How to make a blower for a brick oven with your own hands?

What types of stoves are there?

Before you properly install a stove in your home, you need to determine its functions.
There are three types of similar structures for a private home:

1. For heating. The structure includes a firebox and a large chimney with many branches. The resulting flue gases give off their heat to the surrounding space through the walls of the chimney. Such stoves, which are heated mainly in winter, are usually equipped in houses with electric or gas stoves.
2. For cooking. This appliance is intended exclusively for cooking. It is distinguished by the presence of a short straight chimney that immediately goes out onto the roof. A cast iron stove is mounted on top of the firebox for cooking. In the space between the firebox and the chimney there is also room for an oven (it provides a cooking mode, like in a Russian stove). Summer kitchens and private houses with centralized and gas heating are usually equipped in a similar way.
3. Heating and cooking. With the help of such a stove you can simultaneously cook food and heat your home. Its design consists of a hob, an oven and a massive chimney with a developed heat exchange system. The heating and cooking variety is most widespread. With its help, both private residential cottages and small country houses are equipped.

Recommendations for installing the stove

Furnace installation

Metal stoves are installed in accordance with the provisions and rules of current regulatory documents.

The firebox and chimney of the stove should be at a minimum distance.

Installed metal stove

Lightweight stoves can be installed without a foundation, on a dense metal sheet. Relatively heavy units require an individual base made of concrete or brick. The recommended foundation height is up to 200 mm.

Installation of a sauna stove

Now you have the information necessary to make your own metal stove. Follow the provisions of the presented manual, and the finished heating unit will effectively cope with the tasks assigned to it for many years.

Furnace installation option

Good luck!

Blower doors

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Advantages of a homemade metal stove

A homemade metal stove has a number of advantages over brick heating units. Among the main advantages of the structures under consideration, it is necessary to highlight the simplicity of their design and the availability of raw materials.

DIY metal stove

Making a simple metal stove will not take much time - there are usually no difficulties in finding (purchasing) metal sheets or iron containers of a suitable size.

The installation of a metal furnace will require many times less financial investment compared to the construction of a brick heating unit. At the same time, a metal stove does not take up much space and heats up very quickly during operation.

Homemade metal stove

Metal stoves weigh much less than their brick counterparts, which eliminates the need for a strong foundation. To further increase heating efficiency, a screen made of heat-resistant brick can be laid around a metal heating unit.

Extraordinary handmade stove

Blower size

To build a stove vent with your own hands, you need to know its usual dimensions. Although there are no standards at all in size, there is one simple rule: the ash pan must be identical in size to the grate.

If the blower is smaller, then the soot will settle on the grate and will not allow air to pass to the flame.

If the ashlar does not have a door, then it is worth installing a drawer or tray. Here the dimensions are more clear. The width of the tray is the same as the distance from edge to edge of the blower. The length should be longer than the firebox.

You need to determine in advance which type of oven is right for you. When you know what exactly you want to cost, then you will find the right sizes for your type of stove. In a matter where there is no exact ideal, there may be room for your imagination.

Additional ways to realize the potential of a steel furnace

In this case, one simple rule applies: the more storage material (metal, water, stone), the more heat will remain inside the house:

If you plan to use the stove even periodically as a stove, you can install additional heat sinks on the upper wall of the firebox. To do this, you need to weld corners or strips on the edge along the entire length from the inside.

The same ribs on the side walls will provide a 5 to 10% improvement in efficiency. At the same time, they will strengthen the plane of the wall.

If a chimney made of a steel pipe is provided, it is also possible to weld corners along its length, which will remove some of the residual heat from the exhaust gases. This is another plus of 3–5%.

Cuttings of a round or profile pipe welded vertically along the side walls will create an effect that is used in modern long-burning stoves. Constant heating ensures continuous movement of air inside the pipe. Up to 20% increase in heat transfer.

By covering the stove on one or more sides with bricks without mortar, we will get a stone heat accumulator and protect the walls of the room from overheating. A variation of this method - baskets or bunkers with cobblestones around the firebox - is used in baths. Can provide 15 to 20% improvement in efficiency.

A household fan directed at the stove will protect it from overheating and even out the air temperature in the room by mixing it. Adds 10–20%.

The use of all the described methods together can increase the productivity of the heat exchanger, which in the basic version is the firebox itself, by 50–75%. The described methods, while improving performance characteristics, increase the weight of the product. Keep this in mind when choosing a base for installing the stove.

Stoves without grates have one drawback for all - the absence of an ash pan. Its combined function - accumulated ash serves as protection for the bottom of the firebox from burning out - does not allow cleaning the firebox during operation. On the other hand, prolonged combustion produces less solid waste, which means that cleaning can be done much less frequently. The ash is removed quickly and the room does not have time to cool down during this time.

We also want to tell you about long-burning stoves with vertical loading.

rmnt.ru

Classification of doors for stoves and fireplaces

Despite the fact that stove doors are quite simple in their design, nevertheless, doors for stoves and fireplaces are very diverse and differ in purpose, materials of manufacture, sizes and other operational characteristics. The main requirement for all types of stove doors is to ensure fire safety during operation of the heating structure. All materials from which the oven door is made must have a high level of strength and fire resistance. The manufactured door must provide fire safety and be able to withstand the effects of high temperatures.

