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Wood-Fired Hot Tubs

Wood-fired hot tubs from $2,995.95 in cedar, pine and stainless steel. No electrician, no plumber, no permit and no monthly running cost — a tub, a wood stove, a hose and firewood is the entire installation.

Wood-Fired Hot Tubs

A wood-fired hot tub needs no electrician, no plumber, no permit and no monthly running cost. It is a cedar or stainless tub, a wood stove, a hose and firewood. That is the entire installation. For a short-term rental that puts it in a completely different category from a conventional spa, which needs a dedicated circuit, a concrete pad, chemicals dosed between guests and a power bill that runs whether anyone is soaking or not.

Our range starts at $2,995.95 for a 422-gallon pine tub seating four to five, and several of these units run hot in winter and cold the rest of the year, so you are buying one tub instead of two.

Which One Fits

Internal Stove — heats fastest

The firebox sits inside the water, so almost all the heat goes where you want it. This is the quickest to temperature and the simplest to run. The trade is bathing space: the stove takes up part of the tub.

See the internal stove tub

External Stove — more room to soak

The stove sits outside the shell, so the whole tub is yours. It takes longer to come up to temperature and burns a little more wood, but for a group booking the extra space usually wins.

See the external stove tub

Stainless Steel — hot tub and cold plunge in one

A stainless liner in a cedar surround. Run it as a wood-fired hot tub through the winter and drain it down to a cold plunge in summer. One footprint, both halves of the ritual, and about a third less than buying an ice bath and a hot tub separately.

See the combination tub

Cedar Ice Bath — the cold half

118 gallons, no power, no plumbing, no installation at all. The lowest-commitment way to add a genuinely rare amenity, and it can be moved if you change your mind about where it lives.

See the Lumina ice bath

What It Actually Costs to Run

This is the number most people get wrong, so here it is plainly. A conventional hot tub sits at temperature 365 days a year and draws power the whole time. A wood-fired tub costs nothing at all until you light it.

  Wood-fired tub Conventional electric spa
Install Level pad and a hose Dedicated circuit, electrician, often a permit
Running cost Firewood, only when in use Power bill every day of the year
Power cut Still works Stops working
Between guests Drain and refill Test and dose chemicals
Heat-up from cold 2–3 hours Held at temperature already

The trade is honest: you have to plan ahead. A wood-fired tub is not a thing you switch on from your phone on the drive home. For a rental that means one line in the house manual telling guests to light it before dinner, not after.

Why It Works on a Listing

It is the photograph people book from

Steam coming off a cedar tub with snow on the ground is the single strongest winter photo a property can have. Fire pits and hot tubs are table stakes now; a wood-fired tub still reads as something rare.

It fills the months that are hard to fill

Most outdoor amenities earn their keep between May and September. This one earns most in December and January, which is exactly when calendars go quiet.

It goes where power does not

Cabins, riverfront lots, back corners of a property, anywhere running a new circuit would cost more than the tub. If you can get a hose to it and stand it on something level, it works.

And if it is your own backyard

The same things are true without the booking calendar. Nobody has ever regretted the tub that costs nothing to own while it sits there through the week.

Common Questions

How long does it really take to heat?

Two to three hours from cold for a 422-gallon tub, depending on the outside temperature and how hard you run the stove. An internal stove is at the fast end of that, an external stove at the slow end. In deep winter, add time.

What do I stand it on?

Anything level and load-bearing — a concrete pad, compacted gravel, pavers, or a deck built to carry the weight. Remember to work it out full: 422 gallons of water is roughly 3,500 lb before anybody gets in.

Does it need any plumbing?

No. You fill it with a garden hose and drain it through a valve at the bottom. There is nothing to connect to the house.

How do I keep the water clean?

Most owners simply drain and refill rather than run a chemical routine, which is realistic because there is no pump holding water in circulation. If guests are using it, treat it as you would any shared tub and follow your local health guidance for short-term rentals.

Can it stay outside through the winter?

That is what it is built for, and winter is when it gets used most. The one thing to be careful about is leaving it full and unused through a hard freeze — ice expanding inside a full tub is what damages them. Drain it if you are closing up.

What kind of wood do I burn?

Ordinary seasoned firewood. Hardwood burns longer and steadier; softwood lights faster and burns hotter but goes quicker. Do not burn treated or painted timber in it.

What does delivery cost?

These ship by freight truck and delivery is charged at cost, never marked up. Use the Request a Custom Quote button on any tub page and we will come back with a real delivered number — lift gate and residential fees included — before you commit to anything.

Add the Cold Half

Hot then cold is the whole ritual, and it is what people plan trips around. Pair a wood-fired tub with the cedar ice bath, or take the stainless unit that does both from one shell. If you want the full version, add a sauna and you have a property that is genuinely hard to compare against anything else in town.

Not sure which size or stove type suits your space? Tell us how many people the property sleeps and where the tub would go, and we will tell you which one fits. Get in touch.