Which sauna stove is better, wood-burning or electric: comparison of models

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When designing a bathhouse, it is important to choose the right stove. You can buy gas, wood or electric. We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of the last two types.

Advantages of wood stoves

Sauna stoves differ primarily in the type of heating. They are electric, gas, liquid fuel, wood-burning. Gas and liquid fuel ones are rarely installed in bathhouses, giving preference to electric and wood-burning ones.

Electric stoves have one huge advantage: they do not need a chimney, which greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of installation and reduces the fire hazard. But, if you compare the cost of electric “fuel” with the price of firewood, it will be significantly higher. And such a heater will not work from a regular network; it needs to be connected to a three-phase network, which is not possible everywhere.

Electric furnaces differ from each other only in power, installation method (floor-mounted or wall-mounted) and design; they are always installed in a steam room, which limits their use if the bathhouse does not have its own heating and water supply. They are selected according to these three criteria.

Electric heaters attract with their safety and original design Source r-sauna.ru

A much more difficult task is how to choose a stove for a wood-burning sauna, especially if it requires expanded functionality, and not just heating the steam room.

The main advantage of such equipment is its autonomy and lack of dependence on connection to electrical or gas networks. But there are others:

• Multifunctionality - a wood-burning stove can heat all rooms, heat water, and serve as a steam generator.
• It increases the temperature faster and heats up the stones more strongly, the heat of which determines the degree of steam formation and the “softness” of the steam.
• When wood burns, a special aroma is created - the sauna “spirit”.
• Firewood is cheaper than electricity.

Additional advantages include the traditional nature of bath procedures in a classic setting. True, this applies to a greater extent to brick stoves, but nothing prevents modern metal hearths from being covered with brick.

Construction of a brick screen around a metal furnace Source ytimg.com

Open or closed

Kamenka is the best stove for a Russian bath. Heat is accumulated by smooth cobblestones of different sizes. It is known that a heated or even heated stone remains that way for a long time.

Heaters can be open or closed. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

• Open bed oven. The air in the steam room is heated by hot stones to 250°C, heating and cooling occur quickly, maintenance is easy, and the fuel can be any kind. It is chosen for personal baths designed for a small number of visitors and infrequent use.
• Closed-type stoves are suitable for intensively used bathhouses with a large number of people. They are more powerful, so they are installed in solid brick buildings, not wooden ones. Their design eliminates burns and heats the stones better, but heating takes longer.

What criteria should you use to choose a stove?

Before choosing a stove for a bathhouse, you need to evaluate the building itself - its area, layout, floor and roof design, the possibility of supplying water and heating auxiliary premises with alternative sources. Ideally, heating equipment is selected in advance in order to plan during the construction process the location of its installation, the passage of the chimney through the floors and roof, determine the location of the firebox in the steam room or adjacent room, etc.

The main selection parameters are the material of manufacture, power, the need for a hot water tank, the location of the firebox, and the volume of the heater. And, of course, the price of the equipment and the reputation of the manufacturer.

Material of manufacture

It is difficult to say which stove is better for a bathhouse - brick or metal. Each option has its own advantages. But metal units are more popular today for the following reasons:

• there is no need to pour a foundation for them, as for heavy brick structures;
• they are very compact and take up little space;

A brick oven needs a lot of space and a reliable foundation Source stoydiz.ru

• their installation is simple, and little time is required for installation and connection;
• in case of breakdown they are easier to repair or replace;
• even very expensive models are often cheaper than brick stoves, the laying of which is considered a real art and is therefore highly valued and generously paid.

Many are also captivated by the modern design of metal units, because not everyone wants to have a bathhouse in the classic Russian style.

Wood-burning sauna stove in a modern design Source yandex.net

Having chosen the brick option, you will have to rely on the experience and skill of the stove maker, who needs to voice your wishes in advance. If you prefer a metal model, you should pay attention to the thickness of the walls, the quality of the welds and painting. Especially when purchasing handicrafts or little-known manufacturers.

Advice! The best are units made of heat-resistant chromium steel, which does not oxidize due to high temperatures and absorbs oxygen from the air of the combustion room. The air in it remains clean.

