Even if the bath is made of the highest quality wood, without a full-fledged air exchange system, it will become unusable after 3-4 years. And during this period of time, hardly anyone wants to enjoy the constant dampness, unpleasant smell and lack of fresh air in the steam room. How to technically properly equip the ventilation in the sauna with your own hands: device and schemes - find out all these nuances right now.
Do I need ventilation in the sauna
Ventilation in a sauna with a conventional wood-burning stove - diagram
In a steam room where people sweat, the air becomes super humid in a few minutes. It is extremely difficult to breathe in such an environment. Much easier if dry air masses circulate. Therefore, ventilation is essential in the sauna in order to regulate the level of humidity and the supply of fresh oxygen. In the absence of ventilation during the procedure, warm air will rise up, and cold air will accumulate at the bottom, which definitely will not benefit health. And yet, if there are no ventilation ducts, unpleasant odors accumulate in the sauna and there is a risk of poisoning with accumulated carbon monoxide.
Often, a shower room and a relaxation room are also adjacent to the sauna room. If they are not equipped with air outlets, the level of moisture rises. The result is hard to dry or wipe off. Over time, mold and fungus will appear on the walls and ceiling, wood structures will rot. The sauna will last not 15-20 years, but only 4-5.
Which ventilation system to choose for a sauna
Ventilation for this type of premises can be of three types:
- mechanical;
- natural;
- combined.
The first type is quite expensive, so forced outflow is more often used in steam rooms. During the operation of the exhaust fan, a reduced pressure is formed in the steam room and fresh air enters through the air outlets. The advantages of the combined scheme are that for its installation it is not necessary to cross-position the wind grates, which is a mandatory rule for natural exhaust.
Proper ventilation in the sauna: 3 important points
- It is necessary to select pipe sections based on standard calculations: 24 cm of cross-sectional area is required for 1 m3 of sauna.
- Outflow and inflow cannot be placed strictly opposite.
- It is necessary to install special ventilation valves on the vents of the steam room, with which you can control the air flow.
Natural ventilation in the steam room
This type of ventilation is the most popular, as it is suitable for most rooms, safe, efficient and the device will be inexpensive. It is necessary to carefully select the places in the room for the veterinary ducts - the area of \u200b\u200bthe sauna, the height of the ceilings, the location of the stove and, of course, the materials from which the building is made are taken into account.
Properly placed ventilation duct
Important! Ventilation openings should be located at different heights. The input channel is 20-25 cm from the floor, and the output channel is 25-35 cm from the ceiling. It is also important to choose a place for the holes so that they look harmoniously from the outside of the bath, do not stand out too much on the walls of the facade.
Approximate hole sizes 320-410 sq. see, but experts advise making them better more than less. If the process of air circulation in the room is too fast and the temperature in the bath quickly decreases, the outlets must be covered with special dampers - rotary valves, ventilation and adjustable grilles. From the point of view of the aesthetic appearance of the sauna, it is better to use decorative dampers.
Ventilation in the sauna with an electric heater
The inflow of fresh air to the furnace is carried out by a special channel, which should be located under the floor, and the air outlet is closer to it. The box for the hole is installed 1/4 more than the cross-sectional area of the chimney. Oxygen should only be supplied from outside. Ventilation can be built with your own hands. To do this, first of all, a box facing the street is mounted along the plinth. On the inside, it is closed with a grate, and on the outside - with a mesh, so that insects or small pests do not get into the steam room.
Attention! The outflow of air masses is carried out using an exhaust duct, which is located diagonally from the supply duct. It is installed at a height of 25-30 cm from the floor. Further, the outlet rises up to the ceiling and is displayed on the street. For work it is better to use plastic pipes. This design will provide the steam room with high-quality ventilation.
Combined ventilation system
If the steam room has a special structure, then it is not always possible to equip a natural air exchange system or mechanical ventilation in such a room. For example, if the sauna has three adjacent walls with other rooms, then the inlet and outlet outlets can only be placed on one side.
In such a situation, it is necessary to follow the rules for the proper placement of veterinary ducts: the supply should be placed at a level of 25-30 cm from the floor, and the outlet should be 20-30 cm from the ceiling. Cold air masses, when they enter the steam room, pass through the stove, heat up and rise up. Such circulation will always provide fresh and heated air in the sauna. But this method has a drawback - sometimes the air exchange process can be too intense, and it can only be controlled with the help of special dampers on the outlets.
There is another option for combined ventilation - when the supply channel is located not below, but above the heater. If you install the outlet a little higher on the wall opposite, you get a fairly effective ventilation system in the steam room. But often such circulation is not enough for large rooms, so experts recommend installing a fan in the outlet duct. With its help, the air masses will be better driven through the sauna.
