Immerse yourself in the pure bliss of a Finnish sauna with Ryt Saunas. Crafted by a Finnish-Canadian with 3,000 sauna sessions under his belt, Ryt saunas go beyond the ordinary. We built them modular and weatherproof, so you can enjoy the invigorating heat and perfect löyly (steam) year-round, even in the heart of a Canadian winter.
This is a hard question to give an exact answer to. To the Finnish person it is about relaxing, bathing, socializing and heath. It isn’t just one thing, it's many things wrapped up and intertwined together.
Doing sauna is not about achieving some health goal - even though it is good for you. How exactly is it good for you? Well, we aren’t doctors so we don’t want to write out some medical info here that we can get in trouble for so we suggest you do your own research on it. There are many articles and studies on it.
Some of the main benefits are:
100% Yes! Having a pool and sauna is awesome. There are many reasons for this as:
Each one has its pros and cons. You would have to make that decision yourself. It will depend on where you are putting it and who will be using it the most. As for the löyly, both will give you a great experience if they are built right. Most people think that you need a wood burning sauna to get a very hot löyly, especially in colder weather. This is probably true of most electric outdoor saunas on the market, but not ours! Our sauna has been tested in -10 celsius and it worked just as well as when we tested it at +5 celsius and 0 celsius.
When shopping for a sauna, you should definitely be asking how it will work in the extreme cold weather. A good sauna should be built so that it works in every season like ours. You can find on the internet many forums with people asking why their outdoor sauna is not reaching its optimal temperature in the cold weather.
Here are a few items to compare the Pro’s of each heater type.
Electric Pros:
Wood Burning Pros:
Simply because of insulation. Glass has almost no insulating value and it will reduce the löly experience and make it difficult to reach the optimal temperature.
We have been in saunas in South Florida during their winter (so about 15 celsius in the evening) which had a full front glass wall and the sauna was not able to reach optimal temperature and so the löyly experience was less than fantastic.
Also because of privacy: Do you want your neighbours watching you as you sweat it out in the sauna? We doubt it.
For safety: We only use a small glass in the door so you can see each other coming in and out.
For warming it up: Use the glass to check on the temperature as it is warming up so you don’t have to open the door.
If you want a larger glass incorporated into the design feel free to ask about it. We can’t guarantee that the sauna will perform the same, but it probably will as long as the glass is not excessive. So let’s talk. Give us a call. We understand that some of you might have a beautiful landscape to look upon and it would obviously be nice to have a larger glass window.
We have designed the sauna so that we pre-build all the parts and then deliver it in 7 main pieces: base, 4 walls, and 2 pieces for the ceiling/roof.
We then assemble the pieces together and the sauna is finished!
There is no work required on behalf of the customer.
Once all pieces are unpacked and close to your build site, it will take about an hour to put it together.
Also, because it is modular, you would be able to move it to another location in the future, or even sell it in case you no longer need it. All you would have to do is disconnect the main electrical wire that
We can move it for you at a reasonable cost. Just ask us.
Not at this time. We are a new company with a new product and so we want to build each one on site to make sure it is done right the first time.
If you ever move you can definitely take it apart and rebuild it yourself in your new location. We just want to do the initial install ourselves at this point in time.
The heater will need a non GFI 30 amp breaker and 220 volts. 10 gauge wire.This is CSA approved.
The light will require a 15 amp breaker and 120 volts.
The sauna comes with a subpanel to accommodate these needs. The subpanel has 4 slots. 2 slots will already have the 30 amp non GFI breaker installed for the heater and 1 slot will have the 15 amp breaker installed for the light. There will be one leftover slot.
In the ideal scenario, if your main electrical panel has enough capacity, you would install a 40amp breaker (2 slots needed, 1 phase) and you would run one 8 gauge 3 wire from your panel to the sauna sub panel. This would give the sub panel on the sauna enough power to connect the heater and a separate light inside the sauna (light will already be pre-installed. Wire from the sub panel to the heater controls and from the controls to the heater will also be pre-installed).
If you only have enough power to run a 30 amp breaker in your main panel, then there are other options you can consider for powering the interior light. You can run another wire from a constant power source (maybe a power source in your garage…), or you can even use a water resistant camping lantern! Or even run a solar powered light into the sauna.
If you don’t have room on your panel for even a 30 amp breaker, then you might be able to power it off a dryer plug (this might be possible by installing a proper 220 volt toggle switch). But these are just suggestions as we are not electricians. These are things that we have seen legally done in the past. Call a licensed electrician to find out exactly how and if you can power this sauna. And we strongly suggest using a licensed electrician to wire everything up for safety and insurance purposes!
