How to Fire Up the Wood Burning Hot Tub

Just like making a delicious meal from scratch, a hot tub with a wood stove requires prep work before you can enjoy it. There’s the gathering of ingredients, chopping, heating the water, stirring, and testing. The groundwork for a hot soak involves a series of simple tasks that we at GOODLAND call the 90-minute ritual. Each step asks you to be present and engaged in the experience, before being rewarded with the results of your efforts—that first step into the steaming, soothing water.

If you’re new to bathing in a wood heated hot tub, you might be wondering how the wood stove works, how long it takes to heat up, and what steps are involved before you can sink into the hot water.

Read on to discover a detailed outline of each step.

The process may seem daunting at first and could take longer than 90 minutes, but we promise it’s a quick learning curve. You’ll be completely hooked after your first soak!

Steps to Prepare the Hot Tub

Before you begin, remember to take pleasure in the process. Be mindful of each action, from splitting the firewood to stirring the water—it’s all about creating a meaningful experience, rather than focusing on the end result.

1 / Check the water

1. Remove any debris in the water—a pool skimmer net is a great tool for this.
2. Check the reminder ring to ensure there’s enough water in the hot tub.

2 / Gather wood and prepare materials

1. Gather a handful of kindling and a few logs in a range of sizes to add to your fire as it gets started. 
2. Have matches or a long lighter, and some paper or fire starter to get the kindling lit.
3. Place some additional firewood in your firewood holder or near the tub.

3 / Start the fire

1. Remove the lid to the stove box.
2. Crumple a few balls of paper and place them on the bottom of the stove.
3. Add the kindling criss-cross style over top. Make sure not to use too much, as you want enough room for air to circulate around it. 
4. Carefully light the fire.

4 / Build up the fire 

1. Once the kindling stack is burning nicely, move up to larger pieces of kindling.
2. After adding and getting the larger pieces burning, add increasingly larger logs approx. 3-4” in diameter. Note: anything bigger than this will draw energy out of the fire instead of transferring it into heating the water.
3. Arrange the wood loosely so that air can get around each log, and then fill the stove to the top.
4. Replace the lid, keeping it open by about 1” to provide air intake to the bottom of the fire, helping it burn.

5 / Feed the fire & stir the water

1. Continue to stock the stove with wood so it slowly feeds itself and the fire doesn't go out.
2. Check the fire every 30 minutes or so, adding wood if needed.
3. When the water starts to feel warm, stir it with the wood paddle to mix the bands of hot water with the cold (otherwise the water temperatures stay separated and it takes longer to warm up the water).
4. If you have a hot tub cover, put it on to help the water retain heat.

While you wait for the Wood Burning Hot Tub to slowly yet steadily heat, find a mindful activity to help yourself slow down: swim, prepare a meal, tend to your garden, read a book, or just tune into nature. Be sure to remember to check the fire and stir the water after 30 minutes has passed.

6 / Prepare to soak

1. Close to the 90-min mark, roll back the cover to check the temperature of the water with a thermometer or by immersing your wrist in the water.
2. When the water is close to your perfect temperature, stop adding wood and close the stove lid—it’ll soon arrive at your temperature. As an example, if you’re seeking 104℉ (average hot tub temp), close the lid around the 95℉ mark.
3. Allow the fire to smolder during your soak, adding more wood if necessary to help maintain the heat.

Now it’s time to enjoy the life-changing experience of bathing outdoors in water heated only by wood.

You’ll notice your senses are heightened, and how it’s easy to tune into subtle details such as the cedar-scented water or the dampness of the surrounding forest. Take a few breaths as you soak, and let yourself feel completely at peace.

After Your Soak

Place a cover over your hot tub after bathing, and the water will stay warm for the next 24-48 hours—depending upon ambient temperature and if you’ve added insulation to the tub. If you soak for two days in a row, you’ll notice how much faster the heating process is on the second day.

The GOODLAND Hot Tub is triple insulated, but adding rigid insulation underneath the tub and under the cover helps it retain heat even more, especially during the winter.

