Which steam generator best serves You? I compile useful information to help you make a decision.
Steam Spa - Steamist - MR. STEAM - KOHLER - Amerec - STEAMBATH - THERMASOL -Whirlpool - ROMA - STEAMCORE
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Dry Steam VS WET Steam Generators
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How to choose between the 2 Types
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Mr. Steam:
This is the most asked about steam generator mainly because they have one of the strongest offline and online presence through superior marketing efforts. They really created a name for themselves by working harder than anyone early on in the industry to create an excellent customer service experience. What happened is that their competitors had to really step up their game to deliver that kind of quality service as well. I would say that nowadays there are a few brands that also provide comparable service quality. Aside from the brand Thermasol, which is out of most people's price range, this is the 2nd in line as far as grade of components that I've reviewed. In terms of servicing they also have a lifetime warranty like Thermasol but Thermasol’s in house warranty portion greatly surpasses Mr. Steam along with most brands.
The Mr. Steam generator has an Autoflush which is great if you are using tap water and don't want the water to scale inside the tank but it is just not a pressurized cleaning function like Thermasol’s. Mr. Steam also has a super high voltage contactor while most of the other brands out there use a low voltage type (except for the brands I rank as Tier 1 Quality). Their heating element is an oversized type like the Thermasol so it would be a little more expensive to replace but it lasts a very very long time. The diameter of their heater gives the steam the temperature they are known for and the fluence is very high. Not the highest of Tier 1 brands but without having to paying 7+ grand for the whole package, I haven't seen higher.
They also have a self-diagnosing indicator function where the LED screen tells you what is wrong and it troubleshoots on its own. This company was first to offer this however a few other Tier 1 brands now have this. I would say that this is definitely a must have feature and will avoid a few technician visits over its lifetime of usage. How useful is this function on a daily basis however? Not really because most of the things that go wrong with steam generators usually needs a technician or real servicing to fix…and usually the company will be involved with diagnosing the problem anyways.
Mr. Steam has been in business for over 40 years. This is second longest to Thermosol which are about 8 years longer. The way I look at it, if going for a high end residential unit Thermasol has the warranty and top components. Since most people don’t have a need to shoot for the gold most people compare the Mr. Steam models to Thermasol. Depending on how dry you want the heat, the fluence intensity, and how long per day it’s going to run, those are the main factors to decide on which brand to pick out and an area of research and analysis that only I do and that people consult my expertise with. When I go to hotels and spas, almost always it has one of these two brands. This is also an area I have spent researching as far as how each of the Tier 1 brands perform in commercial applications. Mr. Steam has always been a dependable name in commercial settings.
Note: Mr. Steam generators do not come standard with an option to provide immediate or instant steam (within 15-60 seconds). To have this function it does cost extra. Realize that many companies throw this in standard but the components might be much lower grade..along with servicing and people get sold on having that quick start steam function the savings on that feature really might be hiding the real quality of that steamer.
Extra costs to have the quick steam feature added on to the Mr. Steam generators would be electricity costs because a small amount of water is kept constantly hot 24 hours a day. This is more of a commercial application kind of like the hot water taps that people put on their sink in case they want a hot cup of tea any time they want and don't have to boil water. If your electricity is expensive where you live you might want to do a cost analysis getting the exact kilowatt hours pulled by the Mr. Steam with the quick steam function versus another brand.
Notes on Mr. Steam Generators
Mr. Steam generators are in a class of their own. I have to say this is the best single tank pressurized steam generator on the market. I can go into detail why. Although I am not a fan of wet steam, this is the driest of all the single tanks I have reviewed. There is a lot of confusion between open tanks and closed tanks. This works at a much higher pressure than all the other single tanks I have reviewed. Most people are calling me about the Kholers, the Steamists, the Amerecs, the Elite Steams and I tell them, every component of Mr. Steam can handle high pressure and it gives a very intense fluence of steam and doesn't spit out water like the low pressure models that can't handle pressure like Mr. Steam.
