How to calculate the power of a sauna stove? Selecting a sauna stove for a steam room is the most difficult question for every owner. in this article we will help to understand some aspects of this issue.

Building a bathhouse or sauna for your private home or country house is the dream of many owners of such properties. Ready-made solutions offered on the market very rarely satisfy the needs of the domestic buyer. There is always the opportunity to build your own room system and choose a stove for a bath that will provide a comfortable temperature and ease of use. If everything is done correctly, you can get an excellent steam room for a pleasant and healthy vacation.

The importance of careful calculations

Regardless of what type of stove is installed in the bathhouse, double-circuit wood-burning, electric, metal or brick, you need to correctly calculate its parameters. It is worth giving clear examples of the importance of the characteristics of a heating unit.

If you choose the wrong stove for a sauna by volume, it will be impossible to achieve ideal steam. If the installation power is insufficient, it is simply impossible to warm up the room.
An equally unpleasant situation is when the design of a sauna stove deliberately overestimates its power. The steam room will constantly overheat. Therefore, we will have to ventilate it and make visits shorter.
If you choose too large a furnace volume and quantity of stone for a wood-burning sauna, it will be impossible to obtain stable steam. Without ventilation, the room will become extremely hot. And if you achieve relative comfort by opening the doors and reducing the entry time, you will have to put up with changes in the temperature of the steam, both at the floor and on the top shelf.

There are other difficulties caused by incorrect calculations. In particular, certain algorithms for determining the mass of stones can force the owner of a bathhouse to build powerful supports - scales, the task of which is to withstand significant loads. Therefore, the calculation of the power of a sauna stove must be done carefully, taking into account the nature of the steam room: Russian bath or Finnish sauna.

What size should a metal sauna stove be?

The range of metal heating units for baths on the modern market is large. Usually these are steel or cast iron structures, which can be wood, gas, or electric. When buying a ready-made stove, you do not need to make any calculations. The manufacturer did this for you. The passport indicates the power of the device, dimensions and recommended room volume.

For a Russian bath, depending on the model, the dimensions vary: length from 400 to 680 cm, depth from 415 to 900 cm and height from 700 to 1600 cm.

Brick structures are more diverse in terms of volume and design. What needs to be remembered when laying such a stove is the standard size of the red brick, which has dimensions (250 x 120 x 65 mm). The base is usually laid out in 3.5 by 4 bricks (89 x 102 cm) or 4 x 5 bricks (102 x 129 cm).

Most often, the water tank is installed directly into the stove.

Calculations for a Russian bath

A Russian bath always involves the use of a large amount of hot steam. In this mode, it is important to take into account each of the factors of circulation and conversion of thermal energy. In the bathhouse, it is necessary to ensure uniform heating conditions, both at floor level and on the upper shelves.

Calculating the power of a stove for a Russian bath takes into account not only the basic energy output for heating the volume of the room, but also the heat loss factors existing in the steam room . To determine the required heating device performance, you must:

Calculate the total volume of the steam room. To determine it for a room with a rectangular floor, just multiply the width, height, and length of the room. If the steam room has a complex shape, its volume must be divided into separate parallelepipeds and their indicators must be summed up.
If the room has brick walls, you need to take into account the additional power to heat this heat-intensive material. To do this, calculate the area of the masonry and take an additional volume of cubic meter for each square meter. m.

Then the complex processes of calculating heat loss begin. For single glass windows, you need to add 3 cubic meters to the total heating volume for every square meter of its area. In the case of double glazing, this figure is 1.5 cubic meters per square. Next, the increase in heating volume for doors is calculated. To do this, add 1.2 cubes per square of their area.

The next step is an adjustment for general insulation. If the bathhouse was built according to the basic recommendations, with mandatory waterproofing of the walls and gluing of finishing joints, there is no need to make changes to the already calculated volume for heating. In the case where a simple room without special insulation is allocated for a steam room, you should add 20 to 30% to the final cubic footage.

The last tolerance takes into account the nature of the heating. If the stove is located in an adjacent room, it is required to add another 10% to the final figure of the calculated volume. The resulting value is the minimum acceptable indicator.

