Well      11/16/2020

Do-it-yourself stoves for the bathhouse. Metal stove for a bath: drawings and manufacturing tips. How to cover a steel structure with hollow bricks: building a combination oven

There are currently many metal sauna stoves on the market, but they are all expensive. If you have good experience in metal welding, then you can make an iron stove for a bathhouse with your own hands. In this article we will describe in detail, attaching relevant photos, how to do this, having your own dimensions and drawings.

Differences between metal stoves for baths and saunas

Steam rooms in a bathhouse and a sauna differ significantly from each other. The sauna is accompanied by high temperatures - over 85 ºС. Such indicators make it impossible to greatly increase the humidity, since skin burns are inevitable. At the same time, the broom crumbles in such conditions in just 5 minutes. Therefore, the humidity is adjusted to 5-15%. The Russian bath has a temperature in the region of 55-65 ºС, which makes it possible to raise the relative humidity to 50-60%.

To create certain conditions in the steam room, different stoves are used, and different approaches to their installation are also used. If you are setting up a sauna, you will need to maintain the maximum area of ​​contact between the stove body and the air and ensure rapid circulation of air flows along the walls.

It all comes down to heating the air in the steam room as quickly as possible. A small open heater, located above the firebox, can heat the stones to 200-250 ºС. It makes it possible to get a little steam - as a rule, this is enough for a sauna, because you only need to achieve 15% humidity.

In a Russian bath, a different microclimate is created - low temperatures are reached and a lot of steam is produced. Moreover, it should consist of very small droplets heated to 130-150 ºС - such steam is called “dry”. Such a microclimate gives the body lightness and strength. “Dry” steam can only be obtained by heating stones to values ​​​​of more than 500 ºС. To achieve such indicators, stones are placed in a firebox, that is, in a closed heater.

Do-it-yourself stoves for Russian baths

The most important thing when making metal sauna stoves according to drawings with your own hands is to take into account that it is impossible to maintain the required temperature within 60-65 ºC with heated metal walls (read: “Drawings of a metal sauna stove - building a stove with your own hands”). You will definitely have to reheat it, which is accompanied by the emission of strong IR waves, which makes it quite difficult to be near the stove.

There are two ways to solve this problem:

  • Lining the firebox. The process involves lining the inside of the firebox with refractory bricks. It is enough to lay it on edge, and the thickness of the lining will be 6 cm, although narrow fireclay, 3 cm thick, is also found. Be that as it may, the heating of the steel walls is insignificant; the heater warms up the most. Therefore, you should immediately design the firebox so that it is larger in size, because most of its volume is allocated to the lining. The disadvantage of this method is that it produces hot smoke, which reduces fire safety. It is best to cool it by installing a tank or heater on the pipe. It is a little more difficult to install a heating shield, passing through which the smoke cools down to 80-120 ºС.
  • Install a brick screen around an iron stove for a bath. It is assembled from ceramic bricks, while windows are left in the wall for mounting doors, which will allow you to control the level of air heating in the future. We can conclude that this option is the best due to the ability to regulate the temperature, but it is less practical, since the back wall overheats very much, so it is necessary to include heat-resistant steel in the design. In this case, it turns out that for a longer service life of an iron sauna stove, you need to choose a fairly thick metal. As practice shows, it is better to install it in the upper and lower parts of the firebox.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the seams. A homemade iron stove for a bathhouse quite often begins to burn out precisely because of poor-quality seams. In production conditions, this problem is solved by using a bent structure. They try to minimize the number of seams on top of the stove.

When making a metal stove for a bathhouse with your own hands, it will be almost impossible for you to bend 6-10 mm steel, so, as a rule, all that remains is to make extremely high-quality seams.

What size is the heater and in what place is it better to place it?

The required volume of stones is determined by the size of the steam room and the quality of insulation. The value, as a rule, varies from 20 to 40 kg per 1 cubic meter of room. Naturally, the more there are, the easier it is to produce the required volume of steam.

Due to the fact that different stones differ in density, with the same mass they will occupy different volumes. It has been determined that for a steam room with a volume of 12-14 m 3, it will be necessary to install a heater 30x40x30 cm. These dimensions can be slightly adjusted in different situations.

When making a sauna stove from metal with your own hands, you will need to select the individual volume of the heater based on the size of the stove. To avoid mistakes, it is better to start from ready-made drawings. When using an experimental approach, it is worth considering that the volume of the firebox should exceed that of the heater by approximately 30-50%.

Before building a stove in a bathhouse, it is worth calculating the best location of the heater in the firebox. From practice it became clear that it is best to place it on top, near the back wall, where the temperature is highest.

It is worth remembering that the heater will need to be maintained, and it should be equipped so that water can be supplied there. The hatch is best positioned so that you can easily reach the farthest edge with your hand, and so that water can be supplied without the possibility of getting burned.

As a rule, tubes are added to the heater, placed inside the container, which would reach all the stones. On the water supply side, the tube is equipped with a funnel. After the tubes are separated, they are lined with stones. After water is supplied through the tubes, it hits the stones in the heater and turns into steam.

Drawings of homemade steel stoves for a bath

Let's consider a stove option that will be relevant for a steam room with a volume of 2 × 3 × 2.3 m. For its construction, 3 mm thick steel sheets are used.

To start the combustion process, the design provides an additional air duct, which originates from the street. To prevent the steel from bending during heating, stiffening ribs in the form of corners are laid at the top of the firebox to the sides.

Let's consider another scheme according to which you can make metal sauna stoves with your own hands. These are models with air intake from the top of the firebox. They are also called gas afterburning furnaces. A steel plate is welded to it on the back wall. Air enters the furnace from under the grate and is supplied through air ducts going into the gap between this plate and the rear wall of the firebox.

This interesting design copes with two tasks at the same time: it cools the back wall, preventing it from burning out, and also supplies already heated air to the upper part, where very hot gases in the form of smoke are concentrated. 80% of their volume is flammable.

After mixing with air, they ignite, which leads to an increase in the temperature in the firebox and heating of the stones to higher levels. If you use dry firewood as fuel, you will need much less of it. Many long-burning stoves have been built on this principle of operation, but it has only recently begun to be used for sauna stoves. There is also a similar model without afterburning. By studying its drawing, you can better understand the proportions and placement of different elements.

This design involves building a firebox with a volume 30% larger than a heater. The ratio can be considered acceptable. The chimney is located offset back, which sometimes causes difficulties during its installation - the ceiling beam may interfere with it. In this case, it may be necessary to bend the chimney, which is not recommended.

In addition, before making a stove for a bath, you should decide whether a tank for heating water is needed in the steam room. Some people adjust the humidity level by opening and closing the tank lid. Other experts claim that heavy steam is generated in this way, so they advise installing the tank in the washing room, and heating the water using a heat exchanger built into the firebox, connected by pipes to the tank.

Now let's look at the diagram of a metal stove with a water tank. The design is considered to be quite well designed. Thanks to the spark arrester, the smoke travels a slightly longer distance, thereby better heating the walls of the firebox. Instead of a tank, of course, you can lay stones.

It is worth considering the option of installing a tank behind the stove. The chimney is moved back, passing through the tank. Due to the large height of the tank, there will be effective heat transfer, therefore, the chimney will not overheat when leaving it.

The heater has a design that assumes its small size, which is quite sufficient for small steam rooms. It has a lid, but due to its location, it can be difficult to close after water is supplied. But this design is easier to maintain.

Making a sauna stove

The main task of furnaces is to bring the temperature to the desired level as quickly as possible and maintain it at this level. To speed up this process, fans are used, which, by blowing on the walls, speed up the heating.

The convector casing is also designed for these purposes. The gap between it and the wall of the firebox should be 1.5-2 cm. Through the gap, air is sucked in, which warms up during movement, while the walls cool down.

To make a stove for a bathhouse with your own hands as high quality and practical as possible, its body is made of thick metal and the casing is made of thin metal, because it is not subject to overheating.

When placing the heater above the firebox, holes can be made in the body for ventilation. In this case, a portion of the air rising along the walls will be directed into the heater, blowing the stones and increasing their temperature. This ventilated heater is perfect for saunas.

Schemes and drawings of furnaces

Sauna stoves have a slightly simplified design. The dimensions of the metal sauna stove, and the firebox itself, should be sufficient to accommodate large logs. The sides of the heater are welded on top of the firebox, the volume of which, as a rule, is from 20 to 25 liters. The ratio in size may vary; there are no specific rules for this.

To make a metal stove for a bathhouse as correctly as possible, you should not install a tank for heating water. Otherwise, you will not be able to control the humidity level in the sauna, which can lead to burns in extreme temperatures.

There is another option - install the heater inside the firebox. A lid can be provided, and such a stove can have two operating modes: with the lid open - to keep the steaming process dry, and with the lid closed - to produce a larger volume of steam.

How to make a stove for a sauna: do-it-yourself metal sauna stove, metal stove, drawings, how to make it from iron, how to build, dimensions of iron sauna stoves, photos and videos


How to make a stove for a sauna: do-it-yourself metal sauna stove, metal stove, drawings, how to make it from iron, how to build, dimensions of iron sauna stoves, photos and videos

Metal sauna stove: manufacturing instructions

Today there are many designs of metal stoves: wood, electric and gas. Wood-burning appliances require a lot of fuel and careful maintenance, but they produce a “live” fire. Electrical devices are housings equipped with heating elements and heat insulators. Gas furnaces are the most modern and reliable; they have thermostats to regulate power and protective devices, triggered when the gas attenuates.

Advantages and disadvantages of metal sauna stoves

Metal sauna stoves have significant advantages over other heating structures:

  • The small dimensions and mobility of a metal stove make it indispensable for small baths.

The disadvantages of metal stoves are:

  1. Rapid cooling due to the oven's inability to retain heat. Constant support for fuel combustion is required.

Material for a metal stove in a bathhouse

To make the stove, metal with a thickness of more than 5 mm is used; with a smaller value, the device will not last more than 5-7 years. Reputable stove manufacturers offer ten-millimeter steel products for fireboxes and slightly thinner ones for water tanks and stone bins.

Design of a metal stove-heater for a bath

A metal sauna stove consists of three main parts, such as a fuel combustion chamber, a hopper for stones, and a tank for heating water.

  • The combustion chamber. This is where the wood burning process takes place. To control it, the firebox and ash door doors are used. The latter serves to supply air to the firebox. Removal of combustion products from the stove is carried out through an ash pan - a metal grate. From the firebox, the heat from the burning wood rises to the bunker with stones.

If the design of a metal sauna stove is clear to you, let’s move on to the process of its manufacture.

Making a sauna stove from a metal pipe

We will make the stove from a pipe with a diameter of 700 mm, its height will be 1600 mm. For work we will need: a steel sheet measuring 2200x1000 mm and a thickness of 10 mm, a metal pipe 1600 mm long with a wall thickness of 7-10 mm, a chimney pipe with a diameter of 100 mm with a wall thickness of 5 mm, a metal rod of 10 mm, a cast iron grate (from the store), door hinges - 8 pcs., latches - 3 pcs., drain valve for the tank, tape measure, building level, grinder, metal scissors, welding machine.

  1. We cut the pipe into two parts: one of them is 0.9 m long, the other is 0.7 m long.

Installation procedure for a metal stove in a bathhouse

Activities for installing a sauna stove begin at the stage of erecting the entire building - to install the device, a foundation is laid with a slight depth. A masonry of two rows of bricks is made on it, and a stove is placed on it.