Fire doors

Fire doors - designed for access to the furnace firebox, for storing fuel: firewood, coal, etc. It should be understood that fire doors must have a certain level of tightness in order to regulate the supply of oxygen to the combustion chamber. A high-quality door is one that is capable of regulating the supply of oxygen to the furnace or preventing the entry of uncontrolled air flows into the firebox. This makes it possible to influence the speed and efficiency of fuel combustion, regulate the amount of fuel burned and use it more efficiently.

According to this principle, furnace doors are divided into:

• Leaky;
• Compacted;
• Sealed.

Sealed oven door with glass Sealed blind oven door Unsealed blind oven door
Sealed doors have design features: an insulating heat-resistant cord and a pressing mechanism, due to which the door fits tightly to the oven and prevents the uncontrolled flow of oxygen into the furnace firebox, that is, it makes it possible to adjust the flame and fuel combustion rate. The efficiency of ovens with a sealed door is higher. Sealed combustion doors make it possible to obtain more heat and reduce the amount of fuel consumed.

Sealed oven doors also provide a certain level of tightness. They differ from sealed ones in the absence of a heat-resistant cord, while a pressing and locking mechanism is also used.

Unsealed - ordinary classic oven doors that have a simple locking mechanism - a handle that closes the door by rotating around its axis.

Oven doors with or without glass

Fire doors are also usually divided according to the presence or absence of glass.

Fireplace oven doors with glass are equipped with heat-resistant glass that can withstand high temperatures. Such doors allow you to look at the fire and create an atmosphere of comfort and coziness. But stove doors with glass also have a number of disadvantages:

1. The efficiency and efficiency of a stove with a door with glass is lower, since part of the heat generated during fuel combustion is dissipated through the glass rather than transferred to the heat storage elements of the stove. At the same time, the larger the glass size of the oven door, the more efficiency decreases.
2. Also, a stove with a door with glass must have design features that ensure hot air flows over the glass, otherwise soot will constantly settle on the glass of the combustion door, and the smoked glass will constantly require cleaning.

Oven doors without glass are usually called solid or blind.

Furnace portal with glass Blower furnace door Cleaning furnace door

Blower oven doors

Blower doors are designed for access to the ash chamber (ash chamber) for removing ash, as well as for adjusting the air supply to the furnace firebox through the grate.

Blower doors, depending on the ability to ensure tightness, just like furnace doors, are divided into hermetic, sealed and non-hermetic. Hermetically sealed blower oven doors have a pressing mechanism and a heat-resistant cord. The sealed ones have either a clamping mechanism or a heat-insulating cord, providing a certain level of tightness.

Leaky blower doors are ordinary, usually inexpensive doors with a simple locking device that does not provide a tight seal.

Both combustion and ash doors can be equipped with a system for adjusting combustion modes and a damper. The stove door slide allows you to adjust the fire level in the stove firebox. It is enough to open the damper slightly to supply air into the firebox, and there is no need to open the door itself.

Furnace portals

Furnace portals are a design that combines a combustion chamber and a furnace door. The stove portal not only decorates the front of the stove, but also removes part of the heat load, increasing the durability of the stove. The stove portal also simplifies the construction of a stove or its repair.

Cleaning oven doors

Cleanout doors are designed to provide access to the smoke ducts of the stove. Brick heating stoves, as a rule, have channels through which streams of hot air move, and the stove is heated before entering the chimney. Cleaning doors are installed at the turning points of the furnace channels to periodically remove ash and soot that settle on the surface of the channels. Often, in order to save money, stove makers dispense with the use of cleaning doors and leave a embedded, marked brick in the masonry, which, if necessary, is pulled out to clean the stove channels. Of course, the use of cleaning doors makes the cleaning process much more convenient.

Cast iron or steel oven doors?

Another important feature of the stove door is the material it is made of. Basically, in addition to glass, cast iron or heat-resistant steel are used to make stove doors.

Cast iron stove doors are durable, since cast iron is stronger and more resistant to high temperatures than steel. But cast iron is much heavier, and it is not always possible to make a door of a special shape or design from cast iron. The production of cast iron products requires foundry production facilities. Cast iron products cannot be produced by small businesses or in artisanal production conditions.

Steel doors are still strong enough and heat-resistant for their purposes. In addition, it is easier to make a door for a stove or fireplace from steel of almost any shape, even an exotic one.

Both cast iron and steel oven doors are quite durable and reliable. It’s up to you to decide which stove doors to buy.

Purpose of the stove in the house

They come in several types.
Previously, when open fires were used for cooking, there could be two stoves in the house - one for cooking, the other for heating. In small houses, universal structures were laid out, simultaneously suitable for domestic needs and heating. Such stoves were built together with the house and were located between the adjacent wall, providing heating for two rooms. The scheme is quite complex and the process of its implementation is labor-intensive, but the conveniences are obvious. It was possible (especially for the summer season) for only the stove to be heated. This made life much easier, because such an attribute in the house needed constant care. It consists of a set of activities performed daily or once or twice a year. With intensive use, the coarse needs to be cleaned from accumulated ash. A large amount of it will interfere with normal air circulation, causing the firewood to not burn completely. Another nuance in using a brick oven is the cracking of its finish. Experienced users advise not to overheat the surface. The normal temperature is 17-18 degrees, and the features of the brick allow you to retain moisture indoors. Such a microclimate can only be achieved by using a stove; other heating devices often dry out the air, and lower temperatures make the room feel damp and cool.

Making a sauna stove with your own hands: detailed instructions

Let's figure out how to make a vertical and horizontal oven, what equipment, tools and materials need to be prepared for manufacturing, and what theoretical knowledge you need to have in order to realize all your plans.