Their steam tanks are stainless steel. Although not 304 surgical steel, the cleaning system is the best I have seen. It does cost extra. For those that have a pre steam inline water filter, you don't need to buy the cleaning system. Their heating elements last many years before servicing if it is maintained well by not letting limescale build up. Let me know if your water is hard. I recommend a water softener if it is especially if the elements aren't surgical steel.
I have 3 contacts for Mr. Steam. This is the most expensive single tank pressurized steam brand on the market. Most people will shop around and dig deep on the internet for best prices on Mr. Steam. I will save everyone some time. There are MAP (Minimum Advertised Prices) and authorized dealers are not allowed to discount under these prices but can sell at any price we want as long as that price is not advertised. That's why everyone I talk to that calls all the dealers on the internet will get different prices way cheaper than the advertised price.
You will probably get prices from the top 3 advertisers on Google if you are searching on Google and they will all be pretty much competitive with each other. Why? Because most dealers follow map and don't do anything to jeopardize their dealer ship. I can usually get my customers about 10% to 20% better than the average quote and for those that prefer to wait just a few weeks, I put my group orders in twice a month and get a discount when I buy 6 or more of the same brand. Those that have plumbers waiting and need it shipped next day will always pay more.
I urge those considering a Mr. Steam to go to a local spa and try out a steam room that has this brand. I also recommend trying a continuous type steam room to compare and really get to know your steam before considering which brand to get. Most people do not consider steam duty cycles, latent heat index and how higher humidity in relation to the steam room design can affect your steam experience.
If you want to know if a Mr. Steam brand steam generator is right for you start by taking my my steam
questionnaire. You just might get a different size than you originally thought was the right size for your steam room.
1-877-310-8385
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SteamReviewed.com
Need advice, call Sharon or Alex at 1-877-310-8385
1-877-310-8385
Open from 8am till 10pm
Ask for Sharon
Confused on How to Choose a Steam Generator
Are you comparing Tier1 brands like Steamcore, Mr. Steam, and Thermasol?
Our newest guide to choosing the right size and brand.
Things to consider:
1. How fast the steam disappears. The dry steam will linger much longer as it is much lighter. Imagine taking a spray bottle and spraying water into the air. That will make the steam more wet and humid. This is the type of steam that I try to avoid. The heating elements that have more surface area touching the steam and the wattage is spread out over more heating element the dryer the steam it should be.
Note: There are 2 way to heat up a person's core temperature in a sauna. One is having too much latent heat and it heats up the room and walls. The room is almost hot as a sauna even when the steam has all disappeared. The other is from dryer heat that has low moisture and the walls aren't as hot and the vapor in the room heats the person, not just latent heat. The driest steam comes from open boiler tanks, not closed pressured water tanks that release all the steam in one load. This type usually has a 50 50 duty cycle meaning that it is on half the time and off half the time. This is one of the biggest complaints on these types of generators.
2. Temperature variance: Some generators make the room super hot to the point where it burns my nose to breath in the steam and then the steam disappears and the steam generator kicks back on when the boiler is ready to dump. The Thermasol has a continuous steam with 2 boilers (a small and large one) so it always can produce steam. The type that has a 3 degree variance is from the open boilers and has the driest steam. Too wet of steam does not feel good and feels muggy as it has less vapor and more water moisture.
The pressurized type based on every room I have ever tested has more drippiness from the ceiling. This is another reason why getting the right size generator helps so the room does not get to 100% steam and then the steam clumps into moisture since there is no where for the extra steam to go. With dry steam, there is less to worry about since there is less moisture to start with.
People ask me all the time what is wet steam and what is dry steam. Imagine pouring water on a rock sauna. That is super dry steam. Imagine boiling a large pot of water for some pasta. That steam is super wet. The latest steam generators allow just enough water to enter the boiling chamber to become steam and it is digitally controlled. This type is the latest type that has the 3 degree variance.
3. How to get the driest steam.
Having a non pressurized open tank is the most important thing I look for if I want dry steam but to take it to the next level it can be very expensive. The best selling size is the 9kw and 10.5kw for most homes. 90% of all people coming to my site buy this size.
Comparing two generators that have the same wattage. This is how I tell the difference.
