An electric sauna stove is the most convenient and easily implemented heating construction option suitable for personal needs. It is a compact device consisting of the actual stove and containers for stones and hot water. The design of an electric stove for a bath is easy to assemble with your own hands, which is explained by its extreme simplicity and the absence of a chimney. Electric heaters are in special demand among owners who have decided to build a home sauna.
Benefits of electric ovens
Before choosing an electric oven for a bath, you will need to familiarize yourself with the known models of these units. You should start by examining the list of their advantages, which determine the choice of the desired sample. The advantages of electric sauna stoves include:
- rapid heating to the desired temperature;
- the ability to maintain it at a given level during the entire period of using the steam room;
- lack of debris and dirt typical for wood-fired 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 maintenance is very simple - there is no need to clean the chimney from traces of soot and fuel residues. To start an electric stove for a sauna or bath in operation, it is enough to supply voltage to its electrical part and set the required temperature with the regulator.
The thermostat controlling the operation of the electric furnace is mounted directly in the steam room. Such a furnace is safe to use, since it does not emit carbon monoxide and there is no open flame. It is allowed to install the electrical structure anywhere without preliminary preparation of the foundation. She has practically no minuses.
Sometimes, when installing an electric stove in a sauna, it is required to build a small brick wall that protects people who are washing from accidentally touching a red-hot iron.
Construction and internal structure
The electric sauna stove has an extremely simple design, which includes an inner and outer shell made of sheet metal with heating elements located in them. A cage is installed on top of them, to which stones are tightly stacked to obtain heat. The body part of the structure can have two versions: open or closed; the choice of one of them depends on the specific operating conditions and tastes of the owners.
Outer part
Most users prefer open housings that allow both dry and wet steam to be produced. According to the method of installation in the place reserved for it, the electric sauna stove can be positioned horizontally or vertically. The typical design includes:
- steel base;
- the heater itself;
- hot water tap;
The external equipment of the furnace also includes the support legs, on which the body and the busbars 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 a furnace, it is preferable to use a three-phase network, which guarantees the receipt of the required power and heating intensity. But for small personal baths, a conventional single-phase power supply of 220 Volts is sufficient, which makes it possible to develop a power of 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 belts (NTLP)
The use of NTLP heaters in heaters-heaters allows to extend the service life of the stoves and save on their manufacture. The elements of NTLP are heated only to a temperature of 250-400 ° C, which is not enough for good heating of stones. Therefore, when using ovens equipped with such heaters, experts advise adhering to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Types of electric ovens
Electric boilers for a bath can have two versions: with a heater and without a heater. The heaters are made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel. The features of the second version allow the installation of a fan, which allows evenly distributing 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 ovens, in which the outer surface of the body serves as a kind of steam generator. It is allowed to splash water on it, causing a good heat to form. Its internal parts with a heater are reliably protected from moisture penetration.
Installation features
Specificity of installation of electric boilers for a sauna:
- They do not need to build a special foundation.
- Products are traditionally installed in the corner zone of the steam room near the doorway on a platform previously closed with tiles.
- As elements of protection against accidental burns during the manufacture of the heater, brick barriers are made.
Before starting the assembly of the furnace, it should be noted that its base is a double metal case, in the inside of which electric heaters with thermal protection are installed. Hot air enters the room through ventilation slots cut in the bottom of the case.
Before connecting an electric fireplace for a sauna or bath, it is necessary to check the serviceability of the electrical wiring and the meter. Some models of such fireplaces are equipped with overcurrent protection equipment during installation. They are automatically disconnected in the event of a fault in the voltage supply wires or in case of an overload in the circuit.
Parameters taken into account when choosing a furnace
When choosing a stove structure, the main attention is paid to the size of the bath room, on which its power depends. Usually, they proceed from an empirically obtained ratio, according to which 1 kW of electrical energy is required to heat 1 m3 of a room. For a steam room with a volume of 8 m3, for example, a design with a power reserve plus 3 kW per square meter is chosen. window area (if any).
It makes sense to purchase furnaces with a power reserve when this parameter can be controlled. In summer, the regulator is set to a minimum, and in winter, a surplus in 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 up the air in the steam room in severe frosts, which guarantees the safety of building structures. With sharp drops, they lose strength.
When choosing a heater, attention is paid to the following factors:
- efficiency and compactness of the unit;
- low residual heat capacity;
- the ability to set the desired temperature regime.
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 structures, electric sauna stoves are much safer to use.But this can be achieved if the following rules are followed:
- The body of the electrical device must be grounded using a protective circuit equipped on the site. A copper bus with a cross section of at least 6 mm square is laid from it.
- When adopting the procedures, one should not approach the stove more than a meter; it is best to install an artificial barrier in front of it made of non-combustible material.
- A metal sheet of a suitable size is placed under the supports, covered with a piece of asbestos on top.
When using the heater, you should be especially careful not to burn yourself with the hot steam.
