Welding a boiler from a pipe into a bathhouse. A do-it-yourself sauna boiler made from a pipe - at least much cheaper. Technical indicators and additional functions of metal boilers

The most important attribute of any bathhouse is the boiler. This unit not only provides the required air temperature in the steam room, it participates in creating that unique atmosphere for which everyone values bathing procedures so much.

Modern boilers can use various types fuel, have different shapes, appearance and cost. Those who want to save money can make a boiler themselves; fortunately, this does not require any special skills or special tools.

The design of most sauna boilers includes the following elements:

The furnace where the fuel combustion process occurs.
A chimney through which combustion products will be discharged outside.
An ash pit in which ash accumulates. Another function of this element is to pump into the firebox the air masses necessary for combustion.
A heater, which is responsible for removing heat inside the bathhouse. There are models without a heater, but steaming in such a bath will not be very comfortable, since the steam will only come from boiling water from the tank.
Hot water container.

The volume of the heater must correspond to the size of the boiler and the bath itself. Too small, it will quickly give off all the heat without having time to warm up the entire volume of the room. A large one, on the contrary, will take too long to warm up.

Pay attention! Professionals try to stick to simple rule: The volumes of the heater, firebox and water tank should be approximately the same.

A grate must be placed at the bottom of the firebox - metal grill, through which the ash will fall into the ash pan. The grate can be made independently from pieces of reinforcement, or purchased in specialized stores.

One more distinctive feature boiler for a bath can be considered the location of the loading door. As a rule, the boiler itself is located in the steam room, while fuel is added from the dressing room. At the point of passage through the wall, a special channel is made, ending with an iron door.

Types of boilers

Depending on the type of fuel used, the entire variety of modern sauna boilers can be divided into several categories:

Electric models. They are distinguished by the absence of harmful emissions of combustion products and the absence of the need to install a chimney. They do not require fuel reserves, but during any power outage they become useless.
Gas boilers. The most economical of all the models presented, provided that the site is already gasified. There is also no need to prepare fuel reserves.
Solid fuel. The most common type of boiler. During operation, they require periodic loading of new portions of fuel. They are rightly considered the most accessible for independent production.
Diesel. Used as a heat source liquid fuel. Due to the complexity of the design, they are not suitable for self-production.
Pyrolysis (combustion solid fuel and volatile substances occurs separately).

Building an excellent bathhouse does not mean making it comfortable for taking water procedures. No one argues that all rooms should be beautiful and pleasing to the eye. But to an even greater extent, they must be functional, creating exactly the microclimate that its owners desire. It is impossible to solve this problem without a boiler for a bath, most people understand this. But not everyone knows what criteria should be used to select a boiler and what to pay the main attention to. In order to make a responsible decision, you need to know their types and brief characteristics.

A boiler for a bath is one of the possible options

First, let's look at the largest group of sauna boilers - metal ones. They can have different sizes and additional functions. Companies produce very wide range products, but they differ, by and large, only in design and price. What characteristics of boilers should you pay attention to before purchasing?

Video - Choosing a boiler for a bath

Material of manufacture

Most boilers are made from carbon steel of ordinary quality, the thickness of the sheets varies within 2÷5 mm, the most expensive ones can be made from thicker steel.

Over time, steel begins to temper under the influence of high temperatures, hardness decreases, and ductility increases. During these processes, the effect of residual deformation appears. This means that the linear dimensions of the boiler change, the opening/closing of doors worsens, and there are risks of breaking the tightness of the welds.

Recently, boilers made of ductile cast iron have begun to be produced. They have improved performance in terms of durability, and the designs are more resistant to high temperatures.

The technical parameters of such boilers are more high level, but, unfortunately, the price does not always increase in proportion to the improvement in quality. Through false advertising, manufacturers are trying to artificially increase their profits.

Another new achievement of manufacturers is lining the external walls of metal boilers with cane. The boiler looks beautiful and prestigious. Manufacturers claim that it retains heat longer, and this is true. But they are silent that it takes much longer to heat up and, accordingly, it will take more time to warm up the steam room. In addition, the heat transfer of metal walls decreases, as a result of which they heat up to a higher temperature. And prolonged heating to such temperatures has a negative effect on the metal.

Soapstone finishing - photo

Technical indicators and additional functions of metal boilers

The main tasks of boilers for a bath: to warm the room to the set temperature as quickly as possible, long time maintain it in the required parameters and provide the opportunity to change it as quickly as possible. What can be said about metal boilers in this regard?

Warming up the room can be done in a minimum amount of time. The boiler has a small firebox mass, it heats up very quickly to a high temperature and effectively heats the steam room. This is one of the main advantages of such boilers over brick stoves. Not everyone has the opportunity to heat a steam room for half a day in order to wash for an hour. Sometimes they come to the dacha for just a few hours and want to complete all their business in this short time.

Unfortunately, after combustion stops, the fuel cools down just as quickly. There are so-called boilers on sale long burning. They are more expensive than regular ones, but is it worth paying that kind of money for them? Let's figure it out.

