The best completion of bath procedures is considered to be a half-hour rest in the air. An outdoor heated plunge pool will help relieve stress and improve muscle tone after a heavy load, no matter whether this was a consequence of visiting a Russian bathhouse, or whether you simply need rest after a hard day. Recently, an outdoor bathhouse has become as desirable an attribute as a contrast shower or diving into an ice hole.
Plastic hot tub on wood
How do heated water baths work?
Oddly enough, but a heated outdoor bath provides the necessary relaxation effect for the muscles and nervous system only in conditions of cold or cool air and open space. The higher the contrast, the stronger the effect. Even in frosty conditions, taking into account the heating of the air and warm water mist accumulating above the font, a person feels extremely comfortable.
How to use an outdoor heated swimming pool in cold weather:
- The container, especially plastic or cast iron, is thoroughly washed from dust, the stove is melted, and the font is filled with water. As a result of heating the surrounding space, the steps and platform are heated to a comfortable temperature for the feet;
- After an hour and a half, depending on the intensity of water heating, a warm fog appears above the font. You can take seats in the font;
- The stove damper is closed, and at low speed the firebox provides constant heating and temperature.
The effect created by an outdoor font with a stove is almost impossible to achieve in a bathhouse. Firstly, the warm atmosphere of the steam room cannot be compared with fresh street air, and secondly, when the stove operates at minimum heating, a certain amount of carbon monoxide is formed. In outdoor conditions it does not pose a threat, but inside a bathhouse it can be dangerous.
Mobile hot tub with propane stove
For your information! It turns out that the person’s head is above the warm layer of water vapor in the font, and there is no danger of overheating. That is why doctors recommend an outdoor heated swimming pool as a universal preventive and anti-stress remedy.
Ice outdoor plunge pool
Building a winter font: step by step and with pictures
The design of the outdoor font is simple. The principle of operation is shown in the photo below.
The water is heated in a wood stove and circulates naturally through the pipes.
Taking this scheme as a basis, Pit7pit began construction. Step by step process:
- Vertical pipes were buried in the ground and the frame was welded. The height of the podium is 1500 mm.
The technology for installing pipes is the same as when installing fence posts. To concrete them or not depends on the type of soil - heaving - not heaving. A universal option for problematic soil is screw piles.
- The frame was covered with boards.
- The boards were burned with a gas torch until they were black.
- Brushing wood with a grinder and brush.
- The wooden podium of the font was painted with stain.
The tap for draining water is visible from below.
The font was half sunk into the podium. Water is poured through the stove drain valve. This way her temperature rises faster.
- The benches were made of wood.
In order not to break the seal of the bowl, the boards were screwed with self-tapping screws at the very top of the font.
- We purchased a ready-made lid.
The purchased version turned out to be better than the homemade one.
Pit7pitFORUMHOUSE user
At first I installed the oven flush with the base of the font, but the convection is weak. I moved the stove 15 cm lower. The water circulates perfectly. The hoses are slightly inclined.
After installing the stove, the font was finally refined and this is what ended up happening.
Another photo of the outdoor swimming pool.
And further.
To reduce heat loss from the “mirror” and quickly reach operating mode, the water in the font is heated with the lid closed.
First test of the font. October 2015. It’s 3 degrees outside and there’s a strong wind.
The hot tub comfortably fits four people. Six people can get in, but then you won’t be able to swim in the font.
The font looks especially impressive in winter.
To get maximum pleasure from water procedures in the open air, the user advises taking with you a food set - tea, mineral water, juice, and for mood - a radio.
In the summer you can sit on the podium as if on the captain's bridge, admire the site and drink tea or coffee.
Shape and material of the font
Before choosing any specific material and model of the hot tub, you need to know exactly which options for an outdoor bath will be most in demand. There are quite a lot of options for making an outdoor hot tub, and most often manufacturers focus specifically on appearance, and not on consumer qualities.
Classic version of Furaco
Outdoor hot tubs are manufactured in several form factors:
- Classic wooden outdoor bathtub in the form of a barrel-tub. It is considered the safest and most environmentally friendly, but in practical use such a bath causes a lot of trouble;
- A plastic outdoor swimming pool, usually large in size, is built with a plastic decking board or natural oak plank trim. It is very reliable and durable, does not require special care, you can safely leave it on the terrace for the winter without any consequences for the plastic shell;
- Stainless steel bathtubs are the most expensive and not always the most convenient to use. They cost several times more than plastic ones. They can withstand even the most barbaric heating methods, including thermal shock. The service life is several decades;
- Cast iron hot tub is the most difficult to maintain and install. An outdoor heated bathtub made of cast iron is bought mainly by connoisseurs and true connoisseurs of this kind of relaxation.
