What a cast-iron stove for a bath is better. On alloyed cast irons. What to look for when choosing

One of the components of a comfortable stay in the sauna is a quality oven. The design of the primitive firebox, where the firewood melted before our eyes, was replaced by a variety of models of different manufacturers. What are the characteristics of cast iron stoves for the bath and how to navigate in the offered assortment, we will try to understand the details.

Advantages of a cast iron furnace

Constantly popular designs cast iron furnace, designed to heat the sauna with wood. Practical application of electricity or gas can not be compared with the traditional for the bath sound of crackling firewood in the oven and the aroma of natural wood. Despite the slow heating of cast-iron structures in comparison with metal models, they retain heat much longer.

Experts' comments on the question of which furnace design is better, cast iron or steel, sound like this:

• In the production of a sauna oven, cast iron is 1 cm thick, the maximum thickness of steel for these purposes is 6 mm, more often 3-4 mm of metal is taken. This explains the accelerated processes of corrosion, burn-out and deformation of a thinner material.
• Despite the best heat dissipation steel furnace, the cast iron construction is not subject to intercrystalline corrosion. This property is due to the content of graphite in the iron. Its presence is expressed by the presence on the outside of the kiln of plaque, which is easily removed with a dry cloth. Corrosion of the steel stove protrudes on the inner walls.

Here are the main advantages of a stove for a bath of cast iron:

1. Thermal conductivity. This figure is significantly better than that of stone and brick structures, the laying of which is deformed as a result of temperature differences. The efficiency of the stove from cast iron is 82%, one loading of firewood is sufficient for 7-9 hours of continuous operation. Their weight is from 60 to 300 kg compared with a one and a half-ton brickwork, which relieves of the need for equipping in the bath of an additional solid foundation.
2. Easy care. If you choose a cast iron stove for a sauna, you will save yourself a lot of troubles when installing and maintaining. The product does not rust, does not need to be covered with heat-resistant paint. The absence of cladding simplifies installation of the structure and allows, if necessary, to dismantle the furnace for transfer to another room.
3. Design . The abundance of models allows you to choose the most suitable option for existing in the bathhouse conditions. Sophistication adds the installation of the door from heat-resistant glass. Compactness provides significant savings in free space in the bath.
4. Safety of operation. Compared with brick stoves, products made of cast iron are less likely to provoke a fire.
5. Long service life, reaching 35 years.

Comments of consumers on the results of use in a bath of cast iron furnace practically do not contain negative moments. The only obstacle to choosing an effective design is the high cost of the product. But paying for quality is a habitual practice of market relations.

Construction with closed sauna stove

Traditional stoves made of cast iron give heat through an open stove located above the brazier. The principle of operation is to heat the stones with a flame from the brazier, which in turn provides heating of the air temperature in the bath. For effective operation, the stove with the open stove needs constant fire maintenance, otherwise the stones will cool quickly and will cease to radiate heat. Distraction for the addition of firewood does not contribute to complete relaxation and relaxation. The design with a closed stove is much better in this respect. The principle of operation of the stove with a closed stove is as follows:

• The stones are between two sheets of cast iron, this ensures their rapid warming up and a slow loss of thermal energy. The heat is gradually given to the steam room.
• In a classic stove flue gases simply go out, a closed stove passes them through itself, accumulating additional heat energy.
• Steam room, where the cast iron model is installed with a closed stove, warms more evenly, without changes.
• The temperature of heating the stones in a closed stove reaches 600 ° C. This allows you to stay in the sauna for a long time without the hassle of maintaining the temperature.

Important! Uniform heat distribution helps reduce the burden on cardiac activity.

Therefore, people who have lung and heart problems can visit the sauna, equipped with a cast iron stove with a closed stove. The patients' reviews confirm the acceptable mode of stay in the bath.

Nuances of choice

How to choose a convenient model of the stove and not make a mistake. Classic cast iron stoves for a sauna have a stove above the furnace, in the upper part of the body there can be a tank for heating water for 20-30 liters. In order to choose the right design, you should pay attention to the following points:

• Type of fuel. In addition to traditional models working on wood or gas, there are also electrical copies, the operation of which is easy and convenient.
• Performance. It is selected based on the volume of the steam room in the bath. The accompanying documents contain information on the amount of capacity of the cast iron furnace.
• Location of the furnace. Modern cast-iron models have two versions: the furnace is ordinary or elongated. In the latter case, the furnace is installed in a wall opening, allowing you to load firewood from the waiting room, which is considered the most optimal solution for a bath.
• Material. For the production of furnaces, cast iron of different quality and thickness is used. These parameters directly affect the service life of the heating system for the bath. Comments of consumers prefer the model of the cast iron furnace "Sudarushka M".
• Water tank.  There are different designs of cast iron stoves with a tank. It is hinged or built-in, the fastening is on the side, behind or directly on the chimney. To choose a suitable model for a bath, it is possible, being guided by parametres of a steam room.
• Glass door. If you want to become the owner of a cast-iron stove with a beautiful design, it is better to choose a model with a glazed door. After all, the language of the flame can be observed endlessly. It is worth noting that such beauty will increase the cost of a cast iron furnace.