Common mistakes when installing ventilation
- Installation of one outlet under the ceiling of the room. The disadvantage of this installation is that all the warm air masses will rise up and quickly "pull" out into the street. It will be difficult to regulate the temperature in the sauna, and fuel consumption will increase several times.
- Installation of inflow and exhaust on the same level. Air exchange will be minimal, and the formation of drafts in the steam room is guaranteed.
- If the cross section of the exhaust duct is smaller than the supply duct, then the air circulation in the sauna with a steam generator will be difficult.
The main purpose of the construction of ventilation in the steam room is to ensure constant air exchange in the room (at least 5-6 times). In the process of mounting a veterinary system, it is important to avoid mistakes that will lead to problems such as lack of fresh air and drafts.
After the ventilation ducts in the bath with an electric heater or a simple stove have been installed, you need to check their operation - just bring a match or a lighter to the hole. A visit to a steam room with a properly equipped ventilation system will bring only health benefits and pleasure for the soul and body.
The installation of a metal stove in a bath requires a preliminary selection of a suitable place, because you cannot simply install a bath in the center of the room without adequate protection and the possibility of heating both rooms of the building (bath and dressing room). It is necessary to be guided by the requirements of fire safety, as well as take into account the size of the bath and the materials of its manufacture.
Collapse
PPB requirements
For many years, there have been certain restrictions on the installation of a metal sauna stove, expressed in several rules:
- in the process of acquiring a factory-made furnace, it is imperative to obtain instructions for it and carry out the installation of the structure in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions;
- if the walls of the furnace do not have protection, then the distance from them to the walls of the room must be at least half a meter;
- the thickness of the non-combustible wall, which conducts the fuel channel through itself, must exceed 13 cm;
- if the ceiling has its own protection against fire by means of a metal mesh or a similar method, then the distance from it to the top of the stove must exceed 0.8 m;
- if the ceiling was not protected by refractory materials, then the distance should be at least 1.2 m to the top of the structure;
- the furnace door, through which fuel is supplied inside the structure, should be at a distance of 125 cm from the opposite wall;
- between the wall and the front wall of the oven must be at least 3 cm.
Choosing a place for a conventional stove:
The optimal location of the stove with a remote firebox:
Installation algorithm
Is it possible to do without a foundation?
- If the bath initially has a concrete floor, then the construction of a separate foundation is not required. For ease of cleaning, you can install tiles or porcelain tiles on top, and in the space directly under the stove, you can leave only the base material of the floor at all.
- If the floor has a wooden base and it is necessary to put an iron stove in the bath on it, then before that it is imperative to provide a non-combustible surface for the structure. However, in this situation, the presence of a foundation is also optional.
For structures that weigh more than 700 kg, the installation of a foundation is mandatory, so you will have to calculate its dimensions based on the dimensions of the structure itself and add 10-15 cm on each side.
Foundation manufacturing
The future user of the furnace design has only 2 available options for the foundation on which it can be installed:
- Concrete. This is the most common option that is used in ovens. It should be borne in mind that it will take time for it to cool, and the greater the depth and size of the required foundation, the more this time will be required.
- Chamotte brick. The installation of such material allows you to quickly carry out all the installation processes and even use it on the visible surface under the stove as a decorative material.
Which option to choose should be determined according to your own needs, the size of the stove and its weight, so you can correctly install the iron stove in the bath with your own hands only after choosing a specific model.
Use the following schema:
In order to properly install a metal furnace, it is necessary to follow the selected algorithm, which consists of several sequential steps:
- dismantling the floor in the selected area according to the size of the structure + 10-15 cm on each side;
- deepening the resulting hole by 50 cm and its further backfilling with rubble;
- laying a double layer of polyethylene film for waterproofing. This step is optional, but it is very desirable to carry it out in order to get a high-quality final result of the work;
- make a frame from a grid in sizes that are 5 cm smaller on each side of the pit;
- pour the structure with concrete and then level it with a vibrating screed;
- check the evenness of the distribution of the mixture with a level, if defects are found, they need to be corrected;
- a two-layer roofing material is installed on the hardened concrete, and its layer is sometimes made in such a way as to raise the structure 5-10 cm above the floor;
- after the final hardening of the concrete, the furnace should be installed as provided by its manufacturer and the outer part of the pipe should be welded to the inner one, if this is not provided for by the original plan of the instruction, because this is the final stage of work.
Wall preparation
The preparation of the walls consists in the fact that it is necessary to put protective screens at the points of contact of the furnace with the wall and another 1.5 m to each side of it. This will be the most reliable solution that will not require high costs from the bath owner.
For additional protection, you can treat the wood in this area with a special solution that prevents the occurrence of fire. 
Ceiling preparation
This process is a little more complicated than with walls, because it involves providing access for the pipe on the part of the ceiling that fits with it. That is why it is also desirable to treat the ceiling with a special impregnation and close the hole for the pipe on the sides with a protective screen or a layer of metal to avoid the possibility of fire.