Cast iron must be cleaned and washed regularly, otherwise rust will appear. Additional constant heating in outdoor conditions is not required; it is enough to warm up the cast-iron font once to enjoy water procedures for an hour and a half.
There are also composite and ceramic models in which the inside of the mini pool is coated with a special compound that prevents corrosion or salt deposits during the water heating process.
Plastic outdoor hot tub
The inside of the mini-pool is made of polypropylene plastic, which ensures good heat retention and you don’t have to worry too much about the condition of the surface. The plastic walls of an outdoor bathhouse are quite hard and difficult to scratch or break through. If you are looking for a suitable font for your dacha, then a polymer bath will do just fine.
Heated plastic all-weather barrel
In addition to the fact that a 1.5 m3 outdoor tank in the courtyard of a summer house can be used as a backup source of water, a plastic mini-pool has a number of advantages and disadvantages over other types of swimming pools:
- Firstly, the body is not susceptible to corrosion, even if you use a plastic mini-pool several times a week, actively use heated water and regularly wash the walls using modern detergents. Even in such harsh conditions, an outdoor hot tub with a stove will last at least a year and a half;
- The walls of an outdoor bath - barrels made of cast polypropylene - are tactilely more comfortable when touched by open parts of the body. They are quite smooth and warm, even if the water heating does not work quite as well as we would like, bathers will not experience serious discomfort;
- The small weight of the plastic container, usually no more than 100-150 kg, makes it easy to carry and install an outdoor heated bathtub in any convenient place.
Among the disadvantages of a plastic barrel-pool, one can note the relatively high sensitivity to overheating of water. If you use a submersible oven for heating, it is best to buy a special option designed for this type of hot tub. Wood-burning plastic outdoor hot tubs retain heat very well, at least as well as wooden ones, but they require careful handling when connecting an external stove heater.
Advice! An outdoor plastic hot tub should not be left in the countryside in the open sun. The food-grade plastic from which the container is made does not tolerate ultraviolet radiation from the sun; the material often fades and becomes covered with cracks and stains. At a minimum, an outdoor barrel should be covered with a cover or lid.
It should be noted the high decorative qualities of outdoor models made of polypropylene. Typically, a plastic liner is mounted on a frame and covered with a beautiful finish, giving the font a complete resemblance to wooden pool models.
Wooden heated outdoor hot tub
The use of an oak barrel bath for water procedures dates back almost several hundred years. Modern models of wooden hot tubs are made mainly from oak, ash, cedar and larch wood. Wooden outdoor bathtubs are not particularly varied in shape; they are usually a barrel or a wooden vat, with high sides that widen or taper towards the bottom.
Hot tub and water heating system just delivered from the salon
Wooden outdoor containers require special care and special storage conditions. The gaps at the joints between the planks have to be regularly checked, caulked, sealed, the body must be tightened with hoops, and dirt must be removed, especially from the bottom and lower tier of the walls. A wooden font is almost always stored filled with cold, clean rainwater; this guarantees the safety of the wood and the absence of cracks due to drying out of the wall material.
Metal mini-hots
Cast iron and steel bowls are the most expensive and difficult to install. According to many experts, the use of metal is considered just a tribute to the fashion for this type of recreation. Heating an outdoor container requires a lot of wood consumption, but is considered the safest. You can use an open fire, a fire or a stove installed under the bottom of the font. It is clear that even the most barbaric heating is not capable of burning through the wall. The stainless steel walls retain heat very poorly, so you have to swim in the bowl with almost a lighted fire in the firebox under the bottom. This method often causes burns.
Stainless steel barrel
Organization of water drainage
Draining water from the font is quite simple if you take care of it in advance even before installing the mini pool. If in a steam bath the barrel drain is usually connected to a sewer pipe, then in the street version you usually have to use a portable hose, or even worse, use a storm sewer.
The situation is worse with wooden hot tubs; in this case, you have to drain the water through a submersible hose, as in the case of an ordinary garden tank. It’s better not to even try to cut the fitting into the bottom or wooden wall; over time, the wood will swell or shrink, and a water leak will certainly appear.
Things are a little better with plastic barrels - fonts. Most containers are installed on a pre-prepared site, and the water is drained through a drain pipe soldered into the bottom. You will have to lay additional street drainage, but it can also be used to drain water after washing the font.
