THE BEST SAUNA HEATER

Categories Himself an electrician

BEST SAUNA HEATEROutfitting your bathroom under the bath, he decided to make a strong (about 3 — 3.5 kW) and reliable heater. The most appropriate seemed to be elektrokemisk in a tin bucket with asbestos cement terminal block and brass studs, the closed hinged metal housing (Fig. 1). But when I placed this heater in the socket, felt the smell of burning.

The culprit turned out to be badly spring-loaded contact, and loose terminals. After the elastic cheeks in the contact socket has been properly pressed by pliers, and the ends of the wires in each terminal clamp thoroughly stripped, twisted, soldered and securely tightened screw, socket almost stopped to bask, although the power connected to it, the load was 3.5 kW.
 
The next problem is to find the optimal design of the heating element to kamelek. Began to experiment.
 
First tried monobrow burner 1.5 kW, produced by the domestic industry for household electric stoves. Established in kamelek in a single copy, it could (15 hours!) warm bath-the bathroom only to 50°C. are Then applied popular among the homebrew the combination of two superposed plates connected in parallel (Fig. 2). And I realized: this heater is not for me. First, because of the margin of safety in the dual burners only enough for 3 — 5 sessions. Secondly, the production of combinations takes a lot of time and effort. After all, the staff terminal block has to be remove, as the metal disks on which they are mounted. But in the standard “flange” of each of the plates is to cut a recess for the conclusions. Besides expensive work the heater, some burners are worth! And thirdly.
In search of a suitable and cheaper design also considered the option of a homemade heater inside a 150-mm cut steel pipe with a diameter of 100 mm and a wall thickness of 4 mm (Fig.Z). This samovar is convenient because, with the cover removed, you can easily replace a blown element. The only drawback — it quickly burns through the body, even from sverhestestvennoe steel pipe.
 
In the end I came to the conclusion that the best sauna heater in the bathroom will be a spiral of nichrome wire with a diameter of 1 mm and a length of 10 m And the nichrome I took annealed (it has a greenish tint and a softer). Spiral wound on a core with a diameter of 10 mm and a length of 600 mm with the help of a makeshift lathe out of drill with speed controller (Fig. 4).
 
Instead of the spiral can be made less compact “snake”. It is performed by bending nichrome wire in a simple but effective device (Fig. 5.).
 
Fig. 1. Elektrokemisk to the bathroom
 
Fig. 1. Elektrokemisk for the bathroom:
 
1 —a bucket of stones and heater; 2 — wire in heat-resistant insulation (2 PCs); 3 — stud M6 with three nuts (bronze or brass); 4 — the lid is hinged on the axis (roofing iron); 5 — terminal block (asbestos plate); 6 — wire with terminal hook (2 PCs.)
 
Fig. 2. Heater two-burner

 
Fig. 2. Heater two-burner:
 
1 —hot plate (2 PCs); 2 — nut M6; 3 — stud M6; 4 — output isolation of ceramic beads (2 PCs.)
 
Fig. 3. Heater-samovar

 
Fig. 3. Heater-samovar:
 
1 —output isolation of ceramic beads (2 PCs); 2 — cover is removable (STZ); 3 — spiral nichrome heater (the input power is 3 kW); 4 — fireclay Cup; 5 — casing (steel pipe 100×4, L146, bushings conventionally not shown); 6 — plug (STZ, sheet s4).
 
Fig. 4. Winding spiral electric heater

 
Fig. 4. The winding spirals of the heater:
 
1 —drill with speed control; 2 — nichrome (wire Ø 1); 3 — strip-on-Pralaya (wooden beams 100x50x20,2); 4 — jaws; 5 — mandrel (steel rod Ø 10).
 
Fig. 5. The formation of the heater-

 
Fig. 5. The formation of the heater-“snake” (sizes based on local conditions and power elektrokaminy):
 
1 — wooden plank; 2 — point blank-guide (a nail without a hat); 3 — nichrome (wire Ø 1).

 
Nichrome heater-spiral, I stretched a length of 3 m and is evenly laid between the stones. As practice shows, the first burnout of the wire only happens after the ten sessions of the most intense exploitation. But this period can be extended, observing only one rule: do not splash water on kamelek before unplugged the spiral does not cease to glow, which takes no more than 15 min.
 
To restore the heater easy. The technology is simple: strip ends of matched burned-out spiral, fold in half and, holding the two pliers, and twist.
 
After each such connection, the spiral, of course,is shortened. Then, the heater output increases. For example, 32 of the bathing session, she was risen (after a few forced twists) to the critical value is 3.7 kW. When the power supply voltage of 220 V it threatens to unplug the machine overload protection (such devices are designed to trip current of 16 A are placed on the input in each modern apartment.)
What to do in such situations? Of course, to abandon the sauna at home is not necessary. If nichrome “heat generator” in good condition, it is possible to reduce current consumption, and hence power by including in series with the heater diode type D132-80-10 on the powerful heat sink-heat sink.
 
There is another quite reasonable solution: power consume significant current spiral through both a 16 amp breaker. It is only necessary to include a “heat generator” in two parallel sockets (each — from your breaker), provided that the meter is designed for 30 to 40 A.
 
In parallel to include the easiest way with the help of special adapter extension cable with one socket and two connected plugs. Stick one fork into the socket of the first machine to the second voltage appears. Making using of any indicator or pilot lights in the correct phasing, the second plug plugged in another machine. The result is that both sockets are connected in parallel.
 
There is another, more secure way to reach the outlet from the breaker box (of course, through the counter). Moreover, the wire cross section in terms of copper should be not less than 2.5 mm2. To power such an outlet is necessary via the machine with a trigger current of 25 A.
 
The matter is greatly facilitated if the apartment has an electric stove. So there is already a socket on 25 — 40 A. Making sure that the line voltage is 220, and the wire size is sufficient, connect here and “heat generator”.
 
For lovers of the exotic can offer as a heater… door spring. However, it is necessary to connect through a transformer-type welding with forced cooling. Because the resistance of such springs in the order of 1 Ohm. At a voltage of 60 V at it will be current 60 A, that is, the transformer will give a load of 3.6 kW.
 
L. LOBOV

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