Operators do not lose money when a heater fails. They lose it in the four days between the failure and the part. That is the problem the Apex is built around: the heating elements sit inside a protected air chamber rather than out in the rock, so the water you throw hits stone instead of steel.
Homecraft has been building sauna heaters in British Columbia for more than three decades. Our own internal note on them is short: their tech support is good enough that we route commercial buyers here rather than to brands we sell more of.
Match the output to the room, not to the square footage
Sauna heaters are sized on air volume, so measure length by width by ceiling height and use the number in cubic feet. These are the ranges in the Apex install manual. Glass walls, stone, tile and any uninsulated surface push you toward the next size up.
| Model | Output | Room volume |
|---|---|---|
| Apex 10 kW | 10,000 W | 400 to 575 cu ft |
| Apex 12 kW | 12,000 W | 450 to 750 cu ft |
| Apex 15 kW | 15,000 W | 600 to 950 cu ft |
| Apex 18 kW | 18,000 W | 690 to 1,150 cu ft |
Minimum ceiling height for any Apex is 7 feet.
What your electrician needs
All four sizes run on a single circuit. The 10 kW is 240V single-phase only, and the 18 kW is 208V three-phase only.
| Model | 240V single phase | 208V three phase |
|---|---|---|
| 10 kW | 41.6 A, 50 A breaker, #8 wire | not available |
| 12 kW | 50 A, 70 A breaker, #6 wire | 33.4 A, 50 A breaker, #6 wire |
| 15 kW | 62.5 A, 80 A breaker, #6 wire | 41.7 A, 60 A breaker, #6 wire |
| 18 kW | not available | 48 A, 60 A breaker, #6 wire |
Homecraft asks that you skip a GFCI breaker unless your local code requires one, and that the high-limit manual reset switch is wired into the circuit. Wiring has to be done by a certified electrician: doing it any other way voids the warranty.
The line most Apex quotes get wrong
The TKE2-2 contactor box covers Homecraft heaters up to 10 kW. A 12, 15 or 18 kW Apex needs the larger TKE3, which is 75 amps resistive per pole and three-pole. If you have been quoted a 15 kW Apex with a TKE2-2, the quote is wrong and an inspector will catch it. Ask us and we will size the box with the heater.
Rock: order ten boxes
The Apex takes 10 boxes of igneous rock at 35 lbs each. Its basket holds 310 to 325 lbs, and rock gets stacked loose with gaps so the air chamber can breathe, which is why the box count runs ahead of the capacity figure. Use 3 to 6 inch stones, rinse them first, put the big ones in the bottom, and pull the worn ones once a year. Running any Homecraft heater without rock, or with stones that shatter, voids the warranty.
Clearances and the ceiling shield
- 5.5 inches to combustibles on every Apex.
- 48 inches minimum from the top of the heater to the ceiling.
- Heater guard required, and a towel drape guard on the top for US installations.
- An 18 kW Apex under a 7 foot ceiling needs the stainless ceiling heat shield, mounted directly above the heater with 2 inches of overhang past the 18 inch body and at least four screws.
- The floor under it has to carry 325 lbs of rock plus the heater. Nothing combustible underneath, so no duckboard and no towels.
Controls, and the Wi-Fi touchpad
Every Homecraft heater takes two pieces that are not in the heater box: a contactor box holding the 24V Class 2 transformer and magnetic contactor, and a touchpad that mounts in a two-gang box outside the sauna room. The standard touchpad runs a 60 minute cycle and adjusts between 25 and 90 C, factory set to 90 C.
The Wi-Fi touchpad is now stocked in North America, which it was not for most of 2025. It starts and stops the room from your phone, sets temperature remotely, and schedules sessions on a calendar, so a 6am room is hot at 6am without anyone driving over.
Installation and service
Homecraft’s own installation walkthrough and troubleshooting guide, worth ten minutes before your electrician arrives:
Where yours actually ships from
We source this line through a New York warehouse whenever the size you want is on the floor there, which covers the fastest-moving models. Anything not in stock is built to order in Surrey and crosses as Canadian origin under USMCA, so there is no import duty either way, just a longer window. We read all three supply feeds every morning, so ask before you book an electrician and we will tell you what is really on the floor today.
Certification and warranty
Every Apex is CSA and UL certified, made in Canada, and carries a two year manufacturer warranty when it has been installed and run to the manual. Homecraft treats heating elements as a consumable part and the Apex manual excludes them from that cover, so ask us to confirm element coverage in writing on your order before you assume it. Damage from improper stones or from a non-certified electrical connection is excluded.
Shop all commercial sauna heaters
Talk it through first
Send us the room dimensions, the ceiling height, what the walls are made of and what is in your panel, and we will size the heater, the contactor box and the rock together and tell you if a different heater fits better. Call (844) 565-1113.
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