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General requirements for heat generators for steam rooms

Today, all those who like to take a steam bath have the opportunity to purchase a stove for their bathhouse, which will meet the parameters of the steam room and the wishes of the bathers. With the available range of furnace equipment, this is not difficult to do. But, giving preference to one or another type of heater, it must be remembered that it must:

• Have a capacity corresponding to the heated area.
• Provide the necessary fire safety and ease of use.
• Perform gradual and uniform heating of the steam room.
• Heat the room under the ceiling to a sufficiently high temperature.
• Heat the stones to at least 450-500 degrees.
• Do not allow smoke and soot to enter the steam room.
• Have an aesthetic appearance.

Types of sauna stoves and their differences

In order for the selected unit to meet your expectations, you need to consider what material it is made of, what type of heater it has, what fuel it uses, etc. Consider the features of different types of heat generators.

Production material

They are accustomed to consider a building made of burnt bricks as a classic sauna stove. It creates a special atmosphere in the steam room, retains heat for a long time. But its construction:

• Requires a lot of experience.
• Perhaps only in a large room.
• Built on a solid foundation.

Photo 2. Brick construction has not only pluses, but also minuses

Because of these difficulties, ready-made metal aggregates are becoming increasingly popular, which:

• They are made of steel, cast iron and combined materials.
• They are presented with many ready-made models, which allows you to choose the best option.
• Do not require a lot of space and time for installation.
• Allow you to create different modes for soaring: Russian bath, sauna, hammam.

Steel stoves heat up the steam room faster, while cast-iron stoves retain heat longer.

Photo 3. Numerous manufacturers produce a wide variety of models of such equipment

Type of fuel used

If brick stoves are heated exclusively with wood, then metal stoves can run on different types of fuel:

• Firewood and wood processing products. Adherents of the classics argue that only wood-burning units can create the perfect bath atmosphere.
• Natural gas. Today it is the cheapest fuel, and gas stoves have a high efficiency. But centralized gas supply is not yet everywhere.
• Liquid fuel. It can be both diesel fuel and liquefied gas. But to use diesel fuel or fuel oil, the furnace part of the unit must be taken out into the street.

There are also electric furnaces that are safe and economical, do not need a chimney, are installed on the floor and hung on the wall, are as fireproof and environmentally friendly as possible. do not emit combustion products into the atmosphere. There are units that use combined solid fuels: firewood, coal, peat, pellets. There is also universal equipment that is solid fuel, but with additional elements it can run on natural or liquefied gas.

Photo 4. Wood, gas and electric stove (from left to right)

Heater type

Sauna stoves can be of two types:

• Open. If they are present, the air in the steam room is heated directly by the heat given off by the stones. A bath with such a heat generator enters the operating mode very quickly, but it also does not retain heat for long.
• Closed. If the stone mortgage is in a closed container, the stones are heated to high temperatures, which allows the production of fine steam. The steam room will be heated evenly due to convection, and fuel consumption will be economical. But you need to start heating such a stove in advance.

Photo 5. Two units with an open heater (left) and two with a closed one

Casings and facings

One of the advantages of metal units is the possibility of their purchase in different configurations. In the «naked» form, their use is not welcome either for safety reasons or from the point of view of the impact on human health. Therefore, to accumulate heat, to accelerate the heating of the steam room, to maintain a comfortable temperature in it, to shield hard infrared radiation, and also to improve the aesthetics of the appearance of stoves, they use:

• Brick lining.

Photo 6.

• Steel convection-ventilated casings.

Photo 7.

• Steel meshes of different shapes and sizes.

Photo 8.

• Stone cladding made of soapstone, serpentine, pyroxenite and other rocks.

Photo 9.

Furnace tunnel and door

The classic version of the arrangement of the bath provides for the installation of a stove in the steam room. But when using models with extendable furnace tunnels, the door for loading fuel is taken out to an adjacent room. The remote channel in steel units is usually welded, and in heavy cast iron units it is removable.

Photo 10. Two models with a furnace tunnel (left) and two without it

Future users can also choose the best version of the furnace door for their sauna stove, which can be:

• Deaf, i.e. without glass.
• With standard glass.
• With panoramic glass of different shapes.

Photo 11. Doors with standard, panoramic glass and deaf (from left to right)

Heat exchangers and steam generators to expand the capabilities of furnaces

The high heat output of bath heat generators can be used to heat the water used for washing or heating the living quarters of the house. For this, a device called a heat exchanger is used. It is a container into which cold water enters. Having warmed up, it goes to a hinged tank or radiator.

Photo 12. The tank can be hung on the unit itself or on the wall

Fans of the «Russian» bath want their stove unit to generate finely dispersed «light» steam. To do this, it is necessary to achieve the desired combination of temperature and humidity. This can be done using a stove with a built-in steam generator, or by purchasing a model in which the heater itself is such a steam generator.

Photo 13. Furnaces with a steam generator

We hope that the information presented in our article will help you choose the most suitable stove for your bath.

On the Liteika Pro website you can get acquainted with various types of sauna stoves: https://liteikapro.ru/catalog/banya-sauna/pechi-dlya-bani