Advice! In general, calculating the power of a sauna stove is very simple. It is enough to assume that heating one cubic meter of volume requires 1 kW of thermal energy. This is true for a Russian-style bathhouse.

How to install a wood and gas stove in a bathhouse

The choice of furnace is influenced by several factors, operational and operational characteristics, as well as additional functionality. Manufacturers offer heating equipment for baths, characterized by the following characteristics:

Type of heater - stoves are made with an open and closed heater:
Bi-fuel metal gas-wood stoves for saunas with a closed heater are easier to operate and cool down more slowly after firing. To produce steam, a system of tubes is used through which water falls on heated stones.
The principle of operation is that hybrid stoves, capable of switching from gas to wood without conversion, are easy to use, but are expensive. Models with the possibility of conversion will cost approximately 40% less. Transferring from one type of fuel to another will take about half an hour, provided that the heat exchanger has cooled down.
Availability of a water heating tank - gas-fired sauna stoves with a heat exchanger for heating water and heating, are manufactured in two versions:
Gas and wood-burning sauna stoves with a built-in water tank are less common, mainly in modern models of the latest generation.

In the production of dual-fuel stoves, domestic manufacturers have practically no competitors. Consumers were able to evaluate the quality, reliability and convenience of the design of gas-burning stoves.

Judging by the reviews, the following models were able to gain popularity:

Ermak Uralochka.
Heat, Luxgas, Supergas and Extragas series.
Termofor Urengoy and Termofor Taimyr.
Zharstal, Sinara and Meteorite series.
Convection.

All of these stoves have proven themselves well in Russian operating conditions, have a long service life and high heat output.

The installation of a gas-fired stove must comply with the rules of PPB and SNiP. Installation work and connection to the chimney are carried out taking into account the characteristics of working on each type of fuel used:

Features of combustion - the temperature of the exhaust gases when burning gas rarely exceeds 180-200°C; when burning solid fuel, the indicators increase to 550°C. When settled soot ignites on the internal walls of the chimney, the temperature of the exhaust gases during the combustion of wood increases to 1200°C. To prevent fire, when passing the chimney pipe through the floor slabs and roof, special penetrations are installed that provide thermal insulation.

Fuel type - the standards for installing a gas-wood-burning sauna stove are the same as for any gas heat generator. It will be possible to connect to the main gas only after obtaining approvals and preparing project documentation. Installing a liquefied gas stove is easier and does not require special permits. The dimensions of the room in which the stove is installed cannot be less than 9 m³. To unprotected walls, from the body of the heating equipment, leave a distance of 1.25 m, in the direction of opening the firebox door, at least 1.5 m.

Calculation for sauna

A classic sauna does not imply the generation of a large amount of water vapor in the steam room. This is the so-called dry heat. This is why the Finnish sauna is so popular among consumers. Solutions for its organization can be found in a huge range on the mass market.

Important! A classic sauna can be arranged even within an apartment. At the same time, there will be no need for special insulation and waterproofing in the room.

A small amount of water vapor can be generated for personal enjoyment. That is why even ready-made electric stoves for Finnish saunas are equipped with stones. However, this thermal energy conversion process may be considered insignificant and ignored.

What kind of stove to put in a sauna-type bathhouse, where you don’t need a large amount of steam, volume for people to move and wave brooms, is decided by its owner. You can go the hard way. In this case, the calculation is made according to the above algorithm.

A simpler method involves operating with average heat generation indicators. Today there are quite a lot of ready-made solutions on the market in the form of stoves for Finnish saunas. They can be wood-burning or electric. The manufacturer indicates either the optimal volume of the steam room or the power consumed by the heating elements. The average statistical figures for thermal generation requirements for different types of buildings look like this:

walls made of wood (profiled, laminated timber, rounded logs) for a thickness of up to 140 mm - 1.5 kW per cubic meter of volume;
for walls made of wood with a thickness of more than 140 mm - 1.75 kW per cubic meter;
in buildings built using frame technology, including SIP panels - from 600 to 800 W per cubic meter.