Long burning boilers

Long burning boiler - photo

They appeared quite a long time ago and have their advantages and disadvantages. Manufacturers claim that one load of firewood will burn for a long time, and this will ensure fuel savings and stable room temperature. To understand what is the truth and what is a publicity stunt, you need to remember your school physics lessons. To heat a room you need thermal energy. For example, one armful of firewood during combustion can release 1 Gcal of heat. If wood burns in an ordinary boiler for an hour, then during this time 1 Gcal of heat is released. In the boiler, the same wood will burn for 10 hours and during this time 1 Gcal of heat will also be released. Note, not more, but exactly the same. This amount of heat can increase the temperature in the steam room by 100°C within an hour, or by 10°C in ten hours. For clarity, we used conventional numbers, this makes it easier to understand the meaning. Do you need a long-burning boiler in a steam room to keep it slightly warm?

There is one more nuance you should know. The burning time is regulated by the amount of air supplied to the firebox. Less oxygen means wood burns slower, more oxygen means wood burns faster and releases thermal energy. The combustion process can be controlled much more easily. Buy boilers that have adjustable holes on the ash door or firebox (or make them yourself), increase/decrease the amount of air as needed and you will have a long-burning boiler without large financial costs.

Factory long-burning boilers have quite a lot of different additional equipment, which costs a lot of money. And the effectiveness of its use is approaching zero.

Pyrolysis boilers

The most modern ones are considered more advanced modifications of long-burning boilers. What's the difference? First of all, in terms of price, the cost of such equipment is not affordable for everyone. There are a great variety of different automation systems installed, but, unfortunately, there is not much real benefit from it. In addition, the more additional equipment installed, the greater the chance that some of it will fail.

A pyrolysis boiler differs from a long-burning boiler in having a slightly increased efficiency. Gases released during slow burning or smoldering of firewood burn out in a special hydrolysis compartment. Preheated air is supplied to it through separate channels and gases containing flammable compounds burn out in an additional chamber.

Practitioners do not recommend using such boilers for baths; they cannot meet the requirements for the speed and temperature of heating the premises. But there is no economic sense in buying an expensive pyrolysis boiler to use it in the normal mode of burning wood.

Video - Pyrolysis boilers

Let us remind you once again that we provide only an objective review various types boilers, you will have to choose a specific option yourself, taking into account your own conditions. If you have a large bathhouse with several separate rooms, and not just a steam room and a dressing room, then it is quite possible to use all types of boilers described to heat other rooms.

Design features of fireboxes

This characteristic has a significant impact on the comfort of bathing procedures and is worth paying attention to.

If a small number of people wash in the bathhouse, then it is advisable to buy boilers of the first modification, otherwise it is better to make the firebox in another room.

There may also be boilers without an ash pan and a grate.

The absence of a grate slows down the burning rate of firewood, which causes an increase in the heating time of the steam room. But it becomes possible to support comfortable temperature several hours. And here it is impossible to give unambiguous universal advice; it all depends on your specific conditions.

Features of the design of heaters on metal boilers

Some manufacturers claim that only their boilers are capable of producing high-quality steam; this is one of the important advantages of the advertised products. What is quality steam? Such a characteristic does not exist; we can only talk about comfortable conditions for staying in a steam room, and they are individual for everyone.

The conditions in the steam room depend on the temperature and relative humidity of the air. The more you heat the boiler, the higher the temperature, and the more water you splash on the heater, the higher the humidity. This means that high-quality steam is made by people, not boilers. You can add infusions to the water medicinal plants and receive a therapeutic effect. If you want, add aromatic substances to the water - the air will smell pleasant. By the way, if you splash a little natural beer on the heater, a very pleasant smell of freshly baked bread will appear in the steam room.

We have become familiar with the characteristics of steam, it’s time to move on to the heaters. What characteristics should you pay attention to when choosing a boiler?

There are boiler options in which the heater is attached along all sides of the stove. This is a pretty good option, a large amount of heat accumulates, the stones warm up to a high temperature.

Practical advice. A circular heater has one drawback - the likelihood of strong heating of the metal increases, which causes premature failure of the boiler. Buy those devices that have a small gap between the stones and the walls of the boiler; due to air convection, their excessive overheating is prevented.

Availability of a tank for heating water

This parameter can significantly influence the choice of a specific boiler model. What to look for?

Location. The container can be installed on the chimney pipe or on one of the boiler surfaces. In the first case, the water will heat up more slowly, but will boil less often. In the second case, the opposite is true - it heats up faster and boils more often. The second placement option has one advantage - the water remains hot for a longer time due to the transfer of thermal energy by the walls.
Material of manufacture. You can find water containers made of both stainless and ferrous metals. Of course, the first option is preferable, but here the price factor already appears.
Volume. Practice shows that purchasing boilers and containers for heating water with a volume of less than ten liters is impractical.
Possibility of installing additional equipment for automatically filling containers with water. The presence of running water in the bathhouse greatly improves the comfort of bathing procedures; there is no need to constantly add water and monitor its temperature.