We have a great electrician we can recommend for the GTA area! Just ask. If you send him some pictures of your panel, he would be able to give you some feedback on what is possible.
At the moment we build our saunas with ¾” shiplap Aspen. We offer this because of the cost savings for the customer and it is a great product.
We are able to build the interior from Western Red Cedar, Eastern White Cedar, Clear Pine, Sitka Spruce or even Hemlock. All of these would be an extra cost but we can build it. Feel free to contact us about this. We can also source other profiles like a typical tongue and groove.
The sauna comes with a control unit that has two knobs which are mounted on the outside of the sauna. These are mechanical (not digital) controls which will last a long time. One knob is for the temperature that can be adjusted from 10 celsius to 90 celsius. The other knob is the timing. It can be set from 0-60 minutes.
If you want to use the sauna at 90 celsius then all you have to do is turn the temperature knob all the way to 90 and then turn the timer to 60 minutes. As the sauna is warming up and you are about to get ready to go in, just turn the timer knob again to add some time.
Our controls are on the outside of the sauna. Some sauna heaters have them built into the unit itself. We prefer to have them on the outside for a few reasons:
At the moment we do not offer Wifi enabled controls. This is something we are looking into. We are not sure if the Wifi controls will be able to send a signal strong enough to penetrate through the control enclosure box and then travel from the outside all the way into the home where your devices would pick up the signal.
If the Wifi control unit is strong enough to do this, then our sauna would be well suited for this upgrade because of its external control unit.
No! Most people think that it will be very expensive to use an electric sauna but here is some basic math to help you see what the cost is.
In 2023, in Markham, Ontario, Canada, the average cost of electricity with all the fees and taxes is about $0.17 - 0.25 per kilowatt (kW) of usage for 1 hour. Your electrical price will depend on what time of the day you use it, but this is the typical range in cost. We will use $0.21 as the average.
Our sauna uses a 6 kilowatt heater. In the coldest of days (winter) it takes 1 hour to heat up. So 6 kw x 1 hr = 6kW used x $.21 = $1.26 to heat up the sauna.
Once the sauna is heated up, you will go in and out of the sauna for an average of 30-45 minutes. But let’s assume you use it for 1 hour just to make the math easier. While you are in the sauna, the heater will not be on all the time. The sauna heater works by turning on the heating elements (similar to elements in an oven) for as long as it takes to reach the temperature set on the control panel (usually 90 celsius). Once it reaches that temperature, it turns the elements off and sits dormant. At this point it is using no electricity. Then when the temperature drops a few degrees, it turns the elements back on. So you can see that as you are using the sauna over a 1 hour period, the heater will only be on for some of the time. For our example, we will assume it will be on for 75% of the time.
6 kW per hour x 75% = 4.5 kW used for 1 hour of usage.
4.5 kW x $0.21 = $.95 for 1 hour of usage.
Now we add up the two: heating up time and the usage we get $1.26 + $0.95 = $2.21 total cost to use the sauna. And this example is for using it in the cold winter of -10 celcius and for a full hour of usage. So this is the most it will cost you. In warmer weather it will take less time to heat up and less heat needed to keep it at the optimal temperature each time the door is opened during usage. In the Spring, Fall and Summer your cost could be $1.25-$1.75 for each sauna session. That’s less than a cup of coffee!
If you used the sauna once every three days (365 days in a year / 3 = 122 days) it would cost you 122 days x $1.65 average cost = $201 for the year.
You can see from the cost that if you were thinking of getting a smaller sauna to save on electricity that it won’t save you much. Giving up the option of laying down on the bench or having others join you is not really worth the savings. This is why we have designed ours to be a 4 person sauna.
When you compare this to owning and using a hot tub (especially in colder climates) the cost savings is huge. From our research we found that it is estimated to cost about $60+ on average per month to have a hot tub in Canada. That is $720 per year. Plus you have to factor in your time commitment to maintain the water.
The beauty of a sauna when thinking about the cost, is that it doesn’t cost you anything if you don’t have time to use it. Unlike pools and hot tubs, the sauna requires no ongoing electricity, water or chemicals. It costs nothing when you are not using it.
We have designed it so that 4 medium size adults can sit on the top bench. There would still be room for 2 adults to stand. As we were testing the sauna we had 8 people in it. 5 adults and 3 children.
