Technical equipment and selection of equipment for a Turkish bath

Recommendation points

• Floor, walls, benches – heating by contours
• Heating equipment
• Steam generator – “heart” of the hamam
• Example of calculation when choosing a steam generator
• Other boiler equipment

From the article you will learn what devices and devices are needed for the Turkish steam bath to work properly. We will tell you about what is needed for and how each unit of the technical equipment of the hamam boiler room works. The article contains a table with prices for the main element – a steam generator.

The action of the Turkish bath is based on maintaining a constant high temperature (30-40 ° C) with a small range of drops of 10 ° C. In other words, it should be moderately hot in the hammam steam room – so that any person, even with poor health, can normally endure a long stay there. To create and support such a regime, a set of special equipment is required..

Floor, walls, benches – heating by contours

The main condition for the steam room is constant even heat (about 40–42 ° C) at every point in the room. It is achieved on condition that all elements of the steam room are evenly heated, which is practically impossible with a single source of heat (as in a Russian bath or sauna). Therefore, each basic element – floor, walls, benches – needs individual internal heating..

It is this most important condition that makes, in most cases, start the construction of hamams from scratch. Usually builders have only bare walls at their disposal, which will later turn into a chic interior of the bath..

Another nuance is the shape of the room. The ceiling of the steam room must be domed, at least 2.8 m at the highest point. Smooth vaults of the walls will allow condensation from steam to drain freely along the walls. When deciding to build a hamam, be sure to consider this factor..

Heating equipment

In the hamam, only stone interiors and furniture elements are always used. The reason is simple – the stone keeps the temperature well and this allows you to constantly maintain it at a given level with a relatively low energy consumption.

Since the bath is always associated with water procedures and water consumption, it is rational to perform the hidden heating of the steam room with heat-capacious water heating, which will not differ from the well-known “warm floor”.

To install it you will need:

1. Heat exchanger tube – according to wall and floor area, design features.
2. Collector (“comb”) for closing the circuits.
3. Circulation pump.

The hamam is connected to the home heating system (to the main boiler). Heating up such a bath “from scratch” will be energy-consuming and can take up to 3 hours, but remember that the stone in the decoration will allow you to maintain the temperature “with little effort” for a long time.

Steam generator – “heart” of the hamam

Each bath has its own “reactor” – stove, fireplace or just a fire. In the ancient hamam, it was a huge vat of boiling water that could stand right in the middle of a steam room. The stokers of such a boiler have been prepared for years.

Nowadays, this bulky element functionally replaces a compact device – a steam generator. The principle of operation remains the same – the creation of hot steam from boiling water. Anyone can service it after installation.

What is the difference between steam heating of a hamam and other types of baths? The sauna provides for “dry” heating, without steam, which means that it is incomparable with the hamam – these are fundamentally different procedures. The sauna heater of the Russian bath is the same steam generator, only open, but the steam from it attacks a person with a temperature of 80–110 ° C (versus 60–80 ° C at the hamam) – not everyone can withstand such a “pressure”.

The steam generator provides uniform temperature and constant high humidity, which means that it must be equipped with sensors of these indicators and a control panel. The unit itself, like all technical equipment, is located in the boiler room (outside the steam room). Another nuance is that the steam nozzles must be located at the bottom of the bench – 100 mm from the floor. This must be taken into account when considering the construction of a Turkish bath according to your own project..

Example of calculation when choosing a steam generator

Power – the main indicator of the steam generator, is selected depending on the volume of the room. The required height of the steam room is at least 2.8 m, with a minimum area of ​​2×2 m (4 m²) the air volume will be about 12 m³. To service such a room, the minimum power of the device is sufficient – 2 kW. Accordingly, for every additional 1 m³ you will need to add at least 0.2 kW.

It should be noted that we are talking about high-performance devices – steam generators for shower cabins and apartment saunas may be of lower power.

Table: prices for steam generators

Model	Manufacturer	power, kWt	Power supply, V	Aroma capacity	Price, cu e.
Steam generator PGN	Russia	2	220	not	330
UTH-170R	Russia	five	220	not	330
Steam generator “Professional”	Russia	4/6	220	option	430/460
Steam generator “Professional”	Russia	8	380	there is	490
Helo HNS 47 T1	Finland	4.7	220	there is	745
Helo HNS 60 T1	Finland	6.0	380	there is	770
Helo HNS 77 T1	Finland	7,7	380	there is	810
Helo HNS 95 T1	Finland	9.5	380	there is	850
Harvia SS-20	Finland	2	220	there is	925

Other boiler equipment

Boiler. When you turn on the heating of the hamam in the existing DHW or heating system, an additional calculation of power will be required, and possibly the installation of an additional boiler. On average, a Turkish bath of minimum size (2x2x3 m) consumes 0.5-1 kW of thermal energy in the maintenance system and 2-3 kW when visiting a steam room. Further calculations can be converted into specific consumption per 1 m² heated area, 1 m³ the volume of the steam room or 1 running. m of heating pipeline.

There is a pattern – for heating each additional 1 m³ 10-15% less energy is spent. That is, for 12 m³ you need 1 kW, for 24 it will be enough 1.8 kW, for 36 m³ – 2.3 kW, etc..

Manifolds and circulation pump. This equipment exactly repeats the “warm floor” system:

1. Collector for a given number of circuits (with check valves).
2. Circulation pump with capacity depending on the length of the pipeline and water flow.
3. Flow meters for each circuit – to regulate the temperature of the circuit.

Filters. Everything is simple here – the better prepared the water for the steam generator, the longer it will last. Coarse filters are sufficient for the preparation of water in the circuits (if they are not available at the early stages of water supply).

Automation and control. Modern steam generators have remote or wireless manipulators that allow you to control the operating mode from the steam room. The setting of the circuits is usually carried out from the boiler room using valves. The control system can even be computerized with voice control – the complexity depends only on the amount of investment.

Lighting and ventilation. Of course, all appliances that go into the steam room must be heat and moisture resistant and have a high-quality coating. It is reasonable to make the ventilation system automated, since the most valuable thing in the hamam is humid steam, which ventilation “fights” with. An active hood will also increase the energy consumption for keeping warm. Therefore, the air circulation should be minimal (1–2 m³/ hour at a frequency of at least 1.5), but at the same time it is effective to remove moisture after a bath procedure. A dehumidifier for saunas and baths will cope with this.

It is always pleasant to deal with ancient inventions – in them everything is thought out to the smallest detail and worked out to perfection. The hamam, or Turkish bath, is an excellent illustration of this argument. Created over 2000 years ago, it remains an example of the effectiveness of “alternative” medicine and health improvement..