Sometimes there are models with closed containers that allow you to connect water heating premises. Quite practical boilers, it is advisable to buy these for large baths. But you need to keep in mind that the heat transfer from the boiler to heat the steam room is reduced.

Weight and overall dimensions of boilers

According to these indicators, the selection is as individual as possible. A large number of metal sauna boilers are relatively lightweight, which allows them to be installed directly on the floor of a steam room or other room. But you need to take into account the dimensions of the floor beams or joists and check their load-bearing capabilities with the parameters of the boiler.

If the boiler is quite large and heavy, then its installation must be provided during production construction work: prepare a concrete foundation or use reinforced beams and flooring at the installation site. Dimensions are taken into account taking into account the size of the steam room and the specific location of the boiler.

Important. During installation, pay attention to the location of the ceilings and rafter system; they should not interfere with the installation of the chimney. If problems arise, you need to purchase different elbows to change the location of the chimney outlet on the roof or bring it outside through a special hole in the wall.

How to choose a boiler by power

Very interesting question, requires detailed consideration. In order to select the optimal boiler power, you need to know the thermal characteristics of the building as a whole and each room separately. Let us immediately warn you that thermal calculations belong to one of the most difficult sections of design work.

The heat loss of a building depends on:

ceiling heat losses. You need to know the thickness of the ceiling covering and materials of manufacture;
heat losses of walls. For calculations you need to have the same data as for ceilings. Plus materials and methods of external and internal cladding;
floor heat losses. Here, in addition to the above, one should take into account the type of foundation (column foundations are blown away by the wind, and strip foundations have only small vents), type of flooring (flowing with cracks in the boards or solid), etc. These data significantly influence the amount of heat loss .

Additionally, you need to know the maximum and minimum temperatures in a given climate zone, the rose and strength of the winds, the efficiency and type of ventilation. Another very important factor is the quality of construction work and the qualifications of the builders. The same building, built with different quality, may have completely different heat loss indicators. Can you take into account all the data and accurately calculate the thermal performance of the bath? With this data, you can find out how much energy is needed to heat rooms to different temperatures.

Based on them, the boiler power should be selected. In bathhouses, boilers are installed using solid fuel, the vast majority using wood. In order to find out the power of the boiler, in addition to the characteristics of its engineering device, data on the thermal capacity of the fuel used per unit of time is needed.

The combustion heat of wood depends on:

This is not a complete list of factors that directly affect the power of a heating boiler. Will someone be able to take this data into account, and not just once, but throughout the entire time the boiler is burning?

Practical advice. If you come across an article about calculating the power of a boiler or brick stove for a bathhouse, don’t waste your time reading it. Thermal engineering is a very difficult science, it has many complex formulas, you need not only to know them, but also to be able to use them. There are several SNiPs for calculating heat losses of buildings, taking into account materials of manufacture and architectural characteristics, with many tables and additional data. A correct description of thermal calculations for one individual bath takes more than one page.

For example, only one of many indicators (heat flow per inner surface external enclosing wall) is calculated by the formula:

What to do? It's simple. Ask for advice from an experienced craftsman who has installed many boilers or installed more than one sauna stove, chat with neighbors who have different boilers, or ask a question on a specialized forum. Only studying practical information from users and comparing it with your own conditions will allow you not to make mistakes when choosing a brand and technical characteristics boiler for a bath.

We'll try to give a few practical advice by choosing a specific brand of heating boiler.

The high cost of a boiler does not always correspond to equally high quality. Moreover, the more the boiler has various additional devices, the less reliable it is. This is a law of mechanics, you need to follow it.

And one more thing. The failure of one device can disrupt the functionality of the entire boiler; repairs will require a lot of time and financial resources. Conclusion. Do not chase the price, carefully study the performance characteristics of the unit.
Before purchasing, decide what kind of steam room you want to have. Finnish with dry and very hot air, Russian with high humidity and low temperature, or something in between. Knowing exactly your preferences, you can choose a boiler depending on the maximum air heating temperature, the size of the heater and its location.
How long will the steam room be used? This indicator plays an important role when choosing the heat capacity of boiler designs, the method of burning wood, the linear dimensions of the firebox, etc. If the entire bathing procedure lasts about one hour, you can purchase a cheaper and lower-power boiler. If you have a lot of friends washing and it takes a lot of time, buy solid boilers with a large power reserve.
How many rooms should the boiler heat? Just the steam room, steam room and shower room or all the additional rooms of a large bath? To heat one steam room you need the simplest type of boiler; to simultaneously heat additional rooms you will need a unit with the ability to install heating system.

We strongly recommend that you think through all the issues with boilers at the stage of creating a bathhouse project, and involve competent people in this professional specialists or builders with extensive practical experience in performing similar work.

When building a bathhouse, an important step is the construction of the heating element. It is difficult to imagine a bathhouse without a heating structure, which can be either stoves or boilers. There is no fundamental difference between them, since both are aimed at heating stones and water tanks, and as a result, the entire bathhouse. But it should still be noted that the stove is a structure made of brick, and the boiler is a cast iron or steel tank.