  • The minimum distance between the wall and the stove is taken to be at least 1 m. In addition, a device additional protection in the form of thermal insulation of the wall with foil with a layer of insulation. This will prevent the wooden wall from overheating and catching fire.

After installing the stove, you can line it with bricks using clay mortar. This will improve the appearance of the device and save people from the possibility of burns. The stove with lining can be placed closer to the wall.

We hope that the above will convince you that making a metal stove for a bathhouse is not so difficult. If you have metal cutting and welding skills, you will be able to simple drawing make a homemade stove that will be no worse than a purchased one.

DIY metal sauna stove


Homemade metal stoves for baths have always competed with their brick counterparts. This is due to the fast heating and simple installation of such units. With manufacturing instructions

Assembling a sauna stove with your own hands from metal

A lot of do-it-yourself sauna stove designs made of metal have already been made and invented, but the topic has not been fully explored and is still relevant. You can make metal sauna stoves with your own hands from available metal materials; you just need desire and a little time.

DIY metal sauna stoves

After looking through this article and following the technology, as well as adding imagination, you can come up with something yourself. As a result, you will not only have a great time in the sauna, but also surprise your neighbors and friends with unique solutions. We'll tell you about some in more detail. We will figure out how a metal furnace can be made, what its dimensions and structure should be, and we will also tell you how to prepare the base (foundation) to install the assembled structure.

Stove with stone grate and water heating

What do you need for work?

If you are going to build a metal sauna stove with your own hands, then you first need to draw up a project, determine the dimensions of the unit, and also prepare everything you need.

Tool

  • Welding machine.
  • Electrodes with a diameter of 3-4.
  • Bulgarian.

Material metal

If you are making a homemade sauna stove from a pipe, you will need:

  • Wheels - 4 pcs.
  • Pipe with a diameter of 100-150 mm.
  • Sheet iron 2-3 mm thick.
  • Iron fittings with a diameter of 8-10 mm or rod.

Construction material

  • Brick - 300-350 pcs.
  • Cement - 2-3 bags of 50 kg.
  • Crushed stone, sand - 0.1 cubic meters.

Please note: draft is created by discharge, i.e. discharged cold air draws out warm air. Warm air, in turn, tends upward under the influence of Archimedes' force. The draft depends on the weather: in summer the air is warm and humid - the draft is naturally less, in winter the opposite is true. The draft also depends on the diameter of the pipe.

Drawing of a heater stove

If the pipe is thin, then gases and warm air will be slowed down by friction against the walls of the pipe and will not have time to leave the chimney. As a result, it is created smoke plug and the smoke follows the path of least resistance, i.e. into the room.

Therefore, when making a metal sauna stove with your own hands, always follow the principles of pressure, drafts, correctly choosing the dimensions of the chimney and firebox. If the pipe is wide- smoke and gases will slowly rise upward, the draft will be poor and the pipe will be very clogged, it will have to be cleaned very often. Since everything will settle on the walls of the pipe, the normal speed when exiting the pipe is 5-8 m/s.

For the first time, the Romans began to use chimneys (3-8 centuries BC) - famous roman baths.

Furnace construction work

So, let's start building a metal sauna stove with our own hands. First of all, you need to prepare the foundation, that is, the base on which you plan to install the structure. Despite the fact that an iron stove for a bathhouse made from a pipe weighs little, it is imperative to prepare a foundation for it. It is very important that the iron stove is installed on a level foundation.

We are building the foundation

  • For the foundation for the stove, we knock down the formwork, its dimensions are 1x1 m, height 20 cm.
  • We reinforce the future foundation in one layer, laying reinforcement along and across in squares 20x20 cm. We tie the reinforcement at the points of connection with each other with knitting wire. It should not lie on the ground; to do this, we drive it into the ground along the edges of the grate. 4 pieces of reinforcement and tie a lattice to them in weight. Before you start pouring the foundation, make sure the grate is in the middle.
  • After pouring, we maintain the foundation about 2 weeks, open all the doors and windows in the bathhouse for better ventilation and lay wet rags on the poured foundation. This is done so that cracks do not form when drying. We wet the rags for 2 weeks.

Preparing and assembling the oven

An iron stove is assembled like this:

  • Take the rear rim from the wheel, weld all the holes except the one in the middle.
  • Let's take the next rim, cut off the convex top, insert the first rim into the second and brew. There should be no holes or cracks, the device must be airtight, after welding we beat off the slag and check the welding seam; if it’s not finished welding somewhere, we finish welding it, check it again by knocking off the slag.

Moments of assembling a sauna stove

Assembling parts of the 2nd stage of the furnace

Let's make a small digression here. If you already have a dressing room, then before installing a new stove, you will have to cut a square hole in the wall, because the stove will start from there - these are the doors of the vent and firebox, everything else is in the bathhouse.

Drawing of the oven interior

If you did not have a dressing room, then we will build it along with a stove for the bath. The corner in which the iron stove stands should be lined with a brick wall, this is done for the purpose of fire safety, because the inside of the bathhouse is always decorated with wood.

So, let's start making a stove; if you have no experience in stove making or have never laid a brick, then it is better to call a master who will build a stove for you according to all the rules. But if you want to try it yourself, which is not bad, then it’s time to try it, and I’ll tell you how to do it.

  • We lay out the base completely from bricks, and in the second row we begin to lay out the ash pit (ash pan).

Ash pit, ashpit

After laying the stove should dry for at least 2 weeks, if you flood it immediately, microcracks will appear, which will compromise the integrity of the stove. We open all the blowers and entrances and exits so that the oven dries out. You can heat it with small wood chips for a couple of hours. The stove is considered dry if there is no moisture and the walls were all dry. You can run the oven fully for maintenance, and the oven is ready for use.

  • Now let's look at the pipe, the figure shows finished look pipes, which is placed on the stove we built.
  • U iron stove The heater is located right on the body itself, in ours it is on the pipe, and there is also a hot water tank.

The oven itself is assembled

I note that the design itself will be quite severe, so it can be divided into parts and assembled indoors. A do-it-yourself metal sauna stove of original design is ready. If there is already finishing inside, cover it from welding with roofing felt or sheets of iron.

Attention. Don't forget, when welding work For fire safety purposes, indoors you need to have a bucket of water and a sprinkler. A sprinkler can be made from an ordinary one and a half liter plastic bottle by punching a hole in the lid. After welding, spray the seam and scale.

  • Chimney top (see Metal chimneys) reinforced with two reinforcements for rigidity, weld it to the pipe and attach it to one wall and to the other. To attach to the wall, we use a corner or plate welded to the reinforcement and drilled on both sides.
  • We drill the brick with a hammer drill with a drill with a diameter of 6 mm, 5-6 cm deep and attach it to anchors, so we have stiffness angle and stable design.

Full view: do-it-yourself metal stove for a bathhouse

Do-it-yourself metal sauna stove with stone grate

Options for assembling a furnace of a different design

DIY metal stoves for saunas come in different shapes. Consider the oven, assembled from a pipe, its components and assembly diagram. At first glance, a pipe bath stove has the simplest possible design, but it has its own tricks and design technology. At the beginning of the article, I indicated the operating principle of the stove, draft and chimney. In all cases these principles must be used, otherwise the oven will not work.

DIY metal sauna stove with built-in heater

If you independently implement the design and some original solutions so that you can create a metal sauna stove with your own hands, follow them, and you will succeed. Don’t forget that nothing is impossible for you and me, so we will dare, strive and surprise others by improving our skills. Then a do-it-yourself metal sauna stove or just a stove will not be an unread book for you. The oven in the photo above is a simple option, since the base is almost ready - a piece of pipe with a diameter of 525 mm and a length of 650 mm.

From below we cut a hole measuring 335 mm in length and 180 mm in width, this will be our grate, we weld on rods or an iron strip, about 1 cm apart from each other. Separately, we make a box from sheet iron 2-3 mm in size:

We weld the box and clean out the slag.

We weld the door to it and put the part aside for now. Let's work on the 525 pipe, we need to cut out the plugs and sidewalls on both sides.

  • Our pipe diameter is 525, divide by 2, we get 262.5 mm.
  • Using a compass, having measured 262.5, we draw 2 circles, although it could be simpler. Place our blank (525 pipe) on the sheet and simply trace it.

If you need to copy several parts, then you should always copy from the original, and not from their finished copies, since dimensional accuracy is lost. If you have marked a part and cut it out, it is better to take the measurement again and make another one than to copy from a finished one.

DIY metal sauna stove with a large heater

For now we will make the parts, but we will carry out the assembly in order. First, we will make the insides of the stove and assemble them inside the stove itself; we will layer and boil all the other parts one by one.

We cut two holes at the top. One is for the chimney, round, with a diameter of 110 mm, departing from the edge of the 525 pipe to the middle (of the chimney 110 pipe) 100 mm. The other is square, for a heater, stepping back from the edge of the 525 pipe 215 mm, cut the size along the 525 pipe 300 mm, across 250 mm. To maintain symmetry of the design, use a level(vertical, horizontal) or plumb line(vertical). For the cut hole, prepare a niche for the stones, cut out the parts from a 5 mm sheet of iron.

We weld all the parts, make a square box as shown, clean it of slag, coat the seams generously with kerosene and check for any leaks. We set the finished part of the furnace aside.

A plumb line can be made from any heavy load (bolt, nut, pebble, nail) and any rope, fishing line, thread. But the weight of the load must keep the ropes, fishing lines, and threads taut. Gravity will do the rest; a thread with a load hanging on it always shows the vertical in an ideal form, just as water shows the horizontal line.

Do-it-yourself metal sauna stove: drawings

Next step: cut out a 4-5 mm partition for the furnace shaft from a sheet of iron (separates the firebox from the chimney, thereby preventing the rapid leakage of heat into the chimney).

Partition for furnace shaft

As shown in the figure, we measure 180 mm from the top and in fact, that is, what the size will be, we will only find out as we progress. Measurements can be made using a tape measure and level. We set the level, mark from the top 180 mm to the top of the level. For the record, I’ll tell you how to make do with improvised means, if there is no level, and mark the horizontal line. Take a transparent glass vessel, it could be a glass, plastic bottle or any transparent but sufficiently hard object that has a base.

From the bottom we mark the same distance on the sides and put marks with a marker. We pour water according to the marks - and there you go. level ready. We place it on the surface we need: the water should be at the level with the marks, then we will have a horizon level.

  • We set the level itself, not forgetting about the size of 180 mm, it must be observed, press the level to the pipe so that it does not move around, and put marks inside along the edges, with a marker or chalk. We perform the same procedure on the other edge.
  • Taking a measurement from mark to mark.
  • Drawing a partition on a piece of metal and cut it out.
  • We take a niche for stones, insert it into the prepared hole, make a couple of potholders on the side and turn the pipe over (the niche for stones should be at the bottom).
  • We insert the partition according to the marks made, if everything fits, then we begin to scald the partition, if not, we make marks where exactly it does not fit or is in the way, pull out the partition, and trim it with a grinder. If there are gaps, it’s okay, it’s welded by electric welding.
  • We also scald the niche for the stones.

So, a DIY metal sauna stove is the next stage of assembly. We have plugs or sidewalls. On one we make markings for the firebox door, departing 50 mm from the bottom, and cut it to the size of the door, which we have prepared in advance with one clarification: we make a hole along all edges less by 1 cm. If our door size is 220x320 mm, then we cut a hole 210x310 mm. And we cut another hole for cleaning the chimney 70x130 mm.