Browse popular models

Positive feedback from users of cast iron stoves in the bath was given to TM Hephaestus, ATB and Sudarushka. These models will be discussed later.

Hephaestus PB-03

A compact oven is ideally suited for premises with an area of ​​up to 25 m 3. The convection type construction works on wood material in the form of firewood or briquettes. Uniform distribution of heat inside the furnace is facilitated by the flame divider. Loading fuel is made from the adjacent room with a therma.

The kit contains a wrought iron mesh for laying stones. Increase the length of the furnace tunnel help cast iron inserts. Delivery of the design of individual elements allows the installation in a bath of cast iron oven without helpers. A cast-iron stove with a thickness of up to 6 cm retains heat for 3 hours.

ATB

Karelian plant specializes in the production of cast iron furnaces for more than 25 years. Basic parameters of the ATB-2 heater:

• The power of the cast iron structure for the sauna is 20 kW.
• Without loading stones, the mass of the furnace does not exceed 60 kg.
• The body is made of heat-resistant cast iron, a remote furnace and a ash pan are welded elements.
• The capacity of the water tank is 60 liters, the tank is located in the steam room, thus ensuring the required humidity. Customers' reviews contain dissatisfaction with the rapid heating and additional heat in the therma.
• Allow to heat the premises of the bath to 20 m 3.
• High heat capacity: the required temperature reaches 3 hours, the same period of cooling lasts.
• The lifetime of the cast iron furnace is 20-25 years according to the manufacturer's assurances.
• The weight of the loaded stones is up to 60 kg.

Sudarushka

The most popular model of a cast iron furnace with a closed stove. The main design features:

• the furnace is designed for premises with the area from 8 to 18 m 3;
• capacity holds 50 liters of water for heating;
• dimensions of the cast iron furnace: 500/400/1350 mm (including the tank);
• weight without stones - 115 kg; combustion unit - 100 kg;

In the absence of cladding, the warm-up period is insignificant - up to 1 hour. Closed design  The heater provides the formation of light fine-dispersed steam. The design is distinguished by its refinement due to the installation of a large glass door.

If the obstacle to buying a cast iron furnace is its high cost, it is worth choosing an economy class option. Such models are produced by factories located in Chelyabinsk and Udmurtia, but the operation of the structure in a bath is possible after self-modernization.

Conclusion

Observance of the conditions for the proper operation of the cast iron structure will preserve its operability for a long period.

Attention! Any iron furnace is susceptible to a sharp temperature drop, so they should not be watered with cold water to prevent the formation of cracks.

To the conditions of staying in the bath became even more comfortable, it is better to decorate the cast iron furnace with a casing or to make an obkladka of bricks. Load the stove beyond measure is not necessary, if there is a desire to increase the volume of stones, you should take care of installing a reinforced frame. The metal sheet in front of the furnace is an obligatory element that prevents sparks from falling onto the wooden floor of the bath.

The peak of the nationwide love and popularity of a stone stove for a bath has long since come to naught. And in this there is nothing surprising, compact, with a high level of efficiency, metal and cast iron stoves for the sauna slowly but surely replace the traditional stove. Skeptics will certainly say that in a bath with modern stove  and the atmosphere is not as necessary, and the color is completely absent. But, it is fixable: it is enough simply to impose a modern unit with brick or tile tiles and the old Russian oven is ready in the best Russian traditions!

Cast iron or steel

Which option is preferable? Let's take a closer look at this issue. What is the difference between a cast iron and steel?

To answer this question, you first need to understand the features of the materials from which the heater is made. From the school chemistry course, you probably remember that the composition of iron and steel includes carbon, the difference is only in its percentage. So, in steel the carbon content is slightly less, hence, cast iron is more fragile.

The main differences between alloys are:

• unlike steel, cast iron is less durable;
• cast iron has a low heat conductivity and a high level of heat capacity;
• the products made of steel are more attractive.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of furnaces made of cast iron is that the walls of such aggregates have a thickness of more than 10 mm, which means that such a bath appliance will be much better able to accumulate heat, retain it longer and give away than its steel counterparts. A cast-iron stove for a bath will provide a gradual smooth warming up of the steam room and will allow you to economically spend firewood - expensive fuel.

High heat resistance and thick walls of the heater also have a positive effect on its durability. Cast iron walls are not deformed under the influence of high temperatures, which means that the unit will last you for many years, its service life is much higher than that of steel.

The indicators of resistance to corrosion of cast iron are simply brilliant, unlike steel, it does not rust even in a room with sharp temperature fluctuations and high humidity.

Modern cast-iron appliances for a bath are made by a method of casting, carried out on the principle of a tenon-groove, or with the use of sealants. The absence of welds also positively affects the quality, because very often, due to non-compliance with the technology, the joints become the most vulnerable places of the heater.

Another important point: cast iron - chemically neutral alloy, which means that in the process of the furnace, oxygen in the room will not burn out.

