Steam room & Sauna question. Coal usage possible?

I had Alaska Channing II, Channing III and hearth models, and all had cast tops that washed distribution air over the top of the combustion chamber. I think if you removed that top and sat a tray right on top of the combustion chamber, rocks in the tray would get hot enough to make steam (if you crank up the stove). I don't think you'd need a separate steam generator. One word of caution would be to avoid spilling any water on the stove glass when you're applying it to the rocks.

Mike

Pacowy wrote:I had Alaska Channing II, Channing III and hearth models, and all had cast tops that washed distribution air over the top of the combustion chamber. I think if you removed that top and sat a tray right on top of the combustion chamber, rocks in the tray would get hot enough to make steam (if you crank up the stove). I don't think you'd need a separate steam generator. One word of caution would be to avoid spilling any water on the stove glass when you're applying it to the rocks.

Mike

Thanks for your explanation about the Alaska stoves. This will factor into my planning.

To clear up some of the confusion, the sauna and steam room are in fact 2 separate rooms that I am planning out. It looks like I have the sauna angle of things figured out. I don't need a steamy room in the sauna, just hot dry heat. But part of the experience is to splash some water on the hot rocks, increasing the humidity so the users sweat more. Otherwise for the most part, the room will always be hot and dry.

The steam room is a separate room and actually has a steamy cloudy feel, a different room entirely than the sauna. My challenge is figuring out how to supply steam to a room like this, by possibly tapping into a central coal fired heat source that heats the entire house. If not possible, I will have to buy a separate steam generator dedicated to the room.

NJJoe wrote:a tray or rock cradle of some sorts that would fit over the stove on top. Is this what you were referring to?

That's it. You just don't want water running over the stove.