Building an Infrared Sauna

julian_s · Apr 1, 2021

Hi I am looking to build an infrared sauna something similar to this:

I have the six infrared bulbs which are 250wattage and 120V. Here:

GE Lighting 37771 R40 Heat Lamp, Red, 250-Watt, Incandescent Bulbs - Amazon Canada - https://www.amazon.ca/GE-Lighting-37771-Heat-250-Watt/dp/B000PSJNFK/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=GE+infrared&qid=1617240451&sr=8-8

I am a bit lost with the electrical part. First the bulb sockets. I was looking at the sockets below (see link) on amazon, they are 660 wattage, 0~250 Voltage, heat resistance up to 150℃. I am wondering if they would be okay ? I assume they would be okay for the 250watt bulbs as they are rated 660w. Thoughts ?

DiCUNO E26 Vintage Edison Light Bulb Socket, Retro Edison Black Lamp Holder, Pendant Light Medium Screw Base, Maximum Wattage 660W, UL Listed, 6-Pack: Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089N4YSYT/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?pd_rd_i=B089NH9NH3p13NParams&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRk4zQlNRNTY4RlpBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzI1NzAxMk4wVFYxNE0xRThENiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzQ1NjQzMVlPUjJHQzdCQkwwMyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbDImYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1

In regard to the wiring, of all the bulb sockets together. Would there be 3 wires from each socket, so three screws on each bulb socket ?

Hot wire (black), Neutral wire (white) and ground wire ? How would all six sockets wire together ?

Thanks

Peggie67 · Jun 24, 2023

I did the same thing - built myself an near infrared "sauna" using light bulb sockets and bulbs in Canada. This thread is a little old, so I'll post a bit of information for others who find this thread.

Typical bulb sockets are two wire, un-grounded. Standard plug-in lamps which consist of nothing more than a socket, wire and a plug are two prong - hot and neutral only, without a ground. How you wire it all together largely depends upon how complicated you want to get, or what electrical elements you want to include.

If you just want to wire everything together in parallel directly to a plug, it will be two wire from the sockets right to the plug.

How To Wire Lights in Parallel? Switches & Bulbs Connection in Parallel

How To Wire lights in Parallel? Parallel wiring for Lighting Circuits. Connecting lighting points in parallel. Switch & Lights in parallel wiring diagram

www.electricaltechnology.org

Make sure though that the sockets (higher than 250W), wire and plug are rated better than 1500W / 12.5A.
(your setup - 6 bulbs - 1500W, 12.5 amps at 120V)
SPT-1 or SPT-2 lamp wire will NOT do.

My 4 bulb setup:

DIY Infrared Sauna

Folder

1drv.ms

In my setup, I wanted switches to control each bulb, and needed electrical components rated at the Wattage and Amperes I was expecting.
Four bulbs is 250W x 4 = 1000W, and at 120V will draw a maximum of 8.4 amps.
Household electrical switches, switch boxes and wiring are all rated at 15 Amps, and the ceramic ceiling lamp fitters (two-wire) were rated at 600W each - so that's what I used.
I used a three prong plug/power cord from a busted 1500W heater to run it all.

The wiring went like this:

Run the three wire power cord into the switch box - connect the ground to the switch box ground, hot and neutral to the input(s) of the switches. Wire the switches as indicated on the instructions which came with them (Ground the switches to the switch box ground).
Run two wire (ground wire removed/cut) from the switches to the individual light fitters/sockets.
The boxes and switches need to be grounded; the lamp sockets themselves do not.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If I had attached the lamp fitters to ceiling junction boxes as in standard household wiring, then I would have run three wire right to the junction box and grounded the junction box, with the hot and neutral attached to the bulb socket.

Good luck.