It is important to install a large metal plate at the junction of the pipe with the ceiling, so that from this point there is 20-30 cm of metal in all directions. 
Furnace settings
There are a lot of options for installation, so how to install a metal stove in a bath will depend only on which design model was chosen for installation. There are designs made of hardened metal, cast iron, as well as a number of alloys that have high thermal stability.
To get a high-quality finished result, you should be guided by the requirements of fire safety, the general principles for installing furnace structures and the requirements of the manufacturer himself. Then the result will not disappoint. 
Hanging tank and heat exchanger installation
If these are structures created independently, then it is imperative to adhere to the safety rules and principles of operation of the installations, because due to the difference in pressure, an explosion of the structure or deformation of the metal sheet from which it is produced can be provoked.
It is also worth considering the location of the structure. It can be installed both inside and outside the furnace:
Installation and removal of the chimney
First, select the desired chimney outlet scheme:
Next, you need to determine the installation location of the bath itself and make a hole in the ceiling at the place where the manufacturer indicates the presence of a chimney near the stove. 
Further, the finished hole receives fire protection. 
The following works are carried out in 3 stages: installation of the protective cover; installation of the pipe itself and ensuring its snug fit to the docking site; finishing processing of the docking site. 
A more specific algorithm is developed on site and depends on the dimensions of the furnace, as well as the materials used to make the walls/ceiling.
Conclusion
One of the main mistakes is the self-installation of the furnace without referring to the instructions supplied by the manufacturer. Even if the oven was purchased without instructions, you can request it through the official website or by contacting the manufacturer using the contact details.
It is realistic to install a metal furnace in the bath with independent efforts. This process will require care and strict adherence to the manufacturer's instructions. It is important to ensure fire safety. Not only the comfort of using bath rooms, but also the life of their visitors depends on it.
←Previous article Next article →During melting or using the bath, the surface of the oven becomes very hot, the temperature can reach 400 degrees and above. In this case, the stove itself will be a source of strong radiation of infrared rays, which quickly spread over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe bath and heat all its walls, but especially those located near the stove.
Due to the very high temperature, the walls of the bath, made of wood, may begin to char, which in the future will lead to their ignition. To isolate wooden walls and ceilings from fire, fire-retardant compositions or chemical fire protection agents are often used. The most effective way to protect the walls of the bath, including wooden ones, from heat is a method such as shielding using non-combustible materials.
The distance between the stove and the adjacent wall should be safe, that is, it should be enough so that the infrared rays less strongly affect the surface, and there is no fire in the bath.
SNiP III-G.11-62. Heating furnaces, smoke and ventilation ducts of residential and public buildings. Rules for the production and acceptance of work. Download file
The safe distance between the bath stove and the walls is determined on the basis of fire safety standards SNiP III-G.11-62 for the operation of stoves installed in rooms with walls or ceilings prone to burning:
SNiP 2.04.05-91. Heating. Ventilation and air conditioning. Download file
Based on SNIP 2.04.05-91, a safe distance is set from the top of the stove to the ceiling:
- with a ceiling that is protected by a 10 mm thick steel sheet laid on asbestos cardboard or on plaster laid on a steel mesh and overlapping the oven from 3 rows of bricks - not less than 250 mm,
- with a protected ceiling and a thermally insulated ceiling of the top of a metal furnace, not less than 800 mm,
- with an unprotected ceiling and a stove with an overlap of 2 rows of bricks - not less than 1 m.
- with an unprotected ceiling and a non-insulated ceiling - no less than 1.2 m.
It is clear that a safe distance of 1 m between the stove and the wall can only be ensured in baths with a large area. In private baths, which have a small area, every centimeter of usable area is saved, so the stoves are placed at a short distance from the walls, and a brick screen is built to protect against heat or metal sheets are used as sheathing, as well as other non-combustible materials that significantly reduce the allowable safe distance.
Protective screens
The walls of the baths are usually protected from thermal infrared radiation by protective screens. As such screens, brickwork or metal shields are used, coupled with insulating materials. The protection is installed on the side surfaces of sauna heaters and/or on nearby surfaces.
Metal protective screen
Most often, in private baths, to protect interior partitions from high temperature and fire, an ordinary barrier is mounted, constructed from metal sheets that are installed near the stove (a five-centimeter gap is left between the surfaces of the casing and the stove). Metal screens are mainly lateral or frontal. A protective screen made of any metal significantly reduces the thermal effect of the furnace on the surface of the walls. Thanks to this metal protection, the temperature at the wall is reduced, which significantly reduces the safety distance.
Technical characteristics of Teplodar screens and installation scheme
Metal screens can be mounted on legs using anchor bolts to secure the structure to the floor. Commercially available metal reflective screens are already equipped with mounting frames for vertical fixation.