For the sake of justice, it should be noted that products made of cast iron still have drawbacks. First of all, this is the high cost of such units and a large specific weight, which means that the installation of the furnace is a prerequisite is the need to equip it with a foundation.

Very many modern manufacturers in an effort to reduce the cost of their products and make it more competitive offer consumers combined options.

In this case, the furnace part of the unit is made of heat-resistant cast iron, and the outer shell is made of stainless steel. Such specimens have proved to be quite good, but those who are used to the "venechnuyu" couple, still remain adherents of brick or iron stoves.

The popularity of cast iron stoves for a bath is due to a number of advantages, among which one can distinguish: the durability of stainless cast iron, the small dimensions of the stove, the high efficiency (the stove heats 15 minutes after starting the furnace and holds heat for a long time).

The location of the fuel combustion device, popularly known as a furnace, is a key criterion for selecting a stove. On this basis, they are divided into three groups, discussed below.

Built-in

This is a stove with a remote furnace. The door of the remote element is usually located in the rest room. Convenience is obvious - you do not have to be in the steam room to remove soot and ash. Thanks to this, the steam room will always be clean.

Another plus - firewood can be placed next to the heater to periodically throw them into the fire. So natural fuel will avoid wetting.

In addition, the steam room acquires an aesthetic appearance, because the firewood is not scattered throughout the room. Some of the furnaces sold in shops with a remote furnace are decorated with stones (talcochlorite or coil).

The ovens advise: if you decide to purchase a stove for a bath with a portable furnace, stop choosing it on the decorated - it will protect the visitors of the bath from burns. Such furnaces are expensive, but safety and comfort pay back costs by 100%.

Stationary

It's a stove with an unbearable furnace. Excellent cope with the prescribed functions for heating the room and perfectly complements the interior of the steam room. Ideally look in small rooms, where every centimeter of space is valued.

The structure of cast iron provides the presence of refractory glass, through which you can control the combustion of firewood; in such a peaceful atmosphere, rest will be even more pleasant.

Take note:  it is unlikely to be able to independently produce a cast iron furnace, as it is common with iron analogs. With cast iron you need skill, honed for years.

The disadvantage of a stationary furnace is the impossibility of locating the natural fuel next to it.

Universal

In another way it is called a closed type oven and is used in bathhouses "in white". Through the provided hole, water is poured onto the stones lying inside the oven, heated and converted into steam. The universal version allows you to get more dense, clean, dry steam.

Note:  The stones in the universal furnace warm up for a long time, and the temperature can reach up to 7000 C. Do not be afraid of an impressive figure. Adjust the steam intensity level by closing the dampers or metal covers (depending on the model).

Among the cast-iron stoves not only for the bath, but also, universal are the most preferable and popular.

In any specialized store you will find dozens of models of stoves, including To make an informed choice, get acquainted with the characteristics of the devices for the bath, listed below.

Criteria for choosing a furnace from cast iron

Some of the most traditional furnace options

The simple task of the buyer to choose from a variety of furnace options is the one that optimally fits into any interior, does not deprive all money savings and arrange your households for various technical parameters.

Before buying equipment, please evaluate the furnace of interest according to the criteria below:

• Power

  It is chosen according to the size of the room. A standard steam room with volume from 15 to 45 m3 is perfectly heated by a stove with a capacity of 8 - 18 kW;

• Type of fuel

  Classic fuel for a hot bath - firewood.  Also there are pig-iron (furnace from cast iron), working on gas, from the electric grid and combined. We recommend choosing a sauna, which is intended for firewood burning. Listening to the crackling of logs, watching them burn out, basking in the fire - these traditions have their own charm.

• Wall thickness

  A cast iron furnace is much heavier than a steel analog, since the wall thickness is about 10 mm, and the furnaces are 5-6 times larger. Small kilns weigh 50-70 kg, the largest - up to 160 kg;

note: the thicker the wall, the longer the lifetime of the cast iron furnace.


• Decoration of the furnace door

  It can be tightly closed with cast iron or have built-in heat-resistant glass; choose according to your wishes;

• Availability and location of the water tank

  If you need a tank for heating water, choose from two types:
     built-in;
     hinged;

Cast iron furnaces of thermal power up to 10-12 kW are attractive primarily economically: the purchase, delivery and installation of a cast iron furnace together with a device for it will cost at least 15-20 times less than building in an existing house. The reason - the ratio of weight and thermal and technical parameters of both. A cast iron stove for 5 kW weighs approx. 100 kg; equivalent to her brick - 800-1000 kg. At a power of 7 kW, the weights of both are approx. 150 kg and 1.5 tons. The difference is fundamental: the normal load-bearing capacity of the floor in a residential building is 250 kg / sq. M. Ie, a cast iron stove can simply be put on the fire brigade, and for brick, in any case, you need a foundation. But, if the power of the furnace is more than 15 kW, in the heat engineering the cast-iron furnace starts to catastrophically lag behind the brick  and there is a need for capital construction works  to install it. This is the first restriction determining the scope of cast iron ovens.

