What is better to heat a sauna: oak or birch firewood?

A wood-burning bathhouse is a truly Russian bathhouse, which was popular back in Ancient Rus'. To prepare the steam room, logs were prepared and burned in the oven. But progress does not stand still, and gradually other options for stoves appeared: gas and electric. Of course, they are more modern, but most people still prefer a wood-fired sauna.

Which firewood to choose

It is better to heat a sauna with wood, which burns for a long time and produces a lot of heat. Therefore, wood with a relatively high density is often harvested, and lighter wood species are used to fire the stove.

Additionally, you need to focus on the quality of the fuel. Old or rotten firewood will not be able to provide a fragrant scent and a maximally heated steam room. In addition, the fumes from them can harm human health. Therefore, to organize bath procedures, they choose only fresh, thoroughly dried wood that has been preserved for no more than two years.

It is possible to enjoy the smells of the forest only if the stove is fired “black” (without a chimney) or if the heater is heated exclusively by open fire. Such stove devices are typical for Russian baths; they have a high healing effect.

Firewood for a bath should be well dried and have increased heat transfer Source kotlobzor.ru

In order to choose the right firewood for the stove, it is recommended to consider their characteristics and compare the main advantages and disadvantages of different types.

Birch

Birch wood is a traditional type of fuel for saunas. In addition, brooms made from the same wood are often used during bathing procedures. This allows you to create a beneficial atmosphere in the steam room and get the maximum benefit from the healing steam. Birch firewood has valuable disinfecting properties; it is recommended to use it for heating a stove with an open fire. This fuel retains its unique characteristics for only two years. Then it is also allowed to drown them, but you should not expect the expected effect for health improvement.

Birch firewood is sometimes lit with its own bark. As is known, the latter contains tar, which increases the burning rate.

Today, birch is the most popular wood used for baths.

In addition to the above advantages, it is characterized by significant heat transfer (compared to other tree species).

Birch firewood is the traditional and most popular type of fuel for a bath, characterized by high heat transfer Source drova-sdk.ru

Oak

They are considered the best for organizing bath procedures. Despite the significant cost, they are very economical. For high-quality heating of a bathhouse, fewer oak logs are needed than any other logs. This is easily explained by the fact that they have a dense structure and, as a result, burn for a long time. When burning for a long time, such wood releases a lot of heat (more than birch).

When choosing oak firewood, you need to take into account the age of the trees cut down. Excessively thick logs with a large number of rings indicate old wood. This fuel is not recommended for heating a bath. In addition, it is advisable to avoid young trees. It is best to prepare medium-thick logs: they will give extremely high thermal output.

The healing steam obtained from burning oak has a tart aroma and helps create a healing atmosphere. It is extremely useful for both children and adults.

Due to its high density, oak firewood produces the greatest heat transfer when burning among other tree species Source drovorob.ru

Linden

Perfectly suitable for organizing bath procedures. It usually takes a long time to light a linden tree. Subsequently, such wood burns evenly and after a short period of time provides excellent heating of the heater.

Linden flowers and bark are used to treat colds. Decoctions are prepared from these parts of the tree to create healing steam. By using linden in a comprehensive manner, it is possible to create a healing atmosphere in the steam room.

Additionally, linden steam promotes rapid healing of affected, injured areas of the skin.

Linden firewood has an excellent healing effect on the skin and organs of the respiratory system Source st37.stpulscen.ru

Alder

Firewood can be easily recognized by the shade of the cut. It can be either bright red or ocher. In nature, there are about twenty varieties of this tree, each of them differs in its color.

The main advantages of this wood are intensive drying and no need for special drying conditions. Firewood is most often collected from alder trees growing far from any bodies of water, on the surface of the hills. They do not contain excess moisture, so they are perfect for organizing bath procedures.

Alder can be stored for up to three years. For the specified time, it retains a unique smell that fills the steam room when the heater stove heats up.

Previously, a similar type of wood was used for black baths. During combustion, it does not smoke and intensely releases heat.

Alder firewood dries quickly enough and retains its unique aroma for three years Source drovorob.ru

Main characteristics of different types of wood

To figure out what kind of wood is best to heat a bathhouse, it’s worth studying the characteristics of different tree species.

They are divided into the following types:

Deciduous . These rocks, in turn, are divided into 2 groups - hard and soft. The first group includes cheap rocks that quickly burn out. Representatives of the second produce uniform heat and burn for a long time.
Fruity . This group includes cherry, apple, plum and pear. When burning, such firewood emits a pleasant fruity aroma.

Conifers . To prepare firewood, two types of coniferous trees are used - spruce and pine. They have a low cost and yet have high heat transfer. The disadvantages of this wood are rapid combustion and the generation of sparks during the process.

Firewood harvesting

Often, wood for a bathhouse is harvested in February-March. After winter freezing, it pricks easily. In addition, during this period it is easier to recognize rotten trees. To do this, you should knock on each trunk: a ringing sound will indicate good quality wood, a dull sound will indicate poor quality.

It is also necessary to take into account the number of knots. If there are a lot of them, then drying the firewood will subsequently require a longer period of time. During use, they will not burn at the same time, since areas with knots burn a little longer.

If you have your own chainsaw, it is more profitable to purchase whole logs. If such a unit is not available, and there is no particular desire to chop wood, it is possible to buy it in a ready-to-use form. When purchasing, it is important to control the following wood characteristics:

Humidity. The indicator should not be more than 25%. When it is below 20%, then firewood is considered even better.
Uniformity. It is necessary to ensure that it is only one variety of the selected tree (not different species).

Important! Firewood prepared independently in winter will need to be dried for at least six months.

Firewood for a bath can be prepared independently or purchased in a form ready for use Source zapusti.biz

Selection options

When choosing firewood, it is important to consider the following characteristics of wood:

Resinousness . The resin content of tree tissue determines the suitability of firewood as fuel. The combustion of this substance forms a hard-to-remove coating on the walls of chimneys. When using a flow-through heater for heating, smoke with a large amount of soot settles on the stones. When steam is supplied, it rises and the room is filled with hard, heavy air.

Density _ The higher it is, the more heat the wood gives off during combustion.
Humidity . Freshly cut wood contains 50% moisture in its tissues. For high-quality combustion, this figure should not exceed 20%.
Log sizes . When purchasing ready-made firewood, it is important to take this parameter into account. Optimal indicators: length – 45 – 50 cm, thickness – 8 – 10 cm.

Ease of preparation . When preparing firewood yourself, it is important to consider how it is sawed and split. For example, white acacia has a high heat output, which makes it attractive as a fuel. However, the structure of this wood is dense, viscous, and has many interwoven fibers. Therefore, splitting acacia firewood yourself turns into a real test of strength. Oak can be contrasted with the unruly acacia. Despite its high strength, it can easily be split with a regular ax or a special cleaver.

Ash content . The more minerals a tree contains, the more ash it leaves. Ash content is measured as a percentage of the total weight of firewood. It is divided into internal (in an amount from 0.2 to 2.16%) that is present in the tree under natural conditions, and external (up to 20%), introduced during harvesting, storage or transportation. Moreover, the second significantly exceeds the first. The ashiest types of firewood are pine - 2.19 - 1.39%; spruce – 2.23 – 2.31%; birch – 2.43 – 0.52%; aspen – 2.73%.

Region where the bathhouse is located . This is one of the important factors in economic terms. For example, hornbeam has the highest calorific value. But if the bathhouse is built in a place where this tree does not grow, then a lot of money will be spent on purchasing firewood. Therefore, to fire a stove in a bathhouse, you should choose wood with the highest heat transfer value among that which is common in the region where the bathhouse is located.

Storage features . If firewood is being prepared for future use, you need to pay attention to how suitable the variety will be for long-term storage. The least susceptible to rotting are oak, alder, ash logs and larch. Willow, linden, poplar or aspen must be used up first, or provided with ideal conditions.

How to store it correctly

Purchased quality wood should be kept in a ready-to-use condition. On the eve of storing it for long-term storage, it is important to prepare it, in addition to taking care of the woodshed itself. For convenience, it must be located near the bathhouse.

If the tree is damp (recently cut), then it certainly needs to be dried. It is advisable that the wood harvested in the spring lie in a well-ventilated place all summer: only in the fall can it be sawed or split.

To ensure that dried firewood does not lose quality over time, it is recommended to take the following measures:

To store the workpiece, build a woodshed with a wide roof. It is better to place it in a dry place, away from moisture accumulation (for example, on a small hill).
When it is not possible to build a protective structure, the firewood should be laid in rows in a well-ventilated area, covered with sheets of slate or other waterproof material on top.

Dried, sawn, chopped firewood should lie in the open air for a while in bulk. Then you need to fold them correctly:

When storing outdoors, pipes, logs or bricks must be laid under the wood. Otherwise, it will constantly pull moisture from the soil.
Install vertical trellises on the sides of the woodshed to support the wood stack.
If the woodpile is planned to consist of several vertical rows, they should be laid with a slight slope.

Interesting! Sometimes the logs are placed in a variety of unusual shapes: for example, “stack”, “house”, “pyramid”, “mushroom”. Then they additionally serve as a unique decoration for the garden plot.

When laying logs in the woodshed, it is necessary to ensure free passage of air between them Source happymodern.ru

Russian bathhouse project

When planning the construction of an entertainment complex with a swimming pool, billiards and karaoke, it is taken into account that such a project has little in common with a Russian bathhouse.

Important! Unlike a sauna, a Russian wood-burning bathhouse is a place for water treatments and gatherings with friends over healthy herbal tea.

A real Russian wood-fired sauna

When developing a construction project, they take into account the convenience of the layout, the availability of necessary things, and safety.

Arranging a steam room is the main point in the Russian bathhouse project. The stove is placed in it so that its heat heats all the rooms in the building. Benches are placed near the walls, and deck chairs in several tiers are placed above.

The doors in the steam room are made 1.5 m, the threshold is 30 cm. This limits the access of cold air, the temperature in the room remains high.

Modern steam rooms use electric stoves and other heating means. For a Russian wood-burning bath, a stove with a chimney is installed. Maintaining the air temperature at the same level is more difficult, but a wood stove heats a large room. Traditionally, the Russian bathhouse is identified with a wood-burning stove.

Sauna with Russian steam room

In the Russian bath-sauna project, other rooms are planned, in addition to the dressing room and steam room. A popular option is a separate room with a swimming pool. In modern saunas, 2-level ponds are installed. The temperature in them is contrasting, due to which the body is hardened.

Large health-improving bath complexes house a gym, solarium, and relaxation room. Billiard rooms are popular.

Stages of lighting a stove

First, you should put things in order in the steam room: take out items unnecessary for the steaming process, remove all garbage, wash the flooring. It is recommended to carefully treat the shelves with an antiseptic composition using a brush. In addition, the ceilings and walls of the room require cleaning. At the end of cleaning, you need to open the windows and doors to ventilate the steam room well.

After preparing the steam room, you are allowed to start heating the furnace device. As a rule, the operating principle of each furnace has some peculiarities. But there are main points that are mostly the same for all types of such heating units.

Important! Ignoring the rules for lighting stoves often leads to unpleasant, sometimes tragic, consequences: carbon dioxide poisoning, heat stroke, and fire.

Before heating the sauna stove, the steam room must be in perfect order and the room well ventilated. Source termopaneli59.ru

Preparation

First of all, the remaining coals and accumulated ash should be removed from the stove. Then you can add firewood; for safety, place it at some distance from the firebox.

Stones require special preparatory work. When using a closed heater, you only need to rinse it lightly; in other cases, the stones need to be washed thoroughly.

When the bathhouse does not have a specially equipped shower, you need to check the tank for the presence of the required volume of water. It is important to remember: the water boiler connected to the stove must be filled. Otherwise, it may suddenly burst (due to the influence of extreme temperatures).

If the steam room is a separate lockable room, then the door should be closed tightly. Then open the doors or valves at the firebox, ash pan, or smoke vent. Next, the draft is checked: a candle is lit and brought closer to the stove channel. In this case, the flame should change its shape. In the absence of any reaction, there is a high probability of the chimney becoming clogged. Under such circumstances, it is recommended to climb onto the roof and remove blockages with a special cable.

For quick kindling, prepare the following materials:

birch bark (chopped), shavings, wood chips;
paper;
four dry logs that easily fit into the oven chamber.

Next, the “seed” is prepared:

Place 2 thin logs on top of the grate at a distance of the width of your palm (parallel to one another).
Crumple the paper sheet and place it between the logs.
Sprinkle in some wood chips.
Place other logs on top (preferably diagonally), leaving a little free space between them.

As a result, the paper and chips will end up inside a stable structure.

Preparing the “seed” Source i.ytimg.com

Lighting up the sauna stove

After carrying out the above preparation, all that remains is to carefully bring the lit match to the paper. It is strictly forbidden to use any flammable liquids to ignite the stove. If you have slightly damp firewood, you can use a tablet of dry alcohol. It is important to follow the instructions included with it.

As soon as the paper burns well, close the firebox door. At first (due to the presence of air pockets inside the chimney) the combustion will be weak. But after just a few minutes, the draft will normalize and the flame will increase.

After closing the combustion door, it is advisable to listen to the sounds that come from the stove. A characteristic hum will notify you that the firewood has completely ignited. Otherwise, the kindling will have to be organized again.

Attention! The flood door must be opened slightly. Otherwise, the flame will go out due to lack of air.

Functioning sauna stove Source xn--80ab1bbeg6h.xn--p1ai

Loading firewood

After the wood chips burn out, the prepared logs should be loaded into the firebox. They should not fill the combustion chamber completely. It is important to leave up to 25% unoccupied space. Then well-circulated air masses will improve the combustion process.

First you need to put paper on the coals, and then place dry firewood on top: then they will burn faster. The fuel must be stored close to the door so that all the heat does not escape into the chimney.

The frequency of tossing wood depends on its humidity, dimensions, and draft in the heating device. If you close the ash pan almost completely and open the chimney halfway, you can speed up the combustion process. Then the pebbles will heat up even faster.

When the chimney pipe becomes as hot as possible, you need to open the chimney wider and temporarily do not add fuel.

Melting the bath takes about four hours. In winter, sometimes this process will take a little longer. On the eve of finishing the fire, it is important to check the presence of carbon monoxide: blue-green flames should not appear when turning the coals. When they still occur, the combustion process must be continued.

When loading firewood, a quarter of free space should remain in the fuel chamber Source pechiexpert.ru

Final stage

At the end of the kindling, the slide valve, firebox, and vent must be closed. Then ventilate the steam room for about a quarter of an hour, and pour boiling water over the surfaces of the walls to create steam. It is worth noting that you are allowed to steam in such a bathhouse immediately, but it would be better to let it steep for a while. At first, the steam is usually excessively hot, but after a while it becomes lighter.

After completing the bath procedures, the wet room should be thoroughly dried. Home baths are rarely equipped with an exhaust system. To dry the steam room, you need to open the door and throw a small amount of firewood into the firebox. Then the stove will become part of the ventilation. Under such circumstances, the moisture disappears within 2 hours.

The process of drying a bathhouse is considered complete if the flooring is completely dry Source zen.yandex.ru

Common Questions

We dismantled several sets of old MDF furniture. Is it possible to heat a bathhouse with them?

Technically this is possible and the MDF will burn. Such fuel will provide a minimum of heat and a maximum of ash. Please also note that when MDF burns, it will release phenol-formaldehyde resin. This is a very hazardous substance to health. Plus, the resin settles on the walls of the chimney and it will be very difficult to clean it later.

How to determine if the firewood is dry enough?

To understand whether the logs are suitable for burning, just knock them against each other. When dry firewood collides, the sound will be loud and clear (like from a wooden mallet). The suitability of a material can also be determined by its weight. Wet firewood is at least twice as heavy.

Is it possible to use coal in a bathhouse instead of firewood?

It is not recommended to heat a stove in a bathhouse with coal. This is explained by the peculiarities of its combustion: first it gives off the resulting heat, as a result the system quickly warms up, and then slowly smolders, maintaining the elevated temperature. This heating method is optimal for a residential building, but not acceptable for a bathhouse. In addition, coal does not give that specific aroma that is obtained when burning wood. The charm of the firebox is lost and turns into a simple procedure for warming up the room.

When is the best time to harvest firewood?

Our grandparents, who have lived their whole lives in the village, know that in order for the firewood to be dry in winter, it must be ordered in the spring or at the end of winter. Then they will bring winter forest. And the firewood will lie all summer and autumn and dry out by next winter. Such logs will light very well and burn without smoke.

Recommendations from experienced bath attendants

Before you start lighting the stove, it is recommended to take into account these useful tips:

The logs should not be stacked too tightly in the combustion chamber; there must be free space between them (at least 5 mm). This is important to ensure sufficient air circulation.
In order to save fuel, it is possible to close the chimney damper. But then you need to carefully monitor so that smoke and carbon monoxide do not penetrate into the steam room. The latter is difficult to feel.
The condition of burning wood and the color of the flame should be monitored. The presence of incineration can be determined by the bluish-yellow flame. Then it is forbidden to close the stove valve due to the high risk of poisoning.

When firing a sauna stove, it is not the intensity of firewood combustion that is important, but its heat transfer. A huge flame and strong draft are not indicators of high-quality kindling. Over time, sauna lovers acquire the ability to achieve the desired result by burning a smaller volume of fuel for a longer period of time.

Additionally, it is recommended to follow the rules for using the heater:

You should pour water onto the pebbles using a fan. This increases the pouring area.
To generate hotter steam, the liquid must be poured into the holes between the stones: the latter should change color to reddish.
When watering pebbles, there is usually a sudden loud bang. In this case, a hissing sound during evaporation of the liquid indicates a significant decrease in the temperature in the stove.

The above useful recommendations will help you avoid mistakes in the process of organizing bath procedures, and therefore make them more enjoyable.

Polished stones provide better air circulation, but take longer to warm up than crushed stones Source remoo.ru

Construction of a Russian bath

Russian steam rooms were traditionally built of wood. Their main feature is the temperature up to + 90 Cᵒ indoors.

The Russian bathhouse consists of three rooms.

The main part of the bathhouse is the steam room. A stove and shelves are placed in the room. On them, visitors enjoy hot steam.
There is a tub of cold water in the washing room. Here they wash themselves after the steam room.
At the entrance to the room there is a dressing room. It contains cabinets for things, a table with chairs, a firebox, and firewood.

In a modern Russian bathhouse, additional space is allocated for a swimming pool and shower.