Installed protective screen - photo
Furnace with a metal protective screen - photo
Protective screen made of red kiln bricks
Brick barriers often cover the side surfaces of the stove, making the outer skin like a casing. In this way, combustible surfaces and a hot heater are separated.
Protective brick screen - diagram and photo
From time immemorial, there has been a tradition to build stoves from brick or stone. Such a design heated up for a long time, but at the same time it radiated soft heat, and subsequently cooled down for a long time. Modern metal furnaces quickly heat up, emit hard infrared radiation, and the hot walls of the furnace burn out oxygen in the bath. In addition, a metal furnace is more flammable. In view of these aspects, it can be concluded that it is advisable to combine masonry or brickwork with steel structures.
Brick screen for a metal furnace - photo
A solid fireclay brick is well suited for the construction of a protective casing. A mixture of cement or kneaded on refractory clay will serve as a good bond for him. Masonry screen made of fireclay bricks, according to the value of the safe distance, is made about 12 cm thick (0.5 bricks) or 6.5 cm (0.25, respectively). However, expensive fireclay bricks are very rarely used in private baths to protect wooden walls, most often preference is given to red stove.
Before finishing (lining) a metal furnace with a red furnace brick, a foundation is first built.
Be sure to take into account: if the stove is located near the bearing wall, then there must be a distance of at least 5 cm between the foundation of the stove and the foundation of the building. .
The surface of the foundation should be 15-20 cm below the finished floor of the bath. After installing the foundation (it must be allowed to dry for 30 days), a moisture-proof material is laid on it in 2 layers - roofing felt or roofing material. Then, a brick is laid on the clay-cement mortar in 2 rows, shifting the bricks among themselves so that the masonry seams are covered with a brick lying on top.
This completes the foundation work.
On top of the foundation, a base protecting from heat should be made, consisting of:
- a sheet of metal fixed on top of a layer of heat-insulating material;
- two rows of bricks laid on a wooden floor;
- heat-resistant ceramic tiles.
Before overlaying an iron stove with bricks, you need to prepare the right mortar for masonry. The best option for brickwork around a metal furnace would be a simple clay mortar (raw materials should be mined at a depth of more than two meters) with sand. The mixing process is not difficult. The clay is first soaked, then, already soaked, it is carefully rubbed through a sieve. The sand is sifted and mixed with soaked clay. The mortar in terms of viscosity and plasticity should be such that it does not squeeze out of the joints during laying. You can add 5-10% cement to the solution for strength.
The foundation of the protective screen can be made in a quarter of a brick, be sure to leave small holes in its lower and in the middle part - special windows that create air circulation between the brick screen and the installed stove (sometimes they are equipped with furnace doors). In this case, the bath will heat up very quickly.
The stove is best lined with half a brick. If the screen is made into a brick, then it will warm up for a very long time.
Attention! It is very important to take into account the requirement for fire safety - the distance between the walls of a metal furnace and brickwork should be 3 - 10 cm. In order for the brick screen to be more durable, a reinforcing mesh must be laid through a row, or even in each row. The verticality of the corners must be checked with a plumb line, and the laying of the rows with a building level must be checked for horizontality.
A brick screen can be laid out up to the ceiling. The main condition is that its height must be greater than the height of the stove by at least 20 cm.
For more reliable protection of wooden walls from high temperatures, the permissible distance between the wall and the built brick screen has been established. It should be less than 15 cm, but more than 5 cm, while the distance from the stove to any of the walls can be 20 - 40 cm.
Prices for protective screens
oven protective screen
Flame retardant lining
To protect the walls from a red-hot furnace, sheathings are often used, consisting of various special heat-insulating materials.
Stainless reflective lining
Special non-combustible thermal insulation or protective sheathing is stainless steel sheets that perfectly protect the wooden surface of walls in private baths from fires. To build such a simple screen, heat-insulating material is first attached to the wall, and only then a stainless steel sheet is attached on top.
To increase the effectiveness of the skin, it is desirable to polish a sheet of stainless metal well to a mirror finish. The mirror surface of the stainless steel significantly improves the reflection of the heat rays emanating from the stove, preventing the wooden walls from heating up. In addition, by redirecting hard infrared rays back, the mirror stainless metal will turn them into soft and safe for people to perceive.
Metal screens for a bath are easy to do with your own hands. The main thing is not to forget about using a heat insulator between the wall and the sheet of metal (minerite or asbestos cardboard will do)
Sheathing with cladding
The stainless steel mirror lining looks beautiful and perfectly protects the walls from fire, however, in some cases it may not be appropriate in the bath and over time the mirror surface will become dull, will not be able to reflect the rays with high quality and will not look as beautiful as originally. Heat-resistant cladding will help to solve the design problem in the bath for many years, for laying which heat-resistant glue is used on brick cladding.
