Almost Heaven Costco Barrel Sauna $62 WiFi Control Setup / Review
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Showing an affordable option on how to setup a WiFi control for Almost heaven barrel sauna using a Harvia electric heater. Also a quick review and some tips and tricks to make the most out of your sauna.
Custom Tarp.
www.coversanda...
Smart plug
Limited-time deal: Kasa Smart Plug Mini 15A, Apple HomeKit Supported, Smart Outlet Works with Siri, Alexa & Google Home, UL Certified, App Control, Scheduling, Timer, 2.4G WiFi Only, 2-Pack (EP25P2), White a.co/d/fBQ2DqG
Waterproof Electric Box
QILIPSU Hinged Cover Stainless Steel Latch 220x170x110mm Junction Box with Mounting Plate, Universal IP67 Project Box Waterproof DIY Electrical Enclosure, ABS Plastic Grey (8.6"x6.7"x4.3") a.co/d/4aBjQKk
Contactor
Packard C240B Packard Contactor 2 Pole 40 Amps 120 Coil Voltage a.co/d/3Yf8VoG
bro! u gotta come back and show us how you hooked up the thermostat and all that!!!
Could you do a video on the wiring please?!
GREAT VIDEO! I just ordered the six-person sauna and was trying to figure out how to upgrade the heater to the wifi version. You literally just saved me a ton of money!!
Please make a video on how you wired it
Amazing video! I just ordered my sauna and your video covers the almost the moss I plan on doing to mine. I can’t wait!
Thanks !!
Great video man! Thanks for taking the time to share your hard work!
Would love to see a follow up video with more details about the WiFi controller (showing where all the wires coming in and out are coming from and what the are doing). I’ve had my sauna for 3 years, use it 3-5 times a week. The ONLY complaint I have is that I wish I could control the timer remotely! 🤓
Thank you for posting this. This is really helpful
Wow. A toast to you man. As a fellow owner this is awesome!
Freaking LOVE it! We just ordered one of these 4 person when it went on sale. Soo nice. You make me frightened with the finger so close to 30 amps. LOL The stain the stain, we are going to do that too. Just ordered the tarp.. You are very helpful! We put it together today and wow it was easy and not so easy. The videos from AH are kind of a joke. They leave a bunch of information about the install. Also lots of the staves are cracked and the bands weren't fun. Still freaking love this thing. We are having the electrician come over next week. Thanks for the info good stuff.
Where's it on sale?
@@gotDIBS It was on sale at Costco. Not anymore. They just brought it back in stock. It's about 4K now, it was on sale for 3K.
@@our12sillydamn it. Wish I knew. lol. You get it yet?
@@cbingham40 Works great! Love it!
@our12silly How hot does it get and can you upgrade the heater when buying from Costco?
Genius. Thanks for sharing!
Great Info! Thank you!
This was insanely helpful, thank you! Would love more info on how to wire and did you wire 240V from your home to it?
Yes I wired 240 from my breaker box to my sauna.
Priceless information. Thanks a lot
Probably the best video I’ve seen for this sauna or any sauna. Lots of great info. And the top and stain looks great! I’m considering getting the Almost Heaven 6 person Emerson from Costco. I’m to afraid to do the electrical work so I’m fine paying an electrician as he’s pretty reasonable and he’s doing other work so hopefully I get further discounts. I’ll share this video with him. Love the control setup you have. Questions: (1) Any concerns with the sealant? I saw another review that said it prevents the wood from expanding as it should. (2) any concerns with mice? I saw a couple reviews that mentioned having to take the rocks out and clean them bc they like to get in and urinate and leave feces. (3) any concerns with rot the edges as it ages? (4) are your legs/feet cooler in this one to the point where it’s annoying? Thanks in advance!! You did an awesome job all around. 👏🏾
Thanks, I try to keep it simple and informative. The sealant shouldn’t be a issue, the sauna manual says you can do it. It will just prevent the wood from degrading as fast. Haven’t had any issues with mice. With any wood structure there is a concern with rot, that’s why I put a tarp on it and sealed it. Cedar is also naturally rot resistant. The bottom is noticeably cooler that’s why I keep my feet up on the bench. I made backrest so I can lay on the bench comfortably.
Thx for the vid. Looking forward to any additional content on your sauna. Did you do all the wiring yourself or contract it out? Guessing you didn’t have to run a dedicated 220 and just 110 thx to that contactor to “step” it up?