There are three ways to install a heating element in a sauna:

Buy a ready-made boiler. This is the most reliable option, but not all families can afford it, since the price of boilers is quite high.
Build a stove. This is also considered a rather expensive option, since in this case you will have to buy building mixtures and bricks. All this will be very expensive. In addition, you need to have the skills of a professional mason, and if you don’t have the skill, you will have to hire a mason. And this again entails material costs.
Make your own boiler. This option is most suitable for those whose budget does not allow them to buy a ready-made one. In this case, less material resources will be required, and the process of making the boiler itself is very interesting and exciting. In addition, there is no need to have special skills or craftsmanship.

In this article we will talk specifically about sauna boilers and how to make them at home.

Bath boiler - device

This sauna structure is a small stove made of cast iron or steel. Inside there is a firebox, which is separated from the ash pan by a grate. Through the grate, air enters the firebox where the wood burns. The grate also performs another function - through it the ash enters the ash pan, from where it can be removed without much effort.

The firebox is connected to a chimney pipe to remove combustion gases. The oven also has a lid on which the stones are placed. Many boilers also have a built-in water heating tank, which is located above the firebox. The water in this tank is heated by the heat released as a result of burning fuel in the firebox.

Species

Sauna boilers can be made independently from a barrel or from metal sheets. Each of them will be discussed below.

Boilers made from barrels. Sauna boilers made from a barrel are compact stoves, the main element of which is a barrel with a volume of at least 200 liters. It should be noted that the barrel must be Soviet-made, since they are much stronger than modern ones. The same barrel is divided into two parts by a special partition. In the lower part there is a firebox, under which there is an ash pit with a palace. The top part is water heating tank. There is a hole in the partition that separates the water tank from the firebox through which the chimney passes. At one end it is connected to the firebox, and at the other end it goes outside through the partition and the layer of water in the tank. The heater, where the stones are located, is located on the side as close as possible to the firebox for efficient heating.
Boilers made of metal sheets. Such furnaces have a similar structure to barrel boilers, but unlike them, they have a quadrangular cross-section. In general, sheet metal furnaces consist of three sections:
- Water heating tank. He is located above everyone else. A chimney pipe passes through this tank, as in the case of barrel stoves.
- Kamenka. It is located below the water heating tank. There are stones here. The walls of this section are lined from the inside with a fire-resistant layer of brick. This layer is called a lining.
- Combustion chamber. It is the lowest section of the structure. There is also a lining here. This section is further divided into two parts. The upper part is the firebox itself, and the lower part is the ash pan. The partition between them is made of a metal lattice.

Boilers for baths can also be classified according to the type of fuel they operate on. So, the following types are distinguished:

Gas units. Such boilers run on gas, and would be an ideal option if the house has a gas supply system. Such units themselves are very compact and take up little space. In addition, they do not emit any odors or waste. There are three types:
- Single-circuit. Such units are designed to heat a small bathhouse.
- Dual-circuit. They are designed to heat a bath and a small amount of water.
- Three-circuit. They can heat a radiant floor system and also heat a small swimming pool.
Electrical. If gas is not supplied to the house, you can purchase electric boilers that operate on electricity. The undoubted advantage of such units is that they can be adjusted to a specific temperature. They are also environmentally friendly, as they do not emit any waste. Despite these advantages, these units still have one main drawback - increased energy consumption. Electricity is currently becoming more expensive, so not everyone can afford such a structure.
A solid fuel unit is also a good option for baths. But they do not have an automation system, that is, they cannot work in automatic mode. Therefore, you will have to approach each time and load a certain portion of fuel. Modern boilers are manufactured in such a way as to extract as much heat as possible from the fuel. To this end, the thermal insulation of solid fuel boilers continues to be improved to reduce heat loss.
Units running on diesel fuel. Such boilers are very convenient to use, since they can be refueled once every six months or a year. The most important thing is to find a special container for storing diesel fuel. Some people buy large quantities of fuel and store them underground, refueling the unit once a year. Such a unit requires a separate room, and all work related to the installation and repair of such boilers should be left to an experienced specialist.
Pyrolysis boilers. Such units mainly run on wood. Unlike conventional stoves, they have two combustion chambers. In the first chamber, the firewood is exposed to high temperatures without air access, where it decomposes, releasing gas. This gas is collected and sent to the second firebox, where it burns. In this way, combustion of fuel without residues is achieved. The main disadvantage is the high price.

Drawings

To make a sauna stove yourself, in addition to all other materials and tools, you need to have a drawing. The drawing is a diagram of the device of this boiler. A good drawing is one in which the diagram can be seen from all sides, as well as in section.

It would be good if there were separate sketches of the design diagrams of the most important and significant elements of the boiler. To understand such drawings, you need to know a small amount of special terminology. Drawings in large quantities can be found on the Internet.

