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Sunday, June 21, 2009
Far Infrared (FIR) Rays ( Infra Merah ) - DEMO < Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei >
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Monday, April 27, 2009
Infrared (FIR) Sauna - Brand Comparison Chart ( Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei )
Infrared (FIR) Home Sauna Review – Your Guide In Making The Right Purchase in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei
- look into
- understand
- analyze
- make decision
Dr. A. Iskandar (Selangor, Malaysia)
It is a big plus if the sauna has all their heating panels, heaters which keeps your body warm, cozy and comfortable throughout the short session, afterall we’re not going to sit inside the sauna for hours and to say that we have to get the most from the sauna for the sake of health and beauty beneficial point of view.
- Bio-Ceramic heaters are made out of small barium titanate bio-ceramic stones
- Pros: Small overall volume; Very good instant space heating
- Cons: Slightly high surface temperature, perform very well when it was cover or house properly
Left: Pic. of Bio Ceramic
- Mica heaters are made out of mica rocks
- Pros: Cheap; Even heat distribution; low surface temperature
- Cons: Hard surface and easily cracked; Cracks are not visible to the human eye and unreplaceable
Left: Pic. of Mica
- Carbon Fiber heaters are made from carbon fiber glass
- Pros: Even heat distribution; low surface temperature; flexible; used in most medical devices
- Cons: Nil
Left:Pic of Carbon Fiber
Watch out for: Some sauna factories paint their heating panel to look like a carbon fiber panel (e.g. black) to trick people into believing that they use carbon fiber heating panel but the truth is they are actually nothing more then just a CHEAP!! mica heating panel.
One significant characteristic to determine whether they are a mica panel is to feel the agility of the material where mica panel could be as hard and rigid compare to the much more flexible and agile appearance of the carbon fiber panel, the carbon fiber material also comes with a higher cost then a much cheaper mica material.
Only buy a proven sauna when it is important to match the overall performance in terms of it’s heating material selection, also it is probably the most crucial deciding factor of helping your choice into selecting the most worth buying model.
Material Selection + Quality of Workmanship
This is an area where most of the buyer out there would overlooked, many would say that the majority of a portbale sauna appearance looks very much the same, actually they are not, although they may look similar from a camera shot or view from a distance.
The material use to cover the whole sauna set is rather a key factor for both heat insulation ( trap heat ) and how long the sauna takes to heat-up because heat distribution is so key to a sauna set overall, the shorter time it takes, the more efficient the portable sauna will be.
Waterproof is another concern when we’re talking about lots and lots of sweat coming off after a sauna session, unfortunately only 2 out of the 4 models I own which are waterproof, and between the 2 waterproof models, only one is outstanding which the fabric is soft and shiny yet made of tightly woven twill which is strong and lasting.
I guess not many manufacturers out there would rather sacrifice a higher costing for the sake of quality, and that’s why I personally like that particular model so much because it had all aspects that I’m looking for when comes to portable sauna.
Apart from the heat and waterproof factors, as a buyer, we do appreciate a much better eye appearance sauna,. don’t we?!
Watch out for: If you looking forward to use your sauna regularly, I suggest you to spend a little more budget and go for the one with the highest quality. A good one should possess at least all the characteristic I mentioned above.
I must admit that a better quality sauna should be in the highest quality in workmanship and material selection, and from all the portable saunas available in the market, again only 1 truly stands out, the rest are awful.
Safety Issues & Certification
This is a reality issue more then anything else, I have to stress that anyone out there who intend to purchase an infrared portable sauna mustn’t ignore the important of the following factors:
1. Ensure that the portable sauna and its electric components meet the safety standards required by safety certification organizations such as GS, TUV etc. A reliable manufacturer always produce all their parts according to the safety standard set by these organization, and later obtain laboratories approval and certification from these organization as product recognition status.
Believe me, to have any recognition from these organization takes time because of the lengthy evaluation process and it also involve in heavy investment, that’s why many manufacturers actually skip the certification process or rather went for an easy way of getting un-qualify certification when the truth is they actually knew that their product will eventually fail the evaluation standard anyway.
I Absolutely Against This Type Of Manufacturer As They Don’t Consider The Circumstances and Still Offer Products That Possibly Will Cause Severe Damage Or Even Fatal To Users Such As US !!!!
2. You also need to look into areas like the standard of the electric cable, the way all the connectors were soldered, any exposed end wihout proper electric insulation, are the heating panels or heaters well insulated and connected safely… Now you’ll probably think this is too much of a technical thing to consider about, but don’t you worry, I have that part cover for you. Just follow my guide and you will be fine!!
