An electric sauna stove is the most convenient and easily implemented version of a heating structure suitable for personal needs. It is a compact device consisting of the stove itself and containers for stones and hot water. The design of an electric stove for a bath is easy to assemble with your own hands, due to its extreme simplicity and the absence of a chimney. Electric heaters are in great demand among the owners who decided to build a home sauna.
The advantages of electric furnaces
Before choosing an electric furnace for a bath, you will need to familiarize yourself with the well-known models of these units. You should start by studying the list of their advantages that determine the choice of the desired sample. The advantages of electric stoves for a bath include:
- fast heating to the desired temperature;
- the possibility of maintaining it at a given level during the entire period of use of the steam room;
- lack of debris and dirt, typical for wood heaters;
- the ability to do without a chimney and specially equipped ventilation.
When using an electric sauna stove, the air in the room does not dry out, its care is very simple - there is no need to clean the chimney from traces of soot and residual fuel. To start the electric furnace for a sauna or bathhouse, it is enough to apply voltage to its electrical part and set the regulator to the desired temperature.
The thermostat controlling the operation of the electric furnace is mounted directly in the steam room. Such a furnace is safe to operate, because during its operation no carbon monoxide is emitted and there is no open flame. It is allowed to install the electrical structure anywhere without prior preparation of the foundation. She has practically no cons.
Sometimes, when installing an electric stove in a sauna, you need to build a small brick wall that protects washing people from accidentally touching a red-hot iron.
Construction and interior design
The electric sauna stove has an extremely simple design, which includes the inner and outer cases of sheet metal with the heating elements located in them. A crate is placed on top of them, to which stones are tightly packed to get heat. The hull part of the structure can have two designs: open or closed; the choice of one of them depends on the specific operating conditions and tastes of the owners.
Outside
Most users prefer open enclosures, which allow for both dry and wet steam. According to the method of installation in the space provided for it, the electric sauna stove can be located horizontally or vertically. The structure of a typical design includes:
- steel base;
- the heater itself;
- hot water tap;
The external equipment of the furnace also includes support racks on which the casing and busbars supplying current are mounted.
Tubular heating elements
Thermal elements of open structures are made of nichrome wire, twisted into a spiral and wound on a ceramic base. To connect the power supply to such an oven, it is preferable to use a three-phase network, which guarantees the required power and heating intensity. But for small private baths, the usual single-phase 220-volt power supply is enough to develop power up to 3 kW.The exact value of this indicator is selected depending on the area of the steam room and the required temperature.
Low Temperature Plate Tape (NTLP)
The use of NTLP-type heaters in heater stoves allows extending the service life of the furnaces and saving on their manufacture. NTLP elements are heated only to a temperature of 250-400 ° C, which is not enough for a good heating of stones. Therefore, when using furnaces equipped with such heaters, experts advise adhering to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Types of electric furnaces
Electric boilers for a bath can have two versions: with a heater and without a heater. Kamenka furnaces are made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel. Features of the second version allow the installation of a fan, which allows you to evenly distribute the heated masses. The first approach is preferable for fans of the “long heat”. For those who do not like to steam at high temperatures, the second option is suitable.
There is a variety of electric furnaces, in which the outer surface of the body serves as a kind of steam generator. It is allowed to splash water on it, causing the formation of good heat. Its internal parts with a heater are reliably protected from moisture penetration.
Mounting Features
The specifics of installing electric boilers for a sauna:
- They do not need to build a special foundation.
- Products are traditionally installed in the corner area of the steam room near the doorway on a platform pre-closed with tiles.
- Brick elements are made as elements of protection against accidental burns in the manufacture of the heater.
Before starting the assembly of the furnace, it should be noted that its base is a double metal case, in the inner part of which electric heaters with thermal protection are installed. Hot air enters the room through ventilation slots cut into the bottom of the cabinet.
Before connecting an electric fireplace for a sauna or bath, it is necessary to check the serviceability of the electrical wiring and metering device. Some models of such fireplaces are equipped with current protection equipment during installation. They automatically turn off when there is a malfunction in the voltage supply wires or during an overload in the circuit.
Options to consider when choosing a furnace
When choosing a furnace design, the main attention is paid to the size of the bath room, on which its power depends. Usually, one proceeds from the experimentally obtained ratio according to which 1 kW of electric energy is required for heating 1 m3 of a room. For a steam volume of 8 m3, for example, a design with a power margin of plus 3 kW per square meter is selected. window area (if available).
It makes sense to purchase furnaces with a power margin when this parameter can be controlled. In the summer, the regulator is set to a minimum, and in winter, excess energy intensity can be very useful. The ability to control this value is also important if you want to get more steam. This option allows you to gradually warm the air in the steam room in severe frosts, which guarantees the safety of building structures. With sudden changes, they lose strength.
When choosing a heater, attention is paid to the following factors:
- profitability and compactness of the unit;
- low residual heat capacity;
- the ability to set the desired temperature.
An important factor is the appearance of the stove, which should fit well into the interior of the steam room.
Safety regulations
Unlike gas and similar designs, electric stoves in a sauna are much safer to operate. But this can be achieved if the following rules are observed:
- The body of the electrical appliance must be earthed using a protective circuit arranged in the area.A copper bus with a cross section of at least 6 mm square is laid from it.
- When adopting procedures, you should not approach the furnace more than a meter, it is best to install an artificial barrier in front of it from non-combustible material.
- Under the supports is a metal sheet of a suitable size, covered on top with a piece of asbestos.
When using the heater, you should be especially careful and take care not to get burned with hot steam.