Here is a simple drawing of a barrel boiler. It consists of the following parts:

Combustion chamber -1
Kamenka -2
Chimney -3
Water -4
Fuel -5
Partition between the heater and combustion chamber -6
Chamber where the fuel burns -7

Tools and materials

To make such a structure yourself, you must have the following:

Grinder with a cutting element in the form of a circle.
Welding machine.
Reinforcement scraps.
Metal sheets for the grate. You should take a sheet 5 mm thick.
Pipe. Its diameter should be 10 cm, and its length should be greater than the height of the structure.
Tap. It is connected to the water heating tank.

How to make a boiler yourself - step-by-step instructions

So, as already mentioned, in order to make a stove for a bath, you do not need to have special knowledge in this area. But still, you should follow the instructions that will be given below.

Instructions for making a boiler from a barrel:

First you need to take a Soviet-made barrel with a volume of 500 liters.
The bottom of this barrel is cut out. Instead, the bottom is welded with metal legs more than 5 mm thick.
Then they retreat 3-5 cm from the bottom, and use a grinder to cut out a rectangular hole measuring 15 cm x 10 cm. This hole will serve as a doorway for the ash pan. The door is made of a metal sheet, a handle and hinges are attached there, and it is attached to the opening.
Then the grate is made. The grate is a metal sheet with holes through which ash from the firebox will flow into the ash pan. The grate is located above the ash pan. It should be positioned so that the distance from the upper border of the ash pan door and the grate is 5-7 cm.
Now another 10 cm are retreated from the level of the grate and a hole measuring 25 cm x 40 cm is cut out. This will be the doorway for the firebox. The door is also made from a sheet of metal, handles, hinges, latches are welded, and attached to the opening.
Then the heater is placed. The bottom of the heater should be located at such a level that the height of the firebox is 1/3 of the entire height of the barrel. The height of the heater itself is equal to the height of the firebox. The separating layer between the heater and the firebox should be made of reinforcing bars. It should be noted that the hole sizes must be smaller sizes the stones themselves, otherwise the stones will simply fall into the firebox. In the center of the reinforcement layer, it is necessary to leave a hole in the form of a circle with a diameter of 10 cm, into which the chimney pipe will be inserted. All that remains is upper part barrels. It serves as a water heating tank. The tank and heater should be separated by a continuous layer of metal. There should also be a hole in the center for the chimney to pass through. The partition and chimney must be welded without seams.

All! This concludes the process. The unit made from a sauna barrel is ready for use.

How to install correctly

Before proceeding with the installation of the boiler, it is necessary to build a strong foundation. It is made of refractory bricks, in several layers. Then the already prepared concrete solution is poured there, after which the structure is installed.

The walls to which the structure adjoins, and some part of the ceiling through which the chimney exits to the outside, should be laid with a layer of fire-resistant material, for example, Izover material. It should also be borne in mind that the chimney pipe must be straight, and without any bends or turns should come out strictly vertically upward.

Usually the pipe has to be bent if the structure was first made, and only after that they began to think about its location. Therefore, you first need to decide on the location of the structure, and only then begin to manufacture the structure.

The boiler is the main attribute of the bathhouse. For it to truly perform its functions, it must be installed correctly, in accordance with all the rules. Only then will the operating process be a pleasure

A bathhouse in a suburban area has long ceased to be an expensive luxury. It not only replaces a small, uncomfortable bathroom or shower, but is also a place where many diseases are cured. The main room inside it was always a steam room, in which a stone stove was installed. If you don’t have time to build such a complex structure, you can build a small boiler for a bathhouse with your own hands from available materials: pipes, barrels, etc.

Below are the options for arranging and installing the boiler:

Click on the image to enlarge

Let's get started

In order to independently build a reliable and simple metal boiler, you need to acquire the following materials:

One and a half meter pipe with a diameter of more than 0.5 m
Meter pipe with a diameter of about 0.35 cm
Steel hinges, handles and latches
Sheet metal
Fittings for making a grate or a ready-made grate

It is necessary to cut a one and a half meter pipe into two sections:

First, 0.9 m long, will be intended for the manufacture of the combustion part
Second, 0.6 m long, will be intended for the manufacture of a water tank

If it is possible to find a stainless water container of a suitable diameter, this will be a big plus. Steel, like most other metals, will soon begin to rust.

Video about the internal structure of a sauna boiler

If you have a question: how to heat a greenhouse in winter? —

When assembled, the boiler will consist of the following zones:

Blower and combustion chamber
Kamenka
Container with water
Chimney

Below are some of the most popular drawing options:

We make a blower and a furnace

Initially, work is carried out with a large section of pipe. At the bottom of any boiler for a bath with your own hands, you need to use a grinder to cut a hole for an ash pan measuring approximately 200x70 mm. The cut pieces should not be immediately thrown into the trash bin - they may be needed, for example, as a basis for doors. All that remains is to grind the edges, weld the curtains, handle and valve.

Now you should prepare the grate. If there is no ready-made suitable product, it can be cut out of a 1.5-2 cm steel sheet and made required quantity slots using a grinder. The second option is to lay a certain number of reinforcing bars and weld them together, but this is less durable.

The main purpose of the grate is to separate the combustion chamber and the blower. Burning fires will be placed on it, so it must be welded inside the pipe as securely as possible. Coals and ash will fall through the slits.

