Homestead

Snorkel Hot Tub

Wood powered hot tub

Our neighbor has one of these which we’ve used with great appreciation and delight. It’s your basic wood-fired, fresh water, aromatic wooden hot tub. Takes two or three hours to heat up, but it’s pretty thrifty with the fuel. The gut is a marine-grade aluminum stovebox, which you can purchase alone (choice of large or small) or in a cedar/redwood tub and stove combo that costs about half of a modern fiberglass version. Even the small one is roomy enough for three. Bathers are safely protected from the submerged stove by a metal and wood shield. A drip of Clorox between soaks keeps the water tame. Discounting your labor in making firewood and keeping the firebox stoked, the upkeep is free. This tub is ideal for a remote cabin, cottage or hideout anywhere off the grid — precisely the kind of place where a steaming hot bath with an open view is most welcomed.

-- KK 09/12/03

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