Products · Saunas · Almost Heaven Saunas
Almost Heaven Salem 2 Person Barrel Sauna
Reader ratings
A compact US-made cedar barrel sauna, among the least expensive stone-heater saunas we checked. The Spirit heater option matches Intertek’s UL 875 listing; the basic KIP heater could not be matched. Needs a 240 V circuit.
Best for People who want a real stone-heater sauna at a lower price, for one or two people, and who have a spot outdoors or in a garage.
- Our quality rating
- Fair (3 of 5)
- Price range
- Mid-range
- Verified marks
- Spirit heater only: ETL Listed (UL 875)
- Size
- Outdoor barrel, 78 in W x 47 in D x 75 3/8 in H outside; seats 2; priced in Rustic Red Cedar with a glass door and no window
- Made in
- Made in the USA
approx. $6,706 with the Spirit heater
See it on Almost Heaven Saunas’s site →We are not affiliated with Almost Heaven Saunas. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
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Your review
Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.
How we evaluated it
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- It is a traditional stone-heater sauna from about $4,000 to $4,500 with the basic heater, or about $6,700 with the Spirit. The long-term Finnish studies on our heat therapy page used saunas of this kind, at about 80 °C.
- The Spirit option matches a listing. Almost Heaven’s part number for it, HSPE60U1M, fits a model pattern in the Harvia listing in Intertek’s ETL directory (UL 875).
- The maker’s manual says the outdoor sauna’s wood is untreated, and its FAQ names Rustic Western Red Cedar. The page lists 1 3/8 in ball-and-socket boards, stainless steel bands, hinges and fasteners, and tempered glass.
- The same warranty as the larger Blackwater: limited lifetime against manufacturing defects on the sauna, and 1 year on the Harvia heater elements and 5 years on other heater parts.
- The manual gives plain safety rules, including a 30-minute limit, no alcohol, and a doctor’s advice first.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- The cheapest version, approx. $4,485, uses Harvia’s KIP heater with dials. We could not match its model codes to the ETL listing, so the safety listing is unconfirmed for that option. The Spirit option (a 6 kW Harvia Spirit heater and control) adds about $2,000 to $2,200.
- It still needs a licensed electrician to hard-wire a 240 V, 30 A circuit. The standard order ships in 6 to 8 weeks.
- Seats two, so it is tight for sessions with family. A larger barrel costs more.
- The Onyx option is stained, and the maker does not name the stain. The maker’s FAQ calls Onyx stained hem-fir. Choose Rustic Red Cedar for bare wood inside.
- Ask a doctor first if you have heart disease or are pregnant, and skip alcohol (see our hot baths page).
What to know Details worth knowing first
The Salem is one of the least expensive ways we found to own a traditional sauna: a cedar barrel of about 6 by 4 feet with a stone heater, made in the USA. A traditional sauna heats the air, and that is the kind the Finnish studies on our heat therapy page followed. It runs on a hard-wired 240 V circuit rather than a wall outlet.
Choose the heater with care. The Spirit option’s part number fits a model pattern in Intertek’s ETL listing for Harvia heaters. The basic KIP heater is what gets the price near $4,500, and we could not find its codes in that listing, which may only mean it is listed under a name we did not search. Ask Almost Heaven for the listing of the exact heater before you buy.
The wood is Rustic Red Cedar, which the maker calls untreated. We could not check that ourselves. Finnish Sauna Builders, a retailer, sold the same sauna about 10% cheaper on the day we looked. Ask a doctor first if you have a heart condition or are pregnant.
Quality & testing How it measures up against our checklist
- Third-party tested
- Yes
- Tested by
- Intertek (ETL listing of the Harvia heater family)
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Heat that matches the research Maker’s claim | The manual says the heater is set to the desired temperature, typically 160 to 185 °F or more. The retailer says the 6 kW heater can reach 195 °F in 60 minutes. These are maker and retailer figures; we have no measured cabin temperatures. |
| Untreated, low-odor wood Maker’s claim | Rustic Red Cedar, which the maker’s FAQ calls Rustic Western Red Cedar. The manual says the wood is untreated. No glue or finish is mentioned for it. The Onyx option is stained with an unnamed stain. We found no emissions or odor test. |
| Safety certification: Spirit heater option Verified | The part number Almost Heaven uses for it, HSPE60U1M, fits a model pattern in Harvia’s listing in Intertek’s ETL directory (UL 875, with a sister listing to CSA E60335-2-53). The listing covers heaters, not the barrel, and shows no certificate number or date. |
| Safety certification: basic KIP heater option Not verified | We could not match the KIP’s part numbers (JH60B2401 for the 6 kW on the maker’s heater page) to Harvia’s listing. That may only mean it is listed under a name we did not find. |
| Materials that hold up to heat Maker’s claim | Not a tent or blanket. A rigid cedar barrel with stainless steel bands, hinges and fasteners and tempered glass, as described by the maker. |
| Electric and magnetic field claims Maker’s claim | The maker makes no EMF claim. |
| Marketing claims Maker’s claim | The product page makes no detox, weight-loss or calorie claims. |
| Recalls Verified | A search of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database on 2026-10-22 found no recall naming Almost Heaven or Harvia. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Almost Heaven Salem 2 Person Barrel Sauna: maker’s product page. Maker’s page. Price, size, specifications and heater options. Open ↗
- Almost Heaven barrel sauna installation and owner’s manual (PDF). Maker’s page. Untreated wood, typical 160 to 185 °F, safety warnings. Open ↗
- Almost Heaven FAQ: lumber choices and treatment. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- Intertek ETL directory: Harvia Finland Oy, Electric Dry Bath Heater (UL 875). Certifier or regulator listing. Lists Spirit (HSPE) and Virta (HL) model patterns. No KIP codes of the form JH60B. Open ↗
- Intertek ETL directory: Harvia Finland Oy, Electric Sauna Heating Appliances (CSA E60335-2-53). Certifier or regulator listing. The cETL listing for the same Spirit heater family, under the trade names Harvia and Sentiotec. Open ↗
- Almost Heaven warranty. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- Finnish Sauna Builders: Salem barrel sauna. Independent source. Retailer page with lower prices and the 195 °F in 60 minutes claim. Open ↗
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls. Certifier or regulator listing. We searched CPSC’s recall data on 2026-10-22 for Almost Heaven and Harvia and found no recall. Search the site yourself for any later notice. Open ↗
Where to buy Other stores and the prices we saw
- Finnish Sauna Builders (retailer) approx. $4,037 with the KIP heater; approx. $6,036 with the Spirit heater. A retailer, not the maker. Both prices are for Rustic Cedar, glass door and no window, and were about 10% below Almost Heaven’s own prices on 2026-10-22.
Prices as we saw them on October 22, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Almost Heaven Blackwater 4 Person Cube Sauna Same maker and warranty, a larger cube for 4 to 6 people, about $11,300 with a 9 kW heater.
- Almost Heaven Hillsboro 2 Person Indoor Sauna A spruce room for indoor use, made in Romania, from about $5,300 with a 6 kW KIP heater. The maker says it reaches up to 185 °F.
- An infrared cabin Runs cooler and plugs into a wall outlet. Less long-term research behind it. See our infrared vs traditional page.