When the grate is installed, you can cut out the bottom from a 1.5-3 mm steel sheet for the future boiler and weld it securely at the bottom. Since it is not recommended to install the boiler on it, so that the hot surface does not come into contact with the floor or foundation, you need to make 3-4 legs from wide corners. One of the acceptable options is to weld the bottom in such a way that there remains a welt 3-4 cm high, into which a stand can be cut.

Let's start arranging the heater

When the firebox is ready, you need to think about which heater manufacturing options to choose:

Thick reinforcing bars are taken and a grate is constructed, resembling a grate, which is welded above the combustion chamber
Take a piece of pipe with a diameter of 0.3-0.4 m and cut off the upper part to form a scoop. It is installed perpendicularly inside the main pipe and tightly welded

Another hole is cut on the front side of the boiler and a door is installed - stones will be laid through it

If we compare both options, the second will be more reliable and durable, but the first is much simpler and will allow the stones to warm up faster. In both cases, the heater must be positioned at the same height - about 12-15 cm from the top edge.

Water tank

We continue to cook the sauna cauldron with our own hands. Now you need to take a smaller piece of pipe and start making a water tank. A bottom made of steel 0.6-0.8 cm thick should be welded from below. A hole is made in the middle of the bottom, equal in diameter to the chimney pipe. The latter is welded tightly, and its length should be greater than the height of the water container.

When carbon dioxide and smoke are removed through the pipe from the combustion chamber, they will be able to transfer their heat to the liquid. A small tap is welded into the bottom of the container through which water will be drawn.

It is necessary to monitor how tightly and efficiently welded the seams are. Otherwise, the combustion chamber will be filled with water or some of the carbon monoxide will enter the room instead of the chimney pipe.

It is recommended to close the tank with a lid at the top. To do this, two semicircles are cut out: the first is welded tightly, and the second is installed on hinges in order to be able to open slightly freely. Do not forget that the chimney pipe must pass through the lid. All that remains is to weld both parts of the boiler together. The bk can be additionally secured with a steel coupling.

How to install a sauna boiler correctly

It is not enough to weld a sauna boiler with your own hands; it must be installed correctly. If you follow a few important rules, you won’t need to worry about safety in the future:

You cannot install the heater close to the wall, even if it is built of brick, the minimum distance is 20 cm
Under the stove it is necessary to pour a monolithic or lay out a brick platform measuring 0.7x0.7 m and a depth of about 0.25 m
If you choose a brick foundation, you should use fire-resistant products that are fastened together with oven clay mortar
The metal boiler must be installed in such a way that its combustion door is located towards the exit
It is recommended to install shelves near the wall where the boiler will be installed, and their height should be selected correctly so that your head does not touch the ceiling
Lights and other lights must not be placed on the ceiling. electrical appliances, since it will be the hottest surface

IN wooden bath It is recommended to insulate the metal stove and line it with refractory bricks. This is necessary to prevent the wood from overheating. The dimensions of the masonry should be slightly wider than the foundation - 0.8x0.8 m. The height is 100-120 cm.

Chimney installation

Video about how to make a pipe passage through the ceiling in a bathhouse with your own hands

Since the chimney pipe will go outside, it will definitely go through the roof. It is very important to ensure that it does not come into direct contact with other surfaces:

When passing through the brickwork, it is necessary to provide a thickening of about 10-15 cm
Passing through wooden structures, they must be reliably covered with non-flammable heat-insulating material, the surface of which is treated with asbestos or clay mortar
The section of the pipe that will be located directly inside the roof, between the ceiling and the street, must be whitewashed or plastered

Ceramic chimney pipes have been gaining popularity lately. Their main advantage– increased protective properties and ability to withstand high temperatures. The kit includes basalt fiber, a pipe and protective blocks installed as a protective shell.

Let's sum it up

The most important thing is safety. Metal furnaces more fire hazardous than similar brick structures. Each stage should be thought through to the smallest detail.

Having even little experience with a welding machine and desire, you can quickly make a boiler for a bath with your own hands - a simple and complex design at the same time. If desired, some design changes can be made to it to improve performance, reliability and durability.

Lovers of country holidays prefer to build a bathhouse themselves. When choosing a method for heating it, they think about the choice: put a stove in the bathhouse or install a boiler? The operating principle of a stove and a boiler is almost the same, but building a boiler yourself is faster and easier than building a real brick stove. And in terms of cost, laying a furnace will cost several times more. And for the manufacture of a sauna boiler, sheet metal is most often used, so you will need welding skills.

Installation of a boiler for a bath

The boiler in the steam room largely determines the quality of the bath procedure. Depending on the type of steam room, boiler designs differ, but three main components of the heating device remain common: the combustion chamber, the heater and the tank for heating water. Appearance The water tank for boilers is varied, and depends on the model of the bath: for the steam compartment, containers are used open type, and for a sauna (where the humidity does not exceed 15%), closed indirect heating devices are more often used.

