Powering a mobile sauna possible?

[mobilesauna]

Has anyone powered a mobile sauna from the Lightning? I am thinking of building one and powering an electric heater using the Pro Power Onboard. I have the 9.6 kW set up. My understanding reading elsewhere in this forum that I can power a heater via the 240V if it is <7.2KW and 30AMPs or less. So for instance I might be able to do the Harvia Topclass 6KW, 240V Sauna Heater. It is 6KW, 240V-1PH, 25 AMPS that Heats 177 – 283 cu.ft. Any warnings? I'd like to get as much heat as possible (to be able to do a larger space) so perhaps a 7KW / 30 AMP could work or would that be pushing it? I am not knowledgable at all about electricity. Would it be fair to say run time would be like 15 hrs (plenty of time...which could be 5 hrs over 3 days). I'd welcome any advice? Thanks.

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[Joe.....Montana]

I have nothing useful to offer....what is the occasion for needing to power a mobile sauna?

 

[Maquis]

For reference, my home sauna is 4x7x7 (roughly 200 cubic ft.). Concrete floor with 3-1/2” of fiberglass in the walls and ceiling covered by foil, then 1/2” cedar. It has a 5 KW heater which takes it from 60 to 170 degrees in 20 minutes. It then cycles at about 50% to maintain that temp. So if I run it for an hour, it uses about 3.3 kWh. With loses, that probably drops the Lightning ER battery about 3%.

 

[mobilesauna]

For reference, my home sauna is 4x7x7 (roughly 200 cubic ft.). Concrete floor with 3-1/2” of fiberglass in the walls and ceiling covered by foil, then 1/2” cedar. It has a 5 KW heater which takes it from 60 to 170 degrees in 20 minutes. It then cycles at about 50% to maintain that temp. So if I run it for an hour, it uses about 3.3 kWh. With loses, that probably drops the Lightning ER battery about 3%.

Thank you! Helpful to know.

 

[mobilesauna]

I have nothing useful to offer....what is the occasion for needing to power a mobile sauna?

There is a whole world of mobile saunas out there. Most are wood stove powered for obvious reasons. They are great for having by a lake or the ocean -- especially in the colder seasons.

 

[hturnerfamily]

my two-person hot tub is powered by simple 120v power... easy. Takes a while, yes, but so much less hassle that 240v required by bigger units. I bought it solely for this reason.

now, if you are serious about powering ANYTHING from the 240v twist-lock ProPower output, then you just have to be aware of:
A) TIME, which will be the amount of POWER you are asking the truck's battery to provide
B) AMPERAGE, which is the HIGHEST amount of power the hot tub/sauna requests at any given moment, and then consistently during the long heating process.

 

[Henry Ford]

I'd like to get as much heat as possible (to be able to do a larger space) so perhaps a 7KW / 30 AMP could work or would that be pushing it?

I assume you can turn the power down on these heaters? If you can go for the 7kW heater. If it trips the breaker at full power just turn it down. The truck is smart enough to not catch itself on fire. Based on your desire for knowledge I suspect you are smart enough not to burn down your sauna.

 

[Maquis]

I assume you can turn the power down on these heaters? If you can go for the 7kW heater. If it trips the breaker at full power just turn it down. The truck is smart enough to not catch itself on fire. Based on your desire for knowledge I suspect you are smart enough not to burn down your sauna.

Every sauna heater I‘ve seen has a simple on/off thermostat. Full power while it’s running.

 

[Joe.....Montana]

There is a whole world of mobile saunas out there. Most are wood stove powered for obvious reasons. They are great for having by a lake or the ocean -- especially in the colder seasons.

You have me at "sauna by the lake or ocean"

 

[TaxmanHog]

You have me at "sauna by the lake or ocean"

College town as well, not too far from me.....

 

[Henry Ford]

Every sauna heater I‘ve seen has a simple on/off thermostat. Full power while it’s running.

I guess the return policy would determine whether or not to try it then.

 

[chl]

Has anyone powered a mobile sauna from the Lightning? I am thinking of building one and powering an electric heater using the Pro Power Onboard. I have the 9.6 kW set up. My understanding reading elsewhere in this forum that I can power a heater via the 240V if it is <7.2KW and 30AMPs or less. So for instance I might be able to do the Harvia Topclass 6KW, 240V Sauna Heater. It is 6KW, 240V-1PH, 25 AMPS that Heats 177 – 283 cu.ft. Any warnings? I'd like to get as much heat as possible (to be able to do a larger space) so perhaps a 7KW / 30 AMP could work or would that be pushing it? I am not knowledgable at all about electricity. Would it be fair to say run time would be like 15 hrs (plenty of time...which could be 5 hrs over 3 days). I'd welcome any advice? Thanks.

6KW, 240V-1PH, 25 AMPS Heats 177 – 283 cuft.

So I'd wonder - does it have a fan? Motors, like a fan, have a larger start current than a run current.
So one question is what is the start up power required?
You should ask the manufacturer/seller.

But another problem you may run into is breakers are designed to run at 80% of their rated current. That would be 24A on the 30A Lightning 240V outlet. So the circuit might (should) trip if it runs at 25A continuously.

The tripping of a breaker is a complex thing, not as simple as just exceeding the rated current - time is also a factor. It's really about heat generated by the current.

So I'd say probably no, not a good fit.

Maybe there is a lower power model you could use, like around 20A to be safe?

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