Electric sauna stoves: tips for choosing

Recently, electric stoves for a sauna or bath have become very popular. This electric boiler has a wide range of advantages that make it very convenient to use.

Electric ovens do not take up a lot of space and it is not at all necessary to carry out a number of installation work, as with a traditional oven. An electric stove does not require a separate chimney, and they also have a temperature control function that can always be easily changed depending on personal preferences - you just have to press a couple of buttons.

Another indisputable advantage of electric sauna stoves is the complete absence of soot and burnt waste, which reduces the procedures for cleaning the stove to zero.

The installation of such a device can be carried out anywhere in the sauna - whether it is in the center of the room, in a corner or against a wall. An electric stove does not need to build a special foundation, as for a standard stove.... The selected temperature is reached in an extremely short time.

An electric stove does not require constant logging and does not emit any harmful substances such as carbon monoxide. Moreover, the oven is safe, as the possibility of getting burned on it is unlikely. Such ovens can even be placed in an apartment.

An electric sauna stove consists of the main body of the stove, a tubular heater and a container in which stones are placed. The internal structure of this apparatus includes several ventilation ducts through which heated air flows. The entire unit is controlled by a separate device that should not be located in the sauna itself.

It is imperative to move the control box outside for safety, since this device must be kept in a dry room. Quite often, in addition to the control unit, a remote control is attached to the device.

Such a remote control device allows you to adjust the temperature to a comfortable level in the sauna, postpone the start of the unit until the set time, and also allows you to set the device to turn off automatically. Also some devices allow you to adjust the humidity.

When the device is turned on, heating elements begin to work, which transfer their heat to the stones. The heater turns off automatically when the desired temperature is reached, and turns off when the stones begin to cool. The heating level is regulated by a thermostat, which maintains the temperature at one specific level.

Electric sauna stoves can be categorized into several types. In particular, according to the principle of operation, one can distinguish electric heaters and stoves with a steam generator. Their difference is that the principle of operation of an electric sauna heater is to heat the sauna air from hot stones, and a stove with a steam generator generates steam into the room. This is a steam electric oven. In such electric ovens, a function with an automatic water intake is often provided, which allows you not to constantly check the amount of liquid inside the apparatus. Typically, these ovens are manufactured with an evaporator.

Oven thermos has a small size and a pleasant appearance.In terms of design, you can find completely different electric stoves, even those that resemble a fireplace and create a unique coziness in the room. In addition to the electric steam generator, the furnace may have a belt structure or a combined one.

Band heaters have several advantages. Such heaters are very durable and, importantly, economical. A tape heater is capable of heating a much larger volume, in contrast to a conventional steam generator.

Heating the room with a belt oven is one and a half times better. And it is almost impossible to damage the tape heating, since it is protected by a durable ceramic tape. Combined designs can combine both a steam generator and a tape type of heating at the same time.

The advantage of closed cases is that they are able to maintain heat for a much longer time., although the air is warmed up not so quickly. These ovens are heavy and sometimes require a special foundation.

For furnaces with an open type casing, the air warms up quickly, but the ability to retain heat for a long time is reduced... But these ovens are lightweight and do not require a separate foundation.

Furnaces with cast iron bodies have proven themselves best.... They are better than others capable of retaining heat, very resistant to high temperatures, reliable and have a very long service life.

Induction oven from a metal or cast-iron frame is also capable of quickly heating the entire room, but the metal cools down pretty soon. By the way, metal stoves are used to equip a Finnish bath.

Also popular materials for the production of sauna stoves are stainless steel and aluminum.

According to their power, heaters are distinguished, which have enough power of 220 V. As a rule, these are small stoves suitable for a standard sauna or mini stoves for a single-seat home sauna. A single sauna can even be used in an apartment. But more serious electric furnaces need a power of 380 V.

Modern manufacturers offer a wide range of different oven sizes. Wall and floor heaters can be distinguished. Wall mounted ovens are perfect for small saunas. Floor-standing stoves can have a variety of shapes - cylindrical, square, spherical or corner stoves.

The corner oven is one of the most convenient options because it saves space. But in order not to damage the walls due to the high temperature, it is required to provide their protection in the form of a metal shield or to shield the stove from the wall with bricks. Floor heaters may require a foundation.

There is a list of certain manufacturers who have long demonstrated the high quality of their products on the market. Furnaces of Finnish manufacturers have good performance.

In particular, the firms producing the best electric sauna stoves include:

• Sawo Is a Finnish manufacturer that supplies quality stainless steel stoves with remote control and scented cups for aromatherapy lovers. Despite their compactness, the stoves of this enterprise are distinguished by a large volume of stones placed in them, good and quick heating, as well as a strong design.

• Harvia... Stoves from these Finnish manufacturers can be both floor-standing and wall-mounted. These furnaces are distinguished by their complete automation of their work.

• Tulikivi Is a company that offers ovens with a rather sophisticated design. To decorate their stoves, the manufacturer uses materials such as granite, marble, natural ceramics.