Do-it-yourself metal sauna stoves with a tank for heating water

If a do-it-yourself metal stove for a bathhouse does not have a direct exit from the firebox into the chimney, but with shafts, then you should always make holes for cleaning the chimneys if it is impossible to get there. If this is not done, then ash sediments and small particles of ash and soot will soon reduce access to the chimney and the stove will begin to smoke. You will have to either cut a window, or cut down and weld the pipe permanently.

  • First we install the side panel with the future door, scald the outside. Through the firebox window we weld the partition to the sidewall. We will install the firebox door at the last moment. Now we weld the other sidewall, which we have without holes, and clean everything with a grinder.
  • Place the chimney in the cut hole, grab it, take a level and measure the vertical on both sides, not parallel, but at an angle. So that the chimney is not blocked. We scald everything, set the pressure for the chimney below.
  • Next stage: put the ash pan- blow from below, closing the grate, and scald it.
  • AND completion of assembly- We weld the doors to the firebox and to the hole for cleaning the chimney; the ash pan has a door. And weld the legs.

All that remains is to install the stove in its intended place. In this case, the installation is carried out so that the heater is located not in the stove, but outside, which makes heating the stones difficult. There will be stones take much longer to heat up than usual, but the effect will still be there. It is better to use stones for the stove maritime, they heat up faster, retain heat longer, and when they contain salt and iodine, they have a beneficial effect on the body. A very important detail. If you have made an iron sauna stove with your own hands, then you need to install it so that the floor under the ash pit is made of tin or tiles, generally made of non-combustible material.

  • Do-it-yourself metal sauna stove: assembly


    Step-by-step guide to assembling a sauna stove with your own hands. Materials and tools required for the work. Detailed step-by-step description of actions when

DIY metal sauna stove

There are plenty of types of stove equipment: some prefer a brick heater built by a professional craftsman, while others prefer a constructed one with my own hands metal stove.

The last option is economical, as it can be made from scrap materials with your own hands.

Advantages of the unit

The following main ones can be identified positive points, which a metal sauna stove is equipped with:

  • Compactness and small parameters make it possible to install such a design even in a small room.
  • There is no need to build a special massive foundation. A lightweight base is also suitable for such a stove. And this greatly simplifies the process of installing furnace equipment.
  • In a metal sauna stove, a constant combustion process can be maintained, which allows you to maintain the temperature at a given value throughout the entire sauna procedure.
  • An economical option for furnace equipment, the possibility of constructing the structure from existing materials.

Disadvantages of a metal sauna stove

Despite the presence of positive aspects, a metal sauna stove also has its own minuses :

  1. cools down very quickly, since there is no property of storing thermal energy. In order to maintain a high temperature in the bathhouse, it is necessary to maintain a constant combustion process.
  2. low ability to heat a large room;
  3. the need to provide special protection from fire situations, since the fire safety of metal structures is low. It is recommended to install additional casing trim.

Choosing a shape for a metal sauna stove

To many, such a parameter as the shape of the structure will seem unimportant. In fact, the configuration affects the performance of the equipment and the convenience of its use during operation. The furnace unit is:

The last type is the most common and easy to use. With this configuration, the furnace has corner zones that are subject to minimal heat. That is why many believe that a rectangular design best preserves the shape and frame of the stove.

The shape of the stove also affects the uniformity of heating of both the structure itself and the heated room. When one element of equipment is heated to maximum, the heating of another decreases. This, in turn, ensures uniform heating of the room and a stable balance of heat flows.

Proper heating of the structure affects its mechanical stability. Thus, a round or cylindrical oven is characterized by a low degree of resistance to heat, so it has denser walls. A rectangular oven is considered heat resistant because it has cold corners.

Options for a do-it-yourself stove structure

Metal sauna stoves, one might say, already have a long history, so over such a long period craftsmen have developed and proposed various types of designs.

The simplest option is a metal stove made from an iron barrel. To do this, the bottom and lid of the barrel are cut off, resulting in a cylinder. Up to half of this cylinder is loaded with bricks placed on edge. A grate is placed on top of them. The remaining half of the barrel is filled 2/3 with stones. After this, the chimney is removed and the lid is installed on the stove. This method of making a stove, although simple, is inconvenient to use.

For a small bathhouse, you can build a compact-sized stove-heater using sheet steel. The inner surface of this structure is lined with bricks. The firebox, its walls are laid out in half a brick, the chimney - in one quarter. This type of stove is easy to make and use. To warm up the room you will need some fuel raw materials. Comfortable temperature premises will be provided after a short period of time.

Manufacturing process

Whichever design option is chosen, You will need to prepare the following material:

  • sheet steel, the thickness of which is not less than 8 mm;
  • metal pipe with a wall thickness of 10 mm, a diameter of 50-60 cm;
  • rod 10 mm thick;
  • grate;
  • latches and doors for the combustion chamber, heater and blower;
  • water tap;
  • two meters of pipe. Of this, 90 cm will be used for the firebox, 60 cm for the tank, and 50 cm for the manufacture of secondary parts.

By the way, you can make doors for structural elements yourself.

Concerning tools, then in our work we will use a grinder and a welding machine.

Option 1: furnace design with closed type heaters

In this type of construction it is assumed closed view of the heater, therefore, to splash water to supply steam, you will need to open the door.

A design such as a do-it-yourself metal sauna stove has the following steps:

  • We take a large piece of pipe, the diameter of which is at least 50 cm, and cut an opening in it for the blower. The size of the latter is 5x20 cm.
  • Inside the pipe, on the side of the opening, we weld fastenings for the grate, using any metal plate with eyes.
  • We move on to arranging the firebox: we cut a 25x20 cm opening, weld the fasteners for the heater rods. We will use rods 1 cm in diameter, or specially sold grates for a circular oven.
  • On the opposite wall of the heater we cut a hole through which steam is supplied.
  • We fill the heater with stones suitable for this type of construction. Soapstone and diabase have good properties that are combined with a metal surface; flint, granite, and mica-containing stones should be excluded.
  • We cut a hole in the stove cover for the chimney pipe and install it.

This completes the manufacturing process of the stove structure. But still, the craftsmen propose to improve the design by adding hot water tank .

To do this, take a piece of pipe, large diameter, and weld the water tap. We prepare the lid for the water tank: take the lid of the required size and cut it into 2 equal parts. In one part we cut out an opening for the chimney, and then weld it onto the tank. The second part will be removable, so we weld hinges and a handle to it.

Option 2: stove with an open type heater, constant heating

Having a metal sheet it is easy and simple to build such a unit. His the design is a pipe divided into two compartments using a grate. The upper compartment is the firebox, while the lower one acts as an ash pan. Each compartment is equipped with a door through which you can add fuel, provide air supply, and remove combustion products.

At the far, plugged end of the pipe we weld the chimney pipe, its diameter is 100 mm.

We weld a metal box on top of the cylindrical body, which is filled with stones. The curved chimney elbow allows for maximum heating of the stones, since this increases the contact surface of the hot pipe with the heater.

The described version of the furnace structure can easily be made in the form of a parallelepiped. In this case, you will need sheets of metal for the blanks, not a pipe.

As a rule, such a stove requires a water heating tank. In a rectangular oven ways to place the tank many, here are just a few:

  • can be done on either side;
  • attach on top;
  • make a water jacket on several sides;
  • install pipes for cold water supply and hot water intake.

A convenient way to obtain hot water is to install a special heat exchange tank on the chimney pipe. You can make such a water heater yourself, or you can buy a ready-made factory one, which has a pipe of a standard size and diameter. In the latter case, the tank crashes into the chimney, its vertical part above the stove body, and pipes for water supply and intake are connected. Such a tank, with sufficient volume, can serve as a water reservoir or simply be a heat exchanger connected to the main water tank.

Option 3: open metal stove with additional brick walls

This type of furnace equipment is complex to implement, but this is justified by the acquisition of the ability to accumulate heat.

This design is metal body with internal brickwork. At the same time, the requirements for steel thickness are reduced: you can take a sheet 2 mm thick. For brickwork you will need fireclay bricks and mortar. A special ready-made dry mixture for furnace work. It is mixed taking into account the requirements of the instructions for use.

A do-it-yourself metal sauna stove has the following manufacturing technology:

  1. Preparing the base: We weld the legs and heel pads to it. This will make the furnace structure stable.

Diagram of a metal sauna stove with an additional brick wall

  • We lay the first continuous brick row on this base. For the remaining rows we adhere to the following parameters: near the firebox we place half a brick, in the area of ​​the chimney ducts - a quarter.
  • When the blower chamber is ready, install cast iron grate , placing it between the firebox and the ash pan. To create openings for the loading window and the blower, you can use metal corners measuring 20 x 20. It is important to ensure the evenness of the row seams.
  • We place it above the combustion chamber metal grille made of rods , the diameter of which is 12 mm. We will then place stones on this grid.
  • When the masonry reaches the level of the heater, you need to leave it on the right or left opening We will load stones into it, take them out for cleaning, and also splash water into this window during the bathing procedure to create steam.
  • Chimney channel It is advisable to make it tortuous. This will ensure maximum heating of the entire furnace body and complete combustion of fuel resources. In the place where the pipe turns upward, on the back side, we create an inspection window. We install a valve in it, which allows us to retain heat for a long time after the end of the combustion process.
  • We lay the top two rows of bricks solid, leaving opening for installation of a chimney pipe , through which combustion products will be discharged.
  • After finishing the brickwork, give the mortar time to set and dry. After this, we proceed to welding the walls of the metal body. In our situation, this case resembles a kind of case. A corner, 20 x 20, placed along the joints, makes it easier to weld and make the seams airtight.
  • Carrying out the workpiece anterior wall , do not forget to cut openings for the ash pan and the loading chamber of the firebox. We install the front wall in place and weld the hinges for the doors. We make the door leaves 10 mm wider on each side than the prepared openings - this will ensure tightness when closing. You can lay an asbestos seal around the perimeter of the door or along its entire inner surface.
  • In the side wall blank we also provide an opening for the prepared part in the brickwork windows for steam generation . To do this, we install a metal door with sealing material. It is advisable to make it open downwards, install a cold handle for opening during the bath procedure, when there is a need to supply steam.
  • Cut out on the oven lid hole for chimney pipe , after which we weld the lid into place. Next, we install chimney channel and scald it.
  • We install a metal sauna stove with our own hands in the chosen place and load it with stones.

Rules for installing a metal sauna stove

  • install a metal sauna stove with your own hands at a distance of at least 1 meter from the walls of the sauna;
  • the structure must be located in close proximity to the chimney;
  • making a special foundation, a base made of refractory materials for placing the furnace;
  • the wall of the room near which the metal sauna stove is located should be finished with sheet fire-resistant material.

Do-it-yourself metal sauna stove: photo drawings


Metal sauna stove: advantages and disadvantages, drawings, photos, 3 options for making a metal unit with your own hands. Video instruction.

Having your own bathhouse is probably one of the common desires of people. But as you know, the main element of this establishment is the stove, which will be discussed in this article. How to make and install a continuous and periodic heating stove in small baths? What are the advantages of laying a heater? What are the basic requirements for making a heating device for a bathhouse with your own hands? Find answers to these and many other questions further in the article.

Types of sauna stoves

A truly good bathhouse is one that has a high degree of heat, and this cannot be achieved without a good stove. So, bath heaters come in several types, the main ones are listed in the table.

