Black sauna: what is it?

Photo from the website Do-it-yourself bathhouse and bathhouse projects on the BaniZhar portal If you ask ordinary passers-by on a city street what a black bath means, few will answer correctly. Although it is believed that the history of the Russian bathhouse begins with it. Modern people value coziness, comfort and convenience more, so if they go to the steam room, they do it in white, i.e. to bathing rooms, where everything is visually clean, without smoke and soot. However, recently there have been trends in the revival of native Russian traditions. Today you can take water procedures in a black bath in villages, especially in Siberia and the Far East. There, this type of steam room was always revered and never forgotten. This is exactly what we will talk about in this article.

Black bathhouse is part of Russian culture

It is believed that the very first black baths originated in Rus'. Whether this is true or not, in Russian culture the first bathhouse was the “black” one. Orthodox science habitually refers us to official historical documents - the “Chronicles of Bygone Years” (XII century). But there are also notes about baths dating back to the 10th-11th centuries. These documents mention such a bathhouse for the first time.

It used to be very simple to build. A small log house with a window, without a chimney. Smoke is removed either from a small through hole in the wall, or through specially made small gaps between the joints of boards or logs. The stove-stove was being built. The ceiling was covered with clay. After it warmed up, all the smoke seeped through the stones. The houses were low, sometimes even partially dug into the ground. This was done to keep warm.

Low houses made of logs with a deep foundation and floor, without a chimney Source slobodskoyles.ru

To heat the water, hot stones were thrown into the tub. The air was filled with aromas using a simple method - brooms were placed on a hot stove for a short time, and bunches of herbs were hung from the ceiling. Straw, hay or tree branches - pine, spruce - were necessarily laid on the floor of the black-style bathhouse. Inside the moyni they set up poles and hung clothes on them. The fabric was disinfected and impregnated with bactericidal fumes.

There was a time when almost every family had its own bathhouse. The ancestors of the Slavs and Russians called them “soap”, “movnitsa”. Later, starting from Tsarist Russia, public baths began to appear in cities. The pagan roots of baths remind us of beliefs. It was believed that each bathhouse has its own Master - the lord of heat and fire, the great Healer. And they called such a spirit - Baynik, Bayannik. His wife is Obderikha, the mistress of the couple.

Finnish black sauna, there were no Russian black saunas for public use Source sauna.lt

The Russian black bathhouse had its own rules:

loud talking or singing was not allowed;
there was no noise, no knocking, no laughing in the steam room;
there was a particularly strict ban on obscene language;
You couldn't drink alcohol.

Previously they believed that Bannik and his wife could not stand drunk people in the steam room. Perhaps this is how our ancestors tried to soften and beautifully play out tragic cases when drunken men died from suffocation in a bathhouse. Modern trips to the steam room after a glass of beer, or pouring beer on stones, is a stupid idea that demonstrates ignorance of how to properly steam in baths.

Bayannik, Bannik - the spirit of fire, heat, health and, according to legend, the great Healer Source Yandex.Zen

Construction of a bathhouse

So, let's build a sauna the black way. The construction of such a bathhouse, like any capital structure, begins with a design and foundation.

The choice of foundation type depends on the type of soil and the weight of the planned bathhouse. If the weight exceeds 20 tons, the choice is made in favor of solid reinforced concrete strip or slab foundations. If the bathhouse is light enough (for example, a small log house or frame), and the soil is rocky, you can get by with a natural foundation. Baths standing on ordinary cobblestones for a hundred years are not uncommon in our country. The bathhouse project is carried out independently, bought or ordered from a special company.

WATER SUPPLY. Communication issues, in particular water supply, as an important part of a modern bathhouse, need to be thought through in advance. This problem is often solved by installing a pump in a well or borehole and running a hose into the bathhouse to fill containers; sometimes a full-fledged water supply is organized.

As a rule, while the Russian bath is heating up, they try to heat the water for washing from the stove. Sometimes a special boiler is built for this purpose, built into the furnace. The disadvantage of this method is the increase in humidity and excessive dampness inside the room.

The most optimal and interesting way is to heat water in a wooden barrel. Of course, they don’t put them on fire. They do it much simpler: they take the hot stones out of the oven and throw them into the water. The stones in the water cool, quickly giving off heat to it.

WALLS. They continue to build black bathhouses by erecting walls, or “boxes” in common parlance. The best option for a Russian bath is, of course, a wooden frame.