Domestic analogs of electric ovens can also be distinguished. Production of electric heaters in Russia such firms as "Ermak", "Teplodar", "Uralprom"... The products of these companies also differ in good characteristics, while their price is much less than foreign stoves. Although domestic consumers prefer to use foreign stoves more, nevertheless, reviews of Russian-made stoves are also quite good.

When choosing an electric sauna stove, you should be guided by some criteria that will help you choose the right sauna stove.

One of the main parameters is the volume of the future steam room. For a good sauna, it is important to correctly correlate its power and height, width and length of the room. The main thing is to remember that 1 kW of electricity should fall on one cubic meter of space.... It is also worth correlating the voltage in the room with the capabilities of the stove. Typically, ovens require 220 volts or 380 volts.

Another important factor to consider when choosing is the control of the electric furnace. As mentioned above, ovens can be with a built-in control unit or with a remote control. Although today many manufacturers combine both of these elements.

The subtleties of the heating element are also one of the most basic criteria to which you need to pay attention, because the heater is the main component of the entire system in an electric oven. Furnaces with heating elements are very popular, furnaces in which there is a tape heater are slightly behind them... Although heating elements are capable of heating the air to impressive temperatures, at the same time they are rather fragile and do not have a guaranteed long service life. If you buy a stove with a heating element, then it must be made of stainless materials.

Band heaters can please with impeccable quality of work, long service life and environmental friendliness. Models combining both heater options combine the best aspects of both models... But the cost of combined heating of the furnace is quite high. The steam oven system is also popular.

When self-installing an electric stove, it is extremely important to comply with some mandatory requirements:

• First of all, the future sauna must have a ground loop. When installing the oven, you need to connect its cable and the zero terminal of the switchboard.
• Also, the connection of the electric oven must be performed through a special device that turns off the unit in the event of a malfunction or a short circuit.

• It is imperative that the wires to be used in a hot room are able to withstand high temperatures and high humidity. It is also necessary to observe the gaps and leave a certain distance between the stove and the nearest surfaces.
• If it is possible to comply with all these conditions, then you can directly proceed to the independent installation of the stove.
• For each element of the stove, features of its connection are provided.

• The remote control panel of the stove must be fixed at the door to the steam room for convenience, or it can be removed from the effects of high temperatures by transferring it to a room at normal room temperature. It is extremely important to have a circuit breaker for the control unit in the panel.
• For the cable of the remote control, you can use ordinary wires, since there are no particularly important requirements for them.

There are some important points for the cable when connecting to an electric oven. It is strongly discouraged to connect an ordinary wire to such a furnace.... For this there is a special cable that has a special rubber insulation and is highly resistant to high temperatures... Also, the wire is additionally protected by a metal tube or by grounding it through a metal sleeve.

Oven sensor cables are always included with the oven, so they do not need to be selected separately. The instructions for the electric oven describe in detail the points of installation of the sensors, depending on each model.

The installation of the structure of the furnace itself also requires certain steps. To begin with, it is worth checking the presence of all the necessary components of the stove.

Of course, each model may have its own list of such elements, but, as a rule, these are the following parts:

• electric furnace frame;
• stones;
• fastening bar, self-tapping screws;
• supports and plates for fasteners.

It is worth carefully inspecting the oven for any damage and the absence of any of the elements. It is also worthwhile to correlate the power of the furnace and the area of ​​the room in advance.

Further, it is recommended to additionally strengthen the walls at the installation site of the stove. There are usually mounting holes on the back panel. In these holes it is necessary to place the existing fasteners so that their locking part is directed upwards.

Then you need to install the mounting plate. It is better to pre-mark the exact place of its fastening on the wall.... Then the strip is attached to the stove body, and after that the entire unit can be mounted to the wall surface. Here you need to use self-tapping screws designed for metal work.

After the sauna heater is fixed against the wall, it is worth making sure that it is level. In the event of any distortions, it is not necessary to remove the oven again. Most electric heaters have leveling feet that can be adjusted so that the stove is level.

Next, you should start placing the junction box. If possible the best option would be to place the distribution box outside the sauna room... But if such an opportunity is not provided, then the box is installed in the steam room. But in this case, it must have good heat-resistant properties. The approximate temperature that it must withstand is + 120-125 degrees. The insulation of the connected wires must also withstand high temperatures.

Then you can start installing the control panel and room temperature sensors. A cable is used to connect the oven to the remote control.

As mentioned above, there are remote controls and control units on the oven itself. Therefore, there is no universal instruction for their installation. Everything will depend on the model of the electric heater and the remote control, and their installation is carried out in accordance with the attached instructions. When installing the sensor, the optimal distance between it and the ceiling is about 4-5 cm.It is extremely important to avoid deviations when installing the sensor, otherwise it may not work and the steam room will overheat. The sensor is able to automatically disconnect the stove from the network in case of excessive air heating.

One of the main factors for the efficient operation of the sauna is the proper installation of good ventilation, which will ensure high-quality air exchange.

When using an electric oven, it is recommended to completely replace the air in the steam room about six times per hour.... Air exchange can be both natural and forced.