Types of sauna stoves
Electrical Electric steam room stoves have whole line benefits. These include high thermal conductivity, affordable price, compact equipment, etc. This type of heating equipment allows you to create optimal temperature in the steam room.
Wood burning The traditional option and, moreover, the most popular. Such structures come in both metal and brick. The components of such heating devices are: a chimney, an ash pan, a firebox and grates. Wood-burning stoves are characterized by a high efficiency rate.
Finnish Finnish stoves can be electric or wooden structures, which, thanks to their attractive appearance, can decorate any bathhouse. Due to a well-thought-out device, such stoves allow warm air to disperse evenly throughout the steam room. One of the main advantages of Finnish stoves is their high fire resistance.
Cast iron Cast iron stoves are considered significantly economical heating equipment for baths, as they require minimal consumption of combustible materials. Such structures come in continuous and periodic action and are characterized by high heat resistance.

Having minimal construction skills, each owner, with effort and purchasing the necessary materials, will be able to equip bath room any type of oven.

Features and advantages of masonry heater

A heater is a type of sauna stove that has a special compartment for placing stones. In turn, the stones gain heat when the fuel burns, the water heats up and, as a result, steam is formed. The most popular today are heaters made of metal and brick, both of which have their pros and cons, which we will consider further.

So, brick heaters have the following advantages:

  • durability and practicality of the device;
  • the ability to heat large rooms while retaining heat for a long time;
  • simplicity of the installation process;
  • decent level of fire safety (due to the presence of a metal base);
  • practicality of operation, etc.

Along with the above advantages, brick heaters also have their disadvantages: they are heavy, require intensive cleaning, long-term heating (more than 5 hours) is required for productivity, etc.

Metal heaters are considered an equally popular heating option. They are characterized by the following features:

  • differ in small dimensions;
  • have a compact design;
  • multifunctional and ergonomic;
  • They quickly gain temperature and maintain it for a long time.

All heaters are divided into two groups: open and closed. Open ovens allow you to use stones to generate steam, and you can pour water on them. This steam is not harmful to people, it turns out dry and does not burn the body. In closed structures, stones are placed inside; you can also pour water on them, but to do this you need to open the stove doors. The second type of stove retains heat much longer than the first.

As for the specifics of laying a heater, it requires certain skills and compliance with the instructions. Here are a few tips that you simply need to consider in your work:

  • a brick structure is best assembled using clay mortar;
  • the height of the section for stones should not exceed 7 brick rows;
  • It is worthwhile to correctly place the ash pan, ash pan, and smoke exhaust pipe so that the steam room warms up as quickly as possible;
  • When making design calculations, remember that the lower the stones are located in the stove, the more productive the source of vaporization.

Features of a metal furnace

Metal stoves for baths are used quite often: the material heats up quickly, quickly releases heat, and the structures themselves are light and small. However, such heaters quickly cool down and require a huge amount of solid fuel (wood). Many models of metal furnaces have a standard set of structural parts. Due to the presence of grates in such devices, it is virtually impossible to regulate the combustion process, so it is also impossible to control (decrease and add degrees as necessary) the temperature. Practitioners offer options for improving metal stoves for baths. To do this, the structure must be deprived of the grate and the firewood must burn directly on the base, and in the meantime, holes must be made in the ash door that will allow you to regulate the amount of air entering the firebox. The stages and features of making metal furnaces with your own hands will be discussed later in the article.

Stages of making a metal stove with your own hands

To make a metal sauna stove with your own hands, amateur craftsmen should do the work in several stages.

Stage 1. Prepare a project with drawings, indicating all the necessary measurements of parts and their specific position.

Stage 2. Prepare the necessary tools and material. Integral elements in the work process will be: a welding machine, an angle grinder, a tape measure, a chimney pipe, etc.

Stage 3. This stage can be called preparatory, since it is necessary to mark and clean the area for the future structure.

Stage 4. A vessel for water is made. There is a hole in the tank for a tap to replace the water.

Stage 5. A firebox, heater and vent are created. The grate bars need to be installed above the ash pit.

Stage 6. We are working on the foundation for the furnace. It is best to make the base out of brick. Brickwork on mortar should be done in two rows, this will be quite enough.

It is worth noting that metal stoves can be of different shapes: shaped, horizontal, rectangular, vertical. Rectangular structures are considered the most convenient to use. This form of heater promotes uniform heating of the room and maintains the thermal balance in the steam room.

How to build a brick oven with your own hands

Planning the construction brick oven For a bathhouse with your own hands, you need to responsibly approach the issue of choosing the main material, on which the strength, reliability and productivity of the structure depend. Fireclay brick is known for its excellent heat-resistant characteristics; along with it, red stove and ceramic bricks, etc. are used.

Work on the construction of a brick sauna stove usually begins with pouring the foundation, which can be of various types (stone, rubble, etc.). Classic option is a concrete base, which should be supplemented with waterproofing layers of roofing felt or roofing felt.

Having started laying the furnace, it is important to constantly, during the work, check the horizontality of the rows for errors and the verticality of the corners of the structure for inaccuracies. A brick heater can be made either open or closed; in any case, this is painstaking work that must be performed strictly according to the order instructions. On the second row of masonry, holes are formed for installing the blower; most often it is overlapped on the fourth row and fixed in the structure. At the level of the ash door in the stove, grate bars will be installed, which rest precisely on the bricks of the previous laid row. When laying fireclay bricks in the future, you should pay attention to the presence of holes for the supply of secondary air. Next, the stove firebox is erected and a door is installed in it. Next, work is in full swing on the creation of the heater. Afterwards the chimney is equipped and a damper is installed. A water tank is installed, taps are adjusted, etc.

The above types of bricks are used in laying stoves on different stages regarding their physical properties, which we will talk about in more detail in the next chapter of the article.

How to calculate the material, make a drawing for making a brick oven with your own hands

So, as it turned out earlier, for work we will need fireclay (heat-resistant) and ordinary bricks. It is not recommended to lay out the entire structure only from fireclay material, since such a stove will not last long and will collapse. This type is best used for laying the internal environment of heating equipment. How to alternate bricks correctly and at what stages should be indicated in the drawings. For inexperienced craftsmen, a huge number of already proven projects for creating this format of sauna stoves are presented on the Internet.

When creating a drawing yourself, you should pay attention to the following points:

  • the doors for the firebox should be located opposite the entrance to the bathhouse;
  • the foundation for the stove must be more than 20 cm high;
  • When creating a design project, you need to note the rows that are being built without mortar.

Drawings from professionals posted on some construction sites imply the availability of ready-made figures, calculations, and the required amount of materials. In general, we can say that all expenses for the construction of a brick kiln depend on its dimensions and the presence of additional equipment in it.

Continuous and periodic heating ovens for a small bath

According to the principle of operation, bath stoves are divided into continuous and periodic heating devices. Constructions of the first type usually have thin walls and are suitable for loading a small amount of stones. The temperature in such heaters reaches 300 - 350 degrees. Such stoves can be heated in various ways, from electricity to liquid fuel, but gas is not used for the safety of users.

Intermittent devices, on the contrary, are characterized by thick masonry and the ability to use a large volume of stones. Such equipment has a high level of heat transfer. For heating such stoves, wood is most often used. In the lower section of periodic structures, the temperature reaches 1100 degrees. Such indicators are capable of completely destroying soot on stones, so they always remain clean at the finish line.

At home, metal stoves with constant heating are most often made; the thermal pressure of such structures is enough to provide small family bathhouses. In addition, recently, more and more often, combined devices are being assembled, which allow increasing the efficiency of heating equipment.

Choosing a location and installing a sauna stove with your own hands

The exact location for installing the stove in the baths must be determined at the design stage. For each building this is an individual territory, but still there are nuances that are the same for everyone:

  • you need to carefully study the location of the beams and roof slabs;
  • all parts of the stove must be thermally insulated from wooden surfaces;
  • the firebox should be close to air access;
  • It is best to install the stove between the dressing room and the steam room.

Before installing the stove in the bathhouse, the adjacent walls must be sheathed with a special protective material, for example, asbestos cardboard. Do not forget about waterproofing and treating metal structures with special means that are resistant to high temperatures. The distance from the wall to the heating equipment must be more than 26 cm. A properly placed stove in a bathhouse should not disturb visitors, while there must be maximum effective ventilation in the room and a functionally equipped chimney pipe.

For additional information, use the video:

© When using site materials (quotes, images), the source must be indicated.

About 25 years ago, doctors finally confirmed: the main secret of Russian and Finnish baths was revealed, and the discovery turned out to be amazing. One of the consequences of the revival of interest in the steam business at a new level is a home-made sauna stove. Firstly, the demand for sauna stoves is still not fully satisfied, so factory-made products are quite expensive. Secondly, both the Russian bathhouse and the sauna are complex hygienic and health-improving complexes, the heart of the bathhouse is the stove, the entire bathhouse is built around the stove, and in the conditions of serial production it is necessary to provide for everything possible combinations local conditions is not possible. Therefore, often, even if they have available funds, true connoisseurs first “suggest” a bathhouse for the location, and then select a suitable stove for it or even design a suitable stove themselves. This is what this article is intended to help with.

The secret of the steam room

What is the main secret of bath health? It turned out that it was short-term, up to 40 minutes, warming up the whole body to about 40 degrees:

  • Destroys cells with damaged DNA, i.e. capable of degenerating into cancer.
  • It breaks down accumulated toxins into forms that can be easily removed from the body.
  • It suppresses a certain gene, the function of which was not entirely clear at that time. Now it is quite clear - this is an aging gene.

By the way, methods of treating cancer are precisely based on the fact that cells with disorders are not as tenacious as healthy ones. They die from poisons (during chemotherapy) or radiation (during radiation) faster than healthy ones. In fact, the beneficial effects of a steam bath are much broader, and its mechanism is more complex. But to understand what follows, this information is sufficient.

A little incidental

The Russian bathhouse is inextricably linked with Russian culture. In particular, many famous Russian painters and sculptors paid tribute to the bath not only in the steam room, but also on canvas and in round sculpture. During the time of the moral code of the builder of communism, works of fine art of such content, of course, were not exhibited for public viewing, but lay in the storerooms of museums and galleries. The following selection of illustrations is intended to fill this gap to some extent.

Sauna with a stove or a stove in a sauna?

Neither one nor the other. The parameters of the stove and bath must be linked to each other. Therefore, let us first briefly consider what a bathhouse is. A detailed discussion about the construction of a bathhouse, of course, needs a separate and thorough discussion. We will just figure out what is essential for the design of a sauna stove.

Russian or Finnish?

There is more than enough debate about the difference between a Russian bath and a sauna. But everyone agrees on the main difference: temperature and humidity conditions. In a Russian bath - 50-70 degrees at relative humidity 20-65%; in the sauna – 70-100 degrees with 5-15% humidity. If we turn to physics, then a cubic meter of air in a Russian bath contains 50-80 g of water vapor, and in a sauna – 15-40 g/cubic. m. It is already known that steam in a sauna is dry. And from the point of view of medicine and biochemistry, there is also no fundamental difference: in both cases, the skin steams and becomes permeable from the inside, which helps remove toxins through sweat, bypassing the usual excretory pathways and without loading the body. In the sauna it is not forbidden to “pour it on with a broom”, but in a Russian bath you can take a dry steam bath. But the design of the bathhouse itself and the sauna stove turn out to be somewhat different in design. Firstly, the Russian bathhouse (see figure), kondovoy or modern, is a log house; as a last resort - a box made of timber, lined with a townhouse from the inside. The bulges and depressions inside are necessary to better capture the infrared radiation of the oven and draw in excess water vapor from the air.