In the old days, logs with a diameter of at least 18 centimeters were used to build such baths to save firewood and quickly warm up. Nowadays, you can use at least a “hundred square”, a gun carriage or an ordinary beam.

It is not necessary to sew up the walls of the log house from the inside, and it is not even advisable. However, if you decide to build using frame technology using mineral wool or polystyrene foam, or laminated veneer lumber, it is better to sew up the walls in order to protect yourself from chemical elements getting into the heated air.

For a small bathhouse, jute tape placed between the crowns is considered quite sufficient insulation. If additional insulation is necessary, it is better to do it outside and, if possible, from the safest materials possible.

Usually a person who thinks about how to build a black sauna opts for wood. There are a great many types of wood from which you can build. But for a smoky bath, coniferous wood is best suited: cedar, larch and pine. The most economical and affordable material for a log house is Scots pine.

SHELF. The shelves are usually made of hardwood (alder, aspen, linden). The black sauna will undoubtedly have to be cleaned frequently, so it is better to make it portable. A portable shelf will not only save you from unnecessary hassle, but will also last much longer than a stationary one.

Smoky baths are usually built not very large, as our ancestors did. If you look at archival photos of black bathhouses, it becomes clear that they were content with modest huts.

The size of a modern bathhouse can be chosen based on various considerations. Many, for example, want to equip it with a large recreation room, a swimming pool or a billiard room. As far as bath procedures are concerned, only the volume of the steam room is important. The optimal height for it is 2 meters, and the area is 7-12 square meters.

Parameters, design, differences from a traditional bath

A black sauna must have:

stove-stove located near the door;
the hearth of the stove is located almost on the ground;
stones of different sizes;
shelves behind the stove along the wall;
a bench along the opposite wall;
a small, blind window;
door with a high threshold;
plank floor with gaps for water drainage.

The shelf in the black-style steam bath is a wide bench made of wooden planks, on which you can sit or lie down. Of all the types of Russian baths, it is the “black” one that produces richer steam, evaporation of essential oils from herbs and branches. It has the deepest thermal radiation, allowing the human body to warm up as much as possible.

A stove-heater at the entrance, the presence of a cast-iron container for heating, a shelf-bed and a bench Source saunapiter.ru

In a white sauna, unlike a black sauna, you must have:

chimney, stove pipe;
ventilation window with grille;
low threshold;
higher door.

After kindling, be sure to remove from the fireplace all coals, firebrands, and other things that could continue to produce smoke. It is important to spray the hot heater with water and let the sauna sit “black” so that the carbon monoxide goes away. Only then can you use the steam room. The white bathhouse has a chimney. Therefore, the wood in the firebox can burn during the fire.

There must be a chimney, you can add firewood during the fire Source na-pechi.ru

Common features between the baths! Every person taking a steam bath, entering the bathhouse, must close the door tightly behind him. This is done to maintain a comfortable temperature for the guy.

Benefits and harms

There is nothing strange in the fact that, having forgotten, for some time, the black bath, people begin to remember their origins and are ready to endure certain inconveniences for the benefit of the steam room. Experts find explanations for the beneficial effects on the human body of this method of taking hygienic and therapeutic water procedures:

The firebox is covered with tar, which floats in the air and settles on the walls of the room along with soot. Its composition is a set of hydrocarbons that have a strong disinfecting effect. It’s no secret that cosmetologists around the world still actively use tar soap. The organic phytoncides present in it are active against actinobacteria, fungi and cellular protozoa. Microorganisms are partially destroyed at temperatures in the bathhouse, reaching up to 70 C. The space in the bathhouse becomes a powerful sterilizer of things, objects and the body. It is believed that it was the Russian bathhouse that saved the people from the plague epidemics that “mowed down” 25,000,000 people in Europe in the Middle Ages. The West borrowed bath technology only during the reign of Peter the Great, after he began building soldiers’ steam rooms in Amsterdam and Paris.
The air humidity in the black steam room sometimes reaches 100%, while in the “white” bath it barely reaches 70%. Moist vapors are a source of beneficial effects on the human respiratory system.
Infrared radiation source. Thermal energy from the hot stones is accumulated by the black, soot-covered walls of the steam room. As a result, a simple infrared camera is created. Today, the healing effect of infrared influence on the body has been fully proven by world luminaries of medicine, and people are willing to pay five hundred rubles per hour to attend physiotherapeutic procedures. As a result, acceleration of metabolism, removal of toxins, vasodilation, analgesic effect and activation of intracellular processes. All this can be obtained in the sauna “in black”.

