Hydronic Sauna Heater?

Mesabi Mike

I've got a guy interested in having a sauna built at a remote location. No electricity but propane and fuel oil available. Owner does not want to heat with wood because of burning restrictions, liability and mess. This pretty much eliminates conventional sauna stoves.

I'm thinking it might be possible to use a hot water heater fitted with an expansion tank and gravity feeding it to a cast iron iron radiator or a convection cabinet fitted with a basket for rocks. I figure low pressure should be able to deliver 220 degree water and generate some steam when the rocks are splashed.

He does have some solar panels keeping 12 volt batteries charged, so I suppose I could rig a circulating pump if necessary.

Anybody have any ideas or comments??

mdshunk

Yeah, my comment is that you cannot deliver 220 degree hot water safely. No way, no how. You'll need to set up a steam boiler, and not a hot water furnace. This will work out better for your application anyhow. No electricity required, since steam will rocket its own way around the loop without a circulator. Select a small boiler with a millivolt (thermopile) pilot system.