Maintaining the inside of the sauna is very simple. After each use we recommend that you pour water onto the benches, walls and floor of the frequently used areas and with a gentle brush just give it a light scrub. This is just to wash away the dirt and sweat to keep it looking and feeling clean. If you forgot to scrub it down, it’s really not a big deal. Just do it next time, or even the time after that!
Then every once in a while (this really depends on how many people use it and how often) you can give it a better washing with some mild detergent or hand soap.
We also recommend that you seal the inside of the sauna with a natural wood finish. Sealing it will help keep it looking clean and keep sweat from absorbing into the wood. We use “Conpert. Natural Wood Finish”. We can seal it for you for an additional cost. Sealing it is simple. You just brush the sealant on with a paint brush in the high traffic areas. It is clear and does not darken the wood. We also sell the sealant. We recommend this especially for the Aspen wood that we use as Aspen is very light in colour and so the sealant will help repel dirt.
Since our saunas are built to withstand plenty of water usage, it is super easy to keep them clean. Most saunas on the market do not have draining waterproof floors which would make it very difficult to keep them clean.
We recommend that you leave the heater on for 10-15 minutes after you are done using it which will help dry out the sauna.
Maintaining the exterior of the sauna is even simpler! You really don’t have to do anything. If it gets dusty and dirty, then just wash it down gently with soap. That’s all. Just don’t use dish soap as that can be too strong. Use hand soap, or even Car Wash soap.
I, Mark, will always prefer an outdoor sauna. There is something so relaxing about stepping out into the fresh air after a good sweat in the sauna - especially when the weather is cold outside! I love it when it is below freezing and I come out of the sauna (in my bathing suit since I have neighbours!) and I sit in a patio chair and cool off in the fresh air. You’d be amazed at how long you can sit outside in -10 celsius weather!
Everyone has their own preference and reasons for either indoor or outdoor. It depends on the space you have in your house or in your yard. It depends if you rent your house and can’t build one inside. Our sauna is modular so you can always move it to your next outdoor space when you move.
An indoor sauna has the convenience of usually having a shower close by. But we will be offering an outdoor shower option soon! Or you can use buckets of water to bathe in an outdoor sauna.
We are biased, but we do think you should buy our outdoor sauna!
You sure can! And we hope you do! Our saunas are built for this. This is one of the elements that make it truly authentic. In Finland, bathing in the sauna is normal. They go hand in hand. For generations Finlanders have bathed in the sauna by using buckets to pour water on themselves. This is especially true in the cottage areas where they do not have running water and during the winter months when the exterior water pipes are turned off.
If you are going to bathe in the sauna, we recommend you turn the benches on their side and move them out of the way. This way you have more room to bathe and all the dirty soapy water will not be going onto the benches.
Our saunas are built for the use of lots of water so you don’t have to worry about using too much. The walls and floor are designed for this. This should be one of your main questions you should ask when you are shopping around for a sauna.
We strongly recommend that you look into your city by-laws to find out how to responsibly deal with your soapy water (called gray water).
Our sauna base drains out to one side so you could create a catch basin for your gray water.
Absolutely YES! This is one of the features that make it truly authentic.
How much water should you throw? It all depends on what you like. I, Mark, personally like to throw an equivalent of a cup of water spread out on the rocks every minute or so. I like lots of löyly. You might like less löyly and just enjoy sitting in the dry heat more.
The heating elements are designed for this purpose, but just like most things, they are not designed for abuse. So we don’t recommend dumping a full bucket of water on them. The main idea is to throw small amounts of water that spread out over the rocks, which creates the steam.
2 year warranty that covers:
1 year on the heater (the heater will last many years, but unfortunately there are too many scenarios where users can abuse the heater and so we only offer a 1 year warranty).
LP Smartside wood panels has its own warranty which is a 5/50 year prorated limited warranty. See their site for specific details: https://lpcorp.com/products/siding-trim/build-with-lp-smartside/warranty-information
Exterior Aluminum - 5 year on colour fading and any water penetration
Even if it is past the warranty period and you are having an issue, please give us a call and we can see if we can fix it at no cost, or minimal cost. We have built this sauna to last for 20 years, so we are not expecting any warranty issues, but you never know. So just give us a call.
In the industry, the average warranty is only 1 year on everything. We know we have a superior product and so that is why our warranty is above the competition.
Ryt Saunas: More than just a sauna, it's an invitation to rediscover relaxation, rejuvenation, and a touch of Finnish magic.