Installation of a sauna stove on a wooden floor. Installation of the floor in the bath: the choice and processing of wood, tips and tricks for the device
It is necessary to install a metal bath stove taking into account its weight, as well as starting from the fire safety requirements prescribed in SNiP. The wooden floor on which the heating unit will be installed must be protected from spontaneous ignition. An important point is the calculation of the strength of the floor, because even the smallest heater with a water tank is a serious load on wooden floors.
Bath metal stoves are electric or solid fuel. And the installation of wood-burning units has the greatest number of difficulties, which will be discussed further.
A sauna wood-burning stove is traditionally located in the steam room, however, the firebox door can go into the next room, into the street, or the firewood is loaded from the steam room.
In the first case, when the firebox is brought into the dressing room or washing room, oxygen is not burned out in the steam room, and one unit heats two rooms at once. At the same time, this option implies the arrangement of fire protection not only for the wooden floor, but also for the walls of the bath. In addition, there is difficulty in installing the furnace - if the installation hole was not provided during construction, it becomes necessary to break / cut out part of the interior partition.
The second option, when the firebox goes outside, is associated with similar installation problems. In addition, the disadvantages include increased heat loss and the inconvenience of regulating the intensity of fuel combustion, throwing firewood (you will have to leave the bathhouse outside).
The third option is one of the most common. The stove is mounted on an existing wooden floor with the obligatory arrangement of a fireproof base under the stove and protection of the wall located behind the stove. The problem of burning oxygen is solved by installing effective ventilation. Often, an air supply is equipped from an underground room (irrelevant for a monolithic foundation - slabs). It is easy to keep an eye on the stove installed in this way during the steaming procedure, but there is not always a place in the steam room for storing firewood and protecting it from getting wet.
Regardless of where the furnace door is facing, the unit must be installed at a safe distance from visitors to the steam room so as not to provoke burns from accidentally touching hot metal or hot steam from stones.
Calculations
A metal stove, together with a heater, a water tank and a chimney, has a certain weight. Particularly massive are cast-iron units, as well as brick-lined ovens.
If a foundation is laid under the stove, as well as in the case of a reflective brick screen, the load on the beams and floor boards is very significant. Before installing the stove, you should find out its weight, then calculate the strength of the floors so that the floor does not break under the unit under any circumstances.
Floor beams can be made from solid hardwood deciduous / coniferous trees, provided they are up to 5 meters long. If it is necessary to use beams over 5 meters long, it is better to use glued beams that can withstand increased loads.
Beam 10×15 cm, array
It is important to know the exact length of the beam. This value is taken equal to the length of the span that will cover the lag plus the depth of the “nest” or notch made to fasten the element. The length of the notches is usually from 70 to 150 mm.
The cross section of the beams is chosen rectangular or square, less often - an I-profile (a combination of solid wood and OSB / plywood). The best ratio of the section of a rectangular beam is 1.4 to 1. The beams are made with a width of 40 to 200 mm and a height of 100 to 300 mm. A rounded log (11-30 cm) is rarely used for arranging the floor in a bath, despite its high resistance to bending deformation.
The step between the beams is usually chosen in the range of 30-120 mm, guided by the width of the slab insulation, the location of the support posts of the frame bath, or the dimensions of the subfloor filing sheets.
On a note! To calculate the floor load, you can use online services. Each of them requires entering accurate information about the type of beams and lag, section, dimensions.
Calculator calculation (Excel format).
According to the code of building codes under the number 2.01.07-85, any loads are divided into:
- permanent (they are also long-term) - from interior partitions and external walls, roofs, soil pressure, etc .;
- variables, i.e. arising from the furniture installed in the bath, equipment (including stove) and visitors, as well as snow, wind loads and some others.
Rigidity is characterized by the ratio of the deflection to the length of the beam (beam). This indicator for interfloor beams is 1/350.
The values of the breaking maximum load on the beams are presented in the table.
Video - Floor Calculations
Accurate calculations of the maximum load on a wooden floor are quite complex, they are performed by specialists when designing large objects. For the bath floor on which the stove will be installed, approximate maximum load values can be used.
Thus, if the heater, together with the base plate and other structural elements, weighs no more than 400 kg, then it can be installed on floors with support logs of the following sizes:
- if the step between the lags is 60 cm, then the dimensions with a span of 2 meters are 75 × 100 mm, 3 m - 75 × 200 mm, 4 m - 100 × 200 mm, 5 m - 150 × 200 mm; 6 m - 150 × 225 mm;
- if the step between the lags is 1 m, then the dimensions with a span length of 2 m - 75 × 150 mm, 3 m - 100 × 175 mm, 4 m - 175 × 200 mm, 5 m - 150 × 225 mm, 6 m - 175 × 250 mm.