Advice! These figures are correct for wooden walls that have not been insulated. If the owner of the bathhouse acted prudently and made a special finish, the standards for heating can be taken at a level corresponding to the frame construction technology.

For a sauna installed inside a house or apartment with existing central heating, there are other recommendations. In this case, electric units are usually used. Their power must be selected at the rate of 700 W per cubic meter of steam room volume.

Ceiling installation

For work you will need, in addition to the selected building materials:

trestles or a stepladder (it is recommended to take two stepladders, because the help of at least one person is required);
hammer;
drill;
screwdriver (if there is a need to secure it with screws);
pencil and long ruler for marking;
construction tape;
knife, jigsaw or other cutting tool (drywall can be cut with a knife, but for boards you will need a hacksaw or jigsaw).

There are two installation options.

First way

A rough wooden ceiling is made from boards or clapboards (the boards are nailed to a wooden beam close to each other), and then decorative trim - siding, plastic or decorative plywood - is attached to them using glue or self-tapping screws.

For those who are doing this kind of work with their own hands for the first time, this method is the most convenient, because errors when attaching wood will be hidden during decoration. But at the same time, extra time is spent on rough cladding and the consumption of building materials increases. Also, a rough ceiling base from boards or lining is made when it is planned to make a suspended or suspended ceiling below.

Second way

A frame made of metal profiles, wood or plastic is fixed to a wooden beam base. Selected finishing building materials are screwed to it. Such repairs can be done with your own hands much faster. Of course, the drywall will need to be additionally finished, but plastic, siding and MDF boards will become both a rough ceiling and a beautiful option for decorative finishing.

A rough ceiling covering will help hide unsightly but necessary building elements, such as electrical wiring or beam foundations. But before you start creating a draft ceiling, you should carefully consider all the nuances of using the room. It may be possible not only to hide the wooden ceiling beams and other building elements, but also to create a decorative finish at the same time. Combining a draft and decorative ceiling will help save money.

Afterburner reserve

Experienced builders of baths and saunas recommend increasing the final power of the stove by 10-15% of the calculated one. The idea of such an action is very simple. Firstly, the ease of use of the oven is improved. It does not need to be heated to the limit and constantly monitor the amount of fuel or temperature. The unit will not operate at peak power levels, allowing a certain range of adjustment.

Secondly, for bathhouses that are not constantly visited, it becomes possible to quickly warm up with afterburner. This is especially important for buildings in suburban areas. For such a bathhouse, which in winter can literally freeze through and through, you can accept a tolerance of 20%. This will allow you to quickly prepare the room and quickly start taking thermal procedures.

These figures are correct for wood-burning stoves. If an electric unit is used, a power reserve is always made. This may be a tolerance of 10-15% to neutralize possible voltage surges and different heat transfer modes. If there is a need for accelerated heating of the room, it is recommended to select the power of an electric furnace (especially a home-made one) 20-25% higher than the calculated one.

Answers from experts

Peacemaker With Bazooka:

The power of the furnace is selected depending on the volume of the steam room. With good insulation, 1 m3 of sauna requires an electric heater power of 1 kW. 1 m2 of uninsulated stone, glass or similar surface requires an increase in heater power by 20%. vds-sm/elctroharvia My opinion is fiction. 4 kilowatts is enough for your bathhouse. Here's more: The power of an electric heater depends on the volume of the steam room, the quality of the thermal insulation of its walls and the temperature of the atmosphere. Roughly, we can assume that for 1 m3 of steam room volume, the power consumption is 0.7 kW. This means that with a ceiling height of 2–2.2 m to heat 1 sq. m. the steam room area requires 1.4–1.6 kW of energy. .zavodprom /stati_o_stroit/mosh_eletrokam/index I can definitely say that you have excellent walls with excellent thermal insulation. If you have made a vapor barrier inside. .aquastyle /electrokamenki/

Ilya Vaslevich:

***Convection ovens - operating principle***

Convection ovens can operate on almost any fuel. This can be firewood, coal, fuel oil, agricultural waste, pellets, briquettes and so on.