A characteristic feature of sauna boilers is the location of the combustion chamber a little further from the main body. This design allows fuel to be supplied from the room adjacent to the steam room, which ensures the absence of combustion products in the steam room itself.
The heater - a container with large stones - is designed in different parts of the boiler, but it is important to take into account the hottest part of the body.

The steam modes in a sauna and a bathhouse are very different. For a sauna, the air temperature in the steam room is set at 80–85 o C, and for a Russian bath - in the range of 55–65 o C with a humidity of up to 60%. This is achieved by applying water or various herbal infusions to a hot heater.

Sectional view of a solid fuel boiler for a sauna, with a visual representation of the movement of air flows

In order to fulfill such various tasks, the design of boilers is modified to suit individual requirements. The sauna unit is distinguished by its small heater, which is located above the combustion chamber. Since the main task of the stove in a sauna is to heat the air in the steam room as quickly as possible, the heater is open at the top, and the temperature of the stones does not exceed 250 o C due to their intensive cooling.

The heater for a steam bath is located in the upper rear part of the stove, and the stones in it are in a confined space. There is a special hole for supplying water to the stones and several outlets for superheated steam. The temperature of the stones in such a device reaches 500 o C, which makes it possible to obtain “dry” steam at the output with a temperature of 140–150 o C.

How heating occurs and where the steam comes out in each individual boiler - using an example different types devices with a closed heater and an open one

There are a great many designs of homemade boilers for steam rooms, and they are made from various materials. You could even say that there are as many types of boilers as there are individual manufacturers.

Photo gallery: DIY boilers for saunas and baths

Installing the boiler in a corner saves space Good option design and protection of the wall around the boiler natural stone A boiler with an open heater is used in a sauna, as it produces more heat. A boiler with a large hot water tank is convenient to use in a country bathhouse where there is no central water supply

Preparing to make a sauna boiler

Before starting work on assembling the boiler, check what materials and tools you have available, so that all that remains is to purchase the missing ones.

Decide: what fuel the boiler will operate on, where you will place it, calculate optimal size boiler based on the area of the bathhouse, and other points. Then make a preliminary design (i.e., what the boiler looks like externally and where it is located inside the bathhouse), draw sketches of each part, and then create a detailed drawing with exact dimensions.

An example of a drawing of a metal sauna boiler with dimensions in all projections

It is more convenient to draw up a project and develop a drawing yourself. But you can find all this data on the Internet: then you will need to carefully link the dimensions of the boiler to the area of the steam room.

Material selection

For the manufacture of sauna boilers, steel sheets with a thickness of 4–8 mm and pipe cuttings with a diameter of 420 to 820 mm are most often used. You can, of course, even use a metal barrel, but such a product will not be durable - its metal has insufficient wall thickness.

Horizontal sauna boiler made of pipe

Stove specialists consider a horizontally located boiler to be convenient and efficient in operation due to the length of the lower compartment and the air flow around the body, and, consequently, the higher efficiency of the device.

The easiest and fastest way to assemble a horizontal boiler is to make it from a pipe

A horizontal boiler has a number of advantages over a vertical one:

the shape of the stove makes it easy to load firewood into the firebox and place it on the grate;
low location of the heater;
placing the fuel in a thin layer ensures complete, uniform combustion;
The material used to make pipes is durable and welds well, since it was originally designed for welding. The longitudinal seam on the pipe is not dangerous - its strength is several times higher than the main wall.

To assemble such a boiler, in addition to the pipe, you will need steel sheets. The length of the pipe with a diameter of 530 mm is 0.9–1.2 m, and longer ones are suitable for a boiler with a closed heater. The wall thickness of standard pipes is 8–12 mm, but it is better to choose one with a wall of 8 mm.

For the front and rear parts of the boiler, you will need carbon sheet steel grades St. 3 - St. 20 with a thickness of 6–8 mm. The ash collection tray is made from sheet metal 1.5–2.0 mm thick with a wall height of 15–25 mm. It is located in the opening of the blower.

Grate bars are used either solid or separate. Solid cast iron grate is sold in hardware stores. And you can weld a separate one yourself from fittings. To fasten the grate along the walls of the boiler, guides from a corner are welded, the size of which is determined by the height of the grate.

Sheet steel boiler

It uses steel sheets 6–8 mm thick made of low-carbon material. The volume of the combustion chamber should not be less than the volume of the heater. In practice, the ratio is used when the volume of the firebox is 30–50% larger. A suitable location for the container for stones is in the high temperature zone - at the top at the back wall of the furnace. The combustion products are also cooled here, so the process of metal burnout slows down.

Sketch of a sheet steel boiler in three projections and with exact dimensions helps to navigate the choice of materials and consider the nuances of the design in detail

It is impossible to keep the temperature of the boiler walls within 60 o C: overheating is inevitable. Due to high temperatures, intense ultraviolet radiation, which does not add pleasant sensations in the steam room. To protect the walls of a metal sauna boiler from overheating and increase its service life, two methods of thermal protection are used in construction:

sauna boiler lining;
brick lining on the outside.