Cast iron furnaces for the house are also good in that they are manufactured in the most diverse design, see Fig. - there is no need for labor and money to finish the furnace. However, the cast-iron stove is only able to heat one room:  it is impossible to build it into a partition according to safety rules. In close contact with foreign materials, the probability of cracks in brittle cast iron increases many times, and then it remains or stop the furnace, or burn and burn. The cast iron furnace should be operated in open space - this is the second important limitation of its application. And the third, for the same reason - a cast iron furnace can not be vital heating device  prolonged and / or continuous action. Including a heating furnace with a water circuit and a long-burning boiler. A crack in them can cause an accident with severe and even tragic consequences.

In total, it is possible to single out cases when the installation of a cast iron furnace should be considered first of all:

Why cast iron?

The ability of a cast iron furnace to compete with brick in heating technology and technological culinary qualities is determined primarily by the properties of the cast iron itself:

1. Chemical resistance;
2. Heat resistance and heat resistance;
3. high heat capacity.

Cast iron is not easily affected by chemically aggressive substances; especially acids. When acid falls on cast iron, there is a so-called. passivation of its surface. In containers of passivated cast iron, concentrated sulfuric acid is transported up to the railroad tank cars. Therefore, the probability of damaging the cast iron furnace with acid condensate from poor-quality fuel and / or incorrect combustion is negligible. The wood-burning iron stove is indeed omnivorous: it works on everything from doused wood fuel to anthracite, only the heat output varies.

Passivation of the surface of cast iron occurs not only under the action of acids. As a consequence - cast iron is rather poorly wetted by any liquids and it is slightly stuck with carbon deposits. In metallurgy cast iron is made of cast iron, and in everyday life - a cast iron stove is cleaned more easily than others.

The coefficient of thermal expansion (TCR) of cast iron is less than that of steel. To some extent, this is due to its special thermo-technical properties (see below). Expanding, cast iron parts up to a certain temperature threshold (see below) retain their configuration and do not give residual thermal deformations. Also, to the same temperature threshold, the mechanical properties of cast iron are reduced little.

Of particular importance in the furnace business is the heat capacity of cast iron - it is not only higher than that of steel, but also depends on temperature nonlinearly. This is explained by the fact that in the case of heating, reversible phase changes take place in the cast iron, on which the energy of the combustion fuel is consumed. The same factor reduces TCR cast iron - part of the incoming heat is consumed not by the expansion of the material, but by a change in its structure. When the kiln cools down, the heat absorbed "into the phase" is released back quite analogously to the latent heat in other physicochemical processes, which increases the time of its heat transfer. Without seriously contradicting the truth, we can say that cast iron has a latent heat capacity.

In practice this means a lot. At the beginning of the furnace, the iron furnace heats up almost as fast as the steel furnace. When the temperature of the furnace walls reaches 430-450 degrees, the "reversible phase" begins and the temperature of the outer surface of the furnace grows much more slowly than the steel one. The cast iron furnace becomes a source of intensive convection, which rapidly warms the room, but is not burnt by thermal (infrared, IR) radiation. But reversible phase changes in furnace iron (see below) have a limit. Therefore, if necessary, the heating furnace can occasionally be overheated to red heat, which will increase it thermal power  in 1,5-2 times. If you force the furnace of a cast iron furnace twice as often as once or twice a week, then the furnace service life declared by its manufacturer decreases, but suddenly during the stay at the dacha unexpected frosts struck, no other furnace can withstand such "overheating".

What is iron

"Chuguniy" from an anecdote about Chapaev and cast iron as a structural material of things are very different. White pig iron (item 2 in the figure below), in which the carbon is in the form of cementite Fe3C, is not used in the kiln industry: its phase changes upon heating are irreversible. But gray cast iron (item 1, graphite, carbon in the form of graphite) is produced in a large number of brands for various purposes. In order to correctly choose a cast iron furnace in accordance with its purpose and / or determine the suitability for it, it is necessary to distract yourself to the initial information about cast iron as cast iron.

From pre-eutectic to hypereutectics

Steel and cast iron are eutectic alloys of iron Fe and carbon C, because on the fracture or thin section under a small magnification of the microscope or simply under the magnifying glass, the granules of the components are clearly visible. The properties of eutectic alloys are always significantly different from those of the constituent components of the eutectic. But the Fe-C eutectic is very different from metallic eutectic alloys.

In metallic eutectics, the ratio of the content of the components can, as a rule, be arbitrary, up to pure metal. The properties of metallic eutectics, depending on the fraction of the components in the alloy, vary quite smoothly from 100% one to 100% of the other (for 2-component alloys). For example, the melting temperature of lead-tin alloy has a fairly flat minimum with a content of the last 61%, which makes it possible to obtain solders for soldering at different temperatures. The gold of the 585th jeweler (58.5% Au, the rest - Cu + additives) is almost as good as the gold of purity 9999, but it resistes abrasion much better than copper and gold.

Carbon content in the alloy with iron can not be arbitrary: if the C in the alloy is more than 6.67%, the casting can break into pieces already solidifying in the mold (mold), and the finished product will be extremely brittle. Since water penetration into any cast iron furnace is not excluded, the maximum content of C in furnace iron is up to 3.8% for a dacha or fireplace and not more than 3.0% for a sauna oven.