It doesn’t matter what to heat such a stove with. It is important that during the combustion process, thanks to its design, it very quickly begins to warm up the room. A conventional convection oven has holes in a special air jacket that surrounds the firebox, or has ribbed surfaces that quickly and strongly heat the air next to them.

Hot air from the jacket or heat exchanger rises. It is immediately replaced by cold air, which is sucked into the shirts from below

A conventional convection oven has holes in a special air jacket that surrounds the firebox, or has finned surfaces that quickly and intensely heat the air next to them. Hot air from the jacket or heat exchanger rises. It is immediately replaced by cold air, which is sucked into the shirts from below.

The more powerful the stove, the more it affects the rate of mixing of air masses indoors. This means that a 20 kW convection oven heats the room faster than the same one, but by 10-15 kW.

And even if a 10 kW oven is enough to heat your room, a powerful convection oven will warm up this room much faster.

***Convection ovens for the home - pros and cons***

The main advantages of convection ovens are as follows:

Quick heating of the room, thanks to the ability to actively mix warm and cold air masses in the room. The ability to choose a model with a long combustion mode. Compact and undemanding in installation. Light weight due to the use of steel in production. Relative reliability and predictability of the result (when compared with brick stoves ). Convection ovens for wood and coal 3

However, there are also disadvantages to this class of heating devices:

The presence of hot surfaces on which you can get burned. Short heat release time after combustion. High requirements for the installation of the chimney to maintain draft and absence of condensation. As usual, there are applications where convection ovens using wood or coal can be in great demand, and there are such - where they are unprofitable.

Such heat generators can best be used for heating small rooms or private houses, especially country houses. In a situation where the fastest possible heating of a cold room is required, which, for example, is visited only on weekends.

It is not at all profitable to use convection ovens where heating of several separate rooms is required, especially those located on different levels/floors. In this case, it seems much more appropriate to use a heating boiler with a radiator system, or to use gas or electric convectors.

Eliminates the problem of QUICK COOLING of convection ovens - CAST IRON BATH OVEN. Good, reliable cast iron sauna stoves are Svarozhich and Hephaestus, most of which use the convection principle. Cast iron does not fade and lasts at least 30 years with a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty.

You can view and order in the Russian Federation here: Svarozhich: kamin-komfort /?Page=items&ParentID=2191

Thermofor: kamin-comfort /?Page=items&ParentID=553

Tatyana Mesyatseva:

But you can also try stoves from other manufacturers, look at the tylo sauna stove website .saunapechi /pechi1.php?&second=1&about=1&model_ind=1650010089&index=89&count_prod=3&index_cat=9&table_main=price it’s also very good.

den olko:

Do you need a sauna stove or a regular one? For a bath, you do not need to heat the air, but rather heat the stones, which will evaporate the steam and heat the steam room. For this you need a sauna stove svarojich /catalog/pechi_dlya_bani

How to calculate the volume of the firebox

Calculating a stove for a sauna, which you plan to make yourself with power from the mains, is quite simple. It is necessary to obtain the final power requirements and then calculate the required number of heating elements based on their characteristics and wiring capabilities.

However, bathhouse owners often have difficulty determining the parameters of wood-burning stoves. There is nothing complicated here either. It is enough to calculate the volume of the firebox, the compartment where the fuel will burn. The calculation formula is simple:

the volume is calculated by dividing the required power by 0.6 for a stove installed directly in the steam room;
The combustion volume of the firebox is equal to twice the calculated power if the stove is located in an adjacent room.

The resulting figure is measured in liters. To roughly estimate the dimensions of the firebox, you need to take the cube root from it and divide the result by 1000. This way you can get the value in linear meters. However, this is a rough estimate. It will show the side of the cube without taking into account how the geometry of the firebox fits into the existing room.

Making a metal stove with your own hands

When choosing a drawing for making a stove with your own hands, a number of factors are taken into account:

area of the room - the dimensions of the device depend on it;
presence of the desired functions - heating of air, water;
the presence of an open or closed heater;
heat capacity - protective shielding.