Nice video! I bought one from Costco two weeks ago. It should arrive within 3-4 weeks. In the meantime, I've been watching videos and reading instructions on how to assembly it. I'm especially concerned about the electrical part. Did you do yourself or did you call someone to do it? Can you share how much you spent if you hired someone to do it? Thanks.
I did it myself, I’m not a electrician but am quite handy. I just did my research and went for it. It was relatively simple to wire in two hot wires and a ground. My electric panel is right next to the sauna outside so it was simple to hook up. I probably spent $150 on materials for the electrical, I also put a 110v outlet on the back so I can plug in my light and power up my smart plug.
What type of stain did you use for the wood?
Good looking sauna with that stain. I’ve been scared to stain mine as I’ve been fearful of creating a chemical smell inside the sauna even though it’d just be on the outside. I take it you didn’t have that problem when you stained the outside?
No problems inside with stain smell. I highly recommend staining the outside. Otherwise it will start to look ugly fast. Get a tarp to cover it also. Protect your investment!!!
This wireless idea is exactly what I am trying to do with my mechanical heater. Do you happen to have a schematic for how you wired everything up?
I don’t have a schematic but their all over the internet and a few on UA-cam as well. Pretty simple to setup.
This video was extremely helpful! I purchased everything you linked, thank you. I do have a question though. So you fixed the timer dial which is genius but is there a reason you pinned it to roughly 30 mins? I get my sauna next Thursday hoping to have everything ready
I had to play with it a little bit to get it just right so it would stay on. The dial has quite a bit of play. I should have just jumped the wires behind the switch…
I have a question with regards to the 110V smart plug-contactor. So, you run 110V to your smart plug. Then the contactor the the smart plug. Finally the Heater to the Contactor. If I'm understanding this, you avoided adding a 240V plug by using the contactor? Hope this questions makes sense. Great video. Oh, what did you use to stain the outside? Looks amazing.
The purpose of the contactor is to use 110v to control 220v . The 110v smart plug just the switch that activates the contactor turning it on. You still have to run from your breaker panel 220v to the contactor and then to the heater.
Very great video and tips! Do you recall how much the sauna was at Costco?
Do you have a video or instructions on how to install all that? I am about to order mine and im worried on how to add all this
I don’t have a video showing how to install all the electrical. There are quite a few videos showing how to wire in a contactor using a smart plug. Just search for that.
Hey Andrew, love the set-up. Just bought the almost heaven Morgan from costco. It says it needs 30amps. Doesn't look like the smart plug will do that, rated for 15. Is there something else you did to make that work or did you get a different sauna?
I love this, thanks for posting! I just set up my same exact sauna (four person, Almost Heaven, from Costco). Question for you: I have not put the heater in it yet. Should I get a larger heater if I want the temp to between 180 and 220? If I got a larger heater, do you think it would heat up faster?
I don’t think you need a bigger heater. I can get the temp over 200 but that’s a bit too hot for me. 180 is plenty.
I suppose a bigger heater might heat up faster but I’m satisfied with the one it came with.
@@andrewsenour thank you!
Hey man, thanks for the video, it was helpful with temp sensor location but were you having any issues with the heater shutting down before it reaches 200? I placed my sensor in your location and it seems to turn off at 190. Not sure the issue.
Is this the “heavy Duty Custom Tarp” on their site? Which material did you go with (tarp max or tarp tuff)? And dimensions? I’m thinking 6”2 by 6”0 for a bit of an overhang?
I did 6 foot by 9 foot you could even go even longer like 12 foot it would just wrap around even better. Go with the heavier option with eyelets. Not that much more $.
Any video on how to wire the control unit?
Not yet, I would like to do one but not much time. If your looking for information there is plenty on you tube for wiring contractors with smart plugs.
Thanks for answering the cover question. Thought of one more: when you put the screw to prevent the timer from shutting off the heater, is there a chance that the timer is being damaged if you ever wanted to revert back to it by taking out screw?
I have not had any issues with this. It seems to work just fine when I pull the screw out.
Thank you for this. Plan to buy a cover from company you suggested. Could you tell me what fabric type you settled on - assume the Max or Tuff? And getting Pinnacle from Almost Heaven which is 6' front to back and was wondering if you added some inches - so instead of going exactly 72", does it make sense to have a bit if an overlap front and back?