If your oven weighs more, then it is worth reducing the step between the lags or increasing their cross section. Furnaces weighing more than 700 kg require a separate base that is not connected to the main foundation. It is unacceptable to install such structures on a wooden floor. However, only brick sauna stoves with brick chimneys have such weight.
On a note! Bath - a room of increased fire danger. Use fire and bioprotective impregnation for all wooden elements of the bath before installing the stove on the floor.
Video - Ermak oven. Installation
Foundation for a sauna stove
Those who build a bath with their own hands often think about the advisability of arranging a foundation for an iron stove. It would seem that the unit weighs relatively little, you can lay a sheet of metal and use it. However, according to the assurances of the fire inspectorate and according to the norms of SNiP, flammable surfaces must be reliably isolated from hot surfaces.
A properly built base will also ensure a long service life for the oven. at the slightest distortion, metal heaters fail faster.
Option one
We equip the simplest non-combustible base directly on the wooden floor.
Step 1. We make measurements of the dimensions of the furnace. We transfer the dimensions of the heater to the floor boards (in the place where the stove will be installed). We take a meter ruler and expand the drawn rectangle so that in the future, in front of the firebox, the wooden floorboards are covered with steel by 50 cm, and on the other three sides the refractory plate “peeps out” at least 5-10 cm.
If at the furnace the furnace door is taken out to the next room, then in front of the loading chamber we make markings for steel flooring (50 cm), and in the steam room we make markings for the furnace foundation (plus 10 cm to the dimensions of the furnace). At the same time, we make markings on the wall for cutting the opening. If the stove is purchased factory-made, then the dimensions are indicated in the instructions, in the case of installing home-made stove equipment, the distance between the metal walls of the heater and the inner surface of the completed window is 25-50 cm.
If the firewood will be loaded from the street, you should only take care of the markings inside the room. It is assumed that the area in front of the firebox door will be filled with concrete or lined with non-combustible paving slabs.
Step 2 If necessary, we break out or cut out part of the interior partition (the outer wall of the house).
Step 3. We take a refractory plate and cut out a piece that is identical in size to the mark drawn on the floor. The prices for some types of plates can be found in the table.
We fasten the plate to the floor with self-tapping screws.
Step 4 We soak refractory bricks in water (you can use full-bodied red ones, but fireclay is preferable). We mix the mortar for masonry.
We lay out the bricks in a continuous layer. Adjust the horizontal level. If necessary, tap the bricks with a mallet or add a layer of masonry mortar.
Brick laying. Scheme
Lay out the second row in the same way as the first.
Step 5 We take a stainless steel sheet, apply heat-resistant glue diluted according to the manufacturer's instructions on it. We lay the sheet on the bricks, tap with a mallet, check the level.
It is possible to install the furnace on such basis in 24-48 hours.
Option two
If the design of the furnace is too massive, and the floors are not strong enough, it is worth making a separate foundation that is not connected with the main support of the house. Such work is carried out at the construction stage of the bath or after the completion of construction. Moreover, the second option involves the manufacture of a rectangular or square hole in the floor, associated with dismantling.
Step 1. For the foundation of the sauna stove, you will need a pit with dimensions slightly larger than the size of the stove. Such a pit should be dug until the freezing point of the soil.
Step 2 We compact the soil with a manual rammer. We fall asleep 20 cm of fine gravel, ram it. On top of the gravel, we backfill with sand (10-15 cm), followed by tamping.
Step 3. We equip waterproofing - we close the walls of the pit with roofing material or a two-layer thick plastic film.
Step 4 We make a frame from reinforcement rods. The distance from the walls and bottom of the pit to the frame is 5 cm. We use supports for the lower row of reinforcement or stick pins into the pillow, on which we fix the rods with wire or welding.
Step 5 Mixing concrete. We pour it into the pit. From the top point of the poured concrete to the line of the finished wooden floor, 20 cm should remain. We compact the concrete with a deep vibrator and cover it with two layers of roofing material. To fasten the layers of roofing material, we use bituminous mastic.
It is recommended to continue work after 21-28 days. To shorten this period, instead of concrete pouring, you can make brickwork to the line of the finished floor. In the case considered above, only two rows of bricks are laid out to the finishing floor line.
A sheet of steel is laid on the floor in front of the firebox or ceramic tiles are laid out. This coating will protect the wooden floor from fire in the event of coal falling out.
Video - Foundation for the furnace
Furnace, tank and chimney installation
The sauna stove is installed on the equipped refractory base without fastening to it.
If the firebox is remote (goes into the next room), then a brick is laid out in the wall opening, and there must be a gap between the masonry and the metal walls, which is necessary for laying heat-resistant sheet insulation. The gaps between the masonry and the wooden wall are foamed with mounting foam, and refractory mastic (sealant) is used to seal the joints of a metal furnace with a brick portal.
