Black sauna: what is it?

Modern baths are about comfort. Entire bathhouse complexes, including relaxation areas, fonts and other delights of progress, have little in common with the classic Russian bathhouse.

At the dawn of its existence, the bathhouse was a small building, often half dug into the ground. It was made from logs of deciduous trees. There was at most one window in the wall. However, the benefits of soaring in such a hut were incredible. Later, the baths began to improve, new amenities and features appeared.

Today, the majority prefers the standard white bathhouse, undeservedly depriving attention of its original version. But what’s so special about a black sauna?

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Black bathhouse is part of Russian culture

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 Orthodox science habitually refers us to official historical documents - the “Chronicles of Bygone Years” (XII century).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

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

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

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

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

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

The Russian black bathhouse had its own rules:

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

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

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

Furnace structure

You can make a wood-burning stove for a sauna yourself or buy a ready-made model. The stove must be designed and located in such a way that all rooms in the bathhouse are heated.

Among the ready-made options you can purchase the following designs:

Steel. This device is the cheapest option. A steel stove heats up quite quickly, but cools down just as quickly, so you will need a large amount of firewood for kindling.

Brick. Making a brick structure yourself is quite difficult. To kindle such a structure you need a lot of firewood. However, having melted the stove well, you no longer need to add firewood - the device can retain heat for 14 hours.

Cast iron boilers. Not the most suitable option for a Russian bath. If the temperature fluctuates sharply, the device will quickly fail.

A separate area is allocated and equipped for installation of the device. The chimney is installed in such a way that the outer walls of the pipe are at least 40 centimeters from the rafter system.

To better understand the structure of a wood-burning stove, you need to familiarize yourself with the manufacturing technology of the device.

An iron stove can be made as follows:

A pipe with a diameter of 50 centimeters is cut into pieces of 90 and 60 centimeters. A large piece of pipe is used to make a heater stove, and a small piece is used to make a heating tank for water.
A hole 20 by 5 centimeters is cut in a long piece of pipe. A round steel plate needs to be welded above the cutout. The thickness of the plate must be at least 1.2 cm.
For the manufacture of fuel grates, sheet cast iron is most often used. The grate is installed in the blower chamber.
To install the combustion chamber in the pipe, you need to cut a niche. The combustion door is made of a metal plate. The door size will be 25 by 30 centimeters.

A container for pebbles is made from a piece of pipe 35 centimeters long. Approximately half of the volume is filled with pebbles and covered on top with a circle of steel.
A coupling 5 centimeters wide is made from a steel tire. Its thickness should be at least 5 millimeters. The product must be welded to the body and a water tank must be attached.
To make a tank you will need a steel circle about one centimeter thick. A hole with a diameter of 15 centimeters is made in the circle for the chimney pipe. The chimney must be welded to the base of the circle, which is the bottom of the water tank.
At a distance of 35 centimeters from the water tank, a platform made of steel sheet 30 centimeters wide is attached.
At the bottom of the tank there will be a hole for water supply. Opposite it it is necessary to weld a faucet with a water valve.
The last step will be to install the door into the combustion chamber.

Parameters, design, differences from a traditional bath

A black sauna must have:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preparation and storage

Recommendations for preparation:

Solid fuel can be prepared from the beginning of autumn until the end of winter. During this period, the flow of sap inside the tree stops. Frozen stumps are easier to split.
You cannot cut down trees without special permission.
It is better to use a chainsaw to cut wood.

Can be used to store solid fuel

Homemade woodpile. Place the pallets lengthwise on the ground near the fence. The ends are limited with wooden stakes that need to be driven into the ground. It is better to use 3-4 racks on each side. Arrange the logs with their ends facing outward to the desired height along the entire length of the woodpile. When laying firewood, you need to make a slope towards the fence so that the firewood does not spill. The top of the solid fuel must be covered with slate or thick plastic film.
Barn. Made from boards. The base can be made of brick, gas or foam concrete blocks. The firebox should be closed on three sides to protect the fuel from slanting rain. The roof should have a slope in one direction so that precipitation rolls down.

