We use top grade kiln dried Scandinavian spruce. The light colour of the spruce makes the sauna bright and light inside. The grade of spruce we use is ideal for infra-red saunas, it has a long close grain which is very hygienic, resisting any intake of moisture with no strong smells which can aggravate your senses. We have used this high grade of spruce in our normal saunas where the air temperature and moisture is very high over long periods of constant use. The walls then form a harder surface which makes the wood more effective at resisting germs and moisture ingress.

CEDAR – Cedar cabins are usually made out of unsorted cedar. This means the cedar can range from a light colour to almost black making the sauna very dark and depressing to sit in. Also cedar contains Cedrene oil which has a strong smell when heated. It may also aggravate the respiratory system in people with allergies.

REDWOOD PINE – A very soft porous type of pine, this is usually found in DIY stores.

POPLAR – a soft wood normally used in kitchens. It has an open soft round fibre grain which can retain moisture. It also marks very easily, in fact, you can actually push your fingernail into it. It is not really a good material for any type of sauna. Softwood with a high moisture content can encourage germs and fungi growth.

HEMLOCK – this is normally western hemlock from Canada , used for making crates. It is a softwood – a member of the pine family, whose colour can range from light yellow to brown. The wood has a tendency to split under nailing or when heat is applied. Most hemlock saunas are single panels or a hemlock type laminate finish.

A lot of the current models usually shown on the internet have only a single wall cladding. This is difficult to see as they only show you the parts they wish you to see. Some are put together with packing clips. This type of fixing can make the cabin very unstable when you are sitting inside.

It is also very important to keep the heat within an infra-red sauna and a single skinned wall section of as thin as 12mm – 15mm will not do this. These type of infra-red saunas advertise low running costs when in fact they are quite high due to heat loss. Also, when heat is applied in a single skinned infra-red sauna they can move and distort.

Zoki use black light, curved ceramic emitters, which are the best. There are no exceptions to this. All our emitters give out far infra-red rays which are most efficient and health giving.

Because of their shape they give a good spread of far infra-red rays and heat rays with no cold spots. Our emitters will not deteriorate after prolonged use over a number of years – we are the only company to give you a 10 year replacement guarantee on the infra-red elements.

The emitters on the back, in a Heatwave, run at a slightly lower heat output than the front ones. This is so you can lean against the backrests with no discomfort.

A person needs to use an infra-red with a pleasant controlled type of heat, which is not too hot. Allowing you to stay in for a longer period than normal saunas.

These can range from a tube to a bulb in a variety of different names, all trying to impress the buyer – you! In fact - 95% of all infra-red saunas for sale are not far infra-red saunas.

You may have seen advertised carbon fibre infra-red saunas. These have very distinct disadvantages – the emitters are a carbon fibre in a glass tube, with a small/narrow surface area with only limited output (this can create cold spots) and the description on the US patent site quotes “It is appropriate to provide ceramic (this is what our emitters are made out of) between the heating emitters and the glass to prevent burnout”
Questions: How long is the guarantee on carbon fibre emitters, do they deteriorate over time, nowhere on the patent description does it mention far infra-red rays – only heat content.

There are infra-red suppliers who advertise that their infra-red cabins are more powerful and give you the KW rating. This has nothing to do with how powerful or efficient they are at giving you far infra-red treatment.

In fact, they do not understand that the more heat content in an infra-red element, the less far infra-red rays it produces. The balance of heat and the beneficial ray bands are crucial.

Also if the cabin runs too hot, this defeats the object of infra-red bathing which is being able to enjoy your session without it being in a stifling atmosphere. Also they cannot alter the heat content in their emitters and the back ones can run too hot. This prevents you sitting with your back against the backrest.

A Heatwave infra-red sauna is controllable by a burst control system. This is the only control system which will not alter the far infra-red rays. They are very robust and if require servicing a new one can be re-plugged in, in 5 minutes. The dial on the controls shows 1 to 10 settings, (this is because you cannot have a temperature setting in an infra-red sauna). The reason for this is that a far infra-red sauna heats up the person and not the air. Therefore if you have a large person and a small person, they could be two different body temperatures. With a Heatwave infra-red all you have to do is select the number setting you like without worrying about the temperature.

Also on a Heatwave control panel, you have a pre-heat switch. This allows you to leave the heatwave on for long periods with just a background heat – ready for you to step in for your session.

Other infra-red saunas either use digital, variable (Rheostat) or light dimming type controls. These type of controls alter the far infra-red rays and do not give you the correct wave length. If they have got a temperature control this will not be accurate as it cannot detect the temperature of the person in the infra-red.

Also, it is mainly down to cost which type of control panel is used. Digital or rheostat type control panels can be very cheap but are prone to breaking down when used in conjunction with infra-red saunas.

Zoki U.K. manufacture the element housings on the Heatwave out of highly polished solid stainless steel this will reflect 100% of the far infra-red rays and project and bounce them around the sauna ensuring you receive the far infra-red rays from all angles, this is called parobolic technology.

This helps you receive the maximum far infra-red rays. In fact, a heatwave infra-red sauna is up to 50% more efficient at putting the infra-red rays onto your body than any other infra-red on the market.

Also, the highly polished stainless steel reflectors are totally hygienic without deteriorating over a period of time.

The element housing vary a lot. Some use an infra-red emitter housing which is of a dull or flat material, a lot of the element housings vary from each infra-red sauna. Alot of them are using mild steel (which can rust), then powder coating them in a variety of colours which can absorb the infra-red rays.

With a Heatwave sauna you have a choice of doors. You can have a half glazed door with a double glazed sealed unit window or you can have a full glazed toughened safety glass door. Some of our models have a double glazed window in them. You can, if you wish, change the position of the window or add an extra window in any of our infra-red saunas. Please phone us with your requirements.

If an infra-red sauna has a single skin wall section they usually fit a single pane of glass which will not keep the heat in. It is also difficult for them if they are not manufacturers to move the windows etc. Also, some companies show you a curved glass design, it looks great, but it is a bad idea in saunas. When heat is applied, in all types of sauna, when they are new the wood will shrink, but, glass does not shrink, so after a period of usage, there are gaps where the doors and windows do not fit.

Not a problem, because we manufacture all our infra-red saunas to order, we can custom build for you any size or alter our standard sizes.

We can also add any other features you wish
– more windows
– ceiling emitters (for stress, headaches etc.)
– also, infra-red saunas for outdoors.

Please give us a ring with your requirements, we are here to help you, the customer.

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