OT Finnish sauna?

So regarding that old farmhouse we bought. There is the foundation of an old barn just west of the house. Still standing is the milk house from the years these folks ran a dairy operation. Holsteins from the looks of things...they painted pictures on the foundation. I bought all the land but the first fella to come along bought the house and a few acres and this fella was a Finn. He ran block down the middle of the milk house and installed a wood burner in the new wall. The remainder of the inside he covered in some sweet smelling planks. One side of the block wall has a mini-fridge and hooks for towels. The other side has benches and the back of the wood burner is inside there. On top of the wood burner is a rack full of smooth stones. Next to it is a big container of filtered water from the hydrant. I did some research...there is $5-10K into this sauna which turns out to be 8'x10' for the actual sauna and the same for the outside room with the mini-fridge. It's pretty nice.

Don't want to sound obtuse but, any tricks to operating this thing? You build a fire in the wood box. Piping runs from the water container into the rocks and back out again...I assume to heat the water. Then you ladle some water on the rocks? There is a ladle in there also. I just don't want to (A) get hurt or (B) burn down the milk house. Any Finns or people with wood burning sauna experience here?

Built a sauna myself several years ago after enjoying the one at college and have spent many relaxing nights in it. Figure a on lighting the fire a couple hours ahead to get everything up to temperature. Not sure what the tubing into the rocks is--it's not present in a typical sauna, but maybe he thought it would cool the rocks less if he preheated the water rather than splashing it on cold. Usually, you just pour water on a bit at a time until the steam gets to the level you want, and most people like some cool water in the sauna anyway, as it's very refreshing to splash on yourself if you get overheated. The link below goes into tremendous detail on sweat baths in general and saunas in particular--it's a full online book and a wonderful resource. I've linked a page on taking a "typical" sauna, though there's as many ways to enjoy one as there are people who enjoy them, as sweat baths have been a part of many cultures since prehistoric times, and many different traditions have evolved. My usual method is a sweat, then a warm shower (keeps the pores open and gets rid of dirt that's flushed out by the sweating), followed by another, shorter sweat and a cool shower to close the pores, but again, there's no "right" way--it's all in what you enjoy.
Using the Sauna

When I was a kid my best friend's father (a Finn) had a cottage with a similar arrangement. Not much to it really, just get the rocks hot enough to make steam when the water is tossed on them. Don't throw so much that the water just runs off, you want steam. Cold water raises the risk of the rocks cracking so use the hot water. To do it right you need to occasionally run out of the sauna and dive into a snowbank naked.

I'm 1/2 Finn and grew up with saunas. Couple hours ahead of when you want to take a sauna, light the firewood. The tubing running through the rocks is a crude water heater, does it have a tank it runs into? There is no way to get cleaner than a sauna, and since they are real relaxing, it's nice to take one later on in the evening before bed. Since I don't live very far from you, I would be happy to come over and show you how the whole thing works.

We were in the sauna every evening for two weeks when we visited Finland. The sauna has stayed popular in Finland. We lived with our hosts in their home but we went a few miles out of town to sauna in their sauna on the edge of a lake. Theirs was older than the hills but it didn't have any fancy piping into rocks. The building was fairly small with a dressing room with a large window looking over the lake. The sauna room was small with room for four at the most and had a strong wood smoke smell. He would fire up the wood sauna stove and get it roaring, then we would dip water out of the lake for bathing afterward. There were pipes coming out of the sauna stove that went to a water cabinet on the wall so we would have hot water to pour over ourselves after we lathered up after the sauna session. The room was all wood with an elevated wood bench to sit on while we sat there and cooked our bodies and threw water on the rocks in the pan on top of the stove. Normal routine was to sit there and cook for maybe 15 or 20 minutes or until we couldn't stand it anymore, then we go outside and jump in the 45 Degree lake. It takes your breath away for a second or two, then you are good to swim around for ten minutes or so or until you are good and cold. Then it's back into the sauna to cook again followed by another jump in the lake. After that we go back into the sauna, lather up and pour the water we had dipped out of the lake over our bodies. Dry off, go back into the dressing room, Oh, did I tell you we are buck naked during all of this? After dressing there is a hot brat that has been cooking on the stove waiting for us and a can of beer to wash it down. After all this I was more relaxed than I had been for years, literally. You feel so good you don't have a care in the world. In the winter they really do keep a hole in the ice so they can jump in the lake after the sauna. They said the hole doesn't freeze over very thick if they open it every day. If I remember right their family's personal record for staying in the water in the ice was 90 seconds held by her late father. They have a picture of her father casually laying on the ice outside the sauna house, sans clothing of course

We were also in a sauna at their friend's summer house up in the hills and trees. That sauna was built into the end of an old building and was very similar to the one on the lake only there was a chimney problem and it was smoky as all get out. The residents knew only a little English but they told me the sauna was built "where the cow used to stand". After we did the sauna There was a shower with with a hand held with really good flow to wash off with. After we were done we sat outside the of old building under a lean-to having a few beers and eating sausages. Boy, I've gotta get back over there sometime.

A number of years ago I went to Finland on a business trip and an evening at the company sauna was part of the deal. I believe altogether we had three cycles through and were in there maybe twenty minutes each. Afterwards they gave us certificates with the temperature we endured listed which for that evening was 107 C (225 F). It probably wasn't any big deal to them but to us neophytes it seemed really hot. I remember tipping my head down and the sweat was running off my nose in nearly a steady stream!

How about some photos of this setup.
Richard in NW SC

By definition, a sauna is Finnish.
It is a Finnish word.

I have a sauna that is a free standing building. I don't use wood heat. I have a Hella electric heater with rocks on top to pour water on for the steam. I use it all the time, particularly in the winter. Absolutely wonderful. One of the best ways to get rid of toxins in the body. Without seeing picures, I can't tell you for sure how yours works, but by all means get familiar with it and enjoy it.

Dave, I suggest just lighting it up with a lukewarm fire and see what happens. Those wood fired sauna stoves I saw in Finland appeared to be a plain old small wood burning stove with a tray built into the top to hold the rocks. The piping that came out of them and went to a water tank was probably the same type of piping you have. Does your sauna building smell like a barbeque pit too? I looked at the Finland pictures I have and I have no pics of the actual sauna room itself. I thought for sure I did. When I was looking at the pics I wanted to hop in the plane and go back over, or up, to Finland again.

Now that you mention it, Ultradog, sauna does sound Finnish.

Smells more like a cedar chest or some related wood. Really pleasant in there. I was headed out to fire it up just now and it started raining. I need to gather some wood and then find something to occupy me for 2-3 hours while it heats up. Rain pretty well puts an end to that! Almost all my jobs out there are outdoors. I'll try again tomorrow.

will do!

Excellent information, thanks!

Appreciate all the help! Gonna fire it up next nice (cool) day we get....hopefully tomorrow.

Lived there for two years. Loved it, would go back anytime. Basics have been covered. We usually ran the sauna room between 85 and 90 Celsius. Was in one that was at 105 C.
Ken