It is important to think through the process of drying logs. In industrial conditions, wood is dried in special chambers, inside which it is exposed to high temperatures or magnetic radiation, but this is an expensive procedure

To save money, you can carry out natural drying. To do this, the firewood needs to be laid out under a canopy at a distance from each other. With good air circulation, the logs will dry out faster.

Choosing firewood for heating a stove in a bathhouse is difficult. To do this, you need to study the characteristics of individual wood species. The choice depends on the desired effect and the availability of funds. If there are no financial problems, it is recommended to use oak or ash firewood. The most popular options in terms of price/quality ratio are birch and linden.

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

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

All features of a black sauna:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The foundation of everything is the head

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

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

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

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

Let's dance from the stove

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

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

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

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

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

We chop the log house into paw

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

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

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

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

Pros and comfort of using a steam room

The benefits of a black sauna:

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

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

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

Preparation and storage of firewood

Harvesting firewood in the forest is only possible with special permission. You can order ready-made, chopped logs.

Rules for storing solid fuel:

The logs should not lie too close to each other. There should be air circulation so that they dry faster.
You cannot store firewood on the ground. It is better to prepare a separate place outside for storing logs.
It is difficult to build a separate firewood shed, but in it the firewood will be protected from precipitation and will dry faster.

You can buy a metal firewood rack.

Knowing how to light a wood-fired sauna and maintain the flame, you can safely begin sauna procedures. It is recommended to prepare fuel in advance so that the logs have time to dry before use.

At the same time, it is important to choose a fuel that will produce maximum heat and emit a pleasant aroma.

Health Benefits

Health benefits of regularly using a black sauna:

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

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

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

Steaming in a steam bath, melted black, means:

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

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

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

Harm and inconvenience

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

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

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

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

Features of modern black baths

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

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

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

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

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

Location on the site, construction details

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

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

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

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

Stones and firewood

Basaltic volcanic rocks are considered ideal for a black bath:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What kind of wood to heat the bathhouse with?

No matter how strange it may sound, the bathhouse should be heated only with dry wood. It is simply not wise to use wet and poorly dried ones. Firstly, it is difficult to light the stove. Secondly, such logs burn poorly. Thirdly, a lot of acrid smoke is generated. Fourthly, due to lower heat transfer, you will have to burn a much larger amount compared to dry ones. Fifthly, raw firewood will never create a high temperature in a steam room, and this is a real problem for a true sauna connoisseur.

Firewood for a bath should be chosen of medium size. It is approximately 6-8 cm in diameter. Logs that are too small burn out very quickly, and therefore you have to frequently add new portions. This option does not look entirely economical. Larger firewood burns much longer, but does not produce the optimal temperature. Conclusion - choose the average size.

Birch firewood for a bath

Wood, as you know, is often susceptible to rotting. But it is not recommended to heat a bathhouse with wood so rotten and spoiled by insects. The entire healing effect of the steam room may be lost. Since, along with rot, spores of various molds and fungi can get into the bathhouse. This arrangement of things will not have a very good effect on the body.

Now about something else, which wood species should you prefer? Of course, it is best to heat a bathhouse with birch. You can’t go anywhere without this “Russian beauty.” She will give you a fluffy birch broom and heat the stove perfectly. Birch wood gives a very high combustion temperature. This is due to the fact that it contains tar, which burns simply amazingly. Birch firewood is the best firewood for a sauna. Even coal (of course, not all brands) often cannot compare with them in terms of the amount of heat generated.

Other hardwoods are less effective for saunas, and firewood from oak or linden is much more expensive than birch. Poplar and aspen are also used to fire the stove, but they generate much less heat. By the way, aspen is often used to naturally clean chimneys. The flame of this tree is capable of burning soot in all smoke channels of the stove.

In Siberia and the East of our country, coniferous trees often act as firewood. For example, fir or Christmas tree burn well due to the presence of resin, but have a more pungent smoke. Such firewood produces excessive sparks during combustion. You can often see sparks flying out of the pipe, which can travel tens of meters. This is not good in terms of fire safety of the bathhouse. Spark arrestors will not hurt in this case.

Inventory and accessories

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

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

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