Harvia’s KIP-60-B1 Sauna Heater from Almost Heaven Saunas

My Review of Harvia’s KIP-60-B1 Sauna Heater from Almost Heaven Saunas.

As a first generation Finn, I take my saunas very seriously. I’ve been around saunas all my life and built several from scratch. None have been from a kit. I had an old Sears’s sauna heater where the heating elements had gone out after about forty years of service. It too was a replacement from an earlier heater that had an external control rather than one on the unit. It was impossible to replace all three elements as only two were available so I had to replace the entire unit with the same size; 6kw, 240v single phase heater. I’m retired and living on a fixed income, so I had to follow my budget and decided to go with the KIP-60-B1. According to the info on Almost Heaven Saunas web site it seemed to be a perfect replacement so I purchased it November 6, 2016. I received it within a few days and had it hooked up by the 12^th. Nothing really matched my old set up as it was originally mounted to a concrete wall, not even the electrical hook up was in the same location but it was no big deal for me as a retired kitchen and bath re-modeler always expecting the unexpected during a job. Keep in mind that warranties begin on the date of purchase and not on the date of installation. So if it takes two weeks to get to your house and then another two weeks before you install it, you already lost four weeks of your warranty.

I had replaced some of my old igneous stones earlier in the year which I had purchased specifically for saunas. You can’t use just any old stones because the heat and water will make soft stones explode. It’s very important to make sure that you have the right hard stones suitable for sauna heaters whether electric or otherwise. That being said, I didn’t need to purchase stones for the heater and used the new ones I had recently acquired. I also had some which I had picked up from Lake Superior shores on a earlier trip. They were perfect size and just the right kind of stones that works well with sauna heaters. I installed the purchased stones loosely in place as directed in the installation booklet and had plenty of stones left over.

The capacity for stones was smaller than what I had. The entire unit was actually smaller than my original. I figured that it was more efficient and as long as the kw size was the same, there shouldn’t be a problem. After getting the heater all set up it was time to fire it up for the first time and burn off the protective coating off the elements as per directions. Things went well and after about a half hour or so the unit shut off. It was now ready for use. The next day which was my normal day for a sauna, I fired it up and within about an hour it was already up to 140° F. I like my saunas between 180° -190° F so I fired it up again for another hour but the heater shuts down around 170°F. My original heater would have gotten it up to the 190° F mark according to my new thermostat purchased last summer, running with 1 elements (2 were burned out) in about an hour and a half.

I use my sauna once a week. Today’s date is, December 5, 2016 and have only used it a few times. It still won’t heat my sauna to the temp I want. The maximum I get out of it after running it for two hours is about 170° F. My sauna room is only 194 cubic feet and a 6 kw heater is more than enough to heat up that size considering the max for the unit is about 300 cu.ft. Theoretically it should have heated it up to 190°F within an hour. To get it higher, I need to turn the unit on again. After doing some study of the unit running time, I find that the elements are on for only a short while and not the full hour as one would expect. All other heaters I’ve installed have worked for an entire hour. Yes, the heat control thermostat is set to max and the timer has been tried several different ways making sure that it is on and working for an entire hour. If the timer is running at 60hz, it should run for an entire hour however, if it's only a 50 hz timer, about 45 minutes is all one is to expect even though it has a 60 minute timer. I find the quality of the rock guard less than satisfactory as it is already showing areas of wear even though the unit has only been used a few times. If I take some very fine steel wool and rub the spots on the guard, it will look new again.

As a serous sauna user, I cannot recommend this heater for other experienced users. It's Harvia's low end unit and as far as I'm concerned a piece of junk not worth the money they ask for. As for beginners not looking for the usual Finnish quality one would expect with other heaters, it may work out for you, after all the price is at the low end of all the heaters I've researched.

 Up date: December 20, 2016

I've contacted Almost Heaven Saunas where they have been trying to resolve the issue and have been co-operative. Apparently I'm not the only one with the same problem. I've been having to move the sensor probe in different spots on my wood wall making more holes than Swiss cheese. I even talked with the tech guy at the factory and the conclusion was made that the timer was faulty. A new one would be sent out once they get some in stock, however, I don't think that it's going to happen. As of yet, I've received nothing from them.

My recent problem has been that the high limit control kicks off the unit and trips the breaker at the sub panel once it gets to about 170°F. I contacted Almost Heaven Saunas to tell them about the new issue and once again I've been asked to move the sensor probe leaving it exposed contradicting their installation manual, another joke leaving out some important details. When I get more issues or results, I will post them right here until this thing gets resolved. In the meantime, if you are looking for a heater spend a few extra bucks if you can afford it and don't buy a Harvia, it's not worth the head aches!

KIP-60-B1 installed

KIP-60-B1 installed in my sauna

KIP-60-B1

new sauna thermometer

a sauna door I built from cedar

my old Sears 6Kw heater I had to replace

Update: Dec.24,2016

Finally after 6 weeks of nonsense, I got the sauna to the temperature I was seeking, 190°F. I ended up moving sensor over another 12", leaving the cover off, exposing the sensor and installing it horizontally instead of vertically. The timer made by Hanko is garbage and used by just about all other sauna heater companies here in North America. Apparently, the timers work off an electric motor and is not accurate. Their hour is just under 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes stated on the timer and the manual. A timer running off a 60Hz motor runs for 60 minutes while only 50 minutes on a 50Hz. With that being said, these timers, at least the one on mine, is the wrong one used here in the US. Since the timer is off approx 10 minutes each hour and you pre set the timer to turn on the sauna 8 hours in advance, the heater will kick on a lot earlier (1:20) before you anticipated and therefore, well, you figure it out.

new position of the sensor

I moved the sensor so that it is 24" from the heater and 20" from the ceiling horizontal and left off the cover. The sensor above is an old one from an external control unit from the very first heater...it was easier just to leave it.

For more on the Kip B1 Sauna heater can be found here: More on the Kip B-1