Advantages of homemade sauna stoves

If you are still in doubt whether it is worth making a sauna stove with your own hands, then pay attention to the advantages of this solution, which significantly outweigh the expenditure of time and effort on making the structure:

• The walls are thick, that is, they have a high thermal capacity. Therefore, even after the fuel burns out, the room will remain warm for some time;
• Since the stoves are made of metal, they are highly durable and can withstand even strong temperature changes;
• Due to the perfectly round cut of the pipe, the finished stove design has the shape of a cylinder or dome. This solution allows you to effectively distribute heat over the entire area of ​​the stove and create natural draft;
• The room warms up very quickly - in just an hour;
• Unlike the brick version, a metal stove does not need a foundation;
• Due to the high temperature and corrosion of water, a pipe with thick walls does not collapse very quickly. Therefore, a homemade design can serve faithfully for many decades;
• To carry out the work, you do not need to have any serious knowledge, you just need to be able to handle the tool and strictly follow the drawings and diagrams.

Moreover, a homemade device will cost you much less than a purchased one. And, if you find a pipe of the required diameter at the dacha or in the garage, you can assemble the stove almost free of charge. True, buying a stove allows you to save time and nerves in its manufacture.

Blower doors made of cast iron. Types and features

Blower doors close the ash chamber and regulate the flow of oxygen into the firebox; they can be leaking, sealed or airtight. The efficiency, beauty and ease of use of the stove depend on the correct choice of the blower door.

Sealed blower doors have a thermal cord along the door contour and a pressing mechanism, which increases the tightness of the door.

Thermal cord on the blower sealed door

The level of door tightness affects the efficiency of use of the heating device. When the door is sealed, air from the room does not enter the closed ash pit, the fuel burns more slowly and gives off more heat.

Sealed blower door DPG-2E “Ochag”

Sealed doors are equipped with either a clamping mechanism or a thermal cord.

Non-hermetic doors are a budget option and do not have additional design features that increase the tightness of the door. Nevertheless, they perform their main function without any complaints - they close the ash chamber and regulate the flow of oxygen into the firebox.

DP-2 DP-2

Additional design features of blower doors

Shiber

A device for regulating the supply of oxygen to the firebox. This is very convenient when the stove is already lit and a small hole is needed to supply oxygen. There is no need to open the door slightly for oxygen to enter the firebox; just open the damper.

Steel spring pins

Unlike the classic rivet connection between the frame and the cover of the blower door, steel spring pins allow you to mount the door frame separately from the cover and allow you to choose a convenient direction for opening the cover (right or left).

To ensure that the door you purchase meets your expectations, be sure to take into account all of the above points.

Safety issues: how to prepare a place to install a stove

In order for a sauna stove made of pipes to serve for many years, to be convenient and safe to use, the place for it should be properly arranged. You need to start with the foundation. Usually concrete is poured, but foam concrete slabs can also be used. The recommended foundation height is 25-30 cm. A 70x70 cm brick platform is prepared on it. It is best to use refractory bricks and clay mortar. As a result, the platform should be 15-20 cm higher than the floor.

The steam room wall must be protected with a 1.2 m high screen made of the same brick. The distance should be calculated so that after installation the stove is 20 cm from the brick screen. Sheathing made of steel sheets can also be used as protection. It is necessary to consider the location of the stove so that its body does not come into contact with wood and other flammable materials. The wooden finishing of the steam room near the stove must be treated with antiseptics and fire retardants. This will help maintain the appearance and integrity of the walls. To protect the room from sparks from the firebox, a sheet of metal or other fire-resistant material measuring 50x70 cm is placed in front of it.

When arranging the screen, you should remember that the height of 1.2 m is the minimum. If you want to protect the wooden walls of the steam room as much as possible, you can make a screen up to the ceiling

There are no particular difficulties in the manufacturing technology of a tube furnace, but it is very important to perform all the work efficiently. Experts advise installing a movable valve in the chimney so that the draft force can be adjusted

It is also advisable to make an afterburner to ensure fire safety, especially if you choose a horizontal model. This will prevent excessive soot deposition and combustion. When the structure is ready, its appearance can be refined. The functional oven is ready. At minimal cost you have ensured yourself a good bathing holiday. You have something to be proud of!

Blower doors

In their design, blower doors are in many ways similar to furnace doors. They also consist of a frame and a cover with a classic rivet, steel pin or steel spring pin connection. Pin connections allow the frame to be installed separately from the cover. Design features allow you to choose the left or right side to open the door.

Blower doors are available in sealed, sealed and non-sealed types.

Blower doors equipped with a damper (a device for controlling air supply) allow you to regulate the air supply process in a more convenient and safe way.

Some models are equipped with a heat-resistant cord located along the entire contour of the lid, which ensures the tightness of the blower doors.

How to calculate the chimney diameter

There are two calculation options: complex and simplified, but they all take into account the amount of oxygen required to ensure fuel combustion in a sauna stove. Optimal characteristics of chimneys

Optimal characteristics of chimneys

Based on these characteristics, you can calculate the diameter of the chimney using the formula

Chimney diameter

• D – chimney diameter;
• Vr – volume of air.

You can calculate the height of the chimney depending on the cross-section geometry using a graph.

