ALMOST HEAVEN SAUNAS IR Panel Retrofit Installation Guide

ALMOST HEAVEN SAUNAS IR Panel Retrofit

Specifications

• Product: IR Panel Retrofit Kit

• Manufacturer: Almost Heaven Saunas

• Model Compatibility: Auburn, Grayson, Madison, Rainelle,
  Serena, Spectacle, Bridgeport, Oasis

• Power Supply: Included

• Control Panel: Included

• Number of IR Panels: 4 (Auburn, Grayson, Madison, Rainelle, Serena, Spectacle) / 5 (Bridgeport, Oasis)

Product Usage Instructions:
Required Tools

• Cordless drill
• Tape measure
• 1-1/4 Hole Saw
• 7/32 Drill Bit
• Step stool or ladder.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Q: Can I install the IR panels myself without professional help?
A: Yes, you can install the IR panels yourself following the provided instructions carefully. However, all electrical work must be completed by a licensed electrician.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

• DANGER: Indicates a hazardous situation that, if not avoided, will result in death or serious injury.
• WARNING: Indicates a hazardous situation that, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.
• CAUTION: Indicates a hazardous situation that, if not avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury.
• NOTICE: Indicates information considered important, but not hazard-related.
• READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE INSTALLATION AND USE TO AVOID INURY OR DAMAGE TO SAUNA FOLLOW SAFETY INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT TO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH REFER TO YOUR LOCAL BUILDING CODES FOR ANY SPECIFIC INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS ALL ELECTRICAL WORK NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN. FAILURE TO DO SO COULD CAUSE INJURY OR DAMAGE TO THE HEATER.

KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

• REFERENCE SAUNA AND/OR HEATER MANUALS FOR FURTHER SAFETY INFORMATION
• Do not touch the IR heater panels. The heating surface of the heater may burn your skin.
• When moving and lifting heavy pieces, use two or more people. Moving pieces without adequate manpower will lead to injury.
• IR sauna components are for INDOOR USE ONLY; the electrical components are not design for outdoor conditions. Using the IR sauna components outdoors could lead to shock and/or damage to the components.

Thank you for your purchase of your IR Panel Retrofit kit! This manual provides any information needed to retrofit the IR components into your existing traditional sauna. Should you have any questions during assembly, please feel free to call us at 888-355-3050, or email sales@almostheaven.com  Regular business hours are 9-5 EST, M-F.

Your IR kit should include the following

• IR Panels (4 for Auburn, Grayson, Madison, Rainelle, Serena, Spectacle & 5 for Bridgeport, Oasis)

• IR Panel Power Cords (3 for Auburn, Grayson, Madison, Rainelle, Serena, Spectacle & 4 for Bridgeport, Oasis) c IR Panel Power Cord Covers (4 for Spectacle only)
  c Control Panel

• Control Panel Housing & Control Panel Cover w/screws

• Control Panel Cover w/screws

• Control Panel Extension Wire

• Control Panel Wire Cover

• Power Supply

• Thermostat Wire

• Hardware Bag

These tools are required to assemble your IR Panel Kit

• Cordless drill
• Tape measure
• 1-1/4” Hole Saw c 7/32” Drill Bit
• Step stool or ladder

EXISTING SAUNA MODIFICATIONS

• Carefully remove the long backrest from your saunas back wall, and set aside. You will need to remove the light bar and reinstall in a later step.
• If you purchased your Respite Series sauna in 2023 or earlier; similarly the Vision Series before July 2024, you will need to remove the upper bench. Once the upper bench is removed, you will need to remove the (2) 2X4 bench cleats and
• lower them 1” and reinstall. Once the bench cleats are lowered, you can reinstall the upper bench. If you purchased after the dates above, the bench should not need to be adjusted.
• Depending on your model of heater, you might need to remove the temperature sensor and reinstall once the panel installation is complete.
• Carefully remove the trim covering the front edge of the ceiling panels. Set this aside to reinstall once the panel install is complete.
• Remove the screws holding the ceiling panels in place, keep them as you will need them to reinstall the ceiling panels. Carefully remove the ceiling panels and place in a location you can drill the holes for the IR panel cords. Ensure your panels are laid out exactly as they were installed on your sauna or your holes will be in the wrong locations.
• Drill holes into the ceiling panels per the following drawings. The drawings are shown looking down onto the top exterior of the ceiling. The holes along the outer edges are 1-1/4” for the IR panel cords. The hole towards the middle is 7/32” for the temperature sensor.

Before beginning installation, we recommend using a lightly damp cloth to wipe off any dust that may have accumulated on the front of the panels during shipping.
Note: This procedure follows a Respite Series installation, but the process is the same for the Vision Series unless otherwise noted.

INSTALLATION

A dedicated 120VAC, 15Amp circuit is required to operate the IR sauna components.
After modifying your ceiling panels, place them back on the sauna roof but do not fasten them down. Orient the panel with two holes along the clean edge, so it’s on the left side of the sauna (1). Set the IR panels in the approximate location on the top benches with the cord pointing upwards (2). All units will have an IR panel at each end of the top bench. Auburn, Grayson, Madison and Rainelle have two on the back wall; Bridgeport has three. Lift the ceiling panel and feed the cord through the predrilled hole in the ceiling and set the ceiling down (3). Repeat for each panel.

Locate the control panel and the control panel housing. Feed the cord from the control panel through the hole in the top of the box (4). In the remaining hole on the left hand side of the ceiling, feed through the control panel cord (5). Once all of these cords are through, you can fasten the ceiling per the traditional sauna manual.