If the firebox is located in the steam room, then the wall behind the stove is closed with solid brickwork (in half a brick) or covered with a stainless steel sheet 3-5 mm thick. In this case, the oven must be at least 10 cm from the wall.
Note! Preliminary kindling of the furnace before installation is a mandatory procedure prescribed by manufacturers of solid fuel units. This is necessary for the complete hardening of the body paint and to eliminate the appearance of smell in the steam room from chemical fumes that may appear during heating.
Video - Oven water tanks
Chimney sandwich. Installation
Sandwich chimney pipes are easy to install and are characterized by increased heat saving due to the mineral wool insulation between the outer and inner walls. Such a chimney provides good draft, and soot and condensate do not accumulate on the inner surface. For the production of sandwich chimneys, only acid-resistant stainless steel with a long service life is used. Therefore, for a sauna stove, such a chimney is considered the best option.
During installation, it is important to observe fire safety measures in order to avoid spontaneous combustion of the wooden floors of the bath (wood ignites at a temperature of 170-270 degrees).
Do not make mistakes during installation and try to save insulating materials!
Fire protection is provided by galvanized sheets and asbestos fiber laid between the walls of the chimney and the ceiling. It is important to choose the length of the chimney so that a pipe joint does not form at the location of the ceiling. If the chimney pipe has a length of more than 6 m, then additional fixation is carried out with brackets and clamps.
Step 1. On the ceiling above the installed sauna stove, we make markings for mounting the cutting pipe.
Step 2 According to the markup, we cut the ceiling.
We apply flame retardant impregnation to wooden elements.
Step 3 We insert a cutting pipe into the cut hole (a metal box with a hole for the pipe).
We fix it with self-tapping screws in the corners. Between the ceiling and the steel walls of the pipe we insert sheet asbestos or basalt insulation.
According to the norms, the thickness of the insulation should be 7-7.5 cm (that is, this is the distance between the walls of the box and the ceiling ceiling). The minimum distance from the pipe walls to the beams is 130 mm. And from the chimney to the walls of the bath there should be a distance of at least 380 mm.
Step 4 Directly to the furnace pipe we connect (by welding or to a refractory sealant) a section of an uninsulated single-circuit pipe. It is impossible to connect a sandwich chimney directly to the stove pipe - the insulation will burn. On the same section of the chimney, it is necessary to mount a gate (smoke damper).
Step 5 We connect a single-circuit pipe with a start-sandwich (adapter). All connections are sealed.
Step 6. We connect the first section of the sandwich chimney to the adapter. We connect sections of the sandwich chimney in the bathhouse not “by condensate”, but “by smoke”, that is, the walls of the upper element must overlap the walls of the lower section of the pipe (see figure).
We additionally strengthen the straight sections of the chimney at the joints with wide metal clamps.
When the chimney is brought out through the cutting pipe, we put on a rectangular steel sheet from the side of the attic. We fix the sheet with self-tapping screws to the floor boards.
Chimney installation is a responsible matter
Step 7 We bring the chimney to the roof. Cut a hole in the roof. To pass the pipe through the roof, a special element is used - roof cutting. This is a pipe with an aluminum sheet soldered to it. We lubricate the aluminum sheet with refractory sealant, and then fasten it to the roofing material (for example, metal tiles) with self-tapping screws.
Roof cutting will not allow the chimney to come into contact with the materials of the roofing pie. From the inside (under the roof), we perform sealing with basalt insulation and close it with a steel sheet. Sheet in advance, i.e. until the pipe is brought out through the roof, we put it on the chimney.
Step 8 The last stage is the calculation of the elevation of the chimney above the roof of the bath. You can specify this indicator in the table.
It remains only to fix the cone-deflector. Installation completed.
Video - Installation of a chimney for a sauna stove
In order for a metal sauna stove installed on a wooden floor to work efficiently, and soaring procedures have a healing effect, do not forget to lay high-quality stones, for example, by attaching a special mesh to the stove body for them. Facing the furnace with bricks is optional, but without fail leaving a gap between the body and the brickwork.
Proper installation of the stove in the bath provides for compliance with fire safety rules. Existing fire safety regulations stipulate the need for fire breaks, insulation of walls adjacent to the body and chimney, as well as a non-combustible base for installation.
The best location of the stove is determined - safe and at the same time providing uniform heating of the steam room.
Where to put the stove in the bath
Several factors influence the choice of a place to place a sauna stove:- The type of construction - the installation of an iron bath stove with a remote firebox in the bath somewhat limits the choice of location. Modern models are equipped with a telescopic firebox. If necessary, you can increase the length of the firebox by adjusting the size to the thickness of the partition.