The harm of such a bath is the same as for a white bath, sauna, and for any room with elevated temperature and humidity conditions. It is dangerous for visitors in the following cases:

Alcohol intoxication. Alcohol in the body leads to dilation of blood vessels and, accordingly, stress on the heart. A high-humidity and high-temperature environment enhances this process, which the body simply cannot withstand.
Excessive gluttony. Food in the stomach is digested for about 2-3 hours, with energy consumption, the bath also takes strength from a person, the body may not be able to withstand these two processes, resulting in fainting and loss of consciousness.
Wet head. The health threat to a bathhouse visitor with a wet head is caused by the acceleration of heat transfer in the body, which leads to a stroke similar to sunstroke.
Specific diseases. There are a number of diseases that are incompatible with taking bath procedures: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer and, of course, any contagious disease, including tuberculosis.

The specifics of black baths - the principle of operation, how to heat correctly

The therapeutic effect of the bath appears due to proper heating. What is important here is the correct calculation of the number of stones that should be heated and pass smoke through them. If there are 500 kg more of them, then they will not have time to warm up, or you will have to spend more firewood to bring the air in the steam room to the desired temperature. When the stones are poorly heated, splashing water on them will make the steam heavy, making breathing difficult.

All features of a black sauna:

Black walls, floor and ceiling due to the fact that the smoke comes out through the surface of the heater, and not through the pipe.
Final leakage of smoke through micro-holes.
Reinforced thermal insulation – high threshold and low entrance door. Narrow and small window with triple glazing.
The walls are made exclusively of thick logs. This is also a plus for retaining heat inside.
Time for kindling is 1.5-3 hours, sometimes 2-4 hours. The duration depends on the area of the room - the smaller the bathhouse, the faster it will heat up.
Three steam settings: hard, medium and light.

A modern black sauna has a suspended cast-iron boiler for heating water. Source hvalin.ru
Temperature in each pair mode of a black sauna:

hard steam appears immediately after heating, it is more difficult to breathe, but it warms up perfectly, as they say “to the bones”, suitable for men and persistent women, the temperature in the steam room is 80-90℃;
medium – ideal for a guy, the mode suits everyone, the steam does not burn, but warms, temperature – 50-70℃;
soft, but more humid steam, more suitable for washing, comfortable for women and children - temperature is around 40℃.

They begin to heat the bathhouse black only with the doors and window half open. If there are several windows in the room, you need to open them all. After kindling and heating the bath, all burnt coals, firebrands and ash are removed from the steam room. Doors and windows (or windows) are tightly closed. A hot, heavily smoky bathhouse is left for about an hour or an hour and a half. During this time, carbon monoxide will escape through the microholes, the air will become clean and well heated.

Open the doors and windows slightly, and after each adding firewood, pour down the walls and floor. Source suomikivi.ru

We build it ourselves: we embody the experience of our ancestors in new technologies

Many people wonder how to build a sauna in a black and white manner with low costs and maximum efficiency. Let's try.

It’s not the place that paints the bathhouse, but the other way around

When choosing a site for construction, you should consider a number of factors:

Wind rose. As we mentioned earlier, the door should be located on the leeward side in order to prevent the smoke from being “propped up” inside the room by the air flow from the prevailing winds in a particular region;
Having a sufficient amount of water within walking distance is a must. In old Rus', baths were always located at the end of vegetable gardens that faced the river. Nowadays, the presence of a well or well eliminates the problem almost completely;
We look carefully at the ground. If the soil is light sandy loam, with good drainage, then you can act in full accordance with traditions and deepen the frame of the bathhouse by a third, almost to the line of the windows. Saving firewood can be said to be guaranteed. If the soil is heavy, the place is wet, and groundwater is close, then you should think about a pile foundation. This is also not a modern innovation, but the experience of our ancestors. Located on the river bank in the floodplain of the spring flood, the baths were at risk of being flooded by flood waters. In order to avoid this, they first built a bed on spruce, oak, and larch pillars, and then rested the frame on it. This is where the famous huts on chicken legs came from, in which Baba Yaga lived, one might assume that she was a retired midwife.

The foundation of everything is the head

If the bathhouse is lowered below ground level, then the foundation is organized in the form of a monolithic reinforced concrete belt, a set of FBS type blocks, or simply the frame rests on the base of the soil. Naturally, in the latter case it must have sufficient load-bearing capacity.

