters and the spectral analysis is direct from the manufacturer, not false advertising from a dealer.

Single Walled Construction Ceramic emitter- One of the only emitters we will completely warn you away from. They are very poor quality. Usually white in color. Has only one wall of ceramic with a current run through it. Operates at a very hot temperature. Is too warm to sit fully back up against and can burn you if it has been running for a while and you put your hand on it. Because the temperatures are so hot, they produce more in the near infrared range. DO NOT let anybody tell you that it is normal that you must sit 6” away from the emitter. This is a sure sign of a poor quality emitter. Usually found in very cheap discount saunas.

Incoloy (steel) Rods- Produces only 40-50% in the far infrared spectrum. One of the first emitters ever used in the saunas. We know of no company that still uses them.

Ceramic coated Incoloy (steel) Rods- An emitter that combines ceramic with incoloy rods. Almost every manufacturer has gone away from using incoloy in there emitters. There is one company that we know of the still uses it. They say it’s great, but with every other manufacturer avoiding it, we think that speaks for itself.

Carbon Fibre is the newest technology to come in to the infrared sauna industry. It produces very good far infrared levels. Over 70% of the infrared is produced in the 7-10 range with 80% being in the far infrared spectrum

These emitters produce almost at an identical level as the Fusion Duo Walled emitters with a slight edge going to the ceramic emitter as they have 90%+ emissions in the far infrared spectrum. The problems with carbon fibre come not in the amount of far infrared they produce, but the physics of how they do it. ( link to animation page) The companies selling carbon fibre are failing to let their customers know some of the drawbacks of it. Carbon fibre costs exactly the same to produce as a ceramic sauna, yet the companies selling it are trying to charge $500-$1000 more because it is new. The carbon fibre marketers try to have people believe the there are hot spots on ceramic emitters and in the saunas, but as long as you are not purchasing a single walled construction emitter or an incoloy rod sauna, the hot spots have been eliminated.

Another common question we get is in regards to the lumber. Far North Saunas only uses Grade A Canadian Hemlock or Western Red Canadian Cedar. Grade A is different than Grades B and C as it is clear without knots and is the finest quality you can purchase. The companies that are only selling hemlock saunas have been putting down cedar saunas and the companies that only sell cedar have been putting down hemlock saunas. It is a silly argument because both woods are very good for use in an infrared sauna. We have seen websites claiming the health problems associated with cedar. When you actually read the article that is their proof on this, there are several problems with it.

We do not believe in using scare tactics to convince people to purchase our saunas.

We have several naturopaths that use our saunas and have no problems with cedar. There is 1% of our population that is chemically sensitive. These people would have problems with perfumes, chemicals and things such as cedar. For the remaining 99% of the population it would be a preference.

Cedar- Is a dimensionally stable wood with anti- fungal and anti- bacterial properties. It is a rich dark reddish color with a very pleasing aroma.

Hemlock- Is a dimensionally stable wood. It is also a hard wood and stands up very well to dents, nicks and scratches. More blond in color then cedar and is considered non-aromatic and hypo-allergenic.

Both of these woods work very well in an infrared sauna.

The other questions that comes into play with lumber is the thickness of it.
Far North Saunas uses only 8mm ( 5/16” ) thick lumber kiln dried down to 6-8% moisture content. Some websites claim that they are the only company that uses 7 mm lumber, and that all of the other companies use 3-5mm lumber. There is a few companies that do use 3-5 mm lumber which is far too thin to resist warping and breakage. When you compare our two person sauna which weighs 371lbs to their two person sauna with the same dimensions that weighs 267lbs; there is a huge difference in quality of these units.

We have some clients that ask us about the accessories provided with the saunas. Far North Saunas prefers to provide you with features in your saunas that add to the overall performance, not gimmicky products that distract your attention from the quality of the sauna. Far North Saunas come standard with only high end features, we do not require you upgrade to a more expensive unit to get those features.

We will only use frameless glass doors in our saunas. They are made from 10mm bronzed tempered glass with chrome hinges of the highest quality. Most saunas come standard with a wooden door with a 5 mm glass door insert inside of it. We use the frameless glass doors for three reasons.

In the past we have built saunas with a wooden door and the glass insert, but we found they had a tendency to warp over time and then you get a door that will not close properly or at all. Solid glass doors ensure an exact fit and finish all the time.

It is a much classier looking sauna when done with a solid glass door. When you open it, you can easily feel the quality and craftsmanship.

With the glass door you have over double the window space inside the sauna making for a more relaxing session especially to those who are claustrophobic or just enjoy being able to look out.

State of the Art Stereo System-

Your sound system includes a CD player, with Radio. It also has an input for MP3 and IPOD connections. The stereo comes with a remote control to be able to be controlled from inside or outside of the sauna.

Full Spectrum LED Light Therapy ( Chromatherapy)

Colour Therapy. The lights inside the sauna not only look great, but there are important medical reasons for selecting these specific colours. Our body contains seven major energy centers called chakras, and these are situated along the length of the spinal column. Positively stimulating any chakra yields a plethora of specific health benefits.

Red for Chakra 1 - Power, Courage & Sexuality.

Yellow for Chakra 2- Mental Clarity & Memory Power.

Green for Chakra 3- Prosperity, Balance & Healing.

Blue for Chakra 4 - Leadership & Organization.

White- for Chakra 5 - Inspiration & Spirituality.

Each sauna comes equipped with a portable contoured back rest. Shaped to match the lumbar support in your back, they make sitting sideways in the saunas very comfortable. You can place this sideways in the sauna so that you can sit with your feet up on the bench and feel great, but it also protects the tongue and groove lumber from staining.

Our controllers allow you to change heat, time and light settings from inside or outside the sauna.

Far North Saunas come equipped with venting in the lower and upper portions to allow hot air to naturally rise out to be replaced with fresh air. This allows any toxins exhaled by the body to be expelled from the sauna.

Far North Saunas does not include or recommend Oxygen Ionizers in any of their Saunas for the following reasons.

There have been some companies that have been making outrageous claims that all of the saunas that are not manufactured in North America are fumigated for Canadian Law. This is completely untrue and it goes to show how desperate some of these companies are becoming that they will out right lie to there customers to get a sale. It is true that raw lumber such as pallets or crates are fumigated for bugs before entry into Canada. Infrared saunas are a finished wood product that has usually already gone through kiln drying and is packaged in a cardboard box, there is no fumigation required by any law. Most of the furniture that comes into Canada is manufactured in China, furniture is not fumigated either as it is a finished wood product. You will notice that several of the companies that were making these claims have now taken it off of there websites due to the slander laws in Canada.

Fact vs. Fiction: