As you know, firewood runs out at the most inopportune moment and it is not easy to quickly buy fuel of the required quality. What to do, how to insure against unforeseen situations? To realize such desires, a combined stove must certainly appear in your bathhouse. Damn versatile design.
Gas-wood models
Combined sauna stoves using gas and wood appeared on the market relatively recently. Not all buyers have yet appreciated all the advantages of this type of device.
Stoves that operate on both wood and gas have approximately the same structure.
They consist of:
- outer shell – casing;
- metal firebox;
- ash box;
- main door;
- container for laying stones;
- gas burner elements (burner, filters, valves);
- fuel receiver
Principle of operation
In stoves of this type, both wood and gas can be used. You can start heating with logs or wood chips, and only then turn on automatic gas temperature maintenance. Or you can do without solid fuel altogether and use only gas. Such models are more modernized.
The principle of operation is as follows: due to air circulation, the heat that accumulated earlier is radiated. The furnace walls become very hot. To avoid their deformation, they are coated with heat-resistant paint. Due to the fact that such a stove is equipped with elements for solid and liquid fuels, it is very convenient to use.
There are several varieties of this type of device:
- reconfigurable;
- paired;
- monoblock;
- exclusive modifications.
The first devices are equipped with a removable gas burner block. These are ordinary gas devices, but if the buyer wishes, they can be equipped with equipment for burning wood.
Paired design schemes of the following type make it possible to later convert them to a specific type of fuel. If you don’t like the versatility of the stove, you can change it for gas supply or heating exclusively with wood.
In monoblock designs, there is only one common firebox for burning wood and gas. Such stoves appeared on the market relatively recently and have not yet gained the trust of buyers.
Some bathhouse owners are converting ordinary Russian stoves to gas-wood stoves. This is how various modifications appear, the functionality and safety of which are very questionable. Due to deformation of the brick from gas fuel, defects may appear and the device may not operate properly.
Criterias of choice
A combined sauna stove must meet the following parameters:
- quality. Even the most beautiful and easy-to-use design will become a pointless purchase if it is made from low-quality materials.
- no chips, cracks or dents. The presence of defects will significantly reduce the performance of the furnace and can become a health hazard. Damage to the metal or seams of the device should alert the buyer and make him refuse to purchase. After all, the gas used in the furnace can harm others.
- technical characteristics of the gas burner. Burner consumption plays an important role. Preference should be given to a product with a flow rate of up to 4 cubic meters per hour.
- product warranty. A manufacturer who is confident in the quality of its products will certainly provide a guarantee for this product. It is not recommended to buy devices of dubious origin.
- price. A good, durable gas-wood-burning sauna stove is not cheap. If you are offered a product with a low price, you should think about its quality.
The most popular are the following models:
- Sauna stove HEAT Extragas. Made of steel. Has a heated volume of 32 m³. Price from 27,000 rub.
- Hephaestus stove PB-01. Power 18 kW. Made of cast iron. Requires brick lining. Price from 60,000 rub.
- Ermak Uralochka 20. Made of steel. There is an automatic mode. Cost from 20,000 rub.
- Gas-wood sauna stove P-20GT. Steel body. For steam rooms with medium area. Cost from 19,000 rub.
- Model P-32GT. Made of steel 5 mm thick. For medium-sized double rooms. Price – from 19,000 rubles.
How does a combined sauna stove work?
When the fuel is ignited, valve 1, 4, 5 opens, then when the combustion mode is already set, valve 4 closes. When the steam room is ready, we switch the oven to idle mode - that is, we close valve 1 and open valve 2. After this, we clean the stones from soot: the heater door should be closed, valve 4 should be open, cleaning is done by briefly opening the hot water tap. Now we close the 4-valve, isolating the stones from the smoke gases, the smoke will flow through the bypass channel and continue to warm up the bathhouse.
If the temperature in the steam room drops, reconnect the tank with stones to the existing smoke circulation system. To do this, open valves-5,3,1. Valve 4 is closed.
Electric wood burning devices
A combined sauna stove can operate not only on gas, but also on electricity. Such devices are economical and environmentally friendly.
Electric wood stoves are devices made using modern materials and technologies. These combined sauna stoves use wood and electricity. They are easy to install, environmentally friendly and very convenient to use. Such models are created in order to ensure maximum heat transfer.
The devices consist of two types of parts: solid fuel and electrical. It needs to be lit with wood, and as it burns, the electric heater turns on. It ensures the further operation of the device. There can be two such heaters. They are usually located on the sides of the structure.
Advantages:
- high autonomy;
- duration of operation;
- no need to maintain a fire in the firebox.
Disadvantages include:
- connection by master only;
- electricity costs;
- the cost of the device is almost half the price of a wood-burning stove.
When choosing an electric wood stove, the same considerations apply to a gas wood stove. Only in this case should you pay attention to the electrical equipment of the product. And take into account the load of the device on the electrical network.
It is necessary to pay attention to the country of origin. Finnish, German and Swedish models are especially popular. Domestic manufacturers are just beginning to introduce new products into their production. Considering that these models appeared with us relatively recently, their choice is small.
Brick sauna stove: are there any alternatives?
Finally, let's look at what can replace a brick stove in a bathhouse.
Stone stove for a bath
We will not advise you to build the walls of the stove from real stone, but covering an iron stove with slabs of some nice stone is not a bad idea. Such a stove will cost less than a brick stove, but not that much cheaper. The advantage is that it will take up less space and will be easier to maintain. In essence, this is an alternative to a brick casing, which, by the way, is also quite good for creating a suitable stove for a Russian bath.
Stone stove for a bath
Stone casings are sold for a variety of stove models, and if we are talking about homemade products, you can always make a casing to order.
Metal stove + brick pipe
We somehow avoided in this article the question of what kind of chimney should be. It is clear that most people will not put an ordinary sandwich over a brick oven (although there are some). Such a stove requires a brick chimney, with fluff and proper cutting of the ceilings.
However, a heavy and durable brick chimney can also be installed on a regular metal stove, in particular a cast iron one, which is also not bad. More precisely, connect a metal stove to a brick pipe. In other words, the chimney is a different story. Look at the photo to see what its implementation could be like in the above-mentioned combination:
*** So, the decision is yours - there are no ideal stoves in nature, but there are those that suit us. We wish you to find exactly the one that is best for solving certain problems.
Conclusion
In addition to everyone’s favorite wood-burning stoves, there are two more types of room heating in bathhouses. These are gas-wood and electric-wood models. They are ignited using wood, and then switch to automatically maintaining the temperature using gas or wood. The designs of such products are borrowed from foreign countries.
A sauna stove, a gas-wood stove and a device operating with electricity, have one main advantage over their wood-burning predecessors: for their normal operation, they do not require constant addition of firewood. This makes them much easier for owners to use. Such devices cost much more than conventional wood-burning appliances, but the comfort justifies the price.
Choosing the right metal
Cast iron walls are best suited for a heat-resistant stove, since the metal tolerates high temperatures well and is able to retain heat for a long time. But due to the inflated price, it is often replaced with thicker steel.
It is recommended to take sheet steel with a thickness of at least 10 mm under the bottom of the internal heater. A bottom with a smaller thickness will not withstand high heat for long and will quickly burn out. The consequence will be smoke in the steam room.
The furnace walls must be made of steel with a thickness of 5 mm. With lower values, the service life of the equipment will not exceed 5 years. In factory products, the wall thickness is from 10 mm.
Users often search for:
- Bathhouse decoration
- Covering the bathhouse with clapboard
Features of installing an electric heater
For safe operation of an electric oven, it is necessary to fully comply with the manufacturer's requirements. Firstly, the consumer himself is interested in this, and secondly, this is the only way to avoid problems in the event of force majeure circumstances.
Installation requirements are simple:
- Follow the rules for connecting electrical wiring to high-power loads. This means that the cable cannot be laid inside the wall, the wiring must be inserted into the sauna through the wall, installation before entry is carried out openly along the walls of the bath;
- Grounding must be done, and separately from the general circuit. A mild steel bus in a special casing is embedded in a concrete floor;
- Maintain the minimum distances recommended by the manufacturer from the stove body to the walls, ceiling and internal lining of the bathhouse.
Electric stoves are convenient because they do not produce sparks or accidentally falling coals from the firebox. But still, the temperature of the heater is about 600°C, so at a minimum, it is better to make the site for installing the stove from a heat-resistant and non-conductive material, for example, tiles or vermiculite cardboard.
Tips for use
Electric heaters are completely safe to use if you use them strictly for their intended purpose and do not try to fry kebabs or heat food on them. They are not suitable for drying clothes and wet towels. Do not wash the stove with detergents.
And most importantly, you need to remove all available containers with water, boiling water, and flavored infusions away from the electric heater. Anything that gets inside the heater, except water, sooner or later leads to burnout of the heating element.
Overview of additional functions
Modern models with a built-in steam generator are extremely popular. What is it and what is it for? Only dry steam with minimal sauna content is beneficial for human health.
Wet air can cause burns to mucous membranes and skin. To generate steam, hot stones are usually used, onto which water is poured from a ladle.
The steam generator is a device that allows you to achieve similar results, only in an automatic way. In addition, you can add aroma oil to the steam and enjoy a pleasant aroma throughout your visit to the bathhouse.
Which manufacturers are better?
There are stoves from dozens of manufacturers on the market, so it makes little sense to list them all. It is worth mentioning only the undoubted leaders in this competition:
Domestic manufacturers
The products of indigenous Siberians from the companies Teplodar and Termofor stand out significantly from others. By the way, in terms of its performance, this equipment is several times better than its foreign analogues.
Siberians understand a real Russian bathhouse, which is reflected in their products. The cost of their equipment is much cheaper than, for example, Finnish equipment.
We can mention the products of the Breneran company, but it has proven itself more in the production of heating equipment for the home.
Foreign manufacturers
Our consumers are mostly familiar with Harvia products.
Its models have a long service life and are made in such a way as to maximize the comfort of visiting a sauna or bathhouse.
Kastor OY is not widely used in our country. But it is popular all over the world due to the introduction of the latest technological developments.