If the log house is laid directly into the ground, then at least two lower, root logs around the perimeter must be made of rot-resistant wood. The best option in terms of price-quality criterion is larch. For additional resistance to harmful effects from direct contact with the soil, the time-tested Japanese technology of “simmering cedar” should be used.

The root logs are carefully burned with a gas burner until a dense charred layer is formed and then soaked in vegetable fat. An excellent solution can be fuza - the sediment of sunflower or other vegetable oil, extracted from the nearest oil mill. When equipping the foundation, do not forget about the base for the heater stove. It’s better to pour a separate concrete nickel under it.

Attention! The foundation for the stove should not intersect or adjoin the main foundation made along the perimeter of the bathhouse.

Let's dance from the stove

Old-time carpenters built a log bathhouse around a finished stove. A black bathhouse whose designs have one room that combines both a steam room and a soap room makes it possible to do the same in our time. Fortunately, there is no need to tie up the roof and chimney.

If you mean the presence of both a steam room and a dressing room, then it is better to build the stove in the finished perimeter of the log house. Then it is possible to modernize the design of such an element as a black sauna stove with your own hands. Namely, unfold the firebox into the dressing room, and erect the heater directly adjacent to the partition in the steam room. It will be much easier to maintain the stove in such conditions; at the same time, you can try to get rid of the nickname “Smoked”, which is well-deserved for all sauna heaters.

The stove has a simple design, although let’s say it’s simple, like everything ingenious:

We lay basalt cardboard about 5 mm thick on the foundation slab.
We assemble the zero row of bricks into a continuous one.
We remove the walls of the ash pit from the refractory, install grates and cover it with the next row. We take into account that the closer we get to the hot zone of the firebox, the thicker the thermal seam should be. The optimal thickness is 3-4 mm. We lay the bricks on a classic kiln mortar of tortured clay and sifted ravine sand.
Grate bars and doors must be made of high-quality cast iron. As a grate above the firebox, you can use either a cast iron rod, a solid square, or you can build a grate from refractory, alternating bricks with spacers made from the same. True, this option requires a lot of trimming of fireclay or purchasing a ready-made piece of fireclay molded from it in a factory.
The heater is open at the top. For better thermal conductivity, you can put cast iron pigs or balls down on the grate, and a stone backfill of pebbles on them.
The outer sides of the fireclay core of the firebox can be lined with either natural stone or ordinary brick, departing 10-12 mm from the hot part.

Important! Flow-type heaters require periodic refurbishment and cleaning of the stone from soot to restore thermal properties.

We chop the log house into paw

The fastest way to build a log bathhouse from a log is chopping into a paw. Chopping, in modern conditions, turns into not quite chopping, since the good old carpenter's ax is successfully replaced by a chainsaw. The main operations are as follows:

Sawing the ends. The end of the log is pre-marked to be the same size as the adjacent logs and the semicircular edge is removed, turning the end of the log into a beam;
By placing a log on a log with support on the end platforms, mark the places of contact of adjacent logs under the future groove - the saddle;
Using a chainsaw or a special tool - a claw, select a groove to the depth of the marked contact point, after which the log is seated in the saddle. The operation is repeated;
The cracks formed after the construction of the wall are caulked before the roof is laid, upon completion of the wall construction. The cracks are clogged with forest moss soaked in vegetable oil or with jute rope, which is previously beaten with a wooden mallet on a hard surface to soften and give greater elasticity. The roof placed on the frame will load the walls and finally fix the packing in place;
The roof is constructed as a simple gable roof and, due to the absence of a chimney and chimney pipe, is built solid in the generally accepted way.

For the convenience of calculating the required building materials, we provide a table of the number of logs per cubic meter depending on the length and diameter:

Length, m	180	200	220	240	260	280
4	9,8	8	6,6	5,5	4,7	4,1
5	7,9	6,4	5,3	4,4	3,8	3,3
5,5	7.1	5,8	4,8	4	3,4	3
6	6,6	5,3	4,4	3,7	3,1	2,7
6,5	6	4,9	4	3,4	2,9	2,5
7	5,6	4,5	3,8	3,2	2,7	2,3

Pros and comfort of using a steam room

The benefits of a black sauna:

Quick kindling. A black sauna is heated for a maximum of 3 hours, while a white sauna is heated for 6, and sometimes more, hours.
Relatively simple development on the site, which does not require the installation of complex structures or equipment.
Sterile atmosphere. Smoke and hot humid air during downtime after heating kills all flying and settling microbes, viruses and fungi. The risk of contracting an infection or virus is reduced to almost zero.
Long service life. Centuries-old practice demonstrates that a black log bathhouse can be used without repair for 15 to 20 years, and sometimes longer.
Greater fuel savings. Heating of the bath occurs not only due to the burning of wood and smoke. But also thanks to the uniform circulation of hot air and heating of the logs. There is no need to regularly add firewood to the firebox. The heat is well retained, and the smoke is released through micro-slits in the tightly fitting joints of the boards.