- The principle of operation - with rare exceptions, stove equipment for a bath uses the principle of air heating of a room. To ensure uniform heating of the steam room, the stove is installed in a place with minimal interference in the path of convection currents.
- Heating efficiency– it is recommended that the combustion chamber be as close as possible to the base of the floor. This arrangement will provide improved air flow and uniform heating of the steam room.
Some owners put the stove, deepening it by 10-15 cm, which allows you to increase heat transfer and the heating temperature of the flooring. The solution is efficient. But, installing the stove significantly below the floor level, although theoretically possible, is inconvenient. You will have to make a pit of sufficient size to make it possible to put firewood into the firebox from it.
If you correctly install the stove in a bath with a firebox from the dressing room, it will be possible to simultaneously heat two adjacent rooms. For safety, the tunnel for the elongated combustion channel is made 5-10 cm larger in size. The gaps are filled with non-combustible insulation. Then they are closed with special overlays that come with the furnace equipment.
A detailed diagram of the installation of the stove in a bath with a firebox from a dressing room is described in the instruction manual.
Fire safety when installing a sauna stove
The fire safety rules for installing an iron stove in a bath stipulate the requirements associated with the mandatory observance of fire breaks and measures aimed at preventing accidents.The body and the chimney pipe, during the firebox, are very hot. Over time, wood that is under constant thermal stress oxidizes, which causes ignition, even without the presence of an open flame. For this reason, fire safety requirements when installing a stove in a sauna room require compliance with three important rules:
- Provide safe distances between the furnace body and walls made of combustible materials.
- Install the oven on a non-flammable base.
- Use fire retardant material to reduce the thermal load on walls located near highly heated parts of the furnace.
Use flame retardant material to insulate the stove and chimneys, a prerequisite for safe operation.
The distance from the stove to the wall of the bath
The PPB indicates fire safety distances - gaps that prevent possible ignition. The rules state:- A gap of 110 - 125 cm is left between the furnace body and the wall of combustible material. After thermal insulation, the distance is reduced to 50-80 cm.
- Direction away from the opening door of the combustion chamber, minimum distance 120 cm.
Furnaces with a remote tunnel to an adjacent room are physically impossible to remove at a sufficient distance. Therefore, the partition between the steam room and the dressing room is made of non-combustible material: brick or GVL slab.
How to install a stove on a wooden floor in a bath
The stove in the bath is installed from the floor, at a level as close as possible to the base, or 10-15 cm below it. This norm is easier to comply with if the foundation and the place for installation were prepared in advance.In the case of concrete floors lined with ceramic tiles, the stove is installed without the need for additional protection of the base. Wooden floors will need to be protected from fire: 
Metal furnaces weigh up to 80 kg. The rules for installing a metal sauna stove on a wooden floor in a bathhouse do not indicate the need for a full-fledged foundation for installation. The regulations are aimed at protecting wooden floors from fire.
How to insulate the walls around the stove
Thermal insulation of the furnace from a wooden wall, a mandatory norm. The surface of combustible materials is protected in several ways:- Brickwork.
- Ceramic tiles - you can clad the walls around the stove by sewing them (in the case of wooden walls) with pre-gypsum fiber board (GVL).
- Heat-insulating material - for protection, special heat-resistant plates for wall cladding or basalt wool are used. The material is fixed to the surface with the help of hardware. The surface is covered with galvanized or stainless steel.
Installation of a chimney in a bath
There are basic recommendations for installing a chimney. The flue gas temperature reaches 450-550°C. An ordinary metal pipe is heated red-hot.Safety standards stipulate that it is not enough just to isolate the stove from a wooden wall, it is necessary to protect the surface in contact with the chimney.
Fire-prevention cutting is necessarily provided in places where the chimney passes through the floor slabs and the roof.
Choice of chimney type
For connecting a sauna stove and stainless steel. Each option has its own advantages and purpose:- Ceramics - the chimney is used for internal connection. The pipe passes through the floor slab and the roof. The advantage of ceramics is durability, resistance to aggressive and acidic environments, and the almost complete absence of condensation.
- Sandwich chimney - both internal and external laying is provided. In the second case, the pipe is taken out to the street through the side wall.
Sandwich chimney and ceramics are assembled according to the type of designer. Self-assembly is not difficult. To facilitate installation, manufacturers provide step-by-step instructions with a detailed description of the work.
All component materials used in the installation of chimneys must comply with existing SNiP and PPB. Not recommended for use
Throughout the passage of the chimney, adjacent walls protect against thermal loading. Proper wall insulation technology includes:
- Treatment of a wooden surface with antipyrine.
- Thermal insulation laying.
- Facing with heat-resistant finishing materials for facing heated walls.