If the carbon content in the alloy is less than 2.14%, then it is already steel. Special heat engineering properties of cast iron can be traced "down" to 2% of carbon, but they are well manifested when its content is from 2.6%. At the same time, with increasing the C fraction in the alloy, its fragility also grows. Therefore, for a dacha oven better suited  cast iron with a carbon content of 3.0-3.2%, for an oven in a sauna, which should heat up to 400-450 degrees of a large stove - with a carbon content of 2.8-3.0%, and for an oven in a Russian bath, where in the stove is necessarily supplied with water or kvass - with a carbon content of 2.5-2.8%. In the decorative furnace-fireplace made of cast iron, the carbon content in it can be any. If, however, heating is required from the fireplace, cast iron for it is needed with a carbon content of up to 3.8-3.9%, see below.

Cast iron with a share of C to 4.3% in metallurgy is called pre-eutectic, its properties in this range of carbon content vary smoothly and not very much. Cast iron with 4.3% C is a eutectic cast iron. the difference in its properties from those of iron at 4.3 +/- 0.05% C (for example, the melting point) gives a sharp peak or dip. In the stove business, eutectic cast iron is not used, because in it "hidden heat capacity" is practically absent, and the melting temperature drops to 1100 degrees, whereas in the furnace furnace it can be 1200. The hypereutectic cast iron with more than 4.3% C has the greatest heat capacity, the most heat-resisting and hard, but also very fragile. In the design of furnaces is used in a limited way, for example. for the bars.

Note:  in metallurgy and engineering, cast irons also differ in the modification of the metal base: cast iron austenitic, perlite, ferrite, perlitoferritic. For furnace parts this is not essential.

Brands of cast iron

In the specification for the furnace, the percentage of carbon in its cast iron you most likely will not find. There (or in the detailed description on the corporate site), there may be indicated the brands of cast iron, from which the furnace or its individual parts are made. First of all, if you see P (redistribution) or PF (redistributed phosphorous) with a figure - do not take it unambiguously. The furnace made of cast iron PVK (high-quality refined) will come off as a cooking appliance for occasional use, for example, at a summer cottage. Further, in order of increasing quality and price of the oven:

• SC (gray with lamellar graphite) is a budgetary stove, mainly cooking.
• HF (high-strength with nodular graphite) - regularly heated furnace oven, inexpensive home stove-fireplace.
• CC (malleable) - sauna, home Russian bath with a thermae up to 12 cu. m.
• H (doped special) - for any furnace with a certain ratio of parameters (see below).

Note:  antifrictional cast iron with the first letter A in the designation of the brand for furnaces are not intended. But a stove from such a cast iron (it will suddenly fall) will not be worse, only more expensive.

After the letters in the designation of cast iron, 2 numbers are passed through the dash. If both are 2-digit, this is the designation of tensile strength and flexural strength in kgf / sq. mm. For the furnace, their absolute values ​​are not important, but the ratio of the flexural strength to the tensile strength. If it is above 2.2 or 2.0 for a sauna oven, then this pig iron is too fragile. For example, a furnace made of СЧ15-32 is quite suitable as a dacha, and at times harder cast iron СЧ60-150 for furnaces is generally unfit.

If the second number is one digit, then the first is the temporary tensile strength (temporary tear resistance), and the second is the relative (in%) elongation at break (plasticity limit). For cooking ovens  occasional use and decorative stoves-fireplaces, we allow a plasticity limit of 2%, for heating and cooking 3-4%, for a sauna in a sauna of at least 4%, but in a Russian bath it is better to put a cast iron oven with a plasticity limit of 5-6% Temporary resistance to rupture of cast iron for a bath furnace should not be less than 30 kgf / mm; for others it is immaterial.

Note:  For decorative heating cast iron fireplace is optimal cast iron with a plasticity limit of up to 3% or with a bending strength ratio to it for tension of 2.5 and higher. Why - see below.

About alloyed cast iron

Look at Fig. The stove-fireplace on the left is painted with blacksmith patina, and on the right - with heat-resistant enamel.

The latter allows you to create halftones and create artistic images; patina - no. The difference in value? Hold on, at 5 (!) Times. Black stove - approx. 50 thousand rubles; color - approx. 250 thousand of them. In the bourgeois give? 4/5 prices for an asterisk?

No, the prices are honest. Let's remember: cast iron is poorly wetted. Painting with a patina is fixed by roasting, and pig iron under the enamel needs expensive, environmentally harmful and for the personnel sandblasting of parts, and then - surface doping with a powerful industrial laser. Keep in mind. AND do not try to paint a cast-iron stove yourself:  paint if not curdled in the flakes after the brush, then at the first furnace it will peel off.

Choosing a stove

Cast iron furnaces of various purposes in the Russian Federation are produced by many manufacturers. The hosts are well known:

• Balezinsky Foundry and Mechanical Plant
• Bresenaren
• GC Meta
• Teplodar
• Eco fireplace

Note:  cast iron furnaces of well-known foreign manufacturers - ABX, Edilkamin, EFEL, Harvia, Guca, Kastor, La-Nordica, Tulikivi and others - of the same quality category as the leading Russian ones. But the prices for them are a completely different category - customs clearance, sanctions, albeit indirectly.