For facing walls located next to the stove, you can use the following heat-resistant materials:
Attention! Any tile that is used for wall cladding cannot provide complete thermal insulation, it is only one of the components in a protective structure consisting of a refractory material and a small (2-3 cm) ventilation gap between this refractory material and the wall.
As a refractory material, you can also use a shield made of fire-resistant gypsum board, or fiberglass, which will not deform under the action of heat, from a fireproof cement-fiber board - mineralite or from a special tile material - glass-magnesium sheet.
Of course, the best option for cladding wooden walls is brick cladding. With such protection of the walls from high temperatures, the stove can be placed almost close to the wall. However, it is not always possible to use a new even brick for masonry and lay beautiful masonry around the stove. Sometimes a previously used brick is chosen for a protective screen in order to ennoble it with beautiful material in the future.
Prices for soapstone tiles
soapstone tiles
Facing a brick screen - step by step instructions
It is possible to ennoble and make the appearance of any brickwork more aesthetic with the help of a refractory and durable natural material.
Terracotta tiles, also referred to as "terracotta" for short, are very heat-resistant ceramic products made from kaolin clay fired at a temperature of about 1000 degrees. This wonderful material is absolutely non-combustible, it does not change its properties even from high (up to 1300 degrees) and low (up to -25 degrees) temperatures, does not change its beautiful appearance from the action of water or sunlight.
To finish the brick protective fence, Terracotta heat-resistant materials will be required: glue, paste, as well as finishing grout, which will fill the seams.
You will also need a drywall sheet (choose 9.5 mm GKL) for spacer plates, which must first be cut into small squares.
Tools. We stock the following supplies:
In advance, you need to dilute in a bucket with water and knead with a mixer a convenient and very reliable in terms of fire safety reinforced adhesive mixture "Terracotta".
Initially, screen bricks are laid around the furnace in a classic dressing, carefully removing excess mortar.
Attention! After finishing the masonry of the draft wall, it is imperative to wait 24 hours for the masonry to dry and gain primary strength.
Prices for Terracotta glue
terracotta
Terracotta flagstone "Classic" is an amazing stone in its unique beauty. It looks very rich and massive.
It can be easily sawn with a diamond wheel or split with a hammer and then, spreading a thick layer of Terracotta mastic on it, stick it on the brickwork. Terracotta flagstone is heavier than terracotta tiles, but much lighter than natural stone.
When facing with flagstone, chopped drywall squares are used as inter-tile spacing and a tile movement fixer. The rough chipped edge of the limestone will not allow a gap of 10 mm to be maintained everywhere and this will further give the stone-like cladding a natural feel.
Having brought the process of styling the wall under a wild stone to perfection, you can proceed to tiling. Laying rectangular terracotta tiles on a brick is necessary, starting with the laying of corner elements, thanks to which the decorative cladding will look like a classic oven masonry.
Corner elements must be glued from the bottom up, while the horizontals of the corners should be aligned only according to the level.
Attention! For gluing and setting of Terracotta mastic, it is necessary that at least 10 hours or more have passed.
After the mastic dries, you need to remove the drywall squares inserted as clamps and proceed first to filling, and then to jointing the joints between the plates.
This job will require heat-resistant wide-joint grout, which is a unique white compound designed to fill joints between slabs of various decorative surfaces that can be exposed to high temperatures.
The grout must be poured with water and stirred with a mixer to get a homogeneous solution, similar in its consistency to thick sour cream.
Attention! The time to use the grout solution is about 1 hour.
It is necessary to fill the tile joints with a construction gun, the nozzle of which must be cut obliquely so that an oblong hole is formed.
The tube of the gun is filled with the prepared grout solution using a narrow spatula.
Then, carefully inserting the nozzle, you should, smoothly and with low intensity, moving the construction gun along the length of the joints, squeeze out the grout and fill the joints so that the level of the filled grout is aligned with the level of the tile. Seams between slabs can be filled vertically or horizontally.
Attention! Special grout for joints should not get on the front surface of the finish. If it so happened that the mixture nevertheless got on the decorative lining, then the composition should not be removed immediately, but it is necessary to wait at least 2 hours until it hardens a little and then it will be possible to easily remove the contaminating fragment. The dried mixture must not be removed from the plates in a tangential direction or smeared.
After completing all the work on filling the joints, the grout will “ripen”, acquiring stucco compliance or slight crumbling after 2 hours. After this time, you can confidently proceed to the final part - the process of distributing the frozen grout and leveling it in the tile joints - decorative stitching, the purpose of which is to give the surface to be decorated an attractive look.
To begin with, from the seams, using a simple flat screwdriver, transversely deepened into the seam, it is necessary to remove the excess amount of grout slowly maintaining a constant depth. To remove excess grout, you can also use a small diameter metal ring, with which you can evenly remove the grout, like shavings.