Dependency graph

To calculate, you need to know the firebox area (F) and the chimney area f, divide the first value by the second and determine the percentage. For example, the ratio of the chimney cross-section to the firebox cross-section is 10%. This means that the minimum height of a round chimney is 7 meters, a square one is 9 meters, and a rectangular one is 11 meters. The difference in height compensates for the vortex resistance created by each type of chimney.

You must understand that these values ​​only apply to a straight pipe, which is difficult to achieve in a sauna. For the most part, chimney pipes have various turns, this negatively affects draft. To accurately calculate a specific chimney with various curvatures, you will have to invite a “professor”, and we advise you to slightly increase the resulting diameter. All calculations were made with a large margin, plus some increase - this is quite enough for a stove operating on solid fuel.

Some more practical tips on chimneys

Chimneys can be brick, ceramic or sandwich pipes (double). Let's consider the installation of each of these types.

Blower doors

Blower doors are designed for access to the ash chamber (ash chamber) for removing ash, as well as for adjusting the air supply to the furnace firebox through the grate.

Blower doors, depending on the ability to ensure tightness, just like furnace doors, are divided into hermetic, sealed and non-hermetic. Hermetically sealed blower oven doors have a pressing mechanism and a heat-resistant cord. The sealed ones have either a clamping mechanism or a heat-insulating cord, providing a certain level of tightness. Leaky blower doors are ordinary, usually inexpensive doors that have a simple locking device that does not provide a tight seal.

Designs of sauna stoves: general points and differences for different types

So what is a stove? This is a fire built inside a container. But combustion is an oxidation reaction of fuel, therefore, it cannot occur without oxygen. Therefore, we will call a furnace that container through which, at least temporarily, with the dampers open, flowing air moves.

Traction

This movement is called "traction" and it occurs when there are inlet and outlet openings.

Of course, such a definition suffers from incompleteness, because it does not apply to electric heaters. In them, heating occurs due to the passage of current through a material with high resistance. This releases heat.

But let's return to furnaces, where heat is released due to a chemical reaction. The art of the stove maker is to skillfully vary the amount of incoming air and the amount of firewood in the stack in order to achieve their uniform burning and maximum complete combustion.

What happens if the combustion is still ongoing, but the air is blocked? Instead of carbon dioxide, dangerous monoxide will begin to form - carbon monoxide. But why block the pipe if it is so dangerous? — The draft is shut off so as not to let the stove cool down when the wood burns out, because heat flies into the chimney along with the air.

So, we know about the role of air. Let's look at a diagram of the simplest draft furnace. What must be present in it? Three things:

• inlet (air vent or firebox door);
• firebox (aka firebox);
• outlet (chimney).

The first division of stoves can be made by the presence or absence of a blower: without it they are called “stoves with a blind hearth.” In this case, air is supplied through the open firebox door. Here's what both look like in cross-section:

Kamenka

what all sauna stoves have, heaters, batteries, creating light steam

There are two classifications of heaters according to different criteria: one takes into account contact with fire in the firebox, the second - contact with air.

If there are gaps between the firebox and the heater through which the flames lick the stones, then this is a flow-through heater.

If the barrier is blind, then the heater is called blind.

When the container with stones is inside the stove, it is a closed heater.

And if the stones are in sight, it’s open.

In this regard, furnaces are classified as follows:

Dimensions of stoves and laws mandatory for laying household stoves

1. The first thermal rise in the furnace firebox (for more details, see Fig. 1 and 2, as well as paragraph 5 of Chapter 4).
2. Width of the furnace firebox. Not less than 25 cm and not more than 40 cm for medium-power household stoves. The width of the furnace firebox should be equal to the width of the firebox door (25 cm) or (for convenience) a little more. If it is more than 40 cm, then the heat flow rate will decrease, which will negatively affect the process of fuel combustion. In an overly wide firebox, it will always burn slowly and incompletely. 3. Minimum furnace fire height. The literature recommends a height of 80-100 cm. If for some reason it is impossible to achieve it, you need to supplement the missing volume of the firebox with the so-called “afterburning chamber”. In order for the fuel combustion process to always be complete (in all furnace operating modes), combustible gases require a significant volume. If the height of the furnace firebox is less than 80-100 cm and there is no “afterburning chamber” either, then during the intense combustion phase there will simply be no place for combustible gases to burn. Therefore, unburned substances will go into the smoke channels and be deposited there in the form of tarry substances and soot. It is clear that fuel consumption in a firebox with insufficient volume will certainly increase. Old books give the following recommendation: the height of the firebox should be at least twice its width, but not more than triple. However, if there is an “afterburning chamber”, the last condition will not be necessary. 4. Depth of the furnace firebox. The minimum size is about 70 cm, the maximum is not regulated. 5. Correct proportions of the blower chamber. 6. Installation of the top brick above the oven door. It is advisable to fold it “locked” (Fig. 5). If good quality bricks are not available, you can lay them on two metal strips.

When the top brick is placed on one metal strip, the front wall of the furnace (not always, but usually) begins to “breathe”: the coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal is 6 times higher than the coefficient of expansion of the brickwork. Old stove makers taught me: “Never put metal under chimneys, it will later destroy your entire stove.”

If absolutely necessary, metal can still be placed in the furnace, but under one condition: that one end of the metal strip must be free. However, metal should not be placed in areas with the most severe temperature loads under any circumstances.