Lining - insulating the furnace walls from the inside brickwork. The firebox is lined with refractory bricks (fireclay mortar is used only to hold the bricks together), and a gap must be left between the metal and the masonry so that the lining does not crack when heated. The gap is sealed with basalt wool. When placing bricks on edge, the thickness of the lining will be 6 cm, and if you manage to purchase a thin brick of 3 cm, then it will be half as much.

You need to plan the lining in advance, taking into account the size of the firebox when drawing up the project. The disadvantage of this option is the high temperature of the flue gases. Heat extraction from the heater is insufficient, so chimney install a water heating tank. Additionally, a heating panel with a labyrinth chimney is installed. Having passed through its winding channel, the flue gases lose their temperature to 100 o C, which is considered safe in terms of fire.

The lining of the combustion compartment is used not only as a fire safety measure, but also for the durability of the structure

Lining the outside with brick is the construction of a sarcophagus around the cauldron. Lay the red finishing brick on the standard mortar, leaving a gap between the metal and the brickwork. The disadvantage of this method is overheating of the boiler metal with rapid burnout. Heat-resistant metal can be used, but it is expensive and requires special welding skills; or use thicker structural steel if you can get it.

A brick sarcophagus for a sauna boiler helps to retain heat inside for a long time and protects people from burns if they accidentally touch it in a steam room

Tools for assembling a sauna boiler

In the process of making a boiler and cutting out component parts, use special tools:

cutting equipment or kerosene cutter - for cutting sheet and profile metal into rough blanks;
manual grinder (grinder) - for fine-tuning the dimensions of parts, cleaning gas cuts, removing sharp edges, making technological chamfers on parts for welding and cutting sheet metal up to 3 mm thick;
abrasive wheels for grinders;
welding machine - for assembling the device;
electrodes for welding - selected depending on the thickness of the parts and grade of material;
measuring tool - to control dimensions.

Metalworking tools are also used: files, hammers, etc. Clamps are used to secure parts during assembly; for painting the boiler - heat-resistant paint and a paint brush; For lining or outer lining, stock up on mason's tools.

Do-it-yourself production of other types of boilers

Boilers for saunas and baths vary internal device(by the number and location of compartments), by the method of action (simple combustion or afterburning of pyrolysis gases) and by the fuel used - there are several types:

gas boilers;
electrical;
on solid fuel;
on liquid fuel.

Each name speaks for itself. Solid fuel boilers, most often wood, are the most popular. However, electric and gas ones are considered environmentally friendly, clean and easy to use.

Electric boilers

The main element of an electric boiler is a thermal electric heater (TEH). When selecting its power, be guided by the energy consumption ratio of 1 kilowatt per 10 m 2 of steam room area.

The heating element for the boiler is selected based on its indicators: power and voltage, in order to correctly calculate the heating of the entire bath area

The power of the heater shown is 1500 watts, the voltage consumption is 230 volts. The manufacturing technology is as follows:

before the start finishing works power and control power supply circuits are installed in the room. Be sure to use a metal sleeve to run the wires into to insulate them from moisture;
for the lower base, solid bricks (4–6 pieces) are used, laid on a lining of asbestos tiles with a thickness of at least 20 mm; asbestos is placed directly on the floor;
A basket with stones (for a sauna) or a closed heater made of a 2–3 mm thick metal sheet is installed on top of the heater.

The construction is now complete. All that remains is to install the heating control using a temperature sensor in the steam room and a thermostat. The water in the wash compartment can also be heated by an electric heater connected via a separate circuit.

This “boiler” is installed in the corner of the steam room. Therefore, think about fire protection in advance: layers of asbestos are packed onto the wall, and on top of them are sheets of galvanized steel 0.5–0.7 mm. The advantages of this design are:

ease of installation;
low costs;
no need to install a chimney;
the possibility of installing standby heating to maintain a positive temperature in the absence of owners for a long time.

Photo gallery: do-it-yourself electric boiler options

The principle of constructing a vertical heater for a bath using a thermal electric heater An open-type heater with an electric heater quickly warms up the steam room, works without smell and soot An electric heater for a sauna is fenced with a wooden fence for safety purposes An open-type electric heater is better suited for a steam room with low humidity

Gas boilers

Gas equipment is a source of increased danger, and it is not recommended to make it yourself if you do not have experience working with gas. But some people still take it, since the design of a gas boiler is quite simple.

The gas boiler is installed in a room where there is a connection to the wiring from the central gas main with constant access

The gas boiler is equipped with a lid: it can be used both in open mode for a sauna, and in closed mode for a steam bath. The manufacturing technology is almost no different from the presented solid fuel boilers, only it is connected directly to the gas pipe.

Premises for gas heating boilers are equipped with a double exhaust device: with forced ventilation and natural. Operation gas equipment cheaper than electric boilers for the same purpose.

One of the options for making a sauna boiler with your own hands

It is probably impossible to find two identical home-made boilers for a bath: any master, during the course of production, necessarily makes changes and improvements to the design based on the flight of his imagination and the characteristics of the operation of the heating system in the future. And this is interesting in itself. And the experience gained will not hurt in the future.