Compliance with the PPB standards protects the bath from fire and makes visiting it safe and comfortable.
Particular attention should be paid to the placement of the stove in the bath, it should completely warm up the entire room (and preferably not only the steam room), but at the same time not interfere, not pose a danger. One of the important points that you need to decide before buying a stove is where it will be heated from. There are two options: install the heater in the steam room completely or move the fuel door to an adjacent room. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.
If the stove is completely in the steam room, it is easier to control the intensity of combustion, but then in a usually not very large room, you also need to find a place for firewood. And one more important point: with this arrangement of the furnace, oxygen is actively burned out in the room, which is not good at all. It will be necessary to make an effective ventilation system in order to replenish it in a timely manner. When placing the sauna stove completely in the steam room, it will also be necessary to separately organize the heating of the remaining rooms. If in summer this is not a problem - and without heating it is warm enough to undress and wash, then in the cold season heating in each room should be mandatory.
The location of the fuel door in another room significantly reduces the degree of oxygen burning in the steam room. If the furnace body is made of chemically inert materials (stainless steel or brick), then the process becomes quite insignificant.
This option has another plus: at least two rooms are heated from one stove: both the steam room and the room where the firebox is placed. That is, in this way two important problems are solved at once.
The question remains with the location of the firewood, but it has to be solved already in the washing room or dressing room (where the fuel door of the stove is usually located), and there is much more space there. True, in the washing room you need to think of everything so that water does not fall on the firewood. Problematic, but possible.
Now about the cons: if there is no one to monitor the stove, you have to leave the steam room and regulate the intensity of combustion. For some, this is not a problem, but for some it is not pleasant. It is worth noting another negative point: the installation of a sauna stove with an external firebox is more difficult. There should be a large enough hole in the wall in which the remote firebox is installed. It is then covered with thermal insulation and refractory materials. If this was not provided for when designing the bath, you have to disassemble / cut out part of the wall.
A remote firebox can be installed not only in an adjacent room. You can take it outside. But this option has more minuses than pluses: running outside to lay firewood is already completely inconvenient. You also have to think about heating the dressing room. But sometimes the removal of the firebox to the street is done due to the fact that they use not firewood, but b. Then the coal dust does not rush into the bath, besides, the products of combustion and the smell also remain on the street.
Regardless of where you are going to install the stove, you need to pay attention to which direction the firebox door opens: in the open position, it should not interfere with laying fuel. Some ovens are designed so that the door can be hung, but you should pay attention to this before buying.
How to embed a stove into a bath wall
When installing a sauna stove between two rooms, it is important to follow fire safety rules. This is especially true for walls made of combustible materials. If you planned to install the stove in advance, you can make part of the wall around the stove out of brick or other non-combustible material even at the construction stage.
As for the size of the opening, the distance from the firebox to the combustible base depends on the type and power of the furnace. Exactly this value is indicated in the passport and the manufacturer's recommendations for installation. It is necessary to adhere to them: everything is calculated and thought out. If you change the size of the "non-combustible" part for any reasons (aesthetic or technical), then only in the direction of increase. If the stove is homemade, then you can adhere to the average norms: the distance from the edge of the furnace extension to combustible material without protection is at least 38 cm (better than 50 cm, this is enough for the most powerful stove). If the material is protected by a layer of heat insulator (gypsum, basalt wool, asbestos, etc.), then the distance is less - 25 cm (36 cm to the maximum).
A brick is laid from the wooden wall on the sides and top, but it is not brought close to the walls of the fuel channel, but an air gap is left. The gap width is also indicated by the manufacturer in the installation instructions. Minimum - 25 mm. This gap can be filled with a layer of basalt / rock wool or the same cardboard.
Do not use glass wool. This is also mineral wool, but it tolerates lower temperatures (up to 350 ° C), and near the furnace it will simply melt and lose its properties. Take basalt wool made without a binder - mats or pressed cardboard. The point is not only that the binding components emit harmful substances when heated, but also that at 500-600 ° C they turn into sand and spill out, the material loses its properties. As a result, there is no thermal insulation, the wall heats up and the wood darkens or even begins to smolder. It is not necessary to say what this may lead to. Therefore, to insulate the furnace, buy special high-temperature insulators: their operating temperature should be 800-1000 ° C and no less.
Installing an iron stove in a wooden bath: when is a foundation needed and how to make it?
If your bath has a concrete floor, there is nothing to worry about. You can put the stove without a base. Even just concrete. But it will be more convenient to clean if you lay ceramic tiles, the same brick or porcelain stoneware.
If the floor is wooden, be sure to have a non-combustible base. If the mass of the furnace with all the "additives" does not exceed 700 kg, it is not necessary to make a separate foundation. Usually a metal furnace, even the heaviest (except cast iron, of course) weighs less. But if you are going to overlay it and / or install a brick chimney, then the foundation is most likely needed.
