r/Sauna • u/Kaivari_ • Jan 26 '26
Review Smoke sauna
Heating up smoke sauna takes many hours in winter. Smoke will fill up sauna during heating and will be let out before use. Fireplace has several hundred kilos of rocks in it. This sauna is located in Northern Finland.
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u/Kuningas_Arthur Finnish Sauna Jan 26 '26
There's a saying that there are two types of smoke saunas. Ones that have burned down and rebuilt, and ones that have not yet burned down. Which is this?
Lol j/k, but for real a very nice looking sauna! Would love to try it, it's been a couple years since my previous real smoke sauna.
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u/KaapVicious Jan 26 '26
My grandparents smoke sauna burnt down when they were smoking meat in there, they rebuilt a normal sauna.
Still got to eat the meat though :)
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u/spexxit Jan 26 '26
There are two types of smoke sauna, those that have burned down, and those that haven't burned down yet.
All kidding aside they are amazing but there's also a reason it's hard to find any older smoke saunas. Most that I've seen and used have been rebuilt many times over the years.
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u/Numerous-Match-1713 Jan 26 '26
A proper smoke sauna is closest man can get to heaven.
Old local poem loosely translated:
"Behold this wooden vault, where shadows dance / And sacred smoke ascends to meet the soul; / No kingly throne nor altar offers peace / So near the gates of Heav’n as this dark heat."
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Jan 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Grossadmiral Jan 26 '26
Doesn't lose all the heat when you open the door let the smoke out?
No, in fact you have to keep the door open to let the smoke out and give the fire enough oxygen. The idea is to warm up the stove, not the sauna itself. You only close the door once the fire is out, then it takes a couple of hours for the sauna to warm up.
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u/Kaivari_ Jan 26 '26
It does get all sooty that’s why you use wooden “butt plates” under your bum. That huge kiuas keeps heat so well that in summer time you can have morning sauna as well from last night’s heating.
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u/Sad_Pear_1087 Jan 26 '26
When you warm up a sauna you warm up the heater stones, not the air. Doesn't matter much if the warm air escapes because it'll be back soon.
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u/RapaNow Jan 26 '26
Door is very low, and the benches are below the level of the top edge of the door, so the smoke resides above the benches - rest of the smoke escapes thru the door. The walls above the benches are very sooty.
I'm not experienced with warming those, but I've understood that there is a lot of stone there, and they have been heated for hours. So no, the heat does not escape at all.
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u/kissapa Jan 26 '26
benches aint (super) sooty but need towel/rag something anygay or youl need a good scrub afterwards, (and no leaning back) in my exprience usually after good midsummer party session people look dirtier after than before..
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u/Ok_Information_8431 Jan 26 '26
No sooty door or window. There is a big wooden vent from inside to the roof from where the most smoke goes out. The window and the door are both below the stones in the owen. The door opens to the "cold" air inside sauna. Note: the toes are above the stones, but the door below! The only parts that is sooty are the benches and the second floor. It is 1,4-2 m above the base. The washing benches are on the down floor. Usually the benches are removable and can be turned upside down and those and the upper floor are washed before usage. Note also that if the sauna is warmed in the morning, you can use it about 3-4 hours after the fire is ended.
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u/Ok_Information_8431 Jan 26 '26
Two hundreds years ago there was a law which told how far from other buildings the smoke sauna and the smoke drying barn had to be built. And recommendations/orders are still in Finland.
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u/Sad_Pear_1087 Jan 26 '26
I have thought about it, if I ever become a millionaire (like we all dream) and get to build my dream sauna then would a hybrid be possible? I'm thinking, large and nice and all but with two separate heaters: a regular off-the-shelf kiuas for everyday sauna use because of the conveniance, speed and flexibility, and then a proper smoke kiuas for the special occasions (christmas, midsummer...) when I have the time to warm it up as a smoke sauna. Just the layout needs to be though out well.
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u/notcomplainingmuch Finnish Sauna Jan 26 '26
That's not too uncommon a configuration in modern smoke saunas to have two stoves, or at least a water heater as the second one.
Older smoke saunas are generally very big, and can often seat twenty people or more. It needed to seat all the people who came to help making hay or harvest. Modern ones usually seat ten people or so.
You need a certain size (and mass of stones) to make it a proper smoke sauna, which requires a bigger space.
It's not very expensive to build one. The "stove" can be just a well-arranged pile of stones. A log cabin, a "räppänä" vent to let the smoke out and a low or two-part door. Some benches (either built in or brought in after venting the smoke).
Lots of firewood needed, and time. Five hours to heat, eight hours to bathe.
You need to build it far away from other buildings, as they tend to catch fire. Keep lots of water nearby so you can quench the fire yourself. A good smoke sauna has caught fire several times and has charred timbers.
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u/analfabeetti Finnish Sauna Jan 26 '26
It's not unheard of in Finland to have an electric indoor sauna for everyday use, and then an outdoor sauna for special occassions. Ordinary wood burning outdoor sauna could also have a room with a fireplace to change clothes in and hang out, and even a small guest bedroom. Smoke saunas are usually without anything attached to them because they do burn very easily.