Stay in a comfortable natural microclimate. Ideal conditions for aromatherapy. Warmed wood, prepared steamed brooms, herbs - they all exude a pleasant fragrance, having a calming effect on the nervous system and human psychoperception.

When saving water, the shelves, bench and floor are not doused, but covered with cloth or herbs Source 2gis.ru

Health Benefits

Health benefits of regularly using a black sauna:

The smoke creates a strong disinfecting effect. Literally everything is disinfected - air, dissimilar surfaces, hard-to-reach places.
The smoke screen, which gradually dissipates and penetrates deep into the tree, eliminates all unpleasant odors.
The bulk of the hydrocarbon will leave the steam room after the bath is idle. This means that you will not have to inhale heavy air during bath procedures.

The formation of smoke is mistakenly perceived as unsanitary or lack of hygiene. This opinion demonstrates ignorance of the qualities and physical properties of any smoke and combustion residues (ash is also sterile for some time).

Conifer branches, straw, hay or bunches of medicinal herbs are laid on the floor, shelves and bench. Source shalerus.com

Steaming in a steam bath, melted black, means:

make your skin and hair healthy;
tone the muscles;
normalize blood circulation;
relieve pain syndromes of rheumatism, arthritis;
improve the functioning of the respiratory system;
say goodbye to allergies;
harden the body, increase its resistance to colds;
increase immunity;
speed up your metabolism and lose weight.

It’s not for nothing that they say: “You can steam all the bones in a bathhouse!” This means that being in a steam room allows the body to warm up so well that the heat reaches the bones. Improved blood microcirculation will more effectively deliver all the necessary nutrients to the joints. Intense blood circulation helps remove excess salts, toxins and waste from sweat.

Soot and smoke completely neutralize the air and all surfaces inside the steam room Source health.totalarch.com

The benefits of a black steam room

Many believe that increased concentrations of smoke can cause damage to health. However, this statement is wrong. Let's look at the main benefits of smoke:

Disinfectant qualities. The smoke contains natural antiseptics, which, spreading through the steam room, destroy pathogenic microorganisms and act as the best prevention for the development of fungal infections.
Sterility. Due to the antiseptic properties, the steam room is hygienic, which means that you don’t have to worry about contamination during the bath.
Comfort. Smoke combats unpleasant and harmful odors.

Smoke has health benefits

Important ! To appreciate all these advantages, you need to go to the steam room 1.5 hours after the end of the fire. During this time, the soot will have time to settle, and carbon monoxide will evaporate through the holes and the slightly open window.

Harm and inconvenience

The harm of black baths lies in the untimeliness of bath procedures. If you start steaming without waiting for the smoke and carbon monoxide to come out, you may feel discomfort:

sore throat;
pinching eyes;
burning of the nasal mucosa;
dizziness;
nausea;
cough.

It is inconvenient to replace the stove-stove every 3-4 years. But it is necessary to do this. Otherwise, the accumulated layer of soot will not produce the heating effect it should. Thermal radiation will not be pure, the stove will begin to smoke. Some people don’t like the black bath because of the minimum amenities and a small steam room.

If the heater begins to smoke, then you need to disassemble it and clean it from adhering soot Source visitpolva.ee

Furnace installation

The black sauna stove has a very simple design.

To build a stove for a black sauna yourself, you don’t need any special skills or abilities. The device consists of a firebox with a blower, a grate and a pile of stones on top. The unit can also be equipped with a tank or boiler for heating water.

For construction you will need clay brick, fireclay brick, grate, clay-sand masonry mixture, a set of round stones of different diameters, as well as materials for concreting the stove foundation. Fittings and doors are optional.

Instructions for laying a Russian-type sauna stove.

Work is carried out on the basis of order. There are a lot of options for such arrangements; on our website you can find various options for stoves and methods for laying them.