7. Installation of the fire door frame. Four metal strips are riveted onto the fire door frame.

A. Stretches correctly “pull” B. Stretches correctly “bent”

If for some reason you have to attach the fire door frame to a wire (the recommended wire cross-section is at least 3.5 mm), then it is necessary to fasten the wire braces at an angle of at least 45° relative to the front surface of the fire door. If the furnace door is not fastened correctly, the wire braces hold its frame not “tight”, but “bent.” The stove solution under the wire quickly crumbles, and the fire door falls out of its seat within a matter of weeks. When securing the fire door frame, it is also necessary to take into account the vertical inclination of its installation. It should be such that the stove door, in a free (unfixed) state, tends to close itself under the influence of gravity or (when installing the fire door frame strictly vertically) at least not to open.

8. Installation of cleaning doors. The cleaning doors can be attached to a wire. 9. Installation of the grate. A prerequisite for laying grates must be to maintain thermal gaps of 0.5 cm on all sides of the grate, where it can abut the furnace masonry. Sand or ash is poured into the gaps left (also see explanations to paragraph 4 of Chapter 19 (“Minor repairs”), Fig. 10, a and b). Installing the grate "tightly" will lead to the fact that the lower part of the masonry will be broken during the first significant heating of the furnace. 10. The thickness of the trench masonry bed should be exactly two layers of bricks per die. If there is a wooden surface under the stove, then for fire safety reasons it is necessary to place one additional layer of bricks on a block directly on the wooden surface.

One layer of trench masonry is unacceptable according to fire safety rules (it will quickly burn out), and three layers will not provide intensive heat removal. So that leaves only two. 11. The cross sections of smoke wells before exiting the room (first floor) must in any case be at least 300 cm2 (one brick per die). Narrowing the cross-section of the smoke channel (more than recommended) will significantly reduce the draft of the stove. Damp wood in such a stove will burn weakly. It will be difficult to achieve uniform heat transfer. 12. The length of the shortest path along the smoke ducts to their exit from the premises on the first floor should not exceed 5-6 m (in the presence of double and triple wells, it is not the sum of their paths that is taken into account, but only the length of the shortest path through the smoke ducts). Violating this maximum length limit for smoke ducts will significantly weaken the overall draft of the furnace and, much worse, may lead to the formation of condensation inside the smoke wells and the furnace outlet pipe. 13. The diameter of the outlet pipe must be at least 16 cm and no more than 30 cm. Installing the outlet pipe outside the recommended diameters will certainly lead to a noticeable weakening of the draft in the furnace. 14. The vertical internal partitions of the smoke ducts with the general masonry of the stove walls are not tied up. 15. Internal partitions of smoke ducts should be laid out in a quarter of a brick. This is necessary for a uniform heat transfer area of ​​the external walls of the furnace.

Installing internal partitions of half a brick or more will create corresponding areas of poor heat transfer on the overall heat transfer surface of the furnace. 16. The internal partitions of horizontal wells are made in mandatory connection with the general masonry of the furnace walls. 17. Refractory and red bricks are not tied together into one masonry - they have different coefficients of thermal expansion. 18. Some sources on furnace business recommend a pipe height of at least 5 m from the surface of the grate. In a stove that is built in accordance with the above recommendations, the draft will be good even with a pipe height of 3-4 m, but 5 m is still better. 19. The lining brick must be laid out in such a way that it is in a stable position and without mortar. The temperature and technical operating conditions of the lining brick are such that the binder solution in this zone of the furnace is forced to play the role of a rigid sealant rather than holding the bricks together. Large temperature changes tear the mortar away from the bricks at the first significant heating of the oven. If the lining brick is supported only by the adhesive properties of the mortar, and not by itself, very soon it will “crawl out” from the general row of the masonry. The lining brick cannot be combined with the overall masonry of the furnace.

Quick view

Design and principle of operation

The construction of a stove will be pointless for the purpose of constant use in harsh climatic conditions, because the design of the stove is not intended for long-term heating of a large space. This stove is less heat efficient than others, so it is better suited for seasonal use.

Small oven is rough

The design of a rough stove is relatively simple, but in order to build a building yourself, you need to know the basic principles of heating engineering and have skills in working with bricks. The principle of operation of coarse stoves is the same as that of other brick kilns.

Firewood is placed in the firebox, the open ash pit allows smoke to escape without entering the room. A special winding chimney removes combustion gases to the outside. This design of chimney pipes allows you to retain heat and heat a large area. A long pipe and a special type of shield make it possible to heat with minimal fuel consumption.

The design contains the following elements:

1. A blower with a door, necessary for good air circulation,
2. Firebox - a chamber for supplying fuel to the stove,
3. A shield with special channels designed for the passage of gas,
4. The chimney in the furnace, as in any other furnace, is designed to remove gases from burnt fuel to the outside. A door and a damper are required.

Cleaning the ash pan

Traditional and in a finished firebox. The ash pan is most often made of metal. Even when the ash chamber is made of brick, like the fireplace, the box itself is made of sheet steel. The fact is that brick chambers are inconvenient to clean: you will need a bucket, a special dustpan and a broom. It is enough to take out the metal box and simply pour the ash out of it.

The chamber door must be opened slightly during combustion to allow air to enter the firebox. But the air flows unevenly; it often creates turbulence, which leads to the ejection of some of the ash. That is why today, even brick fireplaces and stoves are usually equipped with metal ash pans.

Additionally read:

• Decorating the fireplace with decorative stone
• Fireproof glass for a fireplace: secrets of fire resistance and tips for choosing

Most often, the ash pan is removed from the front side. But sometimes - from under the grate (found in ready-made fireplace inserts, and this is needed to increase the area of ​​the glazed part). To clean such an ash pan, you will have to wait until the firebox has completely cooled down. And if it is completely filled during combustion, there will be no way to release it.

