If you ask any experienced bath attendant for advice on whether to give preference when buying a sauna stove to a domestic manufacturer or a Finnish one, in 99% of cases you will hear the answer: “Of course, Finnish!” After all, this epithet has long become synonymous with quality in the construction world, and this is especially true for the construction of a bathhouse. Looking for reliability and durability? Then Harvia sauna stoves are for you! And the point here is not only that the production is foreign, and there, supposedly, everything is done “as for the people.” For many, the decisive factor in choosing a stove is trust in the company itself - and Harvia has been on the world market for more than 55 years, which is impressive. And all these 55 years, its stoves have been improved and updated in design, and therefore today they are seriously different from other analogues in style, ease of use and functional characteristics.
Why are Harvia stoves so good?
Modern Finnish-made Harvia wood-burning stoves are valuable because they produce a record amount of heat with little wood consumption. According to reviews, the steam room warms up to 80˚C in just an hour.
The main advantage of Harvia ovens is their efficient air circulation system. Thanks to it, fuel - firewood or peat briquettes - is consumed economically, and the heat is radiated so evenly that it creates especially noticeable comfort and promotes relaxation.
And style plays an important role in a modern bathhouse – which is why beautiful and modern Harvia stoves are such a success. A cast iron firebox, streamlined steel body and tempered glass - this is what will look great in any steam room. The view of the stove from the rest room is especially impressive - a huge screen with large glass through which the fire is visible, and a stylish frame framing it.
Harvia sauna heaters and sauna stoves are made from high-strength steel, and modern technologies and methods proven over the years make it possible to avoid overheating of the stoves, without interfering with the valuable heat transfer. And in order for Harvia products to look like new even after years, the material is well protected from corrosion - with a layer of expensive fire-resistant paint.
There are, of course, negative reviews of Harvia stoves - they are sometimes disliked because of their strong convection. This problem is not difficult to deal with if you cover the heater with a brick screen - this does not require a lot of time and money.
Indeed, in addition, some Harvia models allow you to load up to two hundred kilograms of stones into them - and this means pleasant high humidity and gentle temperature, which is perfect for creating the atmosphere of a real Russian bathhouse.
Door to the bathhouse. Reviews. How to save money and not get burned
Many bathhouse lovers do not pay attention to one important part of them, on which the quality of the steam room and the beneficial effect of the procedure largely depend - the door to the bathhouse and sauna. This interior detail is very different from its counterparts in houses. First of all, because a completely different load is placed on her. High temperatures, temperature changes and high humidity - doors for a bathhouse must be resistant to these influences.
Door to the bathhouse. Which ones are better?
Currently, doors for baths and saunas are very diverse in design and their constituent elements. Therefore, the first thing you need to decide on when purchasing is the material from which this most important item for your steam room is made.
Wooden ones for saunas are one of the most common, both in Russia and abroad. They are usually made from linden, Canadian cedar or abasha. As a rule, such products have a frame and two sheets, the gap between which is filled with special insulation and vapor barrier fiber. Thus, heat and steam will not escape outside, and at the same time the tree itself will not undergo rotting processes.
An important advantage of this material is that it does not heat up. That is why handles and fasteners, as well as all decorative elements, if they are intended, are also recommended to be made of wood.
In extreme cases, the top lock can be metal. This way you can protect your children from accidental burns.
Another very common type is glass products. These doors are made of special tempered glass, they are heat resistant and very beautiful. They are traditionally chosen by fans of decorations in baths. Because glass allows you to achieve an amazing design effect and, most importantly, variety. They can be matte or almost transparent, with or without a pattern, in different colors and shades - this is where your imagination can run wild.
The third type is combined entrances, which combine wooden and glass elements. As a rule, glass here also performs a decorative function. During the manufacturing process, only thick, heat-resistant and tempered glass is selected.
Manufacturers of bathhouse doors are Harvia, Tylo and Sawo.
People who build baths in their homes strive to choose the highest quality. The most common manufacturers among them are Harvia, Tylo and Sawo.
Harvia doors are produced in Finland. This company has long and successfully established itself in the market of goods for baths and saunas. Harvia doors are of high quality and excellent design.