Distribution and alignment of the composition with a tool - grout
The remaining grout in the joint can be gently spread with light pressure from a gloved finger, giving the grout the appearance of a flat surface without depressions or roughness.
The work on facing the heat shield of the brick walls is completed.
The first furnace fire in the sauna can only be started 24 hours after all the necessary grouting work has been done between the tiles.
Video - Heat-resistant screens for sauna stoves. Part 1
Video - Heat-resistant screens for sauna stoves. Part 2
Video - Installing a sauna stove with a protective screen
Video - Protecting the walls of the bath with terracotta tiles
Video - Protecting the wooden walls of the bath from heat
To maintain the optimum temperature in all bath rooms, it is best to make heating in the bath from a stove-heater installed in the steam room. For small baths, consisting of a dressing room, a washing room and a steam room, the only stove, as a rule, is installed in such a way that the heater is in the steam room, the furnace firebox is located in the dressing room, and the storage tank for heated water is located in the washing room.
Simplified bath heating systems
The easiest to manufacture, maintain and operate is the system in which the bath is heated from the stove in the steam room. That is, the stove-heater, which provides maximum heating of the surrounding air and the production of heated steam, is located in a steam room, and its furnace part, through which combustible material is loaded, is taken out into the dressing room. At the same time, due to the implementation of such a design, the bath is heated from the bath stove simultaneously in the steam room and in the dressing room. In this case, the washing compartment of the bath is heated by placing a tank with hot water in it, and, if necessary, an additional heating battery.
The storage tank located in the washing section of the bath is connected by pipes to a heat exchanger heated by a bath stove. The water in the storage tank is heated using a circulation pump that pumps water through a heat exchanger located either directly in the fuel combustion area or on the furnace chimney.
A sauna stove with a heat exchanger for heating and obtaining the required amount of hot water is the most effective and simple way to maintain the optimum temperature in all sauna rooms. Such a combined design is quite economical in terms of fuel consumption, generates a large amount of heat and has a relatively short time to reach the operating mode.
Sauna stoves and their features
If necessary, with a heating circuit, it can be quite universal both in terms of the mode of operation and the fuel used in it. Such a furnace can be used either in the mode of continuous combustion of fuel, or in cyclic mode, with periodic loading of combustible material. It can be fueled by natural gas, wood, charcoal or wood pellets. In addition, electric furnaces of appropriate power can also be used to heat the bath and heat the water.
For the manufacture of continuous combustion furnaces, steel is usually used. Such a furnace heats up quickly and cools down quickly when the fuel supply to it is stopped. Sometimes the surface of steel furnaces is lined with a decorative non-combustible material, which increases its safety and heat capacity.
Furnaces used in the cyclic mode of space heating must have a high heat capacity and the ability to retain heat for a long time after the fuel supply stops. They are made of refractory bricks, which have a large mass and high heat capacity. Such an oven after heating can maintain a high temperature for quite a long time. The disadvantages of such furnaces include a long time to reach the operating mode, that is, a long time for heating the furnace in a cold state.
To organize the supply of baths with hot water, as well as for space heating, stoves equipped with forced circulation systems of hot water, as well as heat exchangers, are used.
Furnaces with heat exchangers
Furnaces equipped with heat exchangers can successfully solve all the problems of space heating, water heating, steam generation. Heating a bath from the heat exchanger of a bath stove can include not only the main rooms of the bath, but also auxiliary ones, for example, a shower room, a relaxation room, a pool, a billiard room, etc.
When designing a furnace equipped with heat exchangers, the following should be taken into account at the bath construction stage:
- the size of the bath and the area of heated premises;
- dimensions and weight of the furnace;
- specific gravity of the heating device;
- the number of heat exchange devices included in the furnace kit;
- total volume and composition of the circulating coolant;
- diameter and length of the chimney.
Sauna stoves with a heat exchanger can be connected using heat-insulated pipes:
- To a remote tank for heating water used in the washing section of the bath.
- To heating radiators located in the office premises of the bath - a relaxation room, a billiard room, etc.
- To the system of hot water supply and water heating, which includes not only the main and service premises of the bath, but also the living quarters of the house.
Furnaces for heating baths with wood come with an internal or external heat exchanger. The internal heat exchanger is located in the combustion chamber between the housing and the casing. It uses the heat obtained directly in the process of burning fuel and heating the furnace.
The external heat exchanger is arranged around the chimney. It uses the heat given off by heated gases when they are brought out. Due to the increased volume of the external heat exchanger, the efficiency of its functioning is increased. Using the heat of the gases leaving the chimney saves fuel and improves the efficiency of the furnace by reducing the temperature of the exhaust gases.
In a cast-iron furnace, water is heated in a heat exchanger by flue gases and thermal radiation. The heat exchanger housing is located in the upper part of the furnace near the chimney.
