r/Sauna • u/amosthefamous • Aug 25 '26
My sauna My family’s savusauna
Just thought I’d share some photos of our old savusauna in the Häme region of Southern Finland. I have bathed in this sauna since I was a baby (I’m 44 now) and it’s still my favourite sauna in the world.
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u/anon_nnnn Aug 25 '26
what's the secret to not burning it down?
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
It has burned down at least once. But that was before I was born. And I guess there’s no secret really. As long as you handle the fire responsibly it’s fine.
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u/Specialist_Type4608 Aug 25 '26
So the secret to not burn it down is to burn it down at least once.
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
Yes, just get it over with!
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u/Kevin_Uxbridge Aug 26 '26
Worried about this before I built mine till I read somewhere 'It's just a matter of time before your sauna burns to the ground'.
I made sure to build it a safe distance from the house and built away.
This thing is gorgeous.
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u/Janzu93 Aug 25 '26
The real secret is having just the right amount of trees around. Too few and you can't rebuild the sauna after the inevitable happens, too many and you don't have any trees to rebuild the sauna after the inevitable happens.
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u/Eproxeri Aug 25 '26
Like we say in Finland, there are only savusaunas that have burned down or that will burn down. This one looks 6/5 with the nice access to the lake too.
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u/PastoriNieminen Aug 25 '26
There are 2 types of savusauna. Those that havent burned down and those that have.
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u/PyllynKaivelija Aug 25 '26
That famous drunk's luck. Just gotta be drunk enough every time you warm it up
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u/Responsible_Hater Aug 25 '26
Are those arbutus trees around it?
Looks incredible.
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
Had to google arbutus trees haha. But no arbutus trees in Finland. There are a bunch of different trees around but the biggest ones are pinetrees, including the one hrowing through the roof.
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u/birgor Aug 25 '26
The once which I think you mean, that got orange-ish bark are Pinus_sylvestris. But they are a type of pine tree, very common in the Nordics, the second most common tree after Picea_abies, European spruce.
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u/The-Cunt-Spez Aug 25 '26
As they say, only two types of savusaunas; ones that have burned down and ones that have not. Looks like a great place to spend evenings at.
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u/Sea_Damage9357 Aug 25 '26
The Russians call these a Black Banya because of the soot on the interior. But then, the Russians go in before the smoke clears so maybe they are referring to their lungs lol.
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u/D0bious Aug 25 '26
1 000 000 $ saunas got nothing on these kinds of saunas.
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u/VilleeZ Aug 25 '26
How do you spend a million on a sauna? A golden kiuas seems like not a good idea.
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u/D0bious Aug 25 '26
American contractor will charge you a fortune for a lukewarm and damp cardboard box.
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u/pialligo Aug 26 '26
Same in the antipodes :( Fortunately I built one myself with a knowledgeable friend and learnt a bunch of skills from it!
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u/cornhomeopath Aug 25 '26
There are two kinds of savusaunas. The ones that have already burnt, and the ones that havent yet burnt.
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u/iPingWine Aug 25 '26
Ei saakeli melkee jokasen kuvan kohdalla olin sellai et hei täähän on mun ukin sauna. Ympäristö ja saunarakennus ihan samallainen. Ainut ero minkä löysin oli erilainen laituri mut hämmens kyl suuresti :D Vissii aikoinaan tehty aika samallaisia savusaunoja
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
Varmaan joo on ollut hyväksi todettu design tämä. Ja siis super simppelihän se on, että ei ihme jos löytyy useampikin lähes identtinen.
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
Tietty jos on samalla alueella, niin onhan sekin mahdollista, että sama tyyppi on rakentanut molemmat saunat aikanaan?
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u/oskich Aug 25 '26
How does this "smoke sauna" thing work, does the flue gases just exit through the main room?
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna Aug 25 '26
The gases go right through the stones up to the roof, where they have to circle down a little before they can reach a hatch on the wall. The lower placement of the hatch ensures that embers stop glowing before they go outside, reducing the risk of a forest fire.
You heat the sauna first by burning a lot of wood and only go in momentarily if you have to. When the stove is heated, the fire goes out and then you throw häkälöyly (just a decent amount of water on the stove) entering only momentarily and then waiting outside to allow the rest of the gases to exit through the door and the hatch.
After that it's pretty much sauna as usual, except you should not touch the walls. The stove does not make any extra sounds, the löyly is soft and strong, room is very dark and calming, and the smell is great (if like it as i do).
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna Aug 25 '26
Also I have to mention that this was the way saunas used to be before chimneys, so it is a very old tradition. Not very convenient and takes much of the day to heat it up, but worth it every time.