Most steam generators have 2 to 3 two foot heaters curled up in the boiler. A 9 kw steam generator can have 3 heaters that are 3000 watts each or it can have two 4500 watt heaters and or it can have one 9000 kw heater.
The generators that have more heaters with more surface area and less wattage per heater should make the driest heat.
For those that want to experience the driest steam I have found in all the steam generators I've reviewed are the ones that have 11 foot heaters curled up instead of the 2 foot heaters. The average 10.5 kw generator has 2 two foot heaters. The top end models have three 11 foot heaters. The driest steam generator at the lowest size comes in 9kw if someone wants to get three 11 foot heaters and have an open boiler.
Dryness ratio: This is the biggest concern I get. Those who want a steam generator that gets really hot then cools down then gets hot then cools down may want the pressurized boiler types. These are the original type. Many people do not like having to wait for the steam to kick back on each time and want a more continuous steam. This is when many people like the Thermasol or the Steamcore. These 2 are very different. One brand has dual boilers, a large main one and a smaller one so their is continuous steam. This is a pressurized type too kinda like a pressure cooker in the kitchen. The Steamcore is different than the Mr. Steam and the Thermasol as it is an open tank. It lets just enough water to come in when there is a 3 degree variance. This makes the driest steam and is similar to what people can experience in a sweat lodge.
Example of wet steam: Boiling a pot of water for pasta and breathing in the steam coming off. That is steam that is very damp and not 100% vapor
Dry steam: Taking that same pot and pouring all the water out and heating it up. If the pot is dry and it is put into the sink and you put just a little water into it, you can see the water evaporate in front of your eyes. That is dry steam, 100% evaporated. Pressurized tanks similar to a pressure cooker dump all the steam at once. Open tanks are the type that give the most vapor and less moisture.
For those who don't quite understand wet steam, if I go in a steam room with an open steam tank that has the 11 foot heaters and I take a water bottle and start spraying, it will eventually become humid and the steam will become wet steam and clump together. When a generator dumps the steam before it is all vaporized when the steam room temperature goes down, the boiled steam is not ready to release but releases anyway since the sensor told it to. These steam rooms are the drippy type where their is way too much dripping from the ceiling and the room is hot but with less steam vapor.
Note: There is nothing wrong with the single boiler type like the Mr. Steam or the double boiler continuous type like Thermasol. The latest generation open tank types with digital timed water is the only type I found to give consistent dry steam the entire time. Those who buy the first two types that have the need to splash water on the sensor will only trip the sensor and let out the steam before it is ready to go out and all this does is give out even wetter steam that has not evaporated yet into vapor.
Drippy steam - this is another complaint. The wet steam types usually cut of the steam and there is a long enough window for all the steam to go away. The open tank gives the closest to the 100% vapor and the low drippiness is due to the low latent heat index rating of that generator. If the room heats up too quick it has a higher rating. If there is less moisture and more vapor the room can hold more steam.
Surface area of heaters: It is out of most people’s budget but the steam generators that have larger heating elements have more surface area. Most models have two 2 1/2 foot heaters and some have three 11-foot heaters. A 9kw generator that has 3 3000W heaters that are 11 foot long versus the same 9kw model that has 2 4500W heaters that are only 2 foot in length close the gap between nearly 100% dry and the next noticeable difference. This is comparing only the open tank types.
Pictures of Mr. Steam heating elements. These are not surgical steel elements. For those that don't want to add mineral solution every 90 sessions to keep the mineral deposits off their elements, ask about surgical steel (304 grade).
Many people use galvanized brass or copper tubing, or even PVC. Make sure you know the types of piping to get.
Dry steam - Make sure you know the type of steam you are going to get before getting a generator. This video shows dry steam.
Scroll to 2:01 to see an example of how long dry steam lingers. This is not pressurized steam.
Which type of customer are you?
Know what is more important to you before choosing a steam generator.
This is the steam room ventilator that goes on the ceiling to help get rid of excess moisture caused by steam generators that make steam that is too wet that causes the moisture to rise to the ceiling (Brownian motion). This may be needed along with a marine grade fan to suction cup on the wall. Some generators that have a low psi that lets too much water leak into the steam can be fixed by having the fan and ventilator.