If you’re curious to see it in action, GOODLAND’s Co-founder, Craig, created a short video on how to light the fire to heat the Hot Tub:

Top Fire Tips

If you haven’t used a wood stove before or have limited experience making fires, here are a few extra pointers:

1. Stove lid - use it as a damper to control the fire—it regulates the airflow to the fire. When you want the fire to get hot, leave it wide open. When you want it to stay steady, close the lid.
2. Smoke - if smoke is puffing out of the chimney, it might mean not enough air is getting into the stove box to the fire. Try sliding open the lid to allow more air in. The firewood that you’re using might alos be the cause—read our guide to the Best Firewood to Burn for an efficient, smokeless fire. If smoke is coming out of the stove box, gently blow on the fire so the draft catches in the chimney. 
3. Listen to the fire - after several soaks in the wood heated hot tub, you’ll start to learn the sounds of the fire and what it needs at each stage.
4. Firewood supply - always have lots of firewood on hand and keep it in a dry spot. While waiting for your tub to heat, gather and chop more firewood for future soaks: both kindling and 3-4” diameter logs. Use a manual tool like a splitting axe or a kindling splitter to help cut logs into smaller pieces.

How Long Do Wood Fired Hot Tubs Take to Heat?

Not all wood fired hot tubs take 90 minutes to heat up. There are several factors that can impact heating time, including:

1. Water capacity - larger tubs holding more water take longer.
2. Stove type - submerged stoves tend to heat water quicker than external ones.
3. Temperature of the water - cold tap water will take longer than recently heated water.
4. External temperature - colder temperatures may prolong the time.

The GOODLAND Wood Burning Hot Tub is the fastest to heat up compared to other wood fired hot tubs because it has a smaller footprint and requires less water: only 210 gallons (800 L).

Most of the traditional round hot tubs that fit 4-6 people will take around three to four hours to heat.

How To Get the Hot Tub to Heat More Quickly 

As noted above, it could take longer than 90 minutes for the first couple of times you use the GOODLAND Hot Tub—it just takes a little practice. Follow these tips to help you master the process:

1. Air management - make sure the fire gets lots of air, as it burns as much oxygen as it does wood. For example, If you suffocate the fire by densely packing a lot of wood in the stove box before you have a good little fire started, it stops the combustion process and your fire could go out. 
2. Stir the water often - since hot water rises to the top, dip your paddle in deep to mix the water. Stir the water around 3-4x as it heats.
3. Remove the seat back - if you remove the seat back that sits against the submerged stove, the heated water will be able to move more freely into the tub.
4. Add rigid insulation - you’ll retain even more heat by adding a rigid insulation panel from a local building supplier under the hot tub cover. We recommend going one step further by adding additional insulation under the tub if you live in a cold climate. 
5. Use the right firewood - your firewood should always be dry and seasoned. Choose softwoods like pine and cedar for kindling because they catch fire and burn quickly, and use hardwoods like oak and maple for the main fuel source. Hardwoods will produce a slow-burning fire with increased heat output.

What if the Water Gets Too Hot?

Sometimes the hot tub water can get too hot if you miss closing the stove lid at the right time. It’s an easy fix: just add a little cold water and mix it in. We recommend having a bucket of cold water or your garden hose close by.

What if the Water Isn’t Hot Enough When I Get In?

This can happen if the water in the wood burning hot tub doesn’t get mixed thoroughly with the paddle. Simply add another log or two to the fire and keep the stove lid slightly open to help feed the fire and generate heat. You can even do this when you’re already in the hot tub with our top-loading, submerged stove design, and if your firewood is within reach.

For answers to any other questions, read our Wood Burning Hot Tub FAQs as well as the Deep Dive into common FAQs for even more detail.

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Kendra Nickerson

Kendra is a writer, editor, and strategist who is driven by a love for finding better ways to do things. She covers the Resources articles for GOODLAND—the how-tos and whys. Kendra loves to garden, cook, and go on vacations that combine nature with bathing. In her past life, she worked in art and design.