Everything You Need to Know About Sauna Rocks

I certainly don’t want a box of random sauna rocks. The way that HUUM rocks come are either 2 types. You can get boxes with extra small HUUM rocks that are 3 to 5cm each or you can get the larger ones that are 5 to 10cm each.

I took 4 boxes that we sell with a Drop heater and show what they look like.

This is a picture of how they normally come.

This is a picture of them separated.

If you ready my HUUM Sauna biohacking page, you should have an opinion on what type of heat you like (more latent, less latent, what thermocline of head to toe temperature you want and what type of steam you want base on rocks (higher relative or higher absolute humidity, slower or fast burn steam, dryness fractions (how dry you want the steam compared to condensate)…

Larger HUUM rocks are preferred by half the people depending on what type of sauna therapy they are seeking and the other people want the smallest rocks that will fit in their sauna who want the sauna to heat up quick and don’t have time wait 3 times as long for large rocks to heat up.

Larger rocks absorb heat slower and take longer to heat the sauna and costs a lot more in electricity to run. Small rocks heat up quick but require the sauna elements to stay fired up nearly twice the time. For the price to keep the larger stoned sauna on for an hour… using small rocks is like running the sauna for 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the sauna.

If you are keeping your sauna on for hours and don’t mind spending 5 or 6 dollars extra each time then by all means don’t worry if your rocks are small. The larger rocks can allow for better air circulation around the heaters and allow better heat circulation so all the rocks heat up evenly. Small rocks can get tight and over packed if not done right.

The larger rocks give a gentler steam if you don’t want that super hot heat wave when you pour water on the rocks. Also, for those trying to increase heat shock proteins and want the sauna at its hottest, the larger rocks don’t reach the highest temperatures as the smaller ones. If you like an intense steam the smallest rocks are what gives the steam that feels more like a sweat lodge in the case of using an electric heater. If using fire heated stones, any HUUM stones will reach the same temperature.

If you plan on just going in the sauna for 30 minutes to an hour and don’t need the rocks to retain heat for hours, the small ones will help cost less in the start up to heat the rocks. If using the sauna all day then using small rocks will cost a lot more to operate but if you want a steam that most people prefer and don’t care about operating costs, then small may be a good choice. Many people get one box of extra small rocks to put on the top of the sauna heater and have larger ones near the bottom. Most people buy the 2 to 4 inch rocks to get a balanced steam that gives a relative humidity that is not too high and doesn’t feel like using just 4 inch rocks that gives the most absolute humidity. Most people like a high relative humidity and do everything to avoid high absolute humidity.

If you want the most authentic sauna experience and are planning to pour water on the heaters, you may want to study sweat lodges where they traditionally use huge stones and heat them in the fire and they bring them in the sweat lodge for their ceremony. If not using fire and relying on electricity, the only way to compensate for the smallest rocks with low thermal mass is to keep the heating elements on most of the time to retain their heat.  The smallest rocks give the closest experience as a traditional sweat lodge with large rocks.

When you get normally get the box of HUUM rocks, there will be rocks that are smaller and larger. Once you have a preference of what type of heat and steam you prefer then it’s easier to choose the type of rocks are you going to use. See our video of the steam created using small HUUM rocks versus large HUUM rocks. You can see the difference in the steam cloud immediately as the steam travels to the ceiling in the room.

At no extra charge, we pour all the rocks out of the boxes and if you don’t want just whatever comes in the box and you want us to hand pick your rocks let us know. 

Most people that buy boxes of rocks without them being sorted all get about the same type of sauna experience. If you want to tweak and biohack your sauna experience you will get just the type of heat and steam you want once you get just the right rocks. If you want to take it even to the next level, we can even pick out the flatter HHUUM rocks that when you pour water on the rocks it slides off the rocks so quick giving the closest to a 100% dryness fraction. 

Please take our quiz here first. This will tell us the best rock package to recommend based on your answers - Or call us at 1-888-439-8986. Ask for Jake or Sharon.

Infused rocks

This is something that once you do it, you never go back to a non-infused stone setup. This is done using the piezoelectric effect. I always put white quartz on the top layer of rocks. When it’s infused by a radionic machine, many people can feel the difference than just having stones in their sauna that haven’t been infused. We have about 600 videos on our YouTube channel of going up to strangers with our infused stones. If you want to see my channel let me know.   

How to get a high relative humidity and avoid a high absolute humidity in your Huum sauna

Huum rocks are the low porous type so it lets the water slide off (they are round and polished unlike others that are flat and bumpy). If you want to take the dryness fraction to another level, having white quartz on top of the rocks gives a super dry steam. If you are the type that likes a high absolute humidity then having a stone with a low thermal conductivity put still non-porous will give this type of steam since the rocks are not has hot but they retain heat better than the type that gives a high relative humidity. It is your choice - stones with higher heat retention but not as hot or ones that cool down quick but give a hotter steam. (This is only referring to the top rocks that the water hits before it hits the HUUM rocks). If you don’t like the super hot heat wave but you like steam in your sauna, the raspberry quartz is much gentler.