The mass of the furnace with all "additives" is considered to be the summation of all possible additions. Take the weight of the furnace + the mass of stones and water in the tank to the maximum + the weight of the chimney and screen (count the number of bricks in a row, the number of rows and multiply by the weight of one brick, add the mass of the solution). If all together is less than 700 kg, you can get by with good lags and a thick board on the floor. If the mass turned out to be more, you need to make a foundation.
The dimensions of the foundation should be 15-20 cm larger than the dimensions of the furnace or screen. The depth of the foundation is the same as that of the foundation of the building. If the furnace is located near one of the load-bearing walls, the base for the furnace must be made incoherent: there should be no points of contact with the foundation of the building. This is done in order to have the possibility of independent settlement of the furnace and the building. The height of the foundation for the furnace is made 20 cm below the level of the finished floor (then two rows of bricks are laid on top and the level is flush with the board).
The foundation manufacturing technology is standard: a foundation pit is dug, formwork is installed. A reinforcing mesh is laid into it to increase strength, after which a concrete solution is poured. A mixture is used: 1 part cement to 3 parts sand. After the concrete has cured, a double layer of waterproofing is laid on it (roofing or roofing material, other materials with similar characteristics). Bricks are laid on top in two rows on the mortar. Now the foundation for the furnace (and screen) is ready.
Installation on a wooden floor
If the weight of the sauna stove in full “equipment” does not exceed 700 kg, and the logs and the floor board are thick enough, you can do without a foundation. But you can’t just put the stove on the boards. A heat-resistant base is required.
It can be a sheet of metal laid on a sheet of asbestos or basalt cardboard. Instead of a sheet of metal, you can use ceramic tiles, bricks, natural or artificial stone, porcelain stoneware slabs, etc. The basic principle is a sufficient degree of thermal insulation. Although the floor does not heat up as much as nearby walls, protection is still needed. In addition, a sheet of metal must necessarily lie in front of the furnace. It should protrude in front of the firebox by more than 40 cm. This will ensure fire safety if the coals fall out of the firebox.
Chimney options for a metal stove
The final stage of installation of the stove for the bath – chimney installation. There are several options:
- Metal.
- Sandwich.
- Brick.
- Ceramic.
A metal chimney (meaning a single metal pipe) is not recommended for a sauna stove: it cannot meet fire safety requirements. The temperatures of the gases that enter the chimney from the furnace are too high.
Not so long ago, most of the chimneys were brick. But with this option, most likely, you will need a foundation for the furnace. In addition, not every oven is able to hold such a weight. You will either have to select it taking into account such a possibility, or come up with a design on which the chimney will rely, i.e. making a root chimney, and this is not an easy and expensive pleasure. Sometimes a protective brick screen can serve as a support. But we can say for sure that you will need the advice of an experienced specialist who will tell you what can be done and how: you have to develop a solution for each case. It is this, and the considerable price of such services, a small number of specialists, that have become the reason that brick chimneys are installed in baths less and less. They were replaced by sandwich pipes.
The next option for installing a stove in a wooden bath — with ceramic chimney. This is perhaps the rarest option. And it's not about the characteristics of ceramic chimneys. They tolerate high temperatures, are not subject to corrosion and deformation, retain heat for a long time and have a decent service life: up to 30 years. In many respects, they are better than sandwich pipes, but their use is limited, firstly, by their large weight, comparable to the weight of brick chimneys, and secondly, by a very high price - about 5 times higher than a good stainless steel sandwich.
As a result, it turns out that of all types of pipes, the most preferred option is a sandwich pipe. They are so popular that each operating and installation manual for the stove contains a description of the device of just such a chimney. Some manufacturers of sauna stoves have gone even further: they have launched the production of sandwiches and offer to purchase a complete "kit".
And in conclusion, watch the video, which tells about all the advantages and disadvantages of different types of chimneys.
Installation of the stove in the bath is the most important event in its arrangement. It is necessary to provide many technological nuances so that the operation of the facility is accompanied by a minimum risk of fire.
The stove in the bath interacts with various components, ranging from the wooden surfaces of the structure of the building, and ending with its roof. Therefore, one of the main conditions, the fulfillment of which involves installing a stove in a bath with your own hands, is compliance with insulation requirements. At the same time, all connections and mounting assemblies must be correctly performed, thanks to which the complex work of the heating system in the bath will be carried out.
Step One: Choosing a Furnace
When equipping a bath, the choice is before two types of stoves - brick and metal. With all the advantages of the first option, iron factory units win in practicality and, as a rule, safety. At the same time, the metal structure is easier to install and maintain.
