By: Tim Marbach
As the owner of The Sauna Place, I’ve been fortunate enough to try out many different types of saunas. But there’s always that one that you keep going back to—whether it’s because of the setting, the heat, or simply how it feels. In our case, my wife and I have a Heritage Flat Barrel 7 ft x 10 ft sauna sitting in our backyard. And honestly? We love using it every night.
But, as someone who grew up in Germany, where saunas are more than just a luxury—they’re a way of life—I had certain expectations. I was a bit skeptical about the barrel sauna design at first. The layout is different from the traditional saunas I was used to, especially the absence of double-layer benching. Could a barrel sauna deliver the same immersive, full-body heat experience?
Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to put it to the test by getting one for our backyard!
When it came time to choose the heater, I knew I wanted something powerful with a lot of stones and see how it performs. Why? Because stones hold heat, and I figured if I was going to give this barrel sauna a real shot, it needed a heater that could truly distribute heat as evenly throughout the space as possible. Enter the HUUM Hive Mini 9.
I got it installed in our flat barrel sauna (always by a licensed electrician!) and started experimenting with different heat levels. I wanted to see how well the heat would hold up, especially given the barrel’s unique shape. Here’s what I found:
Let me tell you—at 160°F, your feet are not going to feel cold. In fact, the heat distribution is remarkably even, and I credit a lot of that to the Hive Mini’s design. With its massive stone capacity reaching all the way to the floor, the heat is spread out nicely, making sure that no part of the sauna feels too cool.
Now, the sauna has become part of our nightly routine. After a long day, my wife and I love to head out to the backyard, fire up the Hive Mini, and let the heat melt away the stress. Most nights, we keep it around 180°F, which is more than enough for a solid 20-minute session. It’s just the two of us, and we like to lie down, relax, and enjoy the quiet. You don’t need a 230F heater, any good sauna heater will get you to 180F.
The Hive Mini does a fantastic job at maintaining the perfect temperature, and we’ve even had up to 8 people in there during gatherings. The only thing to note is that the heater takes up enough space that it limits seating a bit, reducing the available spots by two. If seating capacity is your main concern, you might want to consider a wall-mounted heater like the HUUM Drop or Harvia Spirit.
But for us, it’s about the experience. The Hive Mini brings a sense of luxury and authenticity that’s hard to beat, and while some may say that barrel saunas aren’t traditional enough, I’ve found that with the right heater, they’re more than capable of delivering an exceptional sauna experience.
This experiment taught me one thing: don’t let anyone convince you that a barrel sauna isn’t “real” or can’t deliver high-quality heat. With the right heater—like the Hive Mini—it can be not just a good sauna but an exceptional one.
It’s become our little sanctuary in the backyard, and if you would like help in finding the right sauna heater for your barrel sauna, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via phone or email! We are here to help.
