Separation by material
Based on the material, furnace equipment is divided into two large groups:
- brick;
- metal.
Each type has characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.
Metal
Bath stoves are made of iron, steel, stainless steel, cast iron. Advantages of metal structures:
- low price;
- small sizes;
- little weight;
- simple installation;
- fast heating.
Metal models often have fastenings for placing a water tank. Additional devices can also be installed on the equipment: steam generators, automatic temperature regulators.
Flaws:
- fast cooling;
- metal models are not suitable for heating large bath complexes;
- low level of fire safety;
- To reduce infrared radiation around the stove, you need to make brickwork.
If you use a metal stove correctly, constantly care for it, and apply an anti-corrosion coating, you can increase its service life.
Brick
Brick structures consist of several elements:
- combustion chamber, which is made of refractory brick;
- grate grates;
- chimney;
- outer casing made of brick;
- ash box.
Sometimes designs are supplemented with a built-in or remote water box.
Advantages:
- suitable for heating large rooms;
- take a long time to cool down;
- do not require connection to the power supply network or gas pipe;
- high fire safety.
Flaws:
- Large mass. Because of this, you need to collect additional base.
- Brickwork must be done by a person who has practical skills.
- High price of consumables.
- Long heating time.
The main advantage is reliability and durability.
How to choose the best wood-burning stove for a sauna (for 3 categories of bath attendants)
The problems of choosing sauna stoves are associated with the variety of priorities put forward by future users, as well as with the fact that information about the real performance of certain stoves, if it exists, is in fragmentary form. There are attempts to compare models of some manufacturers with models of others, but everything again comes down to criteria, to the fact that there is no universal stove that would suit everyone without exception. Next
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Classification of metal devices
Types of metal furnace equipment:
- closed structures;
- open models;
- samovar-type sauna stoves - combined designs.
Closed
The designs are suitable for heating small steam rooms. There are three compartments inside the metal case. Elements of closed furnace equipment:
- container for heating water;
- built-in heater;
- combustion chamber;
- ash compartment
In order for the device to maintain a high temperature for a long time and cool slowly, you need to cover it with a layer of brick.
Open
The main difference between the designs is the presence of an open heater. The combustion chamber can be remote and can be brought into the room adjacent to the steam room. Open-type models can be equipped with a large-volume water tank. They are suitable for heating large rooms.
Combined
Combined models are a tall, elongated box that has several latches and a heater with an opening lid. Using valves, you can regulate the temperature and air supply to the combustion chamber.
Fuel variety for sauna stoves
When constructing a modern bathhouse, different types of bathhouse stoves are used in terms of fuel used:
- wood;
- gas;
- electrical;
- combined.
When choosing the type of stove, you must take into account the size of the bath and steam room, the quality of thermal insulation, the maximum number of visitors and the duration of the steam room.
According to the type of design, types of sauna stoves are conventionally divided into:
- open;
- closed;
- combined.
Classification depending on fuel
When operating, furnace equipment consumes some type of fuel. Depending on its type, the device changes, various parts and mechanisms are added.
Wood burning
Firewood began to be used for heating rooms a very long time ago. This material has many strengths and weaknesses. Advantages:
- availability, low price;
- good heat transfer rate.
The disadvantages include a high fire hazard.
It is better to store firewood inside bathhouses, since they need to be constantly added to the firebox.
To clean the system from soot and ash, you need to regularly heat the stove with aspen wood.
Gas
Gas stove equipment is less popular than wood-burning models. This is due to the complex installation of gas pipelines and high explosion hazard. Advantages:
- efficiency compared to other types of fuel;
- ability to regulate temperature;
- high reliability of the design.
In order for the furnace equipment to start working, it must be connected to a central gas supply system or a cylinder filled with gas.
Electrical
Advantages:
- presence of power regulators;
- possibility of automatic shutdown;
- efficiency, reliability, durability;
- the ability to accurately set the temperature.
Electric models have no serious disadvantages, but if you need to heat a large room, you need to install powerful equipment. It operates on a 380 volt network, which requires the installation of an additional transformer.