I bought there strongest one it wasn’t much more. I made mine a little longer than the barrel so it hangs over an inch or two on each end.
@@andrewsenour So you did "tarp tuff" with the d-rings and webbing?
@@peterparker523 yes but I got eyelets and webbing , I don’t recall a option for d rings
Did you do anything to the exterior of the wood….stain/oil/paint?
Yes two coats of seal once nano poly on outside only. Has held up well.
Great video, did you seal the wood and if so what product did you use.
Just the outside with seal once nano Polly coat. Has held up very well so far. Did two coats before I assembled it.
Thanks, I just ordered mine from Costco and plan to do the same. Im debating the tarp or corrugated metal roofing which seems to be effective as well. Any other tips or things you would have done differently?
I built a couple back rests so you can lay out on the bench. They have been helpful. I also thought about metal roofing but didn’t want to screw into the sauna. The tarp has been working great so far. I also stained and sealed all the outside before I assembled it. It definitely helps protect the wood.
@@andrewsenour awesome. I plan to do the back rests also. Did you get the 6kw heater? Is it sufficient? I’m in Maryland so it gets relatively cold in the winters.
@@rrajan915 yes the 6kw heater is what I have. I can get mine over 200 f if I want to. Usually I run it 180-190 f. It takes about a hour to get that hot. I have run it that temp at just below freezing. It seem to be plenty of heater.
@@andrewsenour Thanks I have mine up and running and its great! The cover is awesome and kept my sauna dry over the weekend with some significant rain.
Im having an electrician do the electrical and the inspector said we needed to use a GFCI breaker. It doesnt seem to like the contactor setup. DId you use a GFCI breaker?
Can you post the link to the exact material you went with for the tarp? Their site has several variations the material.
Just go with there highest level, that’s what I did anyway. It’s not that much more money.
Ordering one of those tarps. Did you order exactly 6’x9’? Or did you add a couple inches for some overhang? Thanks
Yes 6’x9’ I would go longer next time 6’x12 it will just wrap around longer
Doesn’t this void the heater warranty?
How did you bypass the one hour limit on the heater?
Put a screw through the knob.
Anyone else's contactor making a loud hum? Mine is only two months old, but is pretty consistently putting out a hum through the shut electric box that's louder than the heater and can be heard inside the sauna when it's warming up.
Mine makes a decent buzz , nothing I’m worried about but I’m no electrician…
@@andrewsenour Got it. Yeah, more just annoying to the general sauna ambiance!
Thanks for a great video, what stain did you use? Looks very nice.
I used Seal Once stain and sealer, two coats of the cedar stain, only on the outside.
Thanks!
@@andrewsenourwas one gallon enough?
@@michaelhegarty4319 one gallon was plenty, probably had enough to do two saunas.
@@andrewsenour one more question for the heater wiring it calls for 10/2 in the Costco description, do you not need a ground wire for the heater? If I can ground the heater that would be nice (10/3) just seeing if you knew more.
Do they have an option to upgrade heater?
Really fantastic video, so thank you. Did you stain one side of the staves before assembling, the outside before putting the straps on, or did you just stain around the straps after you fully assembled the sauna?
I stained all the staves (outside only) before I assembled it. Then each end of the barrel after assembly. That took longer then assembly 😅
@@andrewsenour Ah, just seeing this response. Do you remember which product you used for the stain? Water or oil-based?
@@jaredishkanian1087 seal once poly nano coating
@@andrewsenourAwesome. And no internal smell detected as a result? Was going to apply to staves before assembly.
Thanks again for all your tips!!!
@@jaredishkanian1087 I didn’t stain the inside, so no smell of stain inside
What model from cosco did you purchase. Did you have it installed by cosco?
I put it together, it’s just the 4 person one not sure the name
Would this method work for my 15kw harvia heater? Bc everyone says that I need xenio control unit?
I don’t see why not. You just need to get a contactor that can handle the same amount of amps as your heater.
👍👍🤙🤙
Do you get a notification if your heater shuts off?
No notification, it only turns off if I turn it off on my phone app.
@@andrewsenourdid you do anything with reset button on button. I keep needed to reset before 190… Thanks for all the Great Info !!
@@davidwaldman1725 didn’t touch it
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