Not all the ash spills into the ash pan. To efficiently clean the combustion chamber from soot and soot, you need a special fireplace vacuum cleaner.

Construction of the furnace foundation

Before you build the stove yourself in the country, you will need to first lay the foundation. It is installed separately on the ground, without connecting it to the main foundation of the house.

We lay the base of the oven with our own hands step by step in the following sequence of operations:

1. Preparation of concrete mortar grade M200. 3.5 buckets of sand and one bucket of cement are mixed in a mortar vessel. After diluting the dry mixture with water, thoroughly knead until a slightly fluid homogeneous mass is formed. Crushed stone in the amount of 5-6 buckets is poured into the resulting slurry, after which it is brought to the state of a homogeneous thick solution. To make the concrete more flexible, you can add a little liquid soap or dishwashing liquid to it.
2. Digging a pit. For the foundation, you need to dig a pit 45-60 cm deep. Its dimensions on each side should be larger than the dimensions of the furnace. The bottom of the trench is compacted, and the side walls are reinforced with board or plywood formwork. Next, a sand cushion 10-15 cm high is poured, and rubble stone is placed on top of it in a layer of 15-25 cm. Sometimes the walls are reinforced not with formwork, but with pieces of roofing felt.
3. Pouring the solution. Reinforcing lining is installed at the bottom of the trench, for which reinforcing lining made from welded reinforcing bars or steel pipes is used. Concrete is poured in several portions. To achieve good density, the solution is pierced to the bottom with a wooden strip or piece of reinforcement: this allows the air accumulated inside to escape out. The upper part of the base is reinforced with a steel reinforcing mesh. A finishing layer of concrete 2-4 cm thick is placed on top of it.
4. Leveling and hardening the foundation. A rule is used to level the poured concrete solution. It is necessary to achieve strict horizontality of the upper surface of the base: it should be inferior to the level of the finished floor by 8-12 cm. After this, the foundation is covered with a polyethylene film, leaving in this position for about 7 days, until the solution has completely hardened.

Operating rules

A rough stove can only be used for one or two seasons, or inside a small house, since it is not capable of heating large spaces. Also, its power is not enough for heating in winter.

It is necessary to regularly clean the chimney from soot and remove soot. If this is not done, the outlet will become smaller due to accumulations of combustion products, and some of the harmful gases will penetrate back into the house, which can lead to poisoning.

You should not put a lot of fuel in one stack of firewood or coal, and also do not close the door too tightly.

Technique of use

For cooking, only heat-resistant cookware is used, which when heated does not deform and does not emit harmful substances. For example, from clay, cast iron.

Immediately after laying and drying the mortar, you should conduct a test heating with a small amount of fuel, for example, burn a couple of newspapers. To make sure that the smoke exhaust is working properly.

Ash pan functions

Cleanliness + traction. An ash pan is a drawer or drawer;
it is located under the firebox. The ash pit usually has no top cover: the open part is located at the base of the firebox and can be covered with separate grates or a grate, on which the fuel is placed. One of the main functions of the ash pan is to remove excess ash from the fuel (it prevents the fuel from burning fully).

The ash pan and grate provide air flow to the fuel. Since the tray is installed below the firebox, during combustion a draft occurs - air is “sucked in” through the ash chamber and enters the firebox, after which, like the combustion products, it is discharged through the chimney. It turns out that the chamber is also an air collector. If there is a door at the end of the product, then when burning it is opened slightly; if not, the tray is pulled out a little.

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On the picture:

We rarely pay attention to this inconspicuous detail - the ash pan should not be conspicuous.

Potbelly stove with smoke circulation

This is a rectangular stove with minimal fuel consumption and the ability to regulate combustion intensity. The structure (furnace body) is assembled from metal sheets by welding.

Required materials and tools:

• welding machine complete with electrodes;
• grinder and circles for cutting metal;
• roulette;
• metal corners;
• metal rods for the grate;
• pipeline;
• sheet metal.

The furnace consists of the following sections: firebox, smoke circulation, ash pan, exhaust pipe. Additional elements: doors with canopies and latches, grate, metal legs, valve on the pipeline to reduce heat loss.

Assembling a potbelly stove with smoke circuits

1. We make a drawing of the future furnace.
2. According to the dimensions indicated in the drawing, we make markings on the sheet metal and use a grinder to cut out blanks for the future firebox.
3. We join the sheets of metal to form a rectangle. We weld metal corners inside (on the side walls of the oven) on which the grate will be placed.
4. The grate is made from a set of longitudinal and transverse metal rods of the same length, connected by welding. The cells must be of sufficient size to retain fuel on them and free passage of combustion products through the grate. There is no need to weld the grate itself to the body of the firebox, then it can be pulled out while cleaning the stove from ash and ash.
5. At the next stage of work, it is necessary to weld a sheet of metal inside the firebox, which forms a smoke circulation. The size of this sheet of metal should match the bottom of the furnace in width and be slightly shorter in length.
6. After the interior of the stove is ready, it is necessary to make a ash door and a door for putting fuel into the stove. We make the doors in such a way that it is convenient to clean the oven and remove the grate. To make canopies, we use a metal rod and a tube of suitable size. We cut them with a grinder and weld them to the walls of the firebox and to the doors, respectively, then insert the free section of the rod into the tube. For ease of use of the doors, we make handles from thin strips of metal and attach them by welding. We make the valves in the form of a long curved strip of metal and, accordingly, a hook to which it will cling.
7. The legs of the stove can be made entirely from metal corners or adjustable. To be able to adjust the length of the legs, you will need nuts and threaded metal rods of appropriate thickness. Thanks to this technique, the potbelly stove will stand steadily even on an uneven surface. And also, with the help of such legs, it is convenient to disconnect the stove from the pipe and carry out maintenance or replacement of any parts.
8. Outlet pipeline with damper. For the damper itself you will need a metal rod of small diameter and a sheet of round metal with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the pipe. We drill two holes in the pipe, insert a rod into them, bend its outer part for convenience, and install and weld a metal circle inside the pipe. Thus, when the rod turns, the circle will turn accordingly, changing the gap and reducing heat loss from the furnace to the atmosphere.
9. In the upper part of the furnace we cut a hole corresponding to the diameter of the outlet pipe and weld it hermetically.