The location of the device in the room also plays a significant role. If you need a compact stove for a small steam room, a location in the corner is suitable. In this case, it is better to choose a model with an external firebox or a vertical one. When located in the center of a large steam oven, it can be horizontal and massive for high-quality heating of the room.

Materials

When making the stove itself, preference is given to sheet steel. It is convenient to cut and bend, and the material itself is resistant to burning.

For the longevity of a homemade stove, a fairly thick layer of steel is required, but too large a layer width (for example, 1 cm) can lead to prolonged heating of the device and a decrease in its efficiency.

Therefore, the optimal choice would be steel with a thickness of 5-7 mm for the firebox and 3-4 mm for the body.

It is recommended to buy the remaining parts - doors, hinges for them, valves, a tap for a water tank, grates for an ash pan and a heater - in specialized hardware stores. The chimney is made from pieces of pipe of suitable diameter (at least 10 cm), the legs are made from metal scraps of sufficient thickness to support the weight of the stove, as well as a mesh with stones. To fill the heater, river boulders of a round shape and suitable size are suitable.

Tools

To complete all stages of the work you will need the following tools:

welding machine;
grinder with cutting disc for iron;
container for mixing the solution;
furnace hammer-pick;
Master OK;
rule.

To work safely, you need to purchase protective equipment: a special mask and gloves. You will need various measuring instruments: tape measure, building level.

Construction stages. How to weld a structure correctly?

First of all, a place is prepared for the stove and the foundation is laid. Most metal devices are compact, so they do not require pouring concrete; it is enough to lay out the base from two rows of bricks. If you decide to lay out a heavy brick screen, it is more advisable to take care of a full-fledged foundation:

The floor where the stove is installed is dismantled and a pit half a meter deep is dug.
A drainage cushion is poured onto the bottom: a layer of wet sand, a second layer of broken crushed stone or special granulated expanded clay.
Wooden formwork is placed on the drainage and filled with concrete mixture.
After drying the foundation, a two-layer waterproofing (roofing material) is placed on it.

After preparing the foundation, thermal insulation of the future location for the device is ensured. The walls and ceiling are covered with fire-resistant material, the device itself is installed so that there is a gap of at least 30 cm to the walls.

Then begin welding the structural parts:

According to the drawing, using a grinder, cut pieces of sheet steel for the body and internal chambers.
The side walls and the bottom of the body are welded. Holes for the combustion chamber and ash pan are cut in the front part. Inside, metal corners are welded to the walls of the housing to secure the compartments.
The combustion chamber and ash pan with a grate separating them are welded and installed.
Welding and subsequent placement of the internal heater and water tank (if present in the project) are carried out.
The chimney pipe and body legs are welded.

After installing the stove, lay out a brick screen with a distance of 3-5 cm from the walls of the device. The width of the masonry is usually taken to be half a brick; small windows are left in the lower part for air circulation.

Possible installation difficulties

When working independently on the manufacture of a device, the following errors occur:

discrepancy between the dimensions of the device and the steam room - leads either to rapid overheating of the air or to the inability to create a comfortable temperature;
insufficient insulation of the chimney - due to constant contact with hot air, the chimney most often becomes the cause of fire hazards;
Incorrect location of the furnace screen, too close to the walls of the housing - this leads to overheating of the steel, shortening its service life.

Attention! In order to avoid basic mistakes, you should create an accurate drawing of the device before starting work and consult with an experienced craftsman

How to calculate stones

It is important to calculate the amount of stone that is placed on the stove, first of all, for a Russian bath . It is the energy accumulated by the cobblestones that will be used to generate hot water vapor.

Important! Owners of homemade bathhouses face the greatest difficulties in calculating the number of cobblestones. If you choose an excessive volume of stone, it will take a long time to warm up and create a load on the furnace elements. If there are few stones, it is almost impossible to create comfortable conditions for relaxation in the steam room.