For those that already bought a low psi pressure cooker type steam generator, it is not to late to try to fix the problem and make your steam session more enjoyable
Picture on the left: This is what ceramic tile does. It wicks the steam that touches it instead of reflecting it off the wall. If using ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone, I urge people to have a steam with a dryer starting point.
Note on buying a pressurized steam generator if you have ceramic:
For those that have very small steam rooms, especially if having to upsize the kilowatt size 30 percent or more, it can get very loud.
I urge people who are buying a single tank pressurized generator to look into Tadelakt instead of ceramic. Tadelakt is becoming the new ceramic for steam rooms. It absorbs much more noise than ceramic or porcelain. The sound acoustics are very noticeable. That echo sound of the high pitch generator is way quieter. Also, since its smoother, molds and odors are nothing like ceramic since it doesn't need the grout like the other tiles. If using a non pressure cooker type, those are quieter and should not be a concern. Travertine is also becoming more popular.
MR. Steam
MS90E
Lowest price we found $1275
Call for discounts.
MR. Steam
MS150E
Lowest price we found $1620
Call for discounts.
MR. Steam
MS225E
Lowest price we found $1779
Call for discounts.
MR. Steam
MS400E
Lowest price we found $1905
Call for discounts.
MR. Steam
MS-SUPER-2E
Lowest price we found $2457
Call for discounts.
MR. Steam
MS-SUPER-1E
Lowest price we found $2205
Call for discounts.
MR. Steam
MS-SUPER-3E
Lowest price we found $2770
Call for discounts.
Pricing on Mr. Steam:
These are the lowest prices we have found from dealers on the internet. We are not allowed to advertise discounts but we can let you know what the lowest prices we found from authorized dealers.
If interested in a steam generator, please take our Steam quiz and Sizing quiz. You do not want to get a steam generator and have the wrong size. Most sizing charts do not figure in the ceiling height but just the overall cubic feet. Most also don't consider the type of steam. Wetter steam and latent heat can stay near the ceiling while the legs and feet are much cooler. Take the Steam Quiz here.
Customer notice: I just got off the phone with someone and they didn't understand the differences between a 304 Stainless Steel boiling tank and generator frame versus a Surgical Steel tanks and frames. I am going to sift through all my emails and make a page on all the problems people have with their generators that are not covered by the warranty. (I have more pictures of rusted generators on my Steamist page for their brand too. If the high pressure release valves bust and are not maintained (water pressure reducers and having too hard of water since it can be a problem on pressurized generators... a generator that might last 25 years in one location might last only 2 to 5 years in a different home. Please let me know on my quiz if your water pressure is high or water is hard.
We are getting many calls comparing Mr. Steam to L series. This is a comparison of the L series in a nutshell:
L Series Generators
These only come in 9KW or above.
Hydrostatically tested for super high PSI giving dry steam
Duty cycles
Hand welded joints. Will never rust through.
Elements should never need to be replaced for 30 years
Those that are comparing Mr. Steam, the L series has a high dryness fraction and very little condensate comes out into the steam. These are the Ferrari of pressure cooker type steam generators for those that don’t want continuous dry steam. There are 2 types of customers and 50% buy the duty cycle type and the other 50% buy the continuous type. The steam quality on the L series is nearly the same as the non pressure cooker type generators we sell but the main noticeable difference in steam quality is negligible but the duty cycles will make the session longer. If you like to wait a few minutes for steam each time then this is the type to get. If you want to get the same therapy in half the time then the continuous type might be preferred.
The L Series is hand welded and the best way I can describe it is like buying a handmade exotic car. These are the most expensive pressure cooker design steam generators money can buy. These are boutique steam generators and are made to order just like the Canadian company that makes the surgical steel silver saudered models. These are made in the USA and no Chinese steel or components.
The L series is much more expensive compared to the same KW size Mr. Steam. This is a picture of the L series steam generator. The L series makes the driest steam of all the single tank pressure cooker generators I have reviewed.
Take my Steam Quiz to see if the L series or Mr. Steam is the one based on the answers on your quiz. Take the Steam Quiz here.