When comparing the area of the steam room and the heating volume of the stove, the following data must also be taken into account: 1 m2 of uninsulated stone, brick materials or glass will require an increase in the power of the unit, which as a result will correspond to an increase in the volume in the steam room of approximately 1.2 m3.
In the event that a wooden bath is equipped, the installation of the stove should be carried out with the expectation of increasing the power for the steam room, the volume of which, in turn, increases by 1.5 times.
Step two: floor preparation
If the floor is a combustible material, its protection should be approached with the greatest responsibility. The surface is covered with the above metal sheet on asbestos cardboard, the thickness of which is 1 cm. In the process of performing this operation, it is important to ensure that the gap from the surface of the bottom of the furnace to the floor covering is at least 10 cm.
An alternative option for such protection could be brickwork with indents on all sides of the furnace by 25 cm. On top of such a base, you can put the same sheet steel or form a screed on a cement mixture.
Covering with slow-burning floor materials is necessary protect from fire, which can take place under the furnace door. This operation should be performed using a metal sheet. If a stove for a bath with a rectangular design is being installed, then a sheet fragment with parameters of 70x50 cm can be provided, the long side of which will be placed along the unit. The gap from the furnace door to the opposite wall is not less than 125 cm.
Third stage: installation of the furnace
The unit is installed on a prepared surface in such a way that clearance requirements for walls and ceilings.
The distance from the ceiling, which does not have special thermal insulation, should be at least 120 cm. The distance from the bath walls or partitions to the stove surfaces should not be less than 32 cm.
Reduction of this gap is allowed only if the structure is protected in the form of the aforementioned steel sheet laid on asbestos. If this condition is met, the distance can be reduced to 26 cm.
When installing the unit, it is important take into account its position relative to the direction of the heating chamber. For example, the installation of a Vesuvius stove in a bathhouse may suggest the possibility of laying fuel from an adjacent room. This design solution is more difficult to implement, but when used it will provide significant benefits. In particular, convenience will be ensured during the operation of the steam room and the maintenance of the stove as a whole will be simplified.
Fourth stage: installation of a hanging tank
The tank can also be of a hinged type. To calculate its volume, you can use the following rule: one user will need an average of 10 liters; the same amount is necessary for the park of a broom.
Installation is carried out on the nozzle of the furnace air duct. This design will bring the water temperature to the level of 95 ° C by the time the temperature in the steam room reaches 100 ° C.
In the process of water consumption, the area of its contact with the hot surfaces of the hanging tank pipe will decrease, which will make it possible to prevent unwanted boiling and steam penetration into the steam room. This usually happens when the oven is running in keep warm modes.
Fifth stage: installation of the heat exchange system
Before starting work, you should familiarize yourself with the elements of the system that provides heat exchange. Its components may vary, but if you plan to install a thermofor oven in a bath, by the way, one of the most popular on the Russian market, then this set will be as follows:
- Heat exchanger and two fittings;
- Remote tank for hot water supply, to which two fittings and two taps are attached;
- Connecting elements, including taps with fittings and pipes.
Shut-off and plumbing components at all connecting nodes must be at least 2 cm in diameter. When installing a heat exchange system, the bottom of the tank must be located higher in relation to the upper connection of the system. Moreover, this distance should be at least 30 cm.
During the installation of pipelines do not allow their contours to sag on horizontal planes. It is advisable to mount the pipes at an angle of at least 30° upwards. In order to avoid the risk of water freezing in winter, a drain cock should be installed in the part below the outer connection (in the lower part) of the heat exchange system. Also, it is recommended to avoid the use of flexible plastic or rubber piping.
Sixth stage: pipe installation
It is desirable that this design should include minimum number of knees. The ideal option is a straight chimney. At the same time, its height should be at least 5 m - the calculation is carried out from the mouth to the grate.
Also, if you are installing a metal furnace in a bath with your own hands, then you should carefully consider the calculation of the length of the pipe section, which will rise above the surface of the roofing. In particular, its location should have the following parameters:
- at least 50 cm above the roofing surface;
- at least 50 cm above the roof ridge. In this case, the pipe itself should be located at a distance of at least 150 cm from the ridge or parapet;
- not lower than the roof ridge if the distance from it varies from 150 to 300 cm.
The chimney pipe must be led out so that it exceeds the level of the roof of higher houses attached to the bathhouse. Important provide fire protection bath roofs, if it is made of flammable materials. In this case, the pipe should be provided with a spark arrester.
It is made from a metal mesh cloth, in which the cells have dimensions of no more than 0.5 × 0.5 cm. In addition, cutting is needed in the area where the pipe passes through the ceiling. Compared with the ceiling, the cut should have thicker by 7 cm. At the same time, it is impossible to make rigid joints of the furnace cutting with the bath frame.