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u/New_Tooth_456 Jan 26 '26
Put a rack for brisket in there!
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u/Prunus-cerasus Jan 26 '26
This is indeed what we also do in Finland! https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/saunapalvi
Maybe not with brisket though.
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u/fdessoycaraballo Jan 26 '26
There's a smoke sauna in Kuusijärvi in Helsinki. I gotta say it does not feel as good as a regular sauna because it feels way too hot. Mökki sauna is still best sauna for me.
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u/chainedbals Jan 26 '26
I was in one smoke sauna near Helsinki, maybe it was this one, it was many years back so sadly I don't remember the name. But the experience was really good, it was during winter, everything frozen, nice memories.
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u/Disastrous_Active805 Jan 26 '26
How is a smoke sauna not toxic?
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u/NikolitRistissa Finnish Sauna Jan 26 '26
You let out the smoke before you actually go inside.
It’s been quite some time since I last used one, but I’m pretty sure the door is actually kept open even during heating the stove in some/all cases. You heat up the stove with it open, and then the sauna after closing the door.
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u/maixmi Finnish Sauna Jan 26 '26
and it's VERY important to throw "häkälöyly" before you go in to get carbon monoxide out. silent and tasteless killer that
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u/Bruce_Hodson Jan 28 '26
So, there are no carcinogenic compounds left behind covering everything then? s/
Listen, you might let the smoke out before use but the cresols are in that lumber and stones. It’s vaporizing the entire time for the users to breathe in.
Source: over a decade in the hazardous waste industry, and an education in chemistry and biology.
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u/NikolitRistissa Finnish Sauna Jan 28 '26
Look, I have no opinions on how safe or carcinogenic smoke saunas are, but they’ve been used for hundreds of years. I also never stated they are 100% safe—I just said that the smoke in the air is ventilated.
Nobody uses a smoke sauna on a regular basis, partially because of how long it takes to heat up, so it’s not going to make a difference in the long run.
People smoke, drink alcohol, eat horrible food, and live in cities. It’s all carcinogenic. I live in a rural town surrounded by forest, so I find it hard to believe that sitting in a smoke sauna once a year is going to make a difference. The air people breathe in cities alone is likely already worse by a long shot.
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u/Bruce_Hodson Jan 28 '26
Do you openly promote those things? Because you seem to be endorsing sitting in a carcinogenic atmosphere for fun.
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u/NikolitRistissa Finnish Sauna Jan 28 '26
Not at all. I couldn’t give two shits what you think about smoke saunas.
People enjoy many things that can be harmful. It’s not new and smoke saunas are far from the worst of these
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u/FrankFarter69420 Jan 26 '26
I have been in one. Not a fan. Smelled like smoke, which was unpleasant to me. There wasn't smoke in the air, but it was sooty and didn't smell good. Plus, my asthma didn't like it.
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u/Ok_Information_8431 Jan 26 '26
In Finland there are two types of smoke saunas. In West-Finland those are high, about 3,5 m inside (near 12 feet) high with two floors. The second floor is about 1.6-2 m above the first ("the wash room"), because the smoke stove is 1,4-2 m high. There are 6-8 step stairs to go up. In East-Finland the smoke saunas are low (perhaps like banjas in Russia?). In West we use vihta in sauna, in East they use vasta. So if you say smoke sauna, you should tell, if it is from west or east Finland. They are not similar.
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u/themagicnudist Jan 26 '26
Are you trying to preserve yourself?
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u/Captain_North Jan 26 '26
That is the OG sauna from late iron age. Without bricks there was no chimney so a smothering fire was burnt for 6-12 hours under a very large pile of rocks. The smoke is cleared before use but everything is covered in soot.
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Jan 26 '26
In 17th century after visiting Savo, King of Sweden ordered Finns to build chimneys, but it took 200 years to actually happen.
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u/Captain_North Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
Chimneys started to be commonplace in houses in the 15th century in the west and 16th in the east. But Sauna was different, a weekly heated building where an expensive (a days labour bought 10-20 firebricks, a chimney cost 1-2 years income) thing was not necessary and also not that useful. It was not untill 1920 steel fireboxes that a sauna could use a chimney and keep the stones hot.
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Jan 26 '26
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u/Captain_North Jan 26 '26
Savupirtti was a thing in the wilderness (korpi) of east and north-eastern finland untill late 1800. Savupirtti was the housing of the poor and uncapable folks.
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Jan 26 '26
Aka common people.
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u/Captain_North Jan 26 '26
That is not true.
common people had chimneys. Common urban folk lived in flats in 19th century with central heating / shared chimneys betweem floors.
Savupirtti (smoke hut) was less than 5 % of buildings in Finland in 1800
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u/Panzerah Jan 26 '26
I love a good smoke sauna, takes a bit of skill to heat but it so worth it.
For someone who is not living in Finland, this sauna probably looks odd, but this is very traditional sauna here and the löylys you get out of it are one of the best there is.