See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in the installation of fireplaces and stoves

Hot water tank

If there is no water supply to the building or there is only summer water supply, you need to think about how to choose a stove for a wood-burning sauna with a water tank. Or rather, to heat it, since bringing cold water is not a problem, but to make it hot, you need a container, the contents of which will be heated by the fire of burning wood.

On a note ! For a family of 3-5 people, a tank with a volume of 80-100 liters is sufficient, since the water in it is heated to a high temperature and is diluted with cold water.

Stoves with tanks come in different types - the so-called “samovar”, hinged and with a heat exchanger.

• Tank-samovar.

Wood-burning samovar-type heater Source superpechi.ru
Tanks of this type are mounted on a chimney above the heater and are heated by them. Can only be located in the steam room.

Advice! It is advisable to cover the samovar with a lid so that the water does not evaporate uncontrollably and does not increase the air humidity.

• Mounted tank.

A mounted or attached tank is installed on the firebox, on the side of it, or connected to the combustion chamber with a pipe - it is heated directly from the firebox Source bashpechi.ru

• Tank with heat exchanger.

Tank installation options Source indclimat.ru
In this design, a heat exchanger in the form of a small sealed container is placed in the firebox and connected to the main water tank by tubes.
When heated, the water circulates through them back and forth. When deciding which stove to put in a bathhouse with a separate steam room, it is better to choose this option, in which the tank can be located both in the steam room and in any adjacent room - a shower or washing room.

Ease of use

Briefly about the main thing

It is difficult to say which stove is better for a bath - wood-burning or electric, brick or cast-iron. Everyone has their own preferences, and one bathhouse is not like another.

If we talk about solid fuel units, which are the most in demand, then their choice is based on several criteria. This is the power required for high-quality heating, the material of manufacture, the presence of a tank necessary for preparing hot water for washing.

The most important design feature is the location of the combustion chamber, which can be built-in or remote, allowing you to heat the bath not from the steam room, but from the dressing room.

True lovers of bathing procedures should pay attention to the type and volume of the heater, on which the quality of the steam depends.

A huge range of sauna stoves produced in our country and abroad allows you to find equipment that meets any requirements.

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Bath stones

The stones, together with the stove, heat the sauna, so you need to select them consciously. First of all, they must be absolutely intact, smooth, without chips, pores, or cracks. Such flaws can tear apart the stone being watered, the fragments of which can injure visitors. It is better to take small round specimens with a diameter of five to seven centimeters, because this way air circulates more easily between them. Soapstone, jadeite, black basalt, crimson quartzite, diabase are suitable.

Pros and cons of combination stoves

Such designs can maximally warm up bath rooms of different sizes in a short time. The efficiency of combined stoves is quite high. In addition, they are easy to install, easy to maintain and comply with all fire safety standards. Combination stoves are compact, which allows them to be built even in small spaces. The main advantage of bath structures is their versatility. Depending on the current situation, you can heat the bathhouse only with wood or exclusively with gas or electricity. The disadvantage of any combination stoves is their high cost compared to a wood-burning design.

If we evaluate the advantages of different types, then the advantage of gas-wood stoves will be their efficiency. Gas and firewood are relatively cheap types of fuel. Correctly installed and adjusted automation works independently and does not require additional measures to maintain its functionality. But its assembly and installation is carried out only by representatives of the gas service who have the necessary license to carry out such work.

The advantage of electric wood stoves is that they are heated by wood and electricity at the same time. There is no need to monitor the fire in the firebox, since the heat will be maintained by the operation of the heating elements, while preserving the aroma of the firewood. Among the disadvantages, we highlight the need to connect to the network by a specialist, as well as the energy consumption for heating the steam room.

In what cases is electric suitable?

• When there are restrictions on the number of kilowatts per site and in order to install an electric furnace, you need to increase their number. Sometimes this is more expensive than buying a wood burner.
• If the bathhouse is designed for a wood stove.

• If there are technical limitations that make it impossible to install a chimney. For example, if the bathhouse is located in the basement of a house, it will be difficult to remove the pipe and the structure will be unreliable.

Types of combined stoves

Steam room owners are increasingly interested in innovative solutions in the manufacture of sauna heating devices. Such innovations include gas-wood and electric-wood designs. New models of combined units deserve close attention, since they do not require constant monitoring of their operation and free up time for taking health procedures.