According to some calculation algorithms, for 5 bathhouse users it will be necessary to load as much as 250 kg of cobblestones. This figure is unacceptable for most owners of homemade steam rooms. Therefore, you should use very old advice. It reads:

for 6 liters of evaporated liquid you need to choose 8 kg of stone;
for every cubic meter of steam room (taking into account losses on windows, doors, bricks), an additional 1.5 kg of cobblestone is added.

According to the average statistical estimate, one person spends from 0.5 to 0.8 liters of water per hour in a steam room. Thus, for a steam room for 5 visitors, you will need to evaporate 4 liters of liquid every hour. Even if you expect the room to be used continuously for 4-6 hours, the total requirements for the amount of water should be reduced by a third, since the steam room will be ventilated and its visitors will take breaks.

As a result, it turns out that it is reasonable to expect the stones in the bathhouse to evaporate about 19 liters of water. This is approximately 40 kg of cobblestone. By adding the required mass to the volume of the room, you can get a fairly acceptable amount of stone that can easily fit in any bathhouse.

conclusions

So, which stove to choose for a bath? This issue can be resolved in several steps.

Determine the required power based on the volume of the steam room and its thermal insulation. Study information about different models: the characteristics may indicate not the power, but the recommended volume of the steam room.
Determine the maximum permissible dimensions of the stove, taking into account the size of the steam room, its layout and ease of use.
Determine the amount of space for laying stones. Here you should use the recommendations for calculating the required mass of backfill and choose a model that can accommodate no less.

With all the variety of options for sauna stoves, you can make the right choice if you follow these recommendations. If you have any doubts, you can always contact qualified managers of the Teplodar online store.

Calculation of power by stone

Some owners of homemade Russian baths prefer to calculate the power of the furnace from the main factor of steam generation - this is the energy accumulated by the stones. In the process of pouring water, they cool down sharply. The furnace must replenish lost heat at a rate necessary to generate sufficient steam per unit time.

You can calculate a stove for a bath based on the mass parameters of the stone, which will provide comfort for a certain number of visitors. The calculation is made strictly based on an assessment of the required heat transfer.

The energy that the stones give off when cooling from 500 to 200 degrees Celsius is calculated at the rate of 0.84 kJ per delta temperature drop (on average 300, from 500 to 200) per kilogram of coolant. The resulting value is measured in Joules.
The rated power that the stove must provide per hour to replenish the heat lost by the stones is determined at the rate of 3600 Joules per 1 kW.
The parameters of the heating device are recalculated based on the conditions imposed by the mode of use of the bathhouse. For example, if water is supplied to the stones every 15 minutes, the power obtained in the previous paragraph must be increased 4 times (60 minutes divided by 15).

Advice! To the final figure you can add tolerances for windows, brickwork, doors as described in calculating the power of the stove for a Russian bath. In this case, 1 kW per cubic meter of conventional loss volume is assumed.

Types of equipment

Furnace equipment can be divided into two large groups:

Brick kilns. A classic version of heating units. The main advantages of brick structures are long cooling time, optimal level of comfort in bath rooms, durability, reliability, and beautiful appearance. In addition to their strengths, brick stoves have a number of disadvantages - a large mass of the structure, long heating times, and a large amount of fuel consumed to warm up the bath. Brick itself is an expensive material, and only a highly qualified builder can assemble oven equipment from it.
Metal stoves. They can be made from different types of metal. The main advantages of such designs are light weight, fast heating, and efficiency. The metal cools down just as quickly as it heats up. It is susceptible to rust, which is why it requires proper care.

Another division of equipment concerns the type of construction. There are two groups:

Open - models that have an open grid for laying out stones. It is located above the fuel combustion chamber, which is why the steam turns out dry, the temperature in the steam room rises to 100 degrees.
Closed - such models are installed in real Russian baths. They consist of a rectangular metal box, which is fixed vertically. Inside it is divided into three parts. The bottom one is for storing fuel, the middle one is for stones. A water tank is installed on the top. The steam from this design is moist, which is a necessary condition for a classic Russian bath.