There can be two or three smoke circuits in a potbelly stove. And in order to reduce heat loss from the metal walls into the atmosphere, the outside of the furnace is lined with refractory bricks or a reflective metal screen is installed with a layer of heat-insulating material, for example, an asbestos sheet.

To light a fire in the stove, newspapers, sawdust are placed on the grate, small dry logs are placed on top and the newspapers are set on fire with matches. Once the logs are hot, larger pieces of wood are added to the stove. Do not open the firebox and ash door at the same time. Regulation of draft and combustion intensity occurs by changing the gap in the pipe (valve) and through the blower.

So that the stove gives heat, don’t forget about the vent

Making a stove with your own hands or with the help of a specialist is not so difficult, knowing the device and some design features. Today we will not talk about all the components of the stove, but we will talk about the vent for the stove. Everyone understands that any fuel (coal, peat, firewood) has some kind of residue when burned. A portion of combustion products is removed as smoke, soot and soot through the chimney, and some, such as ash and ash, remain in the combustion chamber.

So, the blower is the main air chamber of a rectangular oven. Air passes through its door, which cools the grates and supplies the firebox with oxygen. In addition, it serves as a place where ash and other fuel waste are collected. They can be removed through the door, so it is worth considering its comfortable dimensions.

The standard dimensions inside the chamber for a brick kiln are 25 × 38 cm. Other dimensions are possible. But in any case, the blower door should be smaller than the chamber itself. It is laid on the second row of the stove masonry.

The firebox must, due to its purpose, withstand high temperatures. This design promotes precise, uniform air distribution and absorption. The ash pan is equipped with two openings: the front one is a ash pit with a blower door and the top one is covered with a grate.

The ash pit or ash chamber is located immediately under the firebox grate. As I already said, it is necessary to collect ash and regulate the flow of air into the firebox. Such a chamber is often equipped with a blower. Its height is about 14 cm. It is worth remembering that after each firebox you need to clean the chamber from combustion products.

The ash pan is usually equipped with a metal tray. Ash from the firebox ends up in the ash pit through the grates. The air enters the fire through the grate and this ensures efficient combustion of the fuel.

The blower can be made with or without doors. To increase the air flow, just open the door slightly. And, conversely, to reduce the intensity of the fire, cover it. If your structure is so complicated that doors were not provided, no problem. In this case, you can increase the traction by pulling out the drawer. To prevent ash and ash from spilling out, the blower should be made inclined.

As for the size of the ash pan. As I already said, there are no identical stoves and fireplaces, so there simply cannot be uniform blower sizes. The main thing to take into account is that the ash pan must match the size of the grate. If you do less, most of the ash will remain on the grate, and this will prevent air from reaching the fire.

If the vent is not originally equipped with doors, install a drawer or tray. To calculate the size of this device, you need to know that the width of the tray should be equal to the distance from the wall to the wall of the blower, and the length should exceed the dimensions of the firebox. Why? Yes, because to increase traction you will need to pull out this drawer or tray, otherwise the ash will spill out and accumulate at the back wall.

As for the material for the ash pan. We remember that it needs to withstand high temperatures. The best option is steel with a thickness of 0.8 mm. For blowers with doors, the presence of a drawer is not necessary. The ash pit is made from the same brick as the stove. It would be better if it was fireproof.

It is clear that the vent needs to be cleaned periodically. A tray or box is made for these purposes - this will simplify the cleaning process. You just have to remove and pour out the ash that has accumulated during the combustion process. Even if this device is not provided, the cleaning process will not take much time. But follow safety precautions. Wait until the ash cools down and then start cleaning. It's a little more time-consuming, but not super difficult. Prepare a brush, dustpan and bucket. By the way, there is a special vacuum cleaner for fireplaces. It will ideally help cope with dust, ash and ash.

This concerns the designs of the furnace. But there are different opinions and approaches to the issue of the need for blowers in fireplaces. Today you can choose designs to suit every taste. It is possible to choose with or without a blower.

In small stoves and fireplaces, instead of a blower door, it is sometimes advisable to use an ash box in the form of a scoop. You can prepare it yourself. The body is cut out from a sheet of steel 0.6-1 mm thick. The sides and edges are folded along the marked lines. Holes should be drilled for the rivets. The body is riveted, then the front wall is mounted to it using rivets. Its top is turned away in the fold directions, creating a comfortable handle of sufficient width.

A sign that the furnace element has been completed correctly is that our completed ash box will fit into the ash pit so that its front wall tightly covers the ash hole.