However, firstly, reputation of the industry often hinders the reputation of the industry. All, for example, know that Vesuvius is a sauna stove. Meanwhile in the sale there is a relatively inexpensive, but a good cast-iron stove Vesuvius for giving. For example, Vesuvius T180 (original design) or Vesuvius Triumph, see the video:

Video: overview of the cast iron furnace Vesuvius Triumph

Secondly, even in the diocese of the leading, there are small, but worthy competitors. Especially in the field of the most popular bath ovens  from cast iron, see below.

For the bath

How to build, heat the sauna, how to steam it - separate topics. Moreover, the preferences for the design of a sauna stove with a sauna heater are the same as for bath attendants. So far, only two circumstances are indisputable. First: a flowing stove, through which flue gases pass - a relic of the times of the black baths. People in the baths with flowing stoves are regularly systematically poisoned, and in case of suicide, a cloud of soot flies into such water.

The second - a huge heater-basket, which covers the whole oven, except for the furnace door and an ash-pit, is suitable only for a public sauna with a stoker in a powerful oven. Moreover, in this case it should be filled with special rocks of the stone: talcochlorite (steatite, talcomagnesite, zhirovik, soapstone, furnace stone, pottery stone - synonyms) or serpentine (aptekarsky stone). The reason is that the sauna stove-basket needs to be heated up to half a day or more, until all the stones have warmed up to the desired temperature. But then the changes of soaring can change continuously and often, without knocking down steam, if only the stove is heated.

We will further deal with the technical issues of choosing a cast-iron sauna stove, which are fair in choosing a furnace for Russian and finnish bath, with an open and closed stove. Correctly selected sauna stove from cast iron will last at least 7-10 years and will allow to receive both soft, that and vigorous steam. On the general criteria for choosing a sauna oven and reviews of them, you can see one more video below:

Video: review of cast-iron stoves for the bath

The duration of heat transfer after the furnace for a sauna oven is not critical, because most of the necessary heat is stored in the stove. Much more important is the temporary resistance of the material to the rupture - it is it that saves the furnace from cracking when water hits it. Here it is important to know that the temporary tensile strength is greatly reduced when the furnace is overheated, i.e. when forcing a firebox.

The designs of the sauna stoves have developed completely and nothing fundamentally new in them has been introduced in recent years. The Volcano furnaces of the cast iron series Legend (items 1-4 in Fig.) And Hephaestus (poses 5 and 6) are not distinguishable by the layman from each other. The brands of cast iron, from which they are made, are difficult to find - the know-how of the firm. But their creators follow the basic principle of designing bath-cast iron ovens: do not chase the strength of cast iron. The less carbon in it, the better cast iron passes IR, which is necessary for heating the heater. The exception is a ventilated heater, but in the sauna it needs to be heated for a very long time, and in a Russian bath you can not get a vigorous steam from it. And at the same time, low-carbon cast iron is more heat resistant. Therefore, if you choose a sauna stove for cast iron, see. To the first number in its designation was closer to the above lower limits.

Second - select the furnace at the lower limit of the steam volumes specified in its description. For example, your steam room is 13 cubes. Acceptable for the price of 3 ovens: for a steam room for 10-15 cubes and for 12-20. Take the second one. Why? Phase changes in cast iron are not ideally reversible. The stove, which never burns, is not yet and is not expected. The more intensive the furnace is heated, the faster it will fail. The first of these will have to be heated almost at maximum, and the second is closer to the minimum. Serve it therefore many times longer. A case in point: the furnace Hephaestus PB-04M is almost unanimously praised, but about the Hephaestus PB-03, the reviews are contradictory. But this is constructively practically the same oven, only the dimensions are different! Understand correctly - a less powerful PB-03 is taken for the sake of economy and put in a steam room is extreme, or even prohibitive, for it is great. In general, see if you are so rich to afford to buy cheap things.

And the third - do not lose sight of the producers of the second-third echelons (Sudarushka, Surya, etc.). Trying to stay afloat with market leaders, they pay due attention to the quality of their products. And often in the specifications give the grade of cast iron in the furnace is sublevel, which allows you to choose a stove with full knowledge of the matter. Thanks to this approach, some of the representatives of the banno-furnace underground actively catch up with the leaders, see, for example, Review of Tver bath-houses from cast iron Birch:

Video: overview of a cast iron oven for a Beryozka bath

Fireplace

Indisputable leaders of the market of decorative cast iron stoves-chimneys to date Italian firms Edilkamin, La-Nordica, Belgian FEEL and Serbian Guca. But, say, domestic Teplodar is not worse. It all depends not so much on your financial capabilities, as, if I may say so, on the direction of piety. On the quality and artistic merits of cast decorative details, Russian cast-iron fireplaces in no way inferior to foreign ones. Kasli casting is Russia. In addition, almost all cast-iron stoves-fireplaces, except Scandinavian and Czech (see below) are made of ... Chinese pig iron, which Celestial melts almost more than all the other producers of the world combined. Chinese cast iron is quite good, but the foundry qualities of the Russian are still better.