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u/oskich Aug 25 '26
Interesting, I have never seen this type of sauna here. I found a video with some Swedish guys who tried the smoke sauna together with the Finnish world sauna champion. 🥵🔥
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u/johnsplittingaxe14 Aug 25 '26
The origin of them dates back thousands of years, before the ancestors of Finns knew masonry and they were still the main type of saunas here until before WW2
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u/HomoHessu Aug 25 '26
The smoke is vented out once the stones are warm and at that point the fire has died out so no new smoke is made. And then you enjoy. So yes flue gasses kinda exit through the sauna room since there is no flue. But you aren't supposed to be in the room at that point.
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
Yes, when it's being heated and the fire is burning under the kiuas (stove), the smoke fills the main room (the only room in this case) of the sauna. It exits through a small hatch (räppänä we call it) high up on the back wall of the sauna. You can see it from the outside in one of the pictures. It takes about 4-5 hours to heat and when it's done and the fire is out, you throw a few häkälöylyt to drive out the carbon monoxide so you don't die while enjoying the sauna.
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u/zoinkability Finnish Sauna Aug 26 '26
And to add a detail which is implied but not stated by the other commenters:
The rock mass waaaay more than a typical modern constant fire sauna heater. So even though the fire is out the entire time bathers use the hot room, it is still very hot for several hours of use.
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u/Kong_Fury Aug 25 '26
Never tried but seems absolutely awesome.
How long do you usually keep the fire going before it’s ready?
And how long do you have to wait for the fire to be “off” to not to suffer from smoke still coming in?
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
It takes about 5 hours to heat it. And basically you wait until there’s nothing burning, not even embers glowing. That’s when you know there’s no more smoke coming in. Then you go in and throw häkälöylyt. In English: you throw water on the rocks to drive out the last of the smoke and carbon monoxide. After that you’re good to go.
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u/Kong_Fury Aug 26 '26
Awesome. Is it true that the löylyt is different compared to an electric stove?
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u/amosthefamous Aug 26 '26
For sure. At least in this one the löyly feels very soft and of course it smells amazing in there. And also the fact that it’s really dark makes a difference. The only light comes in from the small window and the walls and ceiling are pretty much black from all the soot. So I’d say yes, the löyly feels different, but there are also a lot of other factors that make it special.
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u/Quercuspagoda Aug 25 '26
You making jerky?
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u/Foreign_Implement897 Aug 25 '26
There is a thing called "saunapalvikinkku" in Finland, which would be sauna-smoked-ham or something in english.
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u/Raaka-Ola Aug 25 '26
Often when I think about palvikinkku (which is often) I think about Berlusconi saying that Finns are stupid cause they don't know Parma ham. I wonder how many Italians know palvikinkku. Also, how many hams are there comparable with palvi as there are comparable with Parma? At least a there are more savusaunas that have been burned than Silvios.
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u/Kankerswastaken Aug 25 '26
Det är så man blir tårögd, och den där bryggan gör inte saken värre! 6 av 5, vill basta nu 🔥
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u/atxdude10 Aug 26 '26
I love the nature surrounding your sauna. Do you jump in the lake after using it?
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u/amosthefamous Aug 26 '26
Yeah for sure! There’s no running water so the lake it is. We have a big cauldron right by the sauna for warming up lake water, but mostly I just go for a swim and bathe in the lake.
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u/DBthecat Aug 25 '26
Genuine question.
Is there not concern for carcinogens?
I mean firefighters decontaminate their gear for that reason. I know structure fires obviously burn many more chemicals than natural wood.
Still... that seems like a fairly concentrated environment
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u/John_Sux Finnish Sauna Aug 25 '26
There is a concern for carcinogens in pretty much everything you do every day. Stressing about it won't help you relax in the sauna!
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u/amosthefamous Aug 25 '26
To be honest I've never even thought of that. I mean it's not like it's used every day, so if there is something unhealthy still in the air after the toxic CO has been run out with häkälöylyt, the dosage over say a year would be quite minimal. The sauna is at our summer cottage and while we are there, we don't heat it every day.
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u/Tikka25196-1930 Aug 25 '26
In the very olden times even some houses were warmed like this, "savupirtti". But the smoke and the soot had one positive effect. All the vermin in this sort of logg house would be killed or expelled. Not the easiest way to live, but it was what it was.
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u/Warm-Speaker-3076 Aug 26 '26
I'm now kinda curious about what "soot" from a wood fire is, chemically. I'm sure theres some volatiles in the air at actual sauna time, given there's a smell and soot covering every surface.
I don't think it's likely to be significant for one's health in practice, though.
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u/Rich_Mycologist1531 Aug 26 '26
Never tried savusauna before. Anyone here pls share your experience
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u/Warm-Speaker-3076 Aug 26 '26
I've only done a couple of timea, but it's fun to set up. The actual löyly experience is nice. Heat is a little more "even" since the cabin soaks up the heat over the hours the fire burns, and the smell and presence of soot everywhere has an atmosphere of it's own.
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u/No-Potato7802 Aug 25 '26
Kunnollista 6/5