Draining water outdoors is always difficult. If a wooden container is left to winter outside, then at least ¾ of the volume of water will need to be drained and a couple of pine or deciduous logs filled with the remaining amount. This scheme does not allow the remaining water to rot and fill the mini pool with a foul odor, and in cold weather it will not allow frozen ice to deform the font.
Making a font or mini-ice hole
Let's consider the simplest option, which a home craftsman can do. To do this, it is enough to have minimal plumbing and carpentry skills.
Necessary materials
- IBC is a container for 1000 liters, commonly called a Eurocube, which has a metal sheathing;
- siding strip, external corner, 4 pieces, 1.2 m each;
- siding;
- hardware, fasteners;
- lining, leftovers of 1.1-1.2 m each, 8 pcs.
Operating procedure
Cut off the top of the polymer container along with part of the metal sheathing.
Install strips in the corners, the outer corner, and cover with siding.
The top of the tank is finished with clapboard pre-treated with moisture-repellent agents.
We build stairs or steps. The photo shows a version of steps made of logs. Treat the logs and paint them the same color as the lining.
As a rule, an IBC container is equipped with a tap at the bottom. This is convenient both for draining water and for filling the container using a pump and hose.
Heating type
For steel and cast iron containers, water heating can only be organized through the bottom. The metal bowl is installed above the stone platform, at a height of at least 50 cm. The rest of the space is filled with bricks in the shape of the letter “P”; you don’t even need to make a blower and an ash pit. The more coals left, the longer the heating will last.
Heating a plastic barrel with an attached stove
For plastic and wooden bathtubs, water is heated using wood stoves. In the outdoor version, such a stove is equipped with a built-in coil, through which hot water flows by gravity into the font. In many models, boiling water from the stove does not flow into the bathtub, but into a system of pipes laid along the walls and floor of the font.
Oven for immersion heating of plastic barrels
In large plastic barrel baths, heating can be provided by a special immersion stove. The stove body is equipped with a high enough chimney so that combustion products do not poison the bathing process. The furnace body must be fenced off from the free space with a wooden lattice. The top cover can be removed, and if necessary, you can add a briquette and increase the water heating.
Methods for installing a hot tub outdoors
The choice of installation method for an outdoor bathtub is largely determined by the design of the bowl, its size and the method of heating the water. For wooden structures, a platform paved with stone is traditionally used, and the font must be raised above the coating, at least 10-15 cm, so that the bottom part gets rid of condensation.
Plastic font under a canopy
Plastic outdoor swimming pools are installed on a frame, usually metal, but it can also be brick, made of sand-lime brick or rubble stone. Approximately half of all polypropylene bathtubs are installed in a pit, in the form of mini pools; in this case, it is necessary to insulate, reinforce, and plaster the walls of the pit to avoid the accumulation of ground moisture.
A steel bowl is traditionally installed either on poles - supports, or suspended on chains. The cast iron font must be laid on a frame made of stone or brick. All this requires thorough preparation and capital expenditure, not to mention heating in outdoor conditions. Therefore, such a heated outdoor font is built mainly in private households, in semi-enclosed extensions and verandas.
Even with the most careful care, a cast iron boiler always rusts without water and tends to stain hands and things, so it is better to buy a branded cast iron bathtub, with a special oxide coating that improves heating and reduces corrosion.
Finnish version of a heated barrel
Operating rules
Remember, wooden hot tubs are extremely capricious and do not perform well without prolonged use. So periodically warm up the hot tub completely.
In summer, you can leave 5-10 cm of water in the bowl to avoid drying out. In winter, it is not recommended to leave water. It is better to maintain the density of the boards, in order to avoid destruction by ice, to use a layer of clean snow in a covering of 15-20 cm.
To better preserve the font, change the water every 3-4 days. The heating temperature of the hot tub should not exceed 40 ˚С.
Do-it-yourself heated outdoor font
The easiest way to install an outdoor bathing tank is to equip a supporting frame. In order to eliminate the risk of the bowl tipping over, the container must rest on at least 3-4 points. A rectangular or square font can be installed on 4 massive beams mounted in the form of a lattice on brick supports. This type of street frame has proven itself well in dacha conditions. At the end of the season, you can always remove the font, dismantle the heating stove and remove the beams on which the entire structure was supported.
Outdoor font embedded in the terrace flooring
A round plastic container can be placed on a brick well-superstructure; steel and cast iron bathing boilers are often installed in the same way. The stone support is more reliable and stable, does not require painting, does not burn or deform, even if the heating furnace suddenly flares up too hot.