The fact is that the absolute, in grams per cubic meter, humidity in a Russian bath is close to critical at a given temperature range. This speeds up the steaming of the skin and warms up the body throughout its entire volume, but also increases the risk of unpleasant and harmful heavy steam. A Finnish bathhouse can be made of logs, lumber, or even frame. But you must take a steam bath in a cap - it protects the hair follicles with fatty glands from drying out, which can lead to premature baldness or, conversely, to the appearance of thick and coarse hair, especially on the eyebrows, and excessive hair growth in the nostrils and ears . In relation to the furnace, all of the above means the following: A sauna stove must first warm up the walls of the sauna, and only then the air in it. Otherwise, even in the sauna, heavy steam may appear, which at such temperatures is very harmful.

How someone cares

About 20 years ago, a then good friend of the author, a seasoned Ukrainian owner named Vasily and nicknamed Khakhluy among his villagers, built himself a Russian bathhouse. The author, who had previously helped him build an Abyssinian well, was invited to take a steam bath. They melted it and settled down. Vasya scooped up some dark brown liquid and poured it on the heater. It was crazy, and the author felt that he was flying to the moon. At first I attributed it to habit – I hadn’t taken a steam bath for 5 years before. But the second portion gave me the same feeling. Being already mentally prepared for the next salvo, I determined from the sensations: euphoria of clearly unnatural origin. - Vasya, what are you pouring on the stove? - That hemp infusion. - Vaska, are you completely swollen? Not only is it a drug, but such a dose can even kill your motor! - That's how the drugs are there... and the heart of mane is crippled... it's good to clear your eyes... But let's go back to the bathhouses and sauna stoves.

Bath structure

A bathhouse can be either a cramped closet without a foundation or a solid building, comparable in area to a city apartment. We will return to the second one later, because... Only a brick stove, which slowly releases heat, is suitable for it; with a small steam room volume, up to 30-35 cubic meters. m – cast iron. In a small one-room bathhouse you can also install a welded stove made of steel sheet.

Both baths can be light - made of linden or birch, or heavy - made of oak. It is not advisable to build a bathhouse from coniferous wood, just like from maple, walnut, or ash. Over the years, when heated, this wood, especially in an atmosphere with a high content of water vapor, releases volatile substances that are not always useful. A sauna is not so critical to the wall material; it can even be built from seasoned pine. The “heaviness” of an oak bath is explained not by the heaviness of the wood, but by the presence of tannins in it. A heavy bath is not for women and children. And it lasts for 5-8 years, then the tannins disappear. But for a strong man who can run a kilometer without being out of breath and without feeling his heartbeat, a heavy bath will only give him strength and vigor.

Note: According to one version of the famous fairy tale, Alyosha Popovich went out against the Snake Tugarin several times, but was able to defeat him only after taking a proper steam bath in a heavy bath.

What does this mean for the oven? Firstly, the value of thermal power. If for a light bath 0.5 kW/cu.m. is enough. m of room volume for linden and 0.7 kW/cu.m. m for birch, then for an oak bath you need at least 1.2 kW/cu. m.

Note: the indicated values ​​are valid for a ceiling height of 2.2-2.4 m. A ceiling higher than 2.5 m in a bathhouse is generally undesirable.

Secondly, the weight of the stones for the heater. We’ll talk about what kind of stones are needed there below, but the weight needed for linden is 2.7 kg/cube. m, for birch 3.6-4 kg/cu.m. m, and for oak 6 kg/cu.m. m.

Safety

Burns

In an atmosphere with a temperature of 50 degrees or more, almost any touch to a metal heated to the same temperature or higher will result in a second-degree burn, with a blister. The metal easily conducts heat and quickly transfers it to the steamed skin, intensively cooled by the sweat glands. Nowadays, the problem of thermal safety of sauna stoves has been solved: there is an inexpensive, poorly conductive heat, durable and resistant material on sale - basalt cardboard. It is used to make a fire protection area, it is used to cover the screens of stoves such as potbelly stoves, etc. From basalt cardboard wooden racks You can also make a furnace fence, it is strong enough for this.

Frenzy

In hot, humid air there is a high probability of formation carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Therefore, a stove with a flow-through heater (see below) can be “added” only after finishing the firebox and removing the ash. Anyway combustion door It is advisable to lead stoves with a blower through the wall into the dressing room, insulating them from the heat partition with the same basalt cardboard if the stove is metal.

Fuel

Only suitable for the bath. It is the physico-chemistry of wood combustion, the intricacies of which cannot be discussed here, that makes it possible to organize the heating of the room from the walls to the center. Coal quickly gives off the first heat - volatile components - and then the remaining carbon (pure carbon) smolders for a long time, which is good for heating, but will produce heavy steam in the bathhouse. A complete replacement for firewood “from the forest, of course,” will be fuel pellets made from sawdust or straw. They can be recognized by their size: these are logs or logs with a diameter of 30-70 mm. Pellets are also produced specifically for baths, but they are disproportionately expensive. In any case, a package of pellets costs little, and a test fire will show what this variety is good for. According to physical chemistry, gas with automatic control that regulates the flame using external temperature sensors is also good for bathhouses, but this design is not for home-made people. Industrial gas ovens for baths are very expensive and not always reliable: gas fittings that provide 100% safety at outside temperatures of 60 degrees and above are not yet in production. The same applies to electric sauna stoves; let us mention that the heating element is not a fuel, but still a heater.

Kamenka

Any wood-burning sauna stove is a heater stove. This means that it has a heated container for stones. Stones work like a heat accumulator: they absorb the first heat and then release it with radiation; Due to the weak permeability of the stone mass, convection from the heater is not very strong. As a result, the stove heats 2/3 or more of the heating time with infrared rays, which ensures that the walls, floor and ceiling are heated before the air and the body of the stove itself. The relationship between the times of heat transfer by radiation and convection is the opposite.

Stones

Firstly, to comply with the above conditions, it is necessary that the ratio of heat capacity to thermal conductivity of stones be higher than that of brick, not to mention metal. This is provided by dense volcanic rocks: basalt, diabase, gabbro, soapstone. They can be recognized by their heaviness, dark color, and smooth or very fine-grained fracture.

Brecciated rocks: granite, diorite, syenite, labradorite, etc. are not suitable for thermal performance indicators. Metamorphic rocks are completely unsuitable: limestone, dolomite, marble, shales. In addition to complete non-compliance with the requirements of heating engineering, when heated, they can also release harmful organic matter, because often contain bituminous components.

Note: beautiful veins in marble are precisely the bituminous inclusions in it.

Secondly, the stones for the heater should be more or less smooth surface and round shape. In this case, the ratio of their surface to volume is the smallest (the smallest is for the ball), which ensures the desired mode of heat accumulation/heat transfer. In former times, they began to build a bathhouse only after accumulating a sufficient supply of rounded pebbles for the heater.

Laying stones

The method of laying the stones is equally important. For a flow-through heater (see below), the largest ones, about the size of a fist or two, are placed at the bottom, then gradually reduced in size so that upper layer consisted of pebbles the size of a phalanx thumb. For a solid heater, they are laid in the opposite way: the fines, which provide the largest area of ​​thermal contact, are laid down, and the large ones are placed at the top.

Flow-through and solid heaters

A homemade sauna stove can have a solid or flow-through heater. A solid heater is separated from the firebox and/or flue gases by a solid partition and is open at the top. You can press on it during the heating process, you never need to sort out the stones, they remain clean. But, due to the small area of ​​thermal contact with the firebox, a solid heater heats up more slowly. This is especially true when the size of the furnace increases, when the contact area of ​​the pelvis with the stones increases more slowly than the volume of the stones. Therefore, a solid heater can only be made in a metal stove with a power of up to 25 kW, which will provide light steam in a one-room bathhouse with a volume of up to 30-45 cubic meters. m. It is generally impossible to install a blind heater in a brick oven; it will not warm up through the brick.

Note: the ceiling in a bathhouse with a stove with a solid heater should be no higher than 2.2 m. Otherwise, heavy steam cannot be ruled out.

In a flow-through heater, stones are placed in a casing on a grate above the firebox, and flue gases pass through the stone mass before escaping into the chimney. A stove with a solid heater is more difficult, because... A hermetically sealed loading and cleaning hatch is required in the heater casing. Such a stove can only be heated with wood that does not produce soot, for example, aspen or pellets. You can add steam only after burning it completely until it turns to gray fluffy ash. The stones must be removed, washed and cleaned periodically. But the stone backfill warms up over the entire surface area of ​​the stones composing it, and very quickly. This removes any restrictions on the size of the furnace and its power. You can independently make a stove with a flow-through heater with a power of up to 50-60 kW, for a bathhouse with three compartments of 50-80 cubic meters. m.

Furnace material

Sauna stoves are made from cast iron or welded from sheet metal. Provides ideal heating conditions and, when performed correctly, eliminates heavy steam in a bath of any volume. But its construction requires full mastery of the art of a stove maker., careful selection for quality and preparation of materials, because She works in difficult conditions. Only possible with a flow-through heater, i.e. Steam can be added only after complete combustion of the fuel. The minimum heating time until the bath is ready is 3-4 hours. After long (more than 3-5 days) breaks in the use of the bathhouse, it is necessary to dry and warm up the stove with accelerating fireboxes, otherwise there is a high probability of microcracks appearing in the body of the stove, which are especially dangerous in the bathhouse as a source of fumes. According to doctors, more than 70% of cases of burning of people occur in a bathhouse. As a result, a brick sauna stove is also very voracious. heats up quickly; the bathhouse with it is ready to receive visitors within an hour and a half after lighting. Design critical; If the execution fails, don’t expect easy steam. It also cools down quickly; In order to properly steam with the whole family, the stove needs to be heated. This is not such a disadvantage, because... the metal does not crack, but without a fireclay brick lining, a welded stove can only heat a one-room bathhouse to 20-25 cubic meters. m volume. A stove cast from cast iron has thermal engineering similar to a brick one, because The thermal conductivity of cast iron is low, but the heat capacity is high. In terms of cost and ease of use - to welded. Most industrial sauna stoves are cast iron.

Choosing a stove

Which stove is best for a sauna? Which one will you have to buy, and which one can you make yourself? This depends on the volume of the bath and the nature of its use. For a large bathhouse with three or four compartments, about which further, only a brick stove or a large industrial cast iron stove, with a stone filling of 150-250 kg, is suitable. Such baths, as a rule, are collective for commercial purposes and are constantly heated. We will further consider the design of the furnace for it, but simply as an example of complexity, although industrial conditions for its construction are not required.

Note: a brick stove with a flow-through heater is suitable for both a Russian bath and a sauna. In the latter case, they simply heat it harder and don’t splash anything into the heater.

For a private bathhouse, heated once or twice a week, but designed for a family with in-laws and also multi-room, but of a smaller area, the best option would be a factory-made cast iron stove. There are many models on sale, of different power and price categories; we will touch on them later. All of them allow flooding when washing, and many are equipped with a water heating circuit. And finally, for a country house or a small individual bathhouse, for a family of 3-4 people, with one or two compartments, one of the homemade steel stoves described below is quite suitable. Which one is more suitable for which bath is indicated in the description.

Everything is big and real

Bath

Let's first decide what kind of bathhouse we can build. If the hut is about 3x4 m or an extension to the house of the same size, you can skip this section, except, perhaps, for information about the construction of floors and bath equipment. Although everyone already knows this. Here we will describe the bathhouse, arranged, as they say, according to the complete scheme. Its plan is shown in Fig. on right. Designations:

  1. Capital (load-bearing) wall;
  2. Light wooden partition;
  3. Waiting room;
  4. Washing department;
  5. Steam room;
  6. A bed, there may not be one, but in return there will be a bridge to a pond;
  7. Sauna stove with solid heater;
  8. Furnace firebox;
  9. Kamenka;
  10. Chimney;
  11. Furnace foundation (flooring is not shown);
  12. Sand bedding;
  13. Double entrance door;
  14. Regular single door;
  15. A fiberglass window, approximately 400 mm wide and 250 mm high. It is necessary to quickly release excess heat, if necessary, without drying out the compartment;
  16. Regular casement window;
  17. Water heating register (water heater);
  18. Hot water storage tank, suspended from the ceiling;
  19. Steam room equipment: tub with hot water, ladle, brooms. Gangs, benches, soap, washcloths - in the washroom (4);
  20. Polati;
  21. A tub of cold water.

