Steam & Oak Hehku 800 Wood-Fired Hot Tub — 2–3 Person Oval with External Stove

The Hehku 800 is the compact one: an 800 litre oval tub with an external wood stove, seating two to three people.

No pump, no plumbing, no electricity — you light a fire and it heats the water.

The smallest wood-fired tub we sell

At 2.4 m long and 1.19 m wide, this fits gardens that will not take a 2.3 m round tub. The oval shape puts two people comfortably opposite each other rather than crowded.

The stove sits outside the tub wall rather than in the water, which means the full 800 litres is usable bathing space — a meaningful difference at this size, where an internal stove would take up a seat.

800 litres also heats faster than the larger tubs, which on a wood-fired tub is the specification that most affects whether you actually use it.

Specification

How a wood-fired hot tub actually works

There is no pump, no control panel and no electricity. The stove heats the water directly, convection circulates it, and you control the temperature by how much wood you burn and when you stop feeding it.

On this model the stove sits outside the tub, connected by flow and return pipes. That keeps the whole 800 litres as bathing space and puts the hot metal away from where you sit.

Heat-up time is the honest trade-off. Expect roughly 1.5 to 2.5 hours from cold with a well-fed fire. That is slower than an electric spa you leave running at temperature — but you are not paying to keep 800 litres hot 24 hours a day for the two evenings a week you use it.

Running cost, honestly

An electric hot tub costs roughly £40–£80 a month to keep at temperature year-round, whether you use it or not. A wood-fired tub costs whatever the wood costs — typically a few pounds per session — and nothing at all when it is sitting idle.

The catch: you light it each time. If you want to step into hot water on a whim at 9pm, an electric spa does that and this does not. If you plan your soak an hour or two ahead, this is far cheaper to own.

No electrics, no electrician

This is the part that decides it for a lot of gardens. A conventional hot tub needs a dedicated supply — commonly £400–£1,200 for a garden circuit, plus Part P notification. A wood-fired tub needs none of it. No cable, no trench, no consumer-unit work.

That makes it possible at the bottom of a garden, on a plot with no supply, or anywhere running power would cost more than the tub.

Smoke and neighbours — read this first

A wood-fired tub has a flue and produces smoke, and we would rather flag that now than have you discover it later.

If you are in a smoke control area, the rules apply to garden appliances with a chimney. You may only burn authorised fuel unless the appliance is on DEFRA's exempt register. Check your postcode with your council before ordering — our smoke control area guide covers what that means in practice.

Even outside a smoke control area, think about where the smoke goes. A flue close to a neighbour's windows causes friction regardless of what the law permits.

Water care

Without a filtration system you change the water rather than treat it continuously. For a tub used a couple of times a week, that means emptying and refilling every week or two — cheaper and simpler than dosing chemicals, but it is a job.

Chemical treatment is possible if you would rather leave the water in longer. We can advise on what suits your usage.

Siting it

A firm, level base. At 170 kg empty and around 970 kg full, this needs a properly load-bearing base. Water alone weighs a tonne per cubic metre. Paving slabs on a compacted sub-base, a concrete pad, or a deck rated for the load — and check the deck rating properly, because most garden decking is not built for this.

Clearance around the stove and flue. The firebox and chimney get genuinely hot. Keep them clear of fencing, overhanging branches and anything combustible.

Drainage. You will empty it regularly, so think about where the water goes.

Hot and cold together

A wood-fired tub next to a sauna or a cold plunge is the traditional Nordic pattern, and each gets used far more when they are together. See our garden saunas and cold plunge tubs.

2-year warranty

Two years on the tub and the stove. Covers manufacturing defects and workmanship.

Lead time — please ask before you order

Lead times vary with stock and specification — anything from 2 to 12 weeks. Ask us before you commit and we will give you the real date.

Delivery

Delivered on a pallet. The stove travels separately and is fitted on site.

Images are manufacturer renders.