There are several requirements that furnace equipment must meet:

The steam room should warm up to 50 degrees in the lower part and up to 80–100 in the upper part (depending on the type of bath - Finnish, Russian, Turkish). In this case, the transition between temperatures should be smooth.
The stones must maintain a high temperature, heat up quickly, and not emit harmful substances when heated strongly.
The design must comply with safety regulations. Connections must be tight. Additionally, it is necessary to assemble the pipeline correctly so that the resulting gases are discharged outside after combustion of the fuel.

It is necessary to ensure that the size of the stove does not interfere with bathhouse visitors’ ability to move freely around the bathhouse.

Brick oven

Installation features

Before installation, the type and material of the heat generator are taken into account. Failure to prepare for operation may result in a fire.

When connecting an electric furnace, the technical requirements of the product must be strictly observed. In addition, the sauna circuit must be grounded and a separate voltage input equipped with an automatic circuit breaker must be installed.

For natural ventilation, a 2 cm high gap is left under the steam room door - this will eliminate the likelihood of fainting from stuffiness, although it will increase energy consumption.

The foundation is provided. A sheet of refractory material is placed under the electric furnace. A brick one is usually built by a professional and only needs to protect the floor in front of the camera.

Performance characteristics, pros and cons

The product has 3 structural parts (from bottom to top):

Blower, chamber for loading fuel (firewood, wood briquettes).
Container for laying out stones with a lid. The lid has a hole for steam to escape.
Tank for heating water.

Among the advantages of metal devices:

fire safety;
long service life;
compact dimensions;
light weight compared to a heater;
no carbon monoxide is produced.

Among the disadvantages, users highlight rapid cooling, so the stove will have to be constantly kept burning.

To solve this problem, manufacturers have created two types of stoves:

Hot. Suitable for occasional use. The mechanism quickly heats up to 100 degrees

The room warms up at an accelerated rate. When choosing, it is important to pay attention to the thickness, quality of the metal and seams. Thin sheet steel at this heating temperature will begin to deform.

Cold Used in buildings where it is necessary to provide constant heating

The metal heats up gradually and over a long period of time, so the risk of burns is minimal. The temperature in the oven is adjustable. The maximum mark is 50 degrees. There are several chambers for combustion of fuel. Thickened steel sheets should be used as raw materials for manufacturing, and the firebox should be made of cast iron.

To correctly calculate the consumption of stones, take into account the area of the steam room and the presence of thermal insulation. Average consumption is 20–40 kg per 1 cubic meter

m of premises. The more stones there are, the easier it is to generate steam.

As for the volume of the firebox, it is made about half as large as a similar one in a heater.

Safety precautions when installing a chimney

It is imperative to ensure high fire safety of the chimney for the bathhouse

To do this, as mentioned above, pay special attention to the tightness of the connections of individual parts of the pipe, as well as to the cutting when the chimney passes through the ceilings and roof

In places where the pipe will pass through the ceiling, it is necessary to insulate it from wooden elements with heat-resistant material - this can be asbestos, mineral wool, sand or expanded clay.

To do this, a metal panel with a hole through which the pipe will pass is fixed to the ceiling where the chimney passes.
A kind of box is installed on the attic side, which should be 10-15 centimeters higher than the attic floor. An insulating material is placed or poured into it, which will protect the wooden floor from the high temperatures of the chimney pipe. The pipe must be at least 25 centimeters from combustible floor materials.

Pipe passage through the ceiling

It is very important to arrange thermal insulation protection not only in the ceiling, but also on the wooden wall of the bathhouse. Basically, bathhouse buildings are built from pine, and its wood is quite resinous and can easily overheat and even burn from the high temperatures of a nearby chimney

Therefore, the wall must be protected using non-combustible material - this can be special drywall, asbestos, masonry, foil-lined mineral wool, or a combination.

It is very important to protect not only the ceiling, but also the walls.

After passing through the attic, the smoke exhaust duct is discharged through the roof and rises above it by at least one and a half meters.
Around the chimney, when passing through the roofing, waterproofing is installed, which will protect the roof sheathing from moisture, and therefore from the appearance of mold and destruction.

The passage through the roof needs waterproofing

A special protective mushroom is placed on top of the pipe head and a spark arrester is installed.