We will give the necessary explanations. It has already been said what the walls of the bathhouse should be like. To clause 7 - it is assumed that a cast iron stove for a Russian bath is installed. The disadvantages of a solid heater do not affect it as much as the heater works and the cast iron of the stove itself. And adding more heat to the heater at any time, which will immediately warm up again, is much more convenient. To paragraph 9. The stove on the foundation should be located so that the projection of its center of gravity (and not the center of the chimney, as is often incorrectly written) falls on the geometric center of the foundation. Otherwise, the heating of the soil may cause the stove to warp, even if other conditions for its stability are met. To point 10. The chimney structure is shown in the figure, which shows a sectional view of the bathhouse. Fire safety for a bathhouse is vitally important, and factory stoves, as a rule, are not equipped with chimney elements and materials, with the exception of its lower bend with a damper. This must be taken into account when drawing up an estimate for the bathhouse.

To pp. 11 and 12. The design of the furnace foundation is shown in Fig. below. Its foundation must be separate and not in any way in contact with the foundation of the building. Sand bedding is also required; without it, the stability of the stove cannot be achieved. The fire-resistant blind area (dark blue in the figure) is made of basalt cardboard.

Note 6: for cast iron stove with a power of up to 20 kW, a simplified foundation is possible from ready-made reinforced concrete monoliths laid directly on the ground.

To pp. 17 and 18. There are many designs of homemade stoves with a built-in water heating tank. They all have a common flaw: the water in the tank boils before the heater warms up. Keeping the tank empty and throwing hot water into it is then dangerous: the instant release of a large amount of steam can simply cause the stove to explode. It is also impossible to make a safety valve in the tank or open its cap: the uncontrolled flow of water vapor into the room will produce heavy steam. Therefore, the only acceptable solution is a U- or W-shaped hot water register in the firebox in combination with a storage tank, see figure:

However, if the bathhouse is not used every day, then the heated water will cool down in vain. Here again, the only acceptable solution is a bathhouse in the form of an extension to the house, and in the tank, along with the bathhouses, there are nozzles from the kitchen or heating stove. Then the tank will be a common hot water storage tank for the entire household.

Note: This, of course, does not apply to factory furnaces with a correctly designed water heating circuit.

To pp. 19 and 20. Equipment for the steam room must be made of wood, see fig. Otherwise, burns cannot be avoided. You need two- or three-tier floors, see next. rice. on the right. So each of the steamers can position themselves according to their taste and health. It’s not just a question of taste - you can put a lower-power stove in the same bathhouse and steam for several people. The fuel costs are very noticeable.

And a brick oven

And if you want to make a bathhouse completely in the old fashioned way? Or, let’s say, several owners agreed to distribute expenses, bath days, hire a stove-maker, and jointly build a bathhouse according to all the rules? Well, in order to know what you need to get in the end, and to control the quality of work - in Fig. on the right is a brick stove for a bath. We will give the order below, but for now let’s talk about materials and accessories:

  • All parts in contact with flames or flue gases are made of fireclay bricks only; in Fig. (below) highlighted in yellow.
  • The seams between fireclay and ordinary brick, between any brick and metal - from 6 to 10 mm.
  • Halves and three-quarter bricks are ready-made, with smooth edges. Chopped or sawn with a grinder will go anywhere except a sauna stove.
  • All doors and grate are cast iron; others will not last long in the bathhouse.
  • The heater grill is made of channels; best of all - used pieces of rails, i.e. cold forged wheels of a train or tram.
  • Masonry - medium fat with sand 1:1.
  • Sand - calcined, washed and sifted through a sieve with a mesh size of 0.15-0.25 mm, gully or mountain, with ribbed granules. River sand with rounded granules is not suitable for a sauna stove; it produces microcracks.
  • The cladding is made of facing, smooth and with rounded corners, brick. This will give optimal heat transfer in both convection and radiation modes.

The fat content of the solution is checked “on a stick”. Planed, wooden. Let's say a mop handle. They stick it into the solution, mixed until it becomes thick with sour cream, take it out and look. There should be a continuous layer of 1.5-2 mm. If it drains, leaving gaps, the clay is too thin. If lumps or lumps are visible, it is too oily. Nowadays, construction stores sell ready-made dry clay of any fat content. If you dug the clay yourself (this needs to be done from a depth of at least 1-1.5 m), and it is too greasy, then you can add crushed brick. Not sand! Brick is made from clay. But it is not the best option, and not because fatty natural clay is a valuable raw material and is not so easy to obtain. It is much better, although more troublesome, to fatten the skinny gully clay. Then there will definitely not be any foreign particles in it that cause the same microcracks. Clay is fattened by grinding:

  • Dry clay broken into small lumps is poured into the barrel 1/4-1/3 full.
  • Fill to the top with water.
  • Beat with a mixer until a homogeneous slurry is obtained.
  • As soon as the top of the batch begins to lighten (this means that a precipitate has begun to form), pour off the top third of the solution.
  • When all the clay has settled and is visible through the water, drain the rest of the water and remove the silt deposits from the “cap.”
  • Mix the masonry mortar and check for fat content as described.

As a rule, one torture is enough. In the old days, stove makers for wealthy customers built sauna stoves on tortured clay. And now in industry clay is fattened in a similar way.

Arranging and drying

The order of the sauna stove is shown in Fig. on right. The principle of masonry is, i.e. ligation of seams is necessary only between rows, and in rows the seams may not be tied. The first row is laid out dry on a sheet of metal laid on the foundation and covered with a sheet of basalt cardboard 4-6 mm thick. The seams between fireclay bricks are 3 mm. Undercutting corners, where necessary, is done with a grinder using a stone wheel No. 220-240. Row 22 shows the filling of the heater; this is where it ends. Backfilling is done after drying the furnace and accelerating furnaces. Dry the oven for at least 2 weeks at a temperature of 20-30 degrees, i.e. The stove needs to be built in the warm season. After drying, you need at least 4-5 accelerating fireboxes with high-quality fuel (aspen firewood or pellets), with an interval of 12 hours. The fuel load for the first acceleration is 4-5 kg, and gradually increased to the maximum. If there is a break in the firebox for more than a week, one is needed accelerating firebox by a third of the load, and after a month of inactivity - 2-3 with an increase in load from a quarter to full.

Video: brick sauna stove

We take on the metal ourselves

Now let's try to choose a prototype for a welded homemade stove. Drawings of some well-proven designs are shown in Fig.

Bath stove

This one differs from the well-known one in the presence of a tray for stones and a firebox paved with dry, without mortar, fireclay bricks. When lighting, place a bucket or boiling water with water on the handles on the sides of the heater (made of 8-12 mm steel rod). It is not so much the stones that heat it as the convection currents between the screen and the body of the furnace. This helps to create an optimal heating mode for the bath, and a 20-liter boiler heats up in 30-40 minutes, covered with a lid, to 50 degrees. It’s quite enough for two and there will still be enough left for a child. A screen for a sauna potbelly stove is even more necessary than for a heating stove: a tray for stones disrupts the circulation of hot gases in the firebox, and the stones take a lot of heat. It is undesirable to apply thermal insulation to the screen when the bath volume is close to the maximum; it must effectively radiate IR outward. Therefore, in this case, you need to make a fence for the stove. A potbelly stove is suitable for a very small bathhouse, up to 20 cubic meters. m volume. It does not need a foundation; it can simply stand on a layer of basalt cardboard. The height of the straight chimney is 4-5 m, no damper is needed. The draft is adjusted according to the season and weather by a sliding damper made of a galvanized strip that covers some of the holes in the firebox door, but at least 2 should not overlap. A potbelly stove in a sauna can be heated during washing. You can feed no more than 0.25 liters at a time with an interval of at least 20 minutes, otherwise the heater will dry out and heavy steam will come out. This is more than enough kvass in a small bathhouse.

Note: Do not add bottled store-bought kvass. Instead of a bread spirit, such a spirit that you could at least take away the saints. Soon, probably, they will start making children from powder concentrates.

Without brick

This is an all-welded stove made from 4-6 mm sheet metal for a small sauna, also up to 20-25 cubic meters. m. The design is simple and clear from the drawing; it heats up the steam room quickly, which is good. But there is nowhere to attach the water heater, which is bad. On the heater hatch, a bucket will heat up to 40 degrees in a maximum of an hour. There is no need to shield this stove, but it is advisable to insulate it. Most of the heat already goes into the stones; the screen simply has nothing to reflect. Therefore, in such a simple stove it is necessary to have a blower: there is no vortex in the firebox, and the efficiency, which is already low in sauna stoves, will turn out to be completely unimportant. The grate is made of reinforcement bars welded along.

In a case

A brick stove in a metal case made of 3-4 mm steel is already suitable for a sauna, and for a Russian bath of 30-40 cubic meters, which it will heat in 2 hours. Therefore, a U-shaped water heating register can be built into the smoke circulation, during which time it will produce into the storage tank 40 liters of 50-degree water. Enough for three or four. The masonry is made of fireclay, the stove is without foundation. The screen is not needed for the reasons described above, but the fence is necessary - the temperature of the case is more than 100 degrees. Before washing and steaming, the oven must be completely heated; Keeps warm for about an hour.

From a barrel

This stove has similar properties to an all-welded sauna stove. It’s just as difficult to put a water heater in it. But it is very simple to implement and therefore suitable for a summer house with a bathhouse-shed of up to 15 cubic meters. You can heat it during washing/steaming, but you can’t press it in any way: for the sake of simplicity of design, there is no cleaning/loading hatch in the heater. Therefore, with frequent use, this stove will not last long. This stove is made like this: they place it directly on the ground. concrete slab, or fill a mini pit with concrete. Then a cube is laid out from ordinary red brick; At the top, reinforcement bars are built into the masonry, forming the grille of the heater. They are perched on this pedestal metal barrel without bottoms and lined from the inside with fireclay on clay. You can simply coat the inside with a layer of very thick (the consistency of plasticine) fatty clay solution of 50-60 mm. It will also take a little fireclay bricks; they are placed upright with a spoon. Finally, the top of the barrel is welded with a sheet of 2-4 mm steel with the first chimney elbow welded into it - a piece of 100 mm pipe - and the sauna is ready.

Fast

This stove is also for a country house, or for a hunting lodge. It is made entirely from a barrel and can be installed directly on the ground. The heater grille is made of welded reinforcement bars. The internal lining is the same as the previous one. The stove heats the sauna-room with 10-12 cubes in 15-20 minutes. and cools down just as quickly. Therefore, without flooding, it is designed for single washing with a little steaming, or quickly for two people. But at such a speed of bathing procedures, there is no danger that the water in the boiler will boil, and here it is designed on the principle of titanium, covering the chimney. The boiler capacity is 15-20 liters, which is enough for one or two people.

Video: a simple homemade metal stove for a bath

About brick cases

You can come across advice to cover the outside of metal stoves with bricks, this supposedly improves their properties. In fact, the outer lining does not improve anything, but only worsens it. The metal of the furnace, unable to give off heat, heats up to orange and quickly burns out even with a thickness of 8-10 mm. And the heat transfer to the heater, whether solid or flow-through, hardly improves. The outer lining simply does not release infrared, and such a furnace most often produces heavy steam.