A brick oven for a bath involves the location of the heat exchanger inside the brickwork in the immediate vicinity of the firebox. This somewhat increases the thermal inertia of the heat exchanger, and also reduces the likelihood of its overheating or oxidation of its surface under the influence of open fire.
The heat exchanger providing heating of the bath from the furnace to the steam heat exchanger must comply with the technical parameters of the effective power of the water heating system, the operating pressure in the system, the volume and composition of the circulating coolant.
Features of a bath stove with a heat exchanger
A bath stove equipped with a heat exchanger has certain design features.
These include, in particular:
- tube supply system for coolant circulation;
- thickened body walls;
- increased volume of the heater;
- the presence of a mandatory air distributor;
- firebox door made of heat-resistant glass.
The heat exchanger functions due to the constant circulation of water through all the devices that make up the heating system in the bath. For efficient use of the heat exchanger, the length of each of the connecting pipes must be a maximum of 3 m. Especially if there is no external thermal insulation of the pipe.
Subject to, as well as in the presence of forced ventilation and thermoregulation systems, a universal stove for baths and home heating can be equipped with a heat exchanger. The stove itself can be located in the bathhouse and connected to the living quarters of the house using a heat-insulated heating pipeline and supplying housing with hot water.
To organize the circulation of water in the central heating system, as well as to supply hot water to the premises of the house and to the washing department of the bath, an automated one is used with maintaining a constant pressure in the line.
The simplest design of a universal stove is an electric stove with separate electric heaters for the heat exchanger and heater sections.
Such a furnace can operate in several modes, namely:
- In the mode of heating the living quarters of the house and its hot water supply (DHW) while maintaining the minimum required temperature in the bathhouse during the cold season.
- In the heating mode of the bath and the whole house with hot water in the cold season.
- Organization of heating baths and heaters in the summer.
A similar stove for a bath and heating at the same time can be created in the form of a continuous device for natural gas or fuel pellets. The use of charcoal or wood as a fuel in this case is difficult and has certain technical difficulties. Indeed, in wood or coal stoves, the possibility of automatic temperature control is not provided. This can lead to sudden temperature fluctuations in the heating line.
If it is possible to connect to a natural gas main or an industrial voltage electric cable, a sauna stove can be made from a heating boiler that runs on gas or electricity, respectively. Such a furnace can perform the functions of a heating and water heating system. Together with the heating boiler in the bath, you can also install a small steel wood-burning stove in the steam room.
If the central heating system of the house has sufficient power, the auxiliary rooms of the bath can be heated with it. To do this, heat-insulated pipes are laid from the home heating system to the bath, to which radiators for heating the auxiliary rooms of the bath are connected. At the same time, the stove-heater can only be used to heat the steam or washing section of the bath, if necessary.
If the distance from the water-heating boiler of a residential building to the bathhouse is small, then heat loss with such a heating system can be minimal. In addition, the presence of an independent external heating system will allow you to maintain the optimum temperature in the sauna room in the winter. This is required to prevent freezing of water supply and sewage pipes, as well as the bathhouse itself. The combination of heating systems of a residential building and a bath in this case may have an auxiliary, backup character.
The stove is the pride of any attendant. And a properly installed heater is a subject of tireless admiration for the skills of the master and the directness of his hands. The place for the stove must be prepared from the very laying of the walls and at each subsequent stage, make the appropriate changes, so let's look at the process in more detail.
What will we bet on?
Of key importance is the correct preparation of the place for installing the stove, and to be more precise, the base on the floor. By itself, a metal furnace has a weight of the order of a centner, add to this a bookmark of 200-300 kg of stones, sometimes the weight is additionally increased due to the water heating tank.
Due to its considerable weight, the oven must be placed on a solid and necessarily hard surface. It can be conditionally combustible: there are no high temperatures in this zone, with the exception of a small area in front of the firebox, where burning coals can wake up.
In any of the options, it is better to prepare the place for installing the furnace at the stage of laying the foundation. It can be a pedestal made of bricks or a block of reinforced concrete, cast together with the base of the building. The finishing of this area is carried out together with the main floor, however, the presence of a massive block in the substrate will not allow the screed to be pushed through.
The requirement is not so critical for light electric heaters with a laying of 60-80 kg of stones. They can even be installed on a wooden floor in dry saunas, but it will not be superfluous to put a piece of sheet steel 3-4 mm thick under the stove. When installing on a wooden floor, it is important to pay attention to the shape of the stove legs. If it rests pointwise, there is a high probability that the wooden floor will be pressed through and the stove will sag unevenly.
Refractory lining
Not all modern heaters are equipped with a heat-reflecting screen. Since the upper part of the oven can be heated up to 200-250 °C, its installation closer than 35 cm from the walls cannot be considered safe. In any case, from intense thermal radiation, the wood finish will dry out greatly and lose its durability.