We will tell you about a simple and proven method:

In the place where the stove is installed, we dig a hole half a meter deep, the bottom of which is covered with a layer of crushed stone and sand, which we carefully compact. We cover the bottom and walls of the pit with construction polyethylene with a thickness of at least 300 nanometers or roofing felt;

We form a hole, which we fill with crushed stone and waterproof.

We knit the reinforcing lattice and place it in the hole;

We lay the fittings.

We fill the hole with concrete based on a cement-sand mixture, water and crushed stone, level the upper plane horizontally using a rule and a level;

We concrete the hole.

When the concrete has completely hardened and dried, we lay a double layer of roofing material on it;
Next, according to the above order, we lay out the first layer of brick - solid;

Lay out the first row of bricks.

Then we lay out the first layer with a hole for the blower, then we repeat the procedure and cover the blower with a grate made of cast iron or steel;

We place the grate on the ash pit.

Then we form a simple rectangular firebox along the height of the door, line the door with bricks on top in the form of an arch, and line the firebox with fireclay bricks;

We line the firebox with fireclay bricks.

In the penultimate row of bricks we insert steel rods or squares with a diameter of 20 mm;

We complete the firebox with a grid of twigs.

After the masonry has set and dried, we place boulders on the lattice of rods formed at the top, first larger ones, then smaller ones. We leave small gaps between the boulders to allow smoke and flames to escape freely.

We lay stones for the stove on top.

At this point, the construction of a simple sauna stove according to the Slavic tradition can be considered complete.

Important! The distance between the boulders should be such that the flames pass through them, but do not break out above the level of the stone pile. The flame is designed to remove soot from the stones, which should remain clean even on the sides. Do not use stones with cracks, as carbon monoxide and other undesirable combustion products can accumulate in them.

Features of modern black baths

In modern baths with the preparation of steam rooms in black style, various details can already be added:

the presence of a dressing room, washing room, shower room, room for a font (in large structures) and a rest room;
the furnace hearth is equipped with a metal damper;
boulders are held together by clay;
a cast iron tank suspended above the stove completely replaced the process of heating water by grabbing hot stones with blacksmith tongs to transfer them to a tub of water;
external joints of logs are no longer insulated with moss, but with ecowool or other modern materials;
a small pot for hot stones suspended on a chain;
a bowl suspended above the heater for steaming herbs and adding aromatic oils to the water.

In comparison with the classic black sauna, all the basic equipment remains traditional - wooden tubs, ladles, wide shelves, benches, stove design, windows, doors, walls, ceiling or floor.

Modern materials, thermal insulation and utensils are added to wood baths in black style Source visitviimsi.com

Wood can be treated with coatings that are easy to wash after soot deposits Source oasis73.rf

Location on the site, construction details

For a black bath, a place is selected so that there are no drafts or strong weathering of the structure. If it is a house with a small hole for smoke to escape, then when choosing a location, take into account the wind rose. The hole is made on the leeward side. It is not recommended to supply electricity. Therefore, when designing windows, the movement of the sun during the day and the penetration of light into the windows are taken into account.

When building a black bathhouse, there is no need to construct a chimney and run a pipe through the roof. This is considered one of the simplifications and advantages of construction. The height of the oven is made to a maximum of 90 cm, if you count from the floor. The roof will be smooth. It is made single or double slope. The most common covering material is slate. There are only 2 shelves inside, no more are provided.

Approximate dimensions of the steam room: 3x4, 3x3, 2.8x2.8, 2.5x2.8. Much depends on the purpose - if you combine a steam room with a washing room, then the area of the room can be increased to 3x3 or 4x4. The height of the steam room is 2.1 m. It is not recommended to go lower. The top shelf is placed no higher than the top of the heater. The ventilation of the black bath is organized through windows or micro-slits in the structure itself. There is no need to specially remove the ventilation passage and window.

The windows and doors are installed on the sunny side Source polarspa.ru

Stones and firewood

Basaltic volcanic rocks are considered ideal for a black bath:

jade;
diabase;
soapstone;
peridotite;
quartzite;
basalt;
dunit;
gabbro-diabase;
porphyrite

Large cobblestones are placed at the very bottom of the heater, then medium-sized ones, and small stones at the top. With this layout, more gaps are formed for the passage of smoke and the formation of saturated steam.