If, however, you need a fireplace stove for rest for a fire and for heating, then from foreign people pay attention to Finnish Harvia, Helo, Kastor, Czech ABX and German Schmidt. From domestic - to Vulcan, Ermak, Thermophore. But in any case, make sure, first, that the glass of the furnace is thermo-transparent (IR-transparent).

The second is that the furnace furnace is made of high-carbon cast iron; possibly even from a hypereutectic one. The more carbon in cast iron, the better it will reflect into the IC room. If you photograph the furnace black or graphite brick through the IR filter, they will appear light gray, almost white. Not everything in nature is as colorful as we see it. The high fragility of carburized cast iron is not a hindrance in this case, because The furnace from getting water on it is protected by other parts of the furnace. But the high "latent heat capacity" of high-carbon cast iron makes it possible to obtain phenomenal for the furnace "burzhuychnogo" type of thermal efficiency up to 80% (!).

And the third: in order to use the heat of the flame for heating as much as possible, the decorative-heating cast-iron stove-fireplace must be equipped with an air heating circuit. Its input and output windows can be in the form (pos. 1 in Fig.), From the side (pos.2) from the front and from the top (part 3), partially (pos.4) or completely (pos.5) disguised with decorative details. But be sure - especially if you take a used oven without a specification - make sure that there are exit air windows. Then the input is exactly heating, and not just the supply air.

To give

A country house with a plot of land from a simple worker or a small employee is a phenomenon typical of Russia (more precisely, still Soviet), in the West unknown. Therefore, the production of the Balezinsky Foundry-Mechanical Plant has been firmly held in the market of dacha pig-iron stoves since those times. At the cottages you can see cast-iron stoves "balezinky" with brand name (stylized BZ, see the picture on the right), which is over 50. And nothing - brew, soar, even in winter they warm. Withstand the work with the hog (horizontal section of the chimney) from steel pipe  length up to 3-3.5 m, providing an efficiency of the furnace of more than 65%.

In Balezino produce dacha pig-iron furnace ПЧ-1 and ПЧ-2. In Rubtsovsk - very similar to them ПЧМ (А), ПЧМ-1, ПЧМ-2. Those and others - for a power of 7-12 kW. Furnaces ПЧ-1 and ПЧМ (A) are collapsible: they can be disassembled in the trunk, and in parts can be carried alone from the room to the room. The heaviest of the Balezinsky and Krupsky kilns weighs approx. 150 kg.

The secret of the Balezinsky and Kraubtsov furnaces is in the well-chosen grade of cast iron СЧ15-32. It is quite heat resistant, plastic (withstands multiple straits of liquid on a hot stove), well passes IR, which makes it difficult to burn a balezinsky or scraped kiln: these furnaces can withstand a multiple boost of the furnace. in 2,5 times in capacity (up to light red heat of the furnace) without visible damage for itself. However, recently, "balezinok" and "cicatrices" have strong competitors in the form of the same Tver Berezok, but not bathing, and dacha. Beryozka dacha cast iron stoves are already made using modern materials and technologies. Therefore, firstly, one person carries the whole birch oven. Further, Tverichane supplied their furnaces with a firebox with a glass door, turning them into mini stoves-fireplaces. Due to the competently designed configuration of the housing and cooling fins, Tver dacha cast iron furnaces. being very compact, they warm the room well with convection and do not burn with IR. Finally, the resistance of cast iron stoves Beryozka in thermal shock is impressive: a hot stove can be covered with snow, and at least that to her, see the video:

Video: test of a cast iron furnace for durability

So - a successful choice of cast iron furnace. Let's hope that this article will help you.

"The more choices, the more difficult it is to do," psychologists say. But the person who chooses a bath oven, will not have to suffer much.

The brick version is not for everyone, and if the metal model, it is either steel or cast-iron.

And any seller or internet resource will say that cast iron stoves for the bath are the best solution. Why this is so, how to choose a cast iron unit, a review of models and manufacturers, as well as the experience of customers - all this is further in the article.

Alloys of cast iron and steel - not so far gone from each other. They have carbon and iron in their composition, but the differences in properties give a different percentage of both.

In carbon steel less than 2%, this composition gives a hardness and strength.

In carbon iron, more than 2% and a lot of impurities, such as silicon, sulfur, manganese, etc.