In addition, Tylo glass sauna doors are very popular - products of the famous Swedish manufacturer. These elegant but reliable entrances seem to have been created specifically for your bathhouse. After all, when buying them, you can choose the configuration and appearance, even place the hinges on the side you want.
Glass doors for Tylo bathhouses are made from high-quality materials, which makes them reliable and durable, and provides your bathhouse with the correct “weather conditions”.
Review of the most interesting models
The range of electric and traditional Harvia stoves is quite wide - these include wood-burning heaters, electric stoves, and steam generators. “Warmth for everyone” is the company’s motto, which they implement in the “stone-water-wood” combination.
But the most popular of the Harvia series has become the Legend sauna stove - it produces excellent steam. True, some bath attendants are dissatisfied with the way the stove dries the air - but this defect is quickly corrected with a small amount of water, which is applied to the stones. What’s more important here is that in order for the steam to be light and pleasant for the body, like this stove, it really has to be dried out a little, which generally affects the air in the steam room. But, if you heat it correctly and consistently, it won’t be noticeable.
And many especially loved the Harvia “GreenFlame” sauna stove - a wood-burning sauna heater, which has become famous for causing less damage to the environment than others. Its carbon monoxide emissions are 80% lower than other stoves, and its wood consumption is 25% more economical. And the service life is longer. Even its ash yield is much lower - due to the fact that, thanks to the automatic fire control system, the wood in the stove burns longer, but emits less harmful substances, and the combustion efficiency is always at the maximum level. This is how environmentally friendly steam combined with modern design quickly brings Harvia GreenFlame to the TOP of sales throughout Russia. All the latest models of the line are equipped with a door made of cast iron and heat-resistant glass.
Large selection of Harvia sauna stoves in the Fornax online store. You can choose a model that is exactly suitable for your bath.
The Legend series is a legend of the sauna stove market!
The Harvia company produces wood-burning sauna stoves and electric stoves, as well as various equipment: steam generators, fireplaces, chimneys and more. But it was a high-quality wood-burning sauna stove, such as the Harvia Legend, that brought real fame to the Finnish manufacturer. And this is not surprising, because the Harvia Legend stove is not only extremely attractive in appearance, but also economical, easy to use and environmentally friendly. A visit to a sauna equipped with such equipment leaves unforgettable memories.
Installing a stove and making a chimney: the ideal scheme for Harvia
Before installing the Harvia stove, you need to heat it well - outside. The fact is that the first half hour will burn out the conservation lubricant and special black paint, which becomes even more durable after the first heat treatment. And if you heat the stove in a bathhouse for the first time, you will have to ventilate it for a long time. Therefore, those photographs where the stove is smoking right in front of the bathhouse - in the middle of the garden - should not come as a surprise.
Compared to other sauna stoves, Harvia can be placed a little closer to the wall and other objects than is usually allowed - all thanks to its body. But, in any case, the distance from the stove to the nearest combustible material is at least 50 cm.
Brick screen
It is necessary to pour a slab under the stove and install a brick screen - if it is built right up to the ceiling, then there is no need for additional protection of the walls. And it’s even better for Harvia stoves to build not only a screen, but also an entire brickwork in a pre-cut section of the wall - it will carry both the chimney and the console. And for greater reliability, the brickwork itself can be strengthened with buttresses.
Now we are making the foundation for the sauna stove: formwork is placed, reinforcing masonry mesh is laid and everything is filled with mortar.
Assembly and connection of the chimney
Next, a ceiling passage is mounted - 64x64 cm, between wooden beams. It must be located so that the distance to combustible structures remains at least 250 mm with protection - this is according to the standards.
The cake from the beams to the pipe is as follows: Rockwool foil (130 mm) + foil + mineralite on a metal frame + expanded clay. The next step is to lay ventilation ducts and the ceiling of the steam room is completely insulated.
Many people argue about which pipe should be used for Harvia sauna stoves. Some people recommend Ermak, others are happy with the branded one - the same brand as the stove.
It is only important to remember that Harvia chimneys are expensive and are made of food-grade ceramics, which, of course, is durable, but not very practical if a fire occurs. Therefore, for now, most experienced bath attendants agree that the most suitable chimney for the Harvia stove is the “Vulcan”. It is better to supply and drain water to the heat exchanger using a corrugated pipe.