In any case, to achieve high efficiency of the furnace, the required amount of air must enter the firebox. Its lack will lead to incomplete combustion of fuel and loss of heat. In addition, it leads to the deposition of a considerable amount of soot in the furnace channels. Even a small amount of deposited soot can affect the thermal conductivity of the furnace walls. Under no circumstances should the stove be lit with the ash pan closed in smoldering combustion mode.

If there is insufficient air flow, the flame will have a dark red hue. This is also evidenced by the presence of dark smoke from the chimney. The humming noise in the firebox and the bright white color of the fire indicate excess air. This is also not good, because excess air simply passes through the oven, cooling it. In this case, it is worth closing the blower door and the valve.

At the best combustion mode, the color of the flame should be light yellow and the smoke from the stove should be colorless.

These are the main points you need to know about the furnace vent. With this I say goodbye to you. Until next time.

Operating rules

Operating a brick oven not only does not create difficulties for amateurs, but also creates a feeling of comfort from an open fire.

• It is better to use a coarse oven seasonally. Low thermal efficiency does not allow the stove to be used all year round; it will not be able to warm up a large house well during the cold winter.
• It is necessary to regularly clean the chimney so that gases do not enter the room and poison the inhabitants of the house.
• Heat the stove only in compliance with safety precautions, do not put too much firewood at one time, close the firebox door tightly after loading a batch of fuel.
• If the oven is used as a hob, it is necessary to use appropriate cast iron, clay or aluminum cookware, as well as various oven mitts or gloves to avoid burns.
• If you have a stove bench, you should only heat it with wood. The coal heats up the surface of the bed too much.
• Before using the stove, be sure to ensure that the chimney is installed correctly.
• It is better to use wood or coal as fuel. It is not recommended to use various waste materials made from modern materials; they emit gases that are harmful to health and clog the chimney.

How to clean a stove vent?

The presence of a door in the ash pit plays a positive role in regulating the pressure of the fire. But with cleaning we get the opposite result. The box is more convenient for cleaning. You can simply pull it out and shake it in the right place.

Ash box

If there is no drawer, then you will have to clean the oven manually. First, you should wait until the oven has completely cooled down. Next, using a brush, dustpan and bucket, you need to clean out all excess from the installation. There is nothing difficult about purchasing such cleaning products.

There are also special vacuum cleaners for fireplaces that can also be used in the stove. With their help, cleaning will not be difficult for you.

Often, due to a clogged oven, various types of problems occur. Example: The stove often leaks smoke. People who are not very familiar with the structure of the furnace and do not know how to operate it complain about caustic soot in the house or garage. The solution to the problem is incredibly simple: you need to regularly clean the ash pan, using the right tool.

What it is?

The ash pan is the same as the ash pan. An ash pan has long been included in the design of any stove. This is a chamber under the firebox grate, which is equipped with a metal tray.

When any material is burned in a furnace, ash and ash remain. For such waste, a special place is needed, and that is exactly what the ash pit is.

It's hard to imagine a stove without a blower. Then the entire structure ceases to function normally, and may even make no sense. After all, the ash pan is an important component, without which all excess waste would come out.

Dust from the firebox is transferred to the ash pan using a grate. The air thus gets to the fire and allows the fuel to burn as efficiently as possible. After which the air passes further and is removed into the chimney.

Secrets of long-term operation of solid fuel units

The whole secret of long-term burning of a potbelly stove is hidden in the way of putting fuel into it. The firewood in such a stove is ignited from above, so there is no danger of all the logs placed in the fuel chamber catching fire at the same time.

Despite its unassuming appearance, a homemade long-burning potbelly stove successfully competes with many factory-made wood stoves

Additionally, this is facilitated by the method of air supply. The oxygen required for combustion is supplied only to the top layer of fuel. Such solutions make it possible to increase the size of the filling as much as the dimensions of the furnace allow. Of course, the continuous operation time of such units increases tens of times.

The secret of long-burning stoves is an efficient way of burning fuel

The duration of one heating cycle can be further increased by the pyrolytic decomposition of solid fuel, which occurs at high temperatures and lack of oxygen. In this case, firewood does not burn, but smolders, simultaneously forming a large amount of volatile hydrocarbon compounds. Pyrolysis gases burn under the roof of the furnace, releasing a large amount of heat. Thus, smoldering helps to lengthen the continuous combustion period, and pyrolysis makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the heat generator many times over.

Conclusion

Loginov's design allows minimizing fuel costs. The model can be modified and improved, and is easy to manufacture. Making a potbelly stove yourself is much cheaper than buying a ready-made one, provided you have basic skills in working with metal. Pyankov’s scheme is no worse than Loginov’s and is a little simpler to manufacture - no threads or blower tubes.

For experienced craftsmen, there is the opportunity to turn a potbelly stove into an electric generator. This requires a Peltier element. It converts thermal energy into electricity. The integrated heating elements heat up and produce 12 volts DC with a power of 60 watts. This is not enough to fully provide electricity, but in conditions of winter fishing, army training grounds and dacha cooperatives without electrification, it will be very useful.

Loginov's potbelly stove is safer and more efficient in operation. Its compact dimensions allow it to be used in any area, and its low weight allows it to be installed even on very flimsy ceilings and joists. The disadvantage of the design is that it is difficult to clean - not everyone is able to lift and tilt a heavy metal stove. One day of work, and as a result, your own stove heating with a wide range of applications.