Pipe stove

Here in the picture is a stove for a large diameter sauna.

Rarely does anyone have pieces of 525 mm pipes lying around in the trash, but if you find one, it’s a godsend:

  • No foundation is needed, only heat insulation from the floor and walls.
  • Heats a bathhouse up to 35 cubic meters.
  • A deep double-heated solid heater allows you to add heat to the firebox at any time.
  • The mouth of the firebox with the blower, extended forward, easily opens into the dressing room.
  • The round cross-sectional shape provides an optimal combination of radiation and convection, which is why such a stove heats a bathhouse almost twice as much as a “bourgeois” one with almost the same thermal power.
  • The heater tray in the smoke circulation is covered by a U-shaped hot water register without the slightest loss of stove quality.

Note: The water heater must not be placed flat. It is necessary to tilt it slightly across so that the hot water supply pipe is higher than the return pipe.

About hot water boilers

Not every sauna stove can have a water heating circuit installed so easily. But heating water for a bath in the kitchen and carrying it in buckets is nonsense. And it’s not always possible, because the bathhouse can be located on the outskirts. But you can attach a ring-shaped hot water boiler to any sauna stove by placing it on the chimney pipe. The degree and time of heating can be adjusted by moving the boiler up and down.

From waste materials, in order not to master or order complex welding and tinsmithing work, a reliable and durable boiler can be easily obtained from two unusable car wheel rims and a piece of pipe of a suitable diameter, see fig. Excess holes are welded without much care using any suitable pieces of metal. The boiler is attached to the chimney by the protruding ends of the axial pipe with clamps.

Purchased

If you have sufficient funds, buying a stove for a bathhouse is not a problem. As already mentioned, there are many models available. The world's leading producers are Finland and Russia. The Finns make Helo, Kastor, Harvia, Narvi, Iki, Upo, Tulikivi, etc. Kastor is called a “stove Mercedes”, and, it must be said, the Finns do not take money “for an asterisk”. Among the Russian ones on the market, Termofor, Teplodar, Ermak, Inzhkomtsentr VVD, Vulcan, Sukhovey are known, but special mention can be made, firstly, of Troika. These are high-quality, expensive stoves for wealthy customers or commercial bathing establishments. In Finland itself, in saunas you can often find “Troikas”, which, with equal quality, reliability and durability, are much cheaper than Mercedes from the stove. “Troek” is produced in a wide range of models, see Fig., of different power and configuration. There is only one drawback, and that is a conditional one: it is heavy compared to analogues from other manufacturers. The installation of Troika, designed for a company, requires a strong, reliable foundation and a whole team of workers.

Bath stoves “Troika”

This is explained by the fact that the company, without further ado, achieves ideal bath heating technology using the “oak” method: increasing the thickness of the material and the weight of the stones. In Troikas, the filling required by the specifications can exceed 250 kg, and the entire furnace weighs more than a ton. Cast iron ATBs have long been popular among a wide range of consumers, see Fig. Below, they have proven themselves to be excellent for small private baths and are affordable. Of the commercially available models, only ATB2 had a serious defect: water boiled in the boiler before the heater warmed up. But craftsmen quickly found a way out: they turned the firebox cover over with its “horns” facing forward, opposite to the standard installation. At the same time, the path of the flue gases in the heat exchanger was shortened, and at the cost of a slight decrease in efficiency, which is not significant for a bath that is heated infrequently, the water was heated just in time.

But the stove had to “turn its horns” before its installation, because the chimney hole was moving back from the firebox, and then why not break the ceiling, attic and roof? Therefore, they soon came up with another method: they placed something under the legs of the tank (it simply stands on the body of the stove) to lift it from the firebox. This method of adjusting the water temperature in the boiler is applicable to almost all ATB models.

Camping sauna

The camp bathhouse was invented by tourists. But not those who buy tours to Thailand, but those who go anywhere at any time of the year and in any weather. In the Sayan Mountains, during the spring thaw, on a day trip to the bathhouse, oh, how I want to... my whole body aches, and from the mud and at the back of my neck I squelch... It will be a good thing if there is a hollow next to a flat place for a tent with rather steep walls for a fire. Then - aluminum tubes from a tent frame or easel backpacks; in winter - from ski poles. Connect the pipe sections with socks washed in the snow, they will dry so quickly, tied with laces from the vibrams. All that remains is to make a fire, place the end of the pipe with an upward slope into the tent, and put its other end into the flame, but so that the mouth is away from the fire and fresh air enters it, see fig.

Such a bathhouse saved not only from dirt and fatigue. The author knows of a case where, thanks to her, a group survived a critical situation. One winter night, a tree fell on the tent. After that, only one could move, but going for help was out of the question. Then he built a hut from spruce branches, dragged his comrades there, then built a stove from a fire with a chimney, and heated it until the deadline passed and the rescuers came. Everyone then spent a month to six months in the hospital, two received disabilities - but all survived. And without a shelter with heating at minus 15-20, they would freeze in an hour or two.

And after the bathhouse?

The author once had an acquaintance – a Finn. And in Finland then there was prohibition, and the valiant representative of Scandinavia regularly came to Leningrad on weekends to drink himself to death, to the point of being a green serpent. One day he caught himself at the beginning of a drinking binge, decided to quit and asked to arrange a bath for him. Russian, with a broom, from which the birch spirit penetrates to the marrow of the bones. Having steamed thoroughly, I concluded: “You know, your bathhouse is still different” - “Why?” - “After yours, I’d like some tea. Strong. With jam” - “And after yours?” - “Vodka.” A lot of. A woman. Rarely". However, this difference is most likely explained not by the actual difference between Russian and Finnish baths, but by Eino’s individual characteristics and a series of previous sprees.

There are many metal sauna stoves on sale, but good ones cost a lot of money. If you have sufficient experience in metal welding, you can make a furnace yourself, according to your own dimensions. Read on to learn how to make a stove for a bathhouse from metal (sheet metal), drawings and photos.

There is a significant difference between the steam modes in a bathhouse and a sauna. In the sauna the air temperature is very high - from 85C and much higher. At this temperature, the humidity simply cannot be high - you will immediately get a burn, but it will crumble in five minutes. And it is really small, about 5-15%. In a Russian steam room, the temperature stays between 55-65°C, occasionally rising to 70°C. At such temperatures, the humidity “catch up” is high - 50-60%.

To achieve such different tasks, different approaches to constructing a furnace are required. A sauna requires the largest area of ​​contact between the stove body and the surrounding air and acceleration of the passage of air flows along the walls. Everything is subordinated to the task of heating the air in the steam room as quickly as possible. There is a heater, but it is small, open, and is usually located above the firebox. The stones in it warm up to a maximum of 200-250°C, since they give off a lot of heat to the surrounding air. You can get a little steam from such a heater. But you don’t need a lot in the sauna - one or two ladle will give 15% humidity. I just can't stand it anymore.

In a Russian steam room, the task is different - not to overheat the room and achieve a large amount of steam. Moreover, the steam must be of a certain condition - it must consist of very small droplets. It is also called “dry” and has a high temperature - about 130-150°C. Under this condition, after soaring, the body feels light and energized. Such steam is obtained only from hot stones whose temperature is at least 500°C. To achieve it, the stones are “packed” inside the firebox - a box is placed in it - a closed heater.

As you can see, there are significant design differences. They must be kept in mind.

Homemade stoves for Russian baths

What else should you keep in mind when designing a stove for the Russian steam room mode? The fact that having heated metal walls to keep the temperature within the required 60-65°C is unrealistic. Be sure to melt it. At the same time, hard IR radiation comes from the walls of the furnace and is difficult to be nearby. The problem can be solved in two ways:


It's also worth talking about seams. IN homemade stoves made of metal (in factory ones, too, in principle), burnout often begins precisely from the seams. In production this problem bypassed using bent structures. In the upper part they try to avoid seams altogether. When making a sauna stove with your own hands, you are unlikely to be able to bend a sheet of metal 6-10 mm thick, so there is only one thing left to do - make the seams as high quality as possible.

Kamenka: what size and where

The required number of stones depends on the volume of the steam room (assuming it is normal). Different sources have different recommendations with more or less amounts - from 20 to 40 kg per 1 m 3. In principle, the more stones, the easier it is to obtain the required amount of steam, provided that the oven has enough power to heat them.

The problem is that the stones different breeds have different densities, and, therefore, the same mass occupies different volumes. In principle, for an average steam room with a volume of 12-14 m 3, the dimensions of the heater are approximately the following: 30 * 40 * 30 mm. The parameters can be changed slightly, made wider/narrower/higher - look at the design of the stove.


The ratio of the volume of the firebox to the volume of the heater is a complex thermotechnical calculation that not even every heating engineer is able to master. It is much easier to use ready-made drawings or experimentally determined proportions. At a minimum, the volume of the firebox “free” from the heater should not be less. It’s better if it’s even about 30-50% more.

A little about what part of the firebox is best to place a box for stones. Everyone has long come to the conclusion that the highest temperature is in the upper part and at the back wall. This is where it makes sense to place the container. Firstly, part of the thermal load from the arch of the firebox will be removed, and secondly, the stones will heat up well.

Don’t forget about the maintenance of the heater and the fact that water must somehow get into it. The service hatch should be positioned in such a way that you can reach the farthest edge with your hand without any problems. And the water supply deep into the heater must be organized so as not to get burned. Typically, a tube or system of tubes is inserted, which diverge across the entire plane of the stone container. On the room side, this tube ends in a funnel. The pipe is lined with stones. When water is supplied to it, it is distributed over the surface of the heater/stones and evaporates.

Drawings of homemade metal sauna stoves

This stove was designed for a steam room 2*3*2.3 m. It was made from sheet metal 3 mm thick.


To activate combustion, it is possible to connect an additional air duct laid from the street. Other solutions include stiffening ribs (corners) welded to the sides of the firebox in the upper part of the firebox so that the metal does not bend during strong heating.

The following diagram of a metal sauna stove is made with air supplied to the upper part of the firebox. These are so-called gas afterburning furnaces. There is a metal plate welded on the back wall. Air from under the grate is supplied into the gap between this plate and the rear wall of the firebox using air ducts. This seemingly simple device solves two problems at once. Firstly, it cools back wall, reducing the likelihood of it burning out. Secondly, the air is supplied to the upper part heated. Flue gases heated to high temperatures are concentrated there, most of which are flammable (up to 80%). When these gases mix with heated air, the combustible substances ignite, the temperature in the upper part of the firebox becomes even higher, and the stones heat up to higher temperatures. In this case (when using dry firewood) much less fuel is required. Many long-burning stoves are built on this principle, but it began to be used in sauna stoves only recently.


Approximately the same model, but without afterburning, made in a different format. The dimensions are not indicated here, but it is easier to understand the proportions and arrangement of the various elements.

Three-dimensional model of a homemade metal stove-heater

In this case, the volume of the firebox is about 130% of the volume of the heater. Normal ratio. The chimney is shifted back, which is not always good - difficulties may arise when installing the chimney - it may rest against ceiling beam- you will have to bend the chimney, which is undesirable. So think about the location of the pipe.

Even among bathhouse lovers, there is a constant debate about whether a tank for heating water in a steam room is good or bad... Some regulate the humidity by opening/closing the lid of the tank. They are happy with this option. Others say that this steam is “heavy”, and take the tank to the washing compartment, and heat the water in it by building a heat exchanger into the firebox and connecting it to the tank with pipes. The following diagram is a stove in a metal bath with a water tank.