Stones for the bath are black-selected from basaltic volcanic rocks Source oboiman.ru

A suitable option for selecting firewood for a black sauna is deciduous logs:

birch;
alders;
aspen;
oak;
poplars;
linden trees

Firewood from coniferous trees is not used for fire safety reasons. Such logs crack a lot, spark and “throw out” coals. And the structure is all wooden.

To light a heater in a black bath, only hardwood firewood is needed Source dimohodov.ru

Anatomy of a bathhouse inside and out

Let's try to understand the question of what a black sauna is, by examining its design in detail. So traditionally this is a squat log structure with a canopy over the porch. As a rule, the ceiling height in such a bathhouse rarely exceeds 200 cm. The exception is modern bathhouses, which are very popular in Finland, but we will talk about them later.

The doorway is very low, the threshold, on the contrary, is high. The threshold cuts off cold air, and the small area of the doorway helps to better retain heat. It is not for nothing that in Rus' making a low opening was considered a tradition and good form.

Any adult was obliged to bow low when entering the bathhouse and show respect to its real owner - the bathhouse. Bannik, along with ovinnik, were traditionally considered the most unfriendly and, at times, evil yard spirits. Often the bannik, for the slightest manifestation of disrespect on the part of people, could easily steam them to the point of loss of consciousness, or even choke them to death with fumes. The door is massive and dense. The door should always be located on the leeward side. So that the wind would not push the smoke into the room, and it could freely exit through the slightly open door.

The windows in the log house are small, even small, but always hinged. One window should be on the south side, and one on the west. It is rightly believed that this way they provide maximum illumination in a minimum area.

The interior layout is very simple. The fireplace is located in the middle or closer to the door. This arrangement makes it easy to maintain the stove and distribute heat more efficiently. A couple of low benches are gathered under the windows. Under a blank wall, at some elevation, there is a shelf. The oven is interesting. There is no traditional chimney.

From the firebox, smoke freely rises upward through the opening, through the grate on which stones are placed. The black furnace has long been built from igneous rocks; metamorphic quartzite is well suited to our conditions. If you don’t have time to look for a suitable natural stone, then a high-quality fireclay-type firebrick will do.

Give way to the smoke

The legendary rule of the modern experienced driver - the rule of three Ds, Give Way to the Fool, to some extent works here. Only here is unimpeded movement ensured for smoke. And there is an explanation for this:

The smoke ensures uniform heating and disinfection of the entire volume of the room.
The faster the smoke circulation, the better the energy efficiency of the entire system and the better the fuel efficiency.
High-quality removal of smoke from the interior of the room is a guarantee of safety.

We save firewood

It should be noted right away that a real black bathhouse can only be heated with wood. This is how the unique atmosphere of a black bath is created, so valued by connoisseurs. Firewood is very important, and in many ways key.

Aspen, birch and oak firewood are good. They are high in calories, have a low content of heavy resins, and birch and oak are also very important for creating a real bathhouse spirit. The Russian black sauna is approximately 2.5 times more economical than its cousin of the same size, the white sauna.

You can increase the thermal insulation qualities of a black bath by burying it in the ground to approximately the level of the windows. Then it will take no more than 2 hours to warm up the internal volume, which is on average 12 cubic meters, counting from the moment of kindling. Smoke exits through special smoke openings of small diameter, equipped with valves or dampers.

As a rule, they are located at the top of the wall, where it meets the roof. Somewhat less often, such chimneys were installed in the roof. Ventilation of the room is also carried out by opening the door and windows.

Another important factor that determines the design of a black sauna is the combination of steam and soap compartments. This simplifies and reduces the cost of building the premises itself with minimal loss of functional qualities. The missing dressing room, where clothes are traditionally folded and dry firewood is stored, is being replaced by a small canopy directly above the entrance.

Now it’s worth answering the question of how to heat a sauna in black, because there are certain subtleties in this process.

Knee-deep birch log stove

As mentioned above, birch firewood is one of the best for heating the stove of such a bathhouse.
They are also the best for kindling, especially dry birch bark. 4-5 portions of firewood go directly into the stove. The first is for ignition, the second is for acceleration, and the subsequent ones are for bringing the entire room to the required temperature. Let us say right away that when burning hardwood with dry firewood, a small amount of soot is formed, which will then have to be washed off. Typically, heavy smoke is produced when the first two portions of fuel are burned. Further, as the stone backfill warms up, the draft and circulation of smoke increases, and the smoke itself is not so thick and plentiful.