Gas-wood stove for a bath

These designs are interesting because they can operate on both gas and solid fuels. Thus, you can choose what is more profitable to heat the bathhouse at the moment. To combine two types of fuel in one stove, it contains removable elements for the use of gas (in the form of a gas burner) and for the use of firewood (grate, ash pan and combustion chamber). This unit also includes a heater.

There are several mixed-type structures with different internal structures.

The stove uses both main gas and liquefied bottled propane. The cylinders can be buried in the ground, thereby providing heating for the bathhouse for a long time. The combined unit is ignited using an igniter, which is manually adjusted, and a gas burner.

The stones can be heated directly above the flame or in a closed box when flue gases pass through them. Suitable stones for the stove are gabbro-diabase, porphyrite, dunite, soapstone, quartz, jade and jadeite, ranging in size from 5 to 10 cm. To ensure air circulation, they are placed as follows: the largest ones are placed on the bottom, and the smallest ones on top. The heater is filled to the brim, but not higher. It is allowed to place a raised area up to 5 cm high in the center.

The stones should not be laid too tightly; after they are laid, there should be air gaps between them. For the stove to work, it is very important that hot air flows around the stones and heats them quickly. In an open heater, steam is produced by splashing a ladle onto the cobblestones. Closed - using a steam gun.

For a gas-wood construction, the uninterrupted operation of the security system is of great importance. The gas should turn off when:

• impaired traction;
• extinguished igniter;
• excessive heating of the steam room.

It is not recommended to heat a gas-wood stove with coal, as the high temperature may cause the metal parts of the structure to burn out.

Operating principle of the furnace

If you want to take a steam bath in a classic sauna, you can easily switch to burning heating equipment with wood. In this case, it is enough to remove the gas burner elements, hang the door and install the grate. But you need to wait until the heat exchanger cools down completely.

In monoblock and twin stoves, there is no need for conversion, and after using firewood, you can switch to using gas. In this case, the gas combustion temperature at a certain level will be maintained automatically. To connect a gas-wood device, you will have to order a project and obtain permission.

Electric wood stove

The combined design for the sauna maintains the desired temperature in the steam room and the heating intensity of the stones automatically. Such a stove is first heated with wood, since the power of the electric heating element is small and is not suitable for kindling. After the solid fuel burns out, the temperature in the boiler begins to decline, and the electrical circuit will automatically close. That is, the operating principle of such a stove is that when the temperature drops, the heating elements turn on.

They are able to maintain the required temperature in the steam room for quite a long time. You can leave it running overnight to use the steam room in the morning. After loading the next portion of firewood, the heating elements turn off automatically. The combined unit can be controlled remotely. In this case, the power-on signal will be reflected on the mobile device.

Electric wood stoves are connected to a network with 220 W and a three-phase voltage of 380 V.

Furnace structure

Alder firewood - buy with delivery to St. Petersburg and Leningrad region

High-quality dry chopped firewood is not a problem in the Leningrad region today. Feel free to arrange a sauna with a firebox for wood and a heater - the heating element of the steam room.

It is better to install the stove-stove in the steam room, and the firebox through the wall. Firewood needs to be constantly added - there is no need to do this in the steam room, releasing heat out the door and covering the floor in the steam room with dust.

Let's talk about the properties of the firewood we have. Alder firewood is not inferior to birch and coniferous firewood in healing properties and, in addition, has a number of advantages:

• the smoke is weak and not pungent, there is practically no soot;
• do not crack;
• flare up quickly;
• give a beautiful flame with pleasant greenish tints.

Alder firewood has another wonderful side effect: it produces especially tasty smoked fish and shish kebab.

Boiler installation

When installing equipment, all the requirements for wood-burning stoves and electric boilers are summed up, and this must be taken into account. First of all, you will have to insulate the surface of the floor and adjacent walls from the effects of temperature. An asbestos slab is installed under the boiler, which simultaneously serves as a flat base and protects the floor covering from fire. Similar measures will have to be taken to protect the wall finishing.

The installation location of the combined device should be dictated by the presence of a water main junction, the installation features of the heating system, and the possibility of installing a chimney pipe.

In order not to load the household network, a separate line should be allocated for electric heating. Such work can only be carried out by representatives of the electrical network service department.

Boiler