Once all the cords are in place, you can refasten the ceiling panels into place and reinstall the trim on the front edge.
Locate the control panel wire cover and place it flush against the ceiling to cover the wire exit. Center the control panel housing on the wire cover, place it flush, and fasten it into place using screws from the hardware bag (6). Now take the control panel cover and install using 5/8” screws supplied in your IR kit (7). The cover has a recess in the back that the control panel face will sit in. Fasten the IR panels to the walls using screws from the hardware bag. For Spectacle, skip to special instructions below. Lift the panels up til they touch the ceiling and cover the wire exit. Fasten using predrilled holes in front face of the IR panel (8). For Respite Series, the back wall panels will be 10.5” away from the corner, and the side wall panels will be 4” away from the corner (9). For Vision Series, the Oasis back wall panels will be 7.25” from the corner, Serena will be 5”. Vision Series side panels will also 4” from the corner similar to the Respite Series.

If you have a Bridgeport or Oasis, the back wall center panel is centered between the two outer panels.

For the Spectacle, the process to install the panels is similar, but the top of the panel is 8” down from the ceiling. Spectacle comes with wire covers to conceal the wires between the panel and the ceiling. Measure down 8” and make a mark to note where the top of the panel goes. For Spectacle, the back wall panels will be 5” from the corner. The side panels will also 4” from the corner similar to the Respite Series. Fasten the panels in place using the predrilled holes in the front face of the IR panel (8). Once the panels are in place, route the wire from the panel in the groove of the wire cover. Place the wire cover centered over the panel and install using the two predrilled holes (10).

DANGER
Do not plug power supply into 120VAC outlet until after all IR panel, control panel, and thermostat connections have been made. Failure to do so could lead to electrocution.

Now on the ceiling of the sauna, it is time to make all the connections. Place the power supply on the top of the sauna; we recommend to place it along the back edge, centered on the sauna. Connect the control panel wire to the extension (11, bottom) then to the power supply lead wire labeled “controller panel line.” The IR panels also have extensions (10, top) that may be needed. See the table below for guidance on what extensions to use. Then plug the IR panels into the Ports labeled A-D, and E if you have a Bridgeport. They can be in any order, as long as they connect to those specific ports (12). It is important that all plugs are tight and fully connected.

Model| Left Panel Extension| Right Panel Extension| Back Left Panel Extension| Back Right Panel Extension| Back Middle Panel Extension
---|---|---|---|---|---
Auburn| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None| 3 Foot| –
Bridgeport| 6 Foot| 6 Foot| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None
Grayson| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None| 3 Foot| –
Madison| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None| 3 Foot| –
Oasis| 6 Foot| 6 Foot| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None
Rainelle| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None| 3 Foot| –
Serena| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None| 3 Foot| –
Spectacle| 3 Foot| 3 Foot| None| 3 Foot| –

Lastly, plug the temperature sensor (13) into the power supply cord labeled “temperature sensor”. Feed the silver end into the predrilled hole in the middle of the ceiling, and extend the probe out so it’s approximately 1/4” to 1/2” away from the ceiling (14).

LIGHT BAR
Carefully remove the light bar from the back rest and install the light bar underneath the upper bench. Reuse the brackets and fasten them to the underside of the bench (15). Then the light bar will snap into the mounting brackets (16). If the cord does not reach the existing hole, you may need to drill a new hole in the sauna wall to have access to the power supply.

OPERATION

When the power supply is plugged in, the power light will be illuminated. To operate the IR panels, press the power button. The HEAT light will illuminate and the temperature and timer numbers will light up. Change the temperature set point by pressing the up and down arrows. The light will flash while changing it, and then stop flashing when the temperature is set. Similarly for the timer, use the arrows to adjust the minutes the sauna will run. Time can be selected from 5-60 minutes.
To change from C to F, press and hold both temperature arrows, then press the light bulb (17). The temperature screen will show an “F” to alert you it is changed.

When the timer runs out, you will hear an audible tone to alert you. To restart the sauna, add time back to the timer by adjusting the time up and down.
When your sauna session is over, simply press the power button to turn off the control panel.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
If you have a traditional sauna heater that has a wired temperature sensor outside the heater, depending on the sauna model you may need place the sensor in an alternate location. If you have a Bridgeport, Grayson, Oasis, Rainelle, or Serena, you can locate it based on the heater manual. If you have an Auburn, Madison or Spectacle, we recommend you place the sensor on the back wall between the corner and the back right side IR panel. For Auburn and Madison, locate it approximately 7” away from the corner towards the panel and 14” down from the ceiling (18). For a Spectacle, keep it 14” from the ceiling, but center it between the IR panel and the corner.

WARNING

• Do not throw water directly onto the IR panels. This could cause electrocution and damage to the panels.
• If any of the power cords become damaged, they must be replaced immediately. Failure to do so could lead to electrocution.

Contact Almost Heaven Sales for replacement parts.

NOTICE

• This is not a commerical sauna; therefore for every 3 hours running, it must be turned off for 1 hour to cool.
• The IR panels and the traditional sauna heater CANNOT be operated at the same time.
• The IR panels will only operate at 150 F and below.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• When using the IR panels, we recommend that you preheat the sauna 1 hour before use. It will take approximately 45-60 minutes to reach 130-140F using IR. We do not recommend preheating with the traditional sauna heater; if the sauna exceeds 150 F, the panels will not operate.
• Unplug the sauna when not in use. If access to the plug is hindered, use a heavy duty surge protector.

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References

• Almost Heaven Saunas

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