A little advice: when installing a stainless steel pipe, the connection between ceramic and steel pipes must be sealed with a special ceramic fiber tape, and a heat-resistant sealant must be applied on top. Then no condensation will occur. Also, before installing the main protection, the box for the passage of the pipe must be sewn up at the bottom with a sheet of mineralite, with a pre-made cutout for the pipe. And pour fine expanded clay into the box itself. If the stove chimney needs to be inspected and cleaned in the future, one of the two pipes will need to be removed, while the second, which leads into the ceramic block, will remain secured. For the convenience of the whole process, the first pipe can be inserted deeper into the chimney - this will make it easier to remove the one that is mounted on the sauna stove pipe.
So, if everything is done technologically correctly, the new Harvia will delight you with soft steam, good heat and proper operation for many years to come. After all, this is quality in Finnish!
Review of the Harvia 20 SL sauna stove
Basic parameters of the furnace
My husband and I installed a log house for a bathhouse made of logs with a diameter of 22 cm a year and a half ago for standing, and we only finished finishing it now.
In order to buy a stove for a bath, we studied the market for a long time, consulted with neighbors and ultimately bought a Harvia 20 SL - a stove with a remote firebox. Specifications
Weight - 70 kg Weight of loaded stones - 40 kg Dimensions (width, height, depth) - 43x76x51 cm Firebox extension - 22 cm Safe distance from the side, back and front - 50 cm Safe distance from the top of the stove to the ceiling - 120 cm Chimney diameter - 115 mm The thickness of the steel above the fire is 10 mm. This thickness guarantees long-term operation of the stove. The thickness of the steel from which the firebox is made is 6 mm
How did the oven perform?
Our stove is designed for steam rooms with a volume from 8 to 20 cubic meters. m.
You can heat from the room adjacent to the steam room. Our stove is in the steam room, and the firebox is located in the rest room. This is very convenient because you don’t have to carry firewood into the steam room through the washing room, take off your shoes, or open and close doors. The steam room in our bathhouse has dimensions of 220 by 240 cm with a ceiling height of 210 cm. The oven heats it up to a temperature of 110 degrees in an hour. We measure the temperature at a distance of 70 cm from the floor, the heat lasts a long time. Now, at a daytime temperature of + 12 degrees and a night temperature of +8, after yesterday’s evening fire, it’s still hot in the steam room. But this, of course, is largely due to the well-caulked log house. The pine log walls release their aroma when heated, and an extraordinary atmosphere arises in the bathhouse.
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And in the relaxation room, sitting in a chair opposite the firebox, we enjoy the beauty of the fire through a cast-iron door with a glass insert. The top of the stove on the steam room side is trimmed with a stainless steel strip. Heating stones are loaded on top. Case color – black graphite. The design is one of the most durable among stoves in this class and ensures excellent circulation of hot air in the room. Thanks to the remote firebox, this stove is ideal for log baths.
According to fire safety requirements, the stove was lined with brickwork at the required distance from the sides and top. In the steam room, a thermal protective screen made of stainless steel with a mirror surface was installed on the wall located close to the stove, providing reliable protection.
The length of firewood for heating in a stove of this modification should be no more than 40 cm. This turned out to be not very convenient for us, because in our private house logs up to 53 cm long are loaded into the fireplace stove. Therefore, for the bathhouse we have to chop logs separately, of shorter length. This is perhaps the only drawback. Eurowood is convenient for heating this stove; its longest length is 25 cm. The energy intensity of Eurowood is higher than that of conventional firewood, and during combustion almost no soot is formed. We have already prepared firewood for this winter, and for the next season we plan to buy Euro briquettes for the bathhouse. Then there will be no more problems.
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We are happy with our stove. The main role in the choice was played by the fact that our neighbors’ stove from such a company has been working conscientiously and without problems for 5 years, heating the steam room quickly. True, their steam room is much larger than ours, and the stove, accordingly, is also larger - Harvia 20 Duo. On the firebox side there is a beautiful stainless steel screen with the company logo. The screen, of course, is very beautiful, but the price of this Harvia is almost twice as high as ours.
Confidence in the right choice was also strengthened by the fact that the Finnish company Harvia has been producing sauna stoves for about 60 years, which are very popular in our country because of their efficiency and reliability.