The ideal option is if even before the start of the construction of the bath it will already be clear which stove is planned in it. But even otherwise, all adjustments to the interior of the bath can be made - longer, more difficult, but necessary.
So, if the sauna stove was purchased ready-made, you need to carefully study the instructions attached to it with illustrated schematic images, and follow only it. But if it was built with your own hands, it is important to observe the safety precautions that can be presented at such points.
Item 1. Foundation
For the reliability of the furnace design itself and the safety of the bath, the furnace in it must be installed on a special foundation - made of fireclay bricks or concrete. The base for it is suitable only for perfectly even and durable, and for fire safety purposes, asbestos cardboard, 12 mm thick, should be placed on the floor, and a sheet of steel 1-5 mm on it. Both layers must cover the floor space in front of the stove at least 50 cm from the door and 3 cm from all sides.
Scheme of installing the furnace on the foundation
Item 2. Furnace door
This door cannot be closer to the opposite wall than 1.5 meters. And the minimum distance from the side surfaces of the stove and its back to the walls is 50 cm. The main thing is to understand exactly how the physical installation of the stove in the bath takes place: a photo selection and detailed diagrams will show this process in detail.
Item 3. Chimney
If the bath stove is with a remote furnace tunnel, the wall through which it passes can only be made of non-combustible material, and the very junction of the pipe and the stove outlet is made collapsible. The chimney, which ended up in the zone of sub-zero temperatures, so that condensation does not form on it, is equipped with thermal insulation protection up to 5 cm.
Also, a damper is necessarily made in the chimney to regulate the combustion process in the furnace. And the space between the ceiling and the cutting is filled with non-combustible material. By the way, the safest and most durable are chimneys made of high-quality ceramics. The second after them are stainless steel pipes. But “sandwiches” cannot be used as the first element of the chimney in any case - the first pipe can only be single-circuit. As for the steel itself, the best grade is the heat-resistant AISI 310 S, which is most recommended for the first sections, where the temperature is the highest. Such brands as AISI 316L, AISI 321 are also considered to be quite good. The seams of the chimney are also of great importance - they must be made only by laser welding, but not by spot welding.
Approximate scheme for installing a conventional heater
Further, where a chimney passes through the roof, a special element is needed - cutting the roof. It is he who will provide fire safety and waterproofing at the intersection with the roof. And the distance from the outer surface of the sandwich to any combustible element should not be less than 130 mm. In the same place where the stove pipe will go outside, a thickening of 12 cm should be made in its brickwork. But above the roof itself, the laying of the pipe cannot exceed 50 cm in height.
And, finally, that part of the pipe that will be between the roof and the ceiling must be plastered and whitewashed with lime.
Item 4. Fire extinguishing media
No matter how good the oven is, it makes no sense to renounce fire - life is full of surprises. Therefore, working fire extinguishers are required in the bathhouse, which should be easily accessible at any time.
Item 5. The location of the furnace in the bath
Even a “cold” stove can be at least 50 cm from any combustible structures. But if the bath has walls made of combustible materials, they must be protected from a nearby stove with brickwork or insulation sheets to a height from the floor itself and above the surface of the stove.
Firebox doors are traditionally placed in the direction of the door, and the heater door - in the direction of the corner of the bath.
Item 6. Ceiling
Often, fires in the bath occur due to an unprotected ceiling. So, if it is made of non-combustible materials, it must be covered with a metal sheet with a layer of mineralite or basalt cardboard, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich would be 1/3 larger than the area of the furnace.
Item 7. Grounding
Especially thoughtful and competent should be an oven that works from the mains. Such an installation, even according to the rules, is consistent with the fire inspection - it is so unsafe.
But, in general, the situation can be improved with the help of grounding - this greatly increases electrical safety. That is why modern cottages always have their own ground loop, which for some reason is often forgotten by bath owners. But experienced stove-makers always recommend making a separate ground loop for their steam room for safety reasons, so as not to take the neutral wire coming from the substation - this is unsafe.
If, for some reason, there are difficulties with grounding, then “zeroing” is used, which connects the zero terminals and the ground wire of the electric stone furnace in the switchboard. It will not interfere in the bath and RCD - protective shutdown.
By the way, if the electric heater was purchased ready-made, the installation of the stove in the bath can be entrusted to the seller itself - such services are provided. And they will cost only 10% of the total cost of equipment.
Item 8. Personal security
Proper installation of the stove in the bath is the safety of those who are in it. So, for example, all "hot" furnaces have a big minus - this is a large surface that can heat up to 500 ° C. And a person who accidentally slips or suddenly feels unwell can fall on such a stove and get a serious burn. That is why a converter or brick screen in front of such a stove is highly desirable, but in any case the floor in front of it cannot be slippery.