From other ways of constructing a heat-reflecting screen, it is possible to offer lining with soapstone tiles, natural stone of volcanic rocks or magnesite slabs. The final choice is best made based on the availability of materials and their decorative value for your steam room. It is also not forbidden to use sheet steel coated with heat-resistant non-toxic paint and a base of basalt cardboard up to 2 cm thick. It is obvious that the refractory lining of the furnace should be carried out before the walls are sheathed with wood.
The edges of the screen should be brought under the rectangular boarding and plastered with cement mortar so that the wood trim can be framed with a turn with an end plate. Ultimately, the lining should cover the walls for 35 cm on either side of the furnace body. The height of the lining from above is at least a meter, but usually it is extended up to the ceiling.
Furnace door passage
A remote firebox for a sauna stove is ideal. When burning, oxygen and warm air do not steal from the steam room, there is no wood dust and debris, there is more free space. This installation is the most difficult to do on your own.
There is an opinion that the bath is built around the stove, at least it is strongly recommended to arrange a partition between the dressing room and the steam room only after the final installation of the heater. It is noteworthy that before the construction of this wall, a heat-reflecting screen should already be laid out to the height of the stove.
With an indent of 50 cm from the walls of the furnace neck, two beams 100x60 cm are installed vertically, they are tightly adjacent to the lining of the furnace. The bars are aligned in the plane of the partition and fixed by means of steel corners to the floor and ceiling. From these beams, a frame wall with a layer of insulation of 100 mm is arranged on both sides, a wooden lining is sewn along a horizontal crate of 20 mm planks.
The space between the bars is laid with hollow clay bricks, the neck of the firebox must be carefully lined on both sides. Binder for masonry - a mixture of cement, sand and fireclay clay in a ratio of 1:2:5. A mixture of clay and sand is soaked for a day, cement is added immediately before use. Please note that both sides of the wall will be visible, so it is recommended to lay the masonry on steel bars 10 mm thick, and carefully trim the extensions with a grinder.
Fight for aesthetics and safety
In the steam room, the stove must be properly ennobled. We are also talking about stoves remote from the walls without a protective lining, the whole point of the subsequent work is to correctly fit the metal case into the surroundings of the steam room and at the same time prevent accidental contact with heated surfaces.
The first option is the simplest and best suited for ovens with convection chambers. The arrangement consists in mounting a parapet 15-20 cm high above the heater. The guard is installed 20 cm from the body with a standard heat shield and 35 cm without it. The parapet itself consists of shtaketins 20x80 mm opened with drying oil, possibly with milled edges and figured trimming of the heads. Planks are nailed with an indent of 25-30 mm for sufficient ventilation. The basis of the fence is a frame assembled from a bar 40x40 mm: pillars at the corners and two horizontal crossbars in the spans.
If the heater does not have convection, it is very common practice to completely brick it. To do this, a reflective screen or a thin chrome-plated body is dismantled; these parts can be used in cutting the ceiling for the chimney. All that remains - a firebox and a frame with a container for stones - is first lined with half fireclay bricks on pure fireclay clay, and then a quarter of red clay bricks on cement mortar. The upper outer row is laid out in half a brick with a turn inward. With such a device, the heating inertia increases: the steam room will be heated a little longer, but the temperature at different combustion intensity will become approximately the same.
We carry out a chimney
It is recommended to use sandwich chimneys to remove combustion products. At the same time, it is better to arrange a section of 1-1.5 meters from the stove with an uninsulated steel pipe: it is easier for it to make turns, it remains possible to install a tank or coil.
For the passage, two cuttings are performed: in the ceiling and the roof, in the absence of an attic, they are combined. An opening in the ceiling is cut out 25 cm from the chimney thermal insulation casing, the space is filled with basalt wool.
The passage through the roof is performed by a standard roof groove with a tin flange. In this case, it will be necessary to cut the wooden parts of the crate 30 cm from the pipe and strengthen the truss system. When assembling the elements of the chimney, it is not recommended to seal the sockets, they are already compressed when heated.
If the moment is missed: the furnace in the operating bath
In conclusion, we will talk about installing a stove in an already built bathhouse with interior decoration or replacing a heater. You know the basic requirements of the installation, it remains only to consider the possibility of making changes to the design of the wall and floor.
In general, stoves up to 120 kg can be installed on a wooden floor on logs, up to 200 kg on a cement screed. For more massive heaters, you will need to cut out a fragment of the floor and remove the topsoil. Next, a brick pedestal is laid 40-50 mm above the floor level. The junction of the floor is covered with a wooden plinth.
To remove the firebox, you will need to cut a meter-long opening in the wall and separate it with two racks of wooden beams. For the installation of a refractory lining, several vertical strips of wood sheathing should be removed, this is exactly the case when it is easier to lay the masonry up to the ceiling.