3. Ask if the sauna comes with a safety feature such as a timed automatic shut off, because what will happen if we accidentally left the sauna un-attend when it is still turn on?! A good manufacturer will have this precaution measure deal and covered.
4. Finally, always remember You Get What You Pay For !! although this is not always true, but I still strongly suggest you to spend a bit more for the sake of yourself, your family and even your belonging.
I like to show the cases found and images I took based on my research on a few different sauna models that I own:
CASE 1:
Left: Untidy and very messy cables that can cause damage to the sauna unit, and use of uncertified cables that will cause electrical shock if contact accidentaly
Above: No cable housing end-cap, only HOT GLUE, exposed wire that was dangerous to user, the main controller box got very hot almost un-touchable
Top: Cables were not attached and hang freely with most of them being high voltage direct current electrical cable going into the heating panels
Bottom: Red cursor shown the cable that goes into the heating panel which was only patched with black tape without any added insulation material
Left: Heating panels were only valcros to the sauna, they can be easily taken off which was highly unsafe and if any of the 2 panels were stacked against each other, overheated panels will soon turn into a burn spot or even radical damage (fire cases have been reported due to the lacked of safety measurement)
Top: Shown patch-up area behind one the heating panel, with high voltage direct current cable attach to it
Bottom: Cables were not capped or insulated thus left exposed to accidentally contact that could cause fatal
Left: Further investigation shown more poorer soldered connection beneath the patch-up area, another dangerous spot ready to KILL!
Left: Worst thing that ever happen to 1 of my portable sauna, A BURN SPOT!!
I was lucky enough to avoid further serious damage, can you just imagine what would happen if I didn’t noticed?!
I Strongly Urge All of You Out There to Beware of This Model of Portable Sauna !!!!!!
Top: Low quality workmanship with its sauna cover
Bottom: Low quality inside the sauna canopy as well, there are even no floor mat and heating foot pad for this model of portable sauna
CASE 2:
A portable sauna with a heating foot pad would at least worth a shout because its technology level would be more demanding then a piece of crab like this !!!In case anyone doesn’t know what a heating foot pad looks like, it should look like the image below
CASE 3:
Top: Very high quality overall in terms of material selection and its workmanship inside this model of portable sauna, the combination of 3 big far infrared carbon fiber heating panels and 1 far infrared bio-ceramic heater that gives the outmost infrared emission
Bottom: Infrared heating panels were attached securely to the sauna, very pleasant in terms of safety
Above: Waterproof cover with reflective material underneath, sandwich in between was the woven twill layer with excellent softness and the side lining trim was tightly done too, high density floor mat with additional reflective heat transform surface for the purpose of creating more infrared radiation inside the sauna, I love the overall material choice and its quality in terms of workmanship
Top: All electrical cable were neat and tidy
Bottom: A Close-up look of an actual carbon fiber heating panel
Top: View from the back shown the main control unit of this model of portable sauna
Bottom: In the respect to product safety, again I must point out that all the high voltage cables were attached neatly and properly, Great Job!!
Top: The plug configuration has been up to TUV Certified 220, 230, 240 VAC input voltages direct plug-in linear power supply safety approval standard
Bottom: TUV/GS, SGS, CE, UL compliant approval cables, in-short all electrical cables were all up to the highest international safety standard
Top: This model of sauna came with a set of bio-ceramic heater http://www.bioceramictherapeutics.com/ as a combination to the carbon fiber heating panels, this is far more effective for far infrared (FIR) emission as both elements were proven to be strong infrared emission material
Bottom: The digital handheld controller was slick and handful to select between the heating operation, whether it was from the heating panels or from the bio-ceramic heater, or even both of them together, it also has a timer as well
CASE 4:
Prior to your final decision on purchasing a sauna, take the following into consideration
- Do you have any health or medical conditions that might prevent you from using infrared saunas? Far infrared radiation (FIR) is considered harmless for humans. Infrared heaters are even used to heat premature babies in hospitals incubators. But some people with certain illnesses and conditions should not use an infrared sauna or use it with extra caution
- Decide where you will place your infrared sauna aka sauna infra merah. It's important to choose a low-humidity, dry and level place. Also, most saunas are for in-door uses (you'll need an out-door model for out-door use)
- Finally, buy the sauna, no matter which type of sauna product you purchase, there is only one little to remember, and that is compare brands before making the purchase. After making sure everything is what you want and you're satisfied with the product, go ahead order the sauna and enjoy!!!
Far Infrared (FIR) Portable Home Sauna aka Sauna Infra Merah Brand Comparison Chart ( Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei )
http://far-infrared-portable-sauna.blogspot.com/2009/03/brand-comparison-chart-far-infrared-fir.html