With natural ventilation, you should organize the flow of air from the street.... For this, two channels are made. One is for air intake, and the other is for exhaust. The cooker hood should be located under the ceiling and should be as far away from the sauna heater as possible.And the channel for the air supply should be made at a short distance from the floor.

Forced air exchange consists in using a fan in the sauna room. To do this, a ventilation channel must be made in the wall immediately above the stove, into which the fan is placed. And the exhaust duct is installed at the minimum possible distance from the floor.... The fan must be of such a capacity that 10 cubic meters of air every hour per person in the sauna while the heater is in operation.... A big plus of such ventilation is that the fan distributes the air in the room as evenly as possible.

A very important and crucial point is to connect the stove to the mains. For correct installation, you must strictly follow the individual instructions for the heater.

Next, you need to equip the electric heater for its subsequent operation. First of all, you need to correctly place the stones in the stove.

This process is carried out in the following stages:

• First you need to take out all the stones from the package and find one of them with rounded corners. It must be placed first in the heater. The corners of the rest of the soap stones have no external differences, so they can be placed in any order.
• But when laying stones, it is worth installing the fixing plates. Their number may differ depending on the model of the sauna heater. Place the plates so that they can overlap the stones from each other. This is done in order to leave gaps. All stones must be laid so that they completely cover the heating elements.

• After laying the stones, you need to fix the supporting plates over them in order to fix the stones in one position.
• Then the top soapstone is placed in the stove, which also has rounded corners.

Before putting the sauna heater into continuous operation, it must be warmed up when first switched on according to certain rules. The heating temperature should be set to +50 degrees. After an hour, the unit must be turned off and wait until the stones have completely cooled down.

After these steps, you should turn on the heater again, but set the heating temperature to +80 degrees. The sauna needs to be warmed up at this temperature for about an hour, and then turn off the stove. Then you can use the device permanently.

It is important to remember that it is highly discouraged to water the stones with water in the first stages of warming up. This can damage their integrity.

In order for the heater to work without interruptions in the future, it is necessary to observe some mandatory rules for its operation and safety precautions:

• watering the stones in the stove must be very careful, since the release of a large amount of steam can leave serious burns on the skin;
• the operating oven should not be covered or any objects should be left in the immediate vicinity of it;
• it is important to ensure good air circulation in the sauna and in no case completely close the air exchange channels;
• it is not recommended to visit the sauna while intoxicated or feeling unwell;
• visiting the sauna for pregnant women is highly discouraged;

• children should not be left in the sauna without adult supervision; children under 6 years old should not visit the sauna without a doctor's permission;
• do not expose to a very high temperature, as this can harm your health;
• in no case should you visit the sauna in case of malfunctions with the stove;
• do not use seawater when pouring stones. Due to the large amount of salt, metal elements in the stove can begin to rust;
• under no circumstances should the room temperature sensor be covered.

To maintain the necessary hygiene in the sauna room, after each visit, it must be cleaned up and thoroughly dried. For drying, it is worth opening the ventilation ducts completely.

The stones in the stove should be periodically inspected for damage and cracks.... This should be done at least once a year. If some of the elements are damaged, then their further use is not recommended and the stones must be replaced.

Do not clean the oven with abrasive substances.... It is best to use a regular, soft cloth to wipe down the sauna heater.

It is better to use the help of qualified professionals to check electrical appliances.

Some defects in the operation of the oven can sometimes be dealt with on your own.

If suddenly the stove does not heat up the sauna, then you can try to solve the problem as follows:

• first you should turn on the oven;
• then adjust the heating using the control unit;
• you need to make sure that voltage is supplied to the oven. Perhaps the cable is damaged somewhere and should be replaced;
• it is also necessary to check the temperature sensors. Maybe they are defective and turn off the oven automatically;
• and most importantly, you need to check the fuses.

The second fairly common malfunction, which you can also cope with on your own, is the insufficient heating of the sauna. It is important to remember that under normal conditions, the air in the steam room should completely warm up in one hour.

If this does not happen, then you can do the following:

• the heating temperature should be increased;
• check stones for damage, correct placement and sufficient quantity. The main thing at the disposal of the stones is to leave gaps between them, otherwise hot air will not flow to them;

• perhaps the power of the stove and the area of ​​the steam room are incorrectly correlated;
• ventilation should be checked - perhaps the air flow is too large and the room is immediately cooling down;
• you need to check if the heating system itself is in order. If the heating elements start to turn red during operation, then the matter is in one of the above reasons, if not, then it is necessary to replace the heating system itself.

In case of other serious malfunctions of the sauna heater, you should seek professional help.

The electric oven is a great substitute for standard ovens that require wood. The heater is able to warm up the room well and cause much less hassle in its care and operation. An electric stove can be a very original and creative design solution that can give a room a certain atmosphere and become the main part of the entire sauna. With proper care, an electric oven can last for many years. The choice of such an electric stove is guaranteed to make the sauna a comfortable place to relax at home.

For information on how to choose an electric oven, see the next video.