The design is clever - with the help of a “spark arrestor” the path of flue gases is longer, it stays in the firebox longer, and heats the walls better. If you don't want a tank, you can put stones in its place.

An interesting option with a tank located at the back of the stove. The chimney is moved back and passes through the tank. The height of the tank is large, heat removal will be effective - the temperature of the chimney at the outlet of the tank will definitely not be high.


The heater is interestingly designed. It is not very large, but its volume is enough for small and medium-sized steam rooms. It closes with a lid, which on the one hand is not very convenient: closing the lid after applying water to the stones will be problematic. On the other hand, it is convenient to maintain.


How to make a sauna stove

As already mentioned, the main task of this type of heating device is to quickly “catch up” to the required temperature and be able to maintain it. There is a simple solution - install a fan that will blow on the walls of the furnace, accelerating heating.

The convector casing performs approximately the same function. This is the casing around the oven body. There remains a gap of 1.5-2 cm between it and the wall of the firebox. Air is sucked into this gap from below. It passes along the walls, heats up, and at the same time cools the walls. Then it rises upward, spreading heat throughout the steam room.

If the furnace body is made of thick metal, then the casing can be made of thin metal. It rarely heats up to high temperatures, and burnout does not threaten it. If in a sauna stove the heater is located at the top, above the firebox, as in the photo, then holes can be made in the body to ventilate the heater. Then part of the air that rises along the walls will enter the heater, blow on the stones and heat up even more. This type of heater is called ventilated. It is good for dry air saunas.

Drawings and diagrams

The design of sauna stoves is simpler. You need a normal size firebox that can accommodate large logs. In the upper part, above the top of the firebox, the sides of the heater are welded, the volume of which is usually 20-25 liters. There may be variations in width/height/depth, but there are no special tricks.


Installing a tank to heat water in a sauna steam room is not the best idea. You won't be able to control the humidity, and at high temperatures it's easy to get burned. However, there are several options for installing tanks in the photo above.

Another type of heater is inside the firebox. If desired, you can put a lid on it and this oven can be used in two modes - with the lid open for dry vaping, and with the lid open to produce more steam.


The stove in a real Russian bathhouse should be economical and produce healthy heat. According to these criteria, wood heaters outperform electric and gas heat generators. But there is a third, no less important advantage: you can make a metal stove for a bathhouse with your own hands, provided that you are good at electric welding. Brick version The heater is also good, but not available to everyone due to the price of materials and the difficulties of laying in the finished steam room. So choose a homemade unit from the models proposed in our publication and start manufacturing, using step-by-step instructions and drawings.

Choosing a sauna stove design

Ideally, a heat source made of metal should meet the following requirements:

  1. Warm up quickly and raise the temperature in the steam room. Iron stoves do this very well.
  2. Keep warm as long as possible. Since steel heats up and cools quickly, you will need a heater that accumulates heat, or an increase in the burning time of the firebox. The third option is to cover the sauna stove with bricks after installation.
  3. Occupy a minimum of usable space in the steam room. If the volume of this room is too small, then it is better to choose a vertical design with a loading door located in the dressing room.
  4. The heater must be safe for people washing in the bathhouse. To protect yourself from burns, you can install a convection casing made of thin sheet iron on the housing or, again, build a brick wall around the housing.

Note. The duration of combustion increases with the volume of the fuel chamber of the unit. Here you need to find a reasonable balance between the size of the stove and the duration of its operation. A small firebox will have to be constantly loaded with firewood, instead of being able to wash in peace, and a large stove will take up half the area of ​​the steam room.

Do-it-yourself iron sauna stoves come in the following designs:

  • with a body oriented vertically or horizontally in space;
  • heated directly from the steam room or from the next room (a remote firebox door is made);
  • with and without water tank;
  • with external or internal heater.

Vertical heater

The vertical body of the stove shown in the photo gives one advantage - saving space in the bathhouse. There are more disadvantages: short burning time (due to the fact that the flame covers the entire stack of firewood) and not too high heat transfer. According to these important parameters, a horizontal sauna heater outperforms a vertical one, but at the same time occupies a larger area.

Horizontal stove with heater and tank

If the bathhouse does not have an electric water heater, it costs nothing to install a tank for heating water intended for washing on the stove or chimney. It can be welded from ordinary metal, or better yet from stainless steel. There is also a more convenient way to heat water: the tank, located in the washing room, is connected by pipes to a samovar-type steel heat exchanger installed on the chimney pipe.

Steel heat exchanger for chimney

The open heater, which we inherited from the Finnish sauna, heats up to a maximum of 400 °C, but it can be watered with water in order to “give up the park.” Heaters closed inside the stove body accumulate more heat, heating up to 700-800 °C, but at the same time they become polluted by passing flue gases and therefore require periodic cleaning.

Reference. Some craftsmen assemble metal stoves with internal brickwork, the diagram of which is shown above. They serve for a long time without burning through the walls, but are difficult to manufacture, and fireclay bricks cost money. You can find out more about various sauna heaters by watching the video:

Preparation of materials

It is best to make a stove in a bathhouse from steel pipe with a diameter of 300-500 mm or a gas cylinder. There are several reasons:

  • the pipe is a ready-made body of the unit, which simplifies the matter;
  • a cylindrical shape is preferable to a rectangular one for reasons of aerodynamics (air flow around) and heat transfer;
  • vaulted walls without seams will last longer than flat ones;
  • A round firebox is easier to clean from ash and soot.

Advice. It is more convenient to make an ash pan from sheet metal 2 mm thick, and 3 mm iron will be used for the doors. Try not to use high-carbon steel grades higher than St35, which can become hot from exposure high temperature, deform and burst at the seams. The correct stove is welded from grade St3.

Stages of door manufacturing

The grate can be made from corners or periodic profile fittings. The budget option is a sheet of thick iron with longitudinal slots, the purchased option is cast iron grates. It is advisable to make the doors double-layered with a basalt fiber gasket (pictured) so as not to get burned if accidentally touched.

Heater stove - manufacturing guide

We bring to your attention 3 common designs of metal stoves for baths:

  • a simple horizontal stove made from a cylinder, heated inside the steam room;
  • heater made of 530 mm pipe with remote firebox;
  • vertical sauna boiler “three in one”.

The first option is attractive due to its ease of manufacture, small size and mobility. For homemade products, you will need an old propane cylinder with a diameter of 300 or 500 mm and scrap metal. The second heater is distinguished by an additional section with a door built into the opening of the steam room wall, and an open heater. The third model is a whole boiler, consisting of three compartments - a firebox, a closed heater and a tank for heating water.

Advice. If you find good pipe or the cylinder fails, cook the stove according to the drawing from sheet steel with a thickness of at least 3 mm (preferably 5 mm). First, you will have to perform a number of operations to assemble the firebox - cutting the workpieces and welding them together with strict observance of 90° angles.

The drawings show options for heating units made of sheet iron

We weld a simple stove

The first thing to do is to correctly cut the cylinder cap along the factory seam. To do this, unscrew the gas valve with an open-end wrench and fill the container with water, after which you can use the grinder.

Reference. Propane is heavier than air and therefore reluctant to leave closed containers. To avoid an explosion when cutting metal, it is customary to force it out with water.

Assemble the heater according to the presented drawing, observing the following order:

  1. Cut openings at the end of the lid for mounting doors and in the housing for the chimney pipe. Make frames for the loading and ash doors from metal strips, and weld them to the openings.
  2. Assemble the grate by welding and place it on the corners fixed inside the cylinder. Weld the cut cover back into place.
  3. Make the sashes as shown in the photo. Place them on the hinges and attach the latches.
  4. Attach legs and a chimney pipe to the body.

After assembly, the gas cylinder sauna stove is melted outside in order to burn off all the old paint. Then it can be degreased and repainted using the heat-resistant composition of the KO series.

Manufacturing a unit with an external firebox

To make such a stove, you need to prepare metal parts and cut the pipe to size, following the drawing:

Advice. When preparing the metal for the additional heater section, measure the thickness of the wall between the steam room and the dressing room. This way you will know the width of the extension part that will fit into the partition opening.

Perform further work according to the instructions:

  1. Cut a hole in the top of the pipe, weld the chimney pipe to it, and weld the legs at the bottom of the firebox. Install the grates as described in the previous section.
  2. Make the front section and weld it to the firebox. Weld a blank metal disk to the rear end of the housing.
  3. Make doors with handles insulated with basalt wool and install them in place.

Important point. The lower plane of the remote firebox should be flush with the pipe wall for easy cleaning of the ash pan.

All that remains to do on top of the finished stove is to weld a frame for the heater from corners covered with a coarse metal mesh. After firing, staining and installation in the bathhouse on site, fill the mesh with special stones from the list:

  • basalt;
  • river pebbles;
  • gabbro-diabase;
  • Soapstone chlorite

How a similar sauna stove is made in practice is described in detail in the video:

Making a vertical boiler

The peculiarity of the round unit shown in the drawing is the presence of 3 chambers - fuel, heater and water tank. Their size can vary according to your wishes, for example, than big sizes you make fireboxes, the longer 1 stack of firewood will burn. Enlarging the heater will allow you to accumulate more heat, which is released for a long time after the fuel burns out.

Advice. You should not greatly increase the volume of the water tank, otherwise it will not have time to warm up by the time of washing.

The boiler assembly procedure looks like this:

  1. Cut blanks for partitions, bottom and lid from metal with a thickness of at least 5 mm. Prepare the ends of the pipe and weld the round grate bars.
  2. Make openings in the body for the doors and hatch for loading stones.
  3. Make holes in the partitions for the chimney and install them inside the pipe. Secure the tank lid to the hinges.
  4. Make doors from semi-circular cut out pieces and place them on the awnings.
  5. Install a flue duct and a water drain valve at the bottom of the tank.

If desired, even in this furnace you can make a remote firebox. To do this, you need to increase the loading and ash channel by welding metal blanks of the required width to the side of the pipe, as shown in the photo above. Correct assembly A similar heat generator is shown in detail in the following video:

Installing a stove in a bathhouse

Since a proper steam room is always built of wood, the main requirement when installing a wood-burning heater is fire safety. To survive it, follow simple rules:

  • the stove cannot be placed directly on a wooden floor, but only on a sheet of iron protruding 70 cm in front of the firebox;
  • wall coverings made of flammable materials also need to be protected from fire with sheets roofing iron or mineralite;
  • when installing a heater with a remote firebox, the opening in the wooden partition is also sheathed with non-combustible materials, as is done in the photo;
  • distance from the insulated chimney pipe to building structures made of wood – 38 cm.

It is recommended to make a channel for venting combustion products outside from a double-walled sandwich filled with basalt wool. Often, the same square-shaped water tank, built directly into the ceiling, is used to insulate the chimney. How to properly install a stove in a bathhouse is shown in the diagram:

Important. Do not use sheet or cord asbestos for thermal insulation inside bathhouses; it emits dust that is harmful to health.

Conclusion

When a homeowner is faced with a choice - to build a stone sauna stove or install a metal one, the majority is inclined to the second option as it is more economical. A homemade iron stove will be even cheaper; in addition, it will be ideal in all respects, because you yourself will think over its design. Don't know how to weld? Save money otherwise by ordering the assembly of the unit in a specialized workshop.

Design engineer with more than 8 years of experience in construction.
Graduated from Eastern Ukrainian National University them. Vladimir Dal with a degree in Electronics Industry Equipment in 2011.