Combined
There are models of furnace equipment on sale that can operate on different types of fuel. They are called combined. Design options:
- Two fuel chambers. One for gas combustion, the other for solid fuel.
- One fuel chamber, inside of which there is a mechanism for dividing the firebox into two parts.
Furnace design
Choosing a stove for a bath involves selecting the most suitable design, and there are many more options here than when determining the required power.
Material
Most newly built baths are not intended for a large number of people, and their steam rooms have a small area. In such a steam room, the large dimensions of the stove become a hindrance. Therefore, a compact metal stove is a rational choice.
Another advantage of such a stove is its ease of installation. It does not require a massive foundation or complex work. It is simply placed on a solid platform and connected to the chimney and to the water supply system, if it has a water heater.
Metal stoves are made of sheet steel. Sheets of the greatest thickness, up to 5 mm, are used to make the firebox. The outer casing is painted with high-temperature paint, and in some models, stainless steel containing 17% chromium is used as a manufacturing material.
Heating stability
Steel conducts heat much better than brick, and therefore a metal stove has high heat transfer. Such stoves heat up quickly and cool down faster than, for example, cast iron stoves, which reduces the risk of fire hazards. To accumulate heat and stabilize heating, stone backfill is used. The greater the mass of stones heated from the furnace, the less the intensity of heat transfer changes during temperature changes.
A large heat reserve allows you to produce a large amount of steam. At the same time, its high quality is consistently ensured, since the temperature of the stones when sprayed with water changes little due to their large mass.
Most of these stoves can be fired from the room adjacent to the steam room. The firebox door is located at a considerable distance from the body and is connected to the stove by a neck - a fuel channel. Thus, it is possible to maintain cleanliness in the steam room - all waste from the fuel remains in the dressing room.
Safety
The metal of the oven heats up to a high temperature, which can pose a danger to people. To avoid burns, such a heater is equipped with a protective casing, like this model. In some cases, the protective fence is not a casing, but a stone backfill, as in grid furnaces, for example, “Sibirsky Utes”.
An air gap remains between the firebox and the protective casing, which serves as a heat insulator that reduces the temperature of the outer casing. In this gap, natural draft arises, which can be used to intensively distribute hot air throughout the entire volume of the steam room. To do this, holes are made in the housing for air entry from the bottom and exit from the top, as in models of the Kuzbass series.
The through air flow through the air gaps of the housing enhances convection, which allows you to very quickly warm up the air in the steam room, and the backfill of stones stabilizes the heating and provides a reserve of energy for steam formation. Often a device for generating steam is built into the stone backfill. Using this oven design, it is easy to obtain a constant flow of steam.
Independent production and installation
It's easier to make a metal stove. To do this, you need to prepare tools and consumables in advance:
- metal sheets;
- pipe with a diameter of 56 cm and a length of 1.5 meters;
- two doors;
- fittings for grate, heater;
- welding machine;
- metal scissors, grinder;
- hammer, pliers;
- pipes for chimney assembly.
Oven assembly process:
- Cut discs from metal sheets using a grinder. Smooth out burrs with metal scissors.
- Weld the ends of the pipe with discs.
- Cut two holes on the side.
- Secure the grate between the holes.
- Hang the doors.
- Make a round hole in the upper part of the stove body and secure the chimney.
- Use reinforcement to weld a mesh around the chimney into which the stones will be placed.
You can cut legs for the stove from the remnants of the fittings. It is recommended to make the base from a metal plate or refractory brick. It is better to cover adjacent walls with steel sheets that reflect thermal energy.
It is impossible to imagine a sauna without a stove. There are different types of furnace equipment, each of which has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. When choosing a stove, you need to pay attention to the material, size, and power of the equipment. You also need to consider the type of fuel needed to operate the stove.
Limited selection: cast iron sauna stoves with a closed heater
Unfortunately, the market for cast iron stoves with a closed heater is not so large - few people even produce stoves made of this metal (despite the popularity of metal stoves), and not all of them are equipped with the required type of stove. On the other hand, the pain of choice is significantly reduced. Well, we will try to provide all the most essential information about what you can find on the market.Next
Cast iron