What properties does this mixture have:

1. Cast iron is very hard, but brittle. The product can be split during transport. The body can also crack because of a sharp temperature drop. For example, if you splash a lot of cold water on a hot body.
2. The thermal conductivity of the metal is smaller, and the heat capacity is greater. In practice, this means that the oven will warm up longer, but when it warms up, it will remain hot for a while even after fading.
3. An additional plus, arising from the previous one, is that you can either lined or erect a screen, but not necessarily. Steel stoves are fried so that without the erection of brickwork, it is not very comfortable with them.
4. Cast iron can not be welded; it can only be cast. That is, to make a cast iron oven with their own hands does not work, and it is not subject to repair. On the other hand, if there are no welded seams - there is no marriage, there is no weak spot that leads first.
5. Cast iron weighs less than steel. This may sound strange, because it is customary to consider these furnaces to be bulky, but only because they are cast thick-walled (10 mm or more). If we compare the layer of steel and cast iron of one thickness, then because of the porous structure, the latter will be lighter.
6. Cast iron burns longer, has a longer service life. In part, this is due to his "thick-skin", but not only. From corrosion, the molecular structure is protected by graphite in the composition.
7. Heat resistance over time reveals another advantage - on cast iron much less scale is formed than on steel. This simplifies the maintenance of the device.
8. Processing and shaping have become much simpler, therefore these products often have an exquisite appearance, while cast-iron boilers, as a rule, are conservative and do not differ in pretentious design. But the device does not need finishing, plastering or painting.

And further. Cast iron stoves can not be found among the economy class products, at prices they always belong to medium and high categories.

Cast iron is the best conductor of heat than brick. With relatively low weight, the unit can work on one tab up to 7 hours. Their efficiency is about 82%.

Small dimensions, at high efficiency, will allow to install the boiler even in a small room, and the basis for it is much easier to make than for a stone version.

Manufacturers of furnaces for a bath of cast iron

Popular brands that can be found in the furnace equipment market:

• Inzhkomtsentr VVD Klimovsk. Models of Kalita and Sudarushka.
• Magnum (formerly cooperated with Inzhkomtsentrom, but later modernized the production, opened their own stone processing shops and now produce the President and Russian steam stoves).
• Vesuvius - several models in which both cast iron and steel parts are used.
• Hephaestus, PetrazovodskMash.
• Dobrostal produces small national aggregates of Heat. Appearance is not good, but the characteristics are good.
• Svarozic (models Slavyanka and the Fire Bird). Gray cast iron.

Hephaestas

Among foreign manufacturers, Finnish bath furnaces are leading:

• Harvia (Harvia);
• Narvi (Narvi);
• Kastor (Castor);
• Helo.

The last two brands merged in 2009 and produce a rich range of cast-iron boilers.

  The construction of the furnace is a complex process. not every amateur will decide to build it. The tips given in the article will help you to understand the intricacies of stove craftsmanship.

What is the muffle furnace and how to make it yourself, you will find out.

Cast iron stoves are used not only in bathhouses. There are also options for stoves for the house. Under the link, we consider the design options and installation rules.

Is the quality of cast iron the same for different manufacturers?

Even externally the same stoves can show themselves from different sides in the process of use.

It's all about the composition and quality of the materials.

Cast-iron alloy does not have a well-defined "recipe", components in various proportions and additional additives can be added to it.

Quality is also affected by compliance with production technology (hardening, tempering).

Of gray cast iron (MF), most of the sauna furnaces are produced (the name "gray" was obtained because of the characteristic dark color at the fracture, which gives graphite in the composition). It differs by brands SCH-10, C-15, C-20, etc. These differences relate to tensile and tensile strengths, but have no relation to heat resistance. Thermal conductivity depends more on the structure than on the constituent components.

The present alloyed heat-resistant cast iron in the composition has graphite and reacts better to temperatures. Nickel (up to 19%) and chromium (up to 3%) are two more important components of a good alloy.

What to look for when choosing?

  Most manufacturers produce similar products, with approximately the same thickness of the walls. The differences can be in detail, some of them worth considering.

Units are sold in disassembled form. They are collected already in place, usually by the owners themselves.

In order not to exert any additional efforts on the surface treatment and adjustment of the grooves, pay attention to their quality.

• Grate.  The distance between its bars should not be too large (so that unburned coals and firebrands do not fall into the ash-pit), but not too small, otherwise they will not let in air as they get clogged with ashes.
• Completely whether the cast-iron unit?  The fact is that some manufacturers reduce the cost of their products due to the fact that some elements are made steel. These places reduce the service life of the device, which negates the sense of overpayment for the cast-iron base.
• Chimney with a coil.  Allows you to save fuel significantly, because heated flue gases do not immediately fly into the pipe, but pass through the coil and give the metal heat.
• Glass doorstoday at the height of popularity. But in order to always see the beauty of the flame through it, check that the door or self-cleaning system is blown.
• Removable grate.This is convenient, because the grate is often burned. If the grid is removed, it can easily be replaced.
• Stiffening rib.Strips protruding on the body of the boiler have several purposes. First, they add strength, because iron from uneven heating can "break". Secondly, the surface area increases, which means that the efficiency of heat transfer increases.
• There should be no thin elements.Whether it's handles, hinges holding a door, etc. The metal is brittle, so such parts can break when pressed.

Well, of course, you need to decide in advance whether the oven will stand in the same room, or be located in the pier, leaving the furnace in the waiting room. In this case, you need to purchase a device with an extended furnace.

Take a closer look at the bath boilers, coated with soapstone. This gray natural material is often used for bath ovens, because it is as if designed for ovens! According to the heat capacity, the 100-kilogram mass equals bricklaying  in 500 kg.