A word from Experienced! Under no circumstances should you steam while the fire is burning. Moreover. According to all the rules and traditions, after heating the bathhouse, it is necessary to remove the ash from the stove. This guarantees normal degassing and release of carbon monoxide from the room. After settling the steam room and freeing it from smoke, the harmful atmosphere is finally squeezed out by splashing a ladle of water on the heater. The resulting steam will bind and carry the remaining smoke and dust outside.

Do not forget that in addition to smoke, infrared radiation, which comes from heated stones, plays an important role in heating a room. Here it is also necessary to note one important feature that a black sauna provides, these are smoked walls and ceiling.

As you know from a physics course, it is the black surface that perfectly captures and retains the energy of infrared radiation. Even in the old days, it was noticed that an old bathhouse with darkened wood inside accumulates heat better than a freshly cut one, the wood of which has not yet had time to darken.

The soot really does cause some trouble, in terms of the fact that after finishing heating it is necessary to scrub the shelves and benches with a rag with fine sand, and then wash everything off with water. To be fair, let’s say that the upper third of the internal volume is heavily contaminated, while the lower zones are subject to soot to a much lesser extent.

The benefits of a black bath, which have been known for centuries, are due to the influence of the following factors:

Due to the accumulation of phytoncides in the atmosphere and surfaces of the interior, such a bathhouse has excellent capabilities for the prevention and treatment of various types of infectious diseases. Both internal and external. It is not for nothing that in the old days, village midwives used baths as maternity wards. And it’s not without reason that the atmosphere of the bathhouse so actively suppressed pathogenic microorganisms that they made the room quite sterile;
What is a black sauna for a sauna gourmet? True experts in the art of bathing place the “spirit of the bath” at the forefront: the real aroma of steamed wood, supported by smoke. Yes, it's just some kind of holiday. Both souls and bodies;
Baths of this type distribute heat very efficiently, accumulating it in a balanced manner and releasing it in a balanced manner.

Important! For high-quality convection of heat from the heater stove into the interior of the room, it is not recommended to smear a water container directly into the body of the stove. A traditional black sauna stove has a boiler for water, which is suspended on chains above the fireplace.

Inventory and accessories

There must be tubs of water and a ladle in the steam room. Washing tubs, if the steam room is combined with a washing room, and a tub for adding water to the stones. They can be either wooden or metal. Accessories you take with you include: towels, cleaning products, and body care products.

Water tub, ladle, broom, towels, sheet, dried herbs and aroma oil Source saunapiter.ru

Warning! There should be no plastic containers or objects painted with caustic paint in black baths. It is necessary to remove all things that are made from components that can release toxic fumes or micro-substances when heated.

History of origin and structural features

The use of black baths began in pagan times and was associated with many beliefs and rituals. In the 5th century, visiting a bathhouse before a pagan wedding was a mandatory procedure. Most often, births took place in a bathhouse. Visiting the bathhouse was an integral ritual for which the entire day was devoted; the ancestors believed that on this day both body and soul were cleansed. Until the moment when Peter I decided to introduce a bathhouse tax in Rus', a bathhouse was located on the outskirts of each farmstead. Its construction did not require large investments; in fact, everything was nearby: stones for constructing a furnace, timber for erecting walls and finishing clay.

Pagan beliefs say that the “Owners” of such a bathhouse are the lord of the heat, Bayannik, and his girlfriend, the hostess of the couple, Obderikha. In the new building they become the absolute masters. It is not surprising that with such beliefs, the ancient Slavs considered visiting a bathhouse tantamount to going on a visit, where there were rules and regulations.

In the bathhouse it was not customary to behave loudly, make noise, laugh, and especially swear. It was believed that Bayannik could not tolerate drunk people in his house. He could caress such visitors, steam them, and even “tear off the skin” of the unwanted person, “hanging it to dry on the stove,” and in the worst anger, burn the desecrated place. Therefore, the ancestors, every time after visiting the bathhouse, appeased the spirit with a piece of soap and a broom.

Even after the adoption of Christianity, Bayannik did not disappear; moreover, at first, in order not to confuse the spirit and out of respect for it, visitors removed their crosses before the bathhouse. Over time, fears were forgotten, and they stopped taking off crosses before the bathhouse.

What does a black sauna look like?

Today, ancient beliefs are remembered, especially due to the fact that Bayannik had no equal in healing. Indeed, in ancient times, by steaming in a bathhouse, any ailment was treated, and healing was attributed exclusively to Bayannik. The ancients ignored the healing properties of steam because they knew nothing about them.