How to Connect Two Steam Generators

Size matters when it comes to enjoying the full benefits of steam. Depending on the dimensions of your enclosure, you may need to connect two steam generators for your home steam room.

What Goes Into Properly Sizing a Steam Room?

If you would like to experience the health and wellness gains associated with steambath benefits, you will need to ensure that your steam generator is properly sized to fit your shower space. To do so, you will need to understand both your steam room design (physical volume), as well as its construction (surfaces).

Some larger shower rooms require not one, but two steam generators. You may ask, "what size steam shower generator do I need?" The two most important considerations in proper steam shower sizing are steam room size and materials.

1. The Size of Your Steam Room

This component is fairly straightforward. If your shower room has a high ceiling or expansive dimensions, you will need a steam generator that can produce enough steam to efficiently fill that space. An undersized generator would never be capable of creating enough steam to rejuvenate you after a long day.

2. The Materials Used in Your Steam Room

When it comes to steam bath materials, some surfaces hold heat better than others. When selecting tile or natural surfaces to construct a steam shower; designers must consider a material’s porosity, or its ability to absorb and retain heat. The more porous a material (e.g., marble, shale, granite, glass block, or concrete), the more quickly it will dissipate heat, and the more steam you will require.

In practical terms, this means that if you choose the natural beauty of marble or stone for your steam shower, be sure to select a more powerful generator to compensate for the “quick heat release” of these materials. Conversely, if a steam room is constructed of less-porous materials (e.g., tile, acrylic or synthetic materials), a smaller steam generator is likely to be sufficient.

>> See MrSteam's 1 minute Materials Matter video.

For large shower rooms composed of porous materials, you will likely need a large steam generator, or possibly even two.

>> See Kitchen and Bath Designers Talk Ultimate Spa Bathroom Design

>> See How To Design a Steam Shower Bathroom: Corey S. Klassen Explains

How To Connect Two Steam Generators With a Tandem Connection

“When you have two generator units, one serves as the primary controller, while the other serves in a secondary or order-taker role,’” says Kris Lee, Technical Sales Representative for Mr.Steam products. In those instances, there needs to be some way for the two units to “communicate” in order to jointly produce enough steam.

That communication occurs through a tandem control cable that connects both units.

Kris details the following steps for properly installing a tandem cable for a MS Super 4 to a MS Super 6 generator package. (As easy as Kris makes it look, Mr.Steam recommends that you work with a qualified professional.)

To install a tandem cable:

1. Shut off the power to both steam generators.
2. Remove the top access lid for your main generator and locate the PC board.
3. Locate the white Molex plug on the PC board. Plug in the four-wire tandem cable to this input.
4. Run the other end of the tandem cable to the secondary generator's PC board and insert it in the same Molex plug. To operate properly, the tandem cable must be plugged in the same way on both generators.
5. Reconnect power to both generators and test.

Here is the 50 second video demonstrating the tandem cable connection.

MrSteam How to: Tandem Connection from Mr.Steam on Vimeo.

>> Download the MS 90E Super 6E Generator Installation Manual. Page 11 includes a diagram for the tandem cable. 

With the tandem cable creating a line of communication between your steam generators, you can rest assured that your spacious, all-natural shower room will get nice and steamy.

For more information, check out the Mr.Steam Virtual Spa which serves double duty as a steam generator sizing guide.