Water tank

Sometimes a metal tank for heating water is built into the chimney system of a bathhouse, built from metal sandwich pipes, inside which there is an uninsulated part of the chimney. Tanks can have different volumes - this will primarily depend on the power of the selected furnace.

When choosing this chimney accessory, it is best to pay attention to a stainless steel product that will serve for a long time. Naturally, you need to focus on the diameter of the chimney pipe to which the tank will be attached

It is better to purchase the entire set as a set so that you do not have to disassemble an already assembled structure.

Finished chimney section with water tank

The water tank has pipes onto which sections of the chimney pipes are placed. They must fit tightly together, otherwise the draft will decrease and carbon monoxide may enter the room.

A metal water tank is also built into the structure of a brick chimney. In this case, hot air from the furnace passing next to it heats the water poured into the tank. When building a container, you need to provide a place in the chimney wall where there will be a tap and a pipe with a tap for filling the tank.

Diagram of a sauna chimney

This diagram clearly shows all the above-described sections of the smoke exhaust system of a sauna stove.

Approximate general diagram of a sauna chimney

It is worth noting that a sauna stove with its firebox usually opens into another room - the dressing room. This is provided so that there is no risk of getting burned during washing, and so that the bathhouse attendant has the opportunity to constantly add firewood to the firebox.

The stove itself is located directly in the bathhouse with a metal sheathing, which encloses the hot walls and is 10-15 centimeters away from them. Pebble stones are placed at this distance, which, when heated, give off heat to the room, and if you want to get steam, they are splashed with ordinary water or an infusion of fragrant herbs. In this embodiment, the chimney and the tank installed on it are also located in the bathhouse.

Cast iron stove with fence, metal chimney and water tank

The figure also shows how the chimney should pass through the ceilings and roof and how to ensure complete safety of its operation.

Based on this diagram, you can easily build a chimney yourself if you strictly follow all the norms, rules, sizes and volumes of insulating materials.

Preparatory work

Before starting work, you need to prepare your workplace, collect materials and tools, and stock up on free time.
If you plan to install the stove between the steam room and the dressing room, you will need to cut out part of the wall. If you place the structure in a corner, you should first protect this place with high-quality mineral thermal insulation and cover it with red brick. Carefully inspect the installation site of the unit. Floor beams and rafters will not interfere with you when installing the chimney.

How to correctly calculate and install the foundation

Any stove, be it a metal product or a stone one, requires site preparation and a strong foundation. To build a foundation you need:

Dig a pit half a meter deep. Its width should be 25 cm larger than the dimensions of the oven.
Make a sand cushion at the bottom of the foundation, a layer of at least 10 cm. Fill it with water and compact it.
Next, make a gravel cushion of about 20 cm.
Build a plank formwork with an armored belt.

The foundation solution is prepared as follows:

One part of cement grade M 400 is mixed with 4 proportions of crushed stone and 3 parts of sand.
Water is added so that the solution does not spread and retains its plasticity.
After preparation, the solution is poured onto the formwork, leveled with a rule and covered with polyethylene.
The base is left in this form until completely dry.

Rules for preparing the solution

To install a stone unit, you can use ready-made concrete or make a solution of clay and sand. River sand and fatty clay are quite suitable for these purposes. Before deciding on the proportions of the material, you need to conduct a small test: mix sand and clay in different parts, form small balls from them.

Some time after drying, the balls are compressed with wooden planks. During this process, the solution will begin to crack. For making a furnace, the solution that begins to crack after squeezing the ball to 2/3 of its original size is suitable. If the mixture begins to crack earlier, it is necessary to increase the clay in its composition.

Attention: to obtain a better composition, it is recommended to first clean the clay from impurities and knead it. Then it is filled with well water for a day.

Cutting blanks

To build a metal stove with your own hands, you will need to prepare metal with a thickness of at least 4 mm. It is cut with a grinder. This will require a lot of effort, free time and abrasive discs.

It is best to cut metal with a plasma cutter or gas cutter, if you have such an opportunity.