7 best sauna heaters
When building a bath, it is important to carefully make thermal insulation. To prevent expensive heat from coming out from the inside, various seals and insulation are used. However, unlike a residential building, there are a number of nuances associated with temperature drops and high humidity. This must be taken into account when choosing thermal insulation materials. The domestic market offers a wide range of specialized products. Experts recommend considering the following points when buying.
- Heaters that will be mounted from the inside of the bath are selected taking into account environmental friendliness. Humidity and heat dissolve toxic compounds, which then enter the lungs or on the skin of people.
- The next important parameter of insulation for a bath is water repellency. This primarily applies to rooms such as a steam room and a washing room.
- Most often, baths are separate unheated buildings. The temperature difference inside is from -30 to + 100 ° С. Not every insulation can handle such a load.
- Any Russian bath has a stove. To insulate the chimney, a heat insulator with high resistance to fire is selected.
- Since the bathhouse is being built for many years, durability will be a good quality insulation. Some materials can serve well for more than 100 years.
- A classic of the sauna genre is the log building. One of the important stages of warming will be filling the gaps and voids between the joints. The better this work is done, the less funds will be required for thermal insulation of the walls from the inside. It remains to pay more attention to the floor and ceiling.
Our review includes the best heaters for a bath. When selecting applicants, the following criteria were taken into account:
- the purpose of the material;
- specifications;
- price;
- expert opinion;
- consumer reviews.
TOP 7 best heaters for a bath
7 Styrofoam
The strengths of the foam are its low cost and lightness. Therefore, craftsmen use this insulator wherever possible and where not. A typical example is the bathhouse. An easy-to-use polymer material does not absorb moisture, therefore it has the right to claim the title of the best heater for a bath. It can be easily cut with a knife; you can fix it with ordinary nails or self-tapping screws. But there is one significant limitation. At high temperatures, the material can deform, and even worse, give off an unpleasant and hazardous to human health odor of phenol. In addition, the foam burns well, so it is unsafe to use it near the oven.
Considering all these features of the heat insulator, experts recommend using the material for warming the dressing room. Moreover, it is better to do this from the outside. And the joints between the individual sheets will have to be glued with polyurethane foam.
6 Foam glass
Every year, the eco-friendly material for insulating foam glass is becoming more and more popular. Due to its strength and moisture resistance, the material is suitable for thermal insulation of a bath. Lightweight blocks with a honeycomb structure withstand high temperatures, are not afraid of acids or organic solvents. Experts attribute exceptional durability and harmlessness to the human body to the advantages of the material. Foam glass as a heater can be used to isolate the interior of a bath. Microorganisms do not develop in the insulation, rodents and insects do not settle.
Builders note the high strength of the material, ease of installation. In this case, it is necessary to lay the blocks on the crosses, similar to the installation of tiles. This is done to release excess moisture from the room. An alternative would be to drill holes. The disadvantage of foam glass is still a high price.
5 Mineral wool
Mineral wool is widely used in the construction industry.With the right approach, it can become a universal insulation for a bath. Experts call the strengths of the material an acceptable price, biostability and fire safety. And in terms of ease of installation, the heat insulator is one of the best. Since mineral wool loses its useful properties when wet, it is important to use it together with steam and waterproofing materials. Then it will be possible to effectively insulate the floor, walls and ceiling, both from the inside of the bath and from the outside. In addition to retaining heat, mineral wool is an excellent sound insulator.
Builders call mineral wool insulation classics. It can be used at different stages of the construction of a bath. It is only necessary to prevent contact with water, otherwise, over time, the material will begin to crumble. And it is better not to use this insulation in the steam room.
4 Expanded clay
There is also a place of honor for a loose expanded clay heat insulator in the bath. This insulation is not afraid of moisture, microorganisms do not develop in it, rodents or insects do not visit it. The main areas of application in the bath are the floor and the attic. But if under the roof the expanded clay simply crumbles between the beams, forming a continuous layer of insulation, then there may be some options when installing the floor. In one case, expanded clay is added to the concrete screed, the other way is to fill the space between the logs. The advantages of expanded clay include environmental friendliness, durability and reasonable price.
Builders call clay-based bulk material the best heat insulator for floors and attic. However, basic care should be taken when working with it. If the granules are damaged, the thermal conductivity of the material increases dramatically.
3 Foil insulation
One of the most difficult stages in the construction of a bath is the insulation of the ceiling from the inside. The best option would be to use foil-clad materials. Thanks to a thin aluminum coating, the insulator reflects heat and light. Thus it is possible to keep the heat in the steam room or sauna. In addition, the foil becomes a reliable barrier against moisture penetration into the insulation. The fire resistance of the heat insulator can be used when finishing the chimney. Due to the use of foil-clad insulation, it is possible to reduce the total thickness of the floor, and to increase noise insulation.
Experts note the light weight of the heat insulator, its high efficiency, absolute environmental friendliness and hygiene. The main disadvantage of users is the corrosion of the metal coating, therefore, it is additionally necessary to treat the foil with special protective compounds.
2 Mezhventsovy insulation
It is necessary to start the insulation of a log bath at the time of the construction of the walls. It is extremely easy to do this work if you purchase an inter-lead heat insulator. In a classic Russian bath, it becomes the main type of wall insulation. Builders prefer ribbon jute to traditional moss or flax. Material thickness ranges from 4 to 15 mm. Experts highlight such advantages of a heat insulator as high density and uniformity. After shrinking the logs, the seam becomes even more tight, preventing the penetration of wind and moisture from the outside. The material is easy to install, it must be rolled out over the surface of a bar or log and fixed with staples using a stapler.
Jute mezhventsovy insulation shows the best properties if its structure is not broken. Accordingly, the disadvantage of the material will be excessive stiffness of the fibers and instability to fracture.
1 Basalt insulation
Experts consider safety one of the main advantages of basalt insulation over other heat insulators. The material made on the basis of rocks does not burn, is not afraid of moisture, does not emit harmful chemical compounds at high temperatures.And given the good heat and sound insulation properties, easy installation and long service life (30 years), the material is optimal for wall insulation from the inside of the bath. Neither temperature changes nor strong fluctuations in humidity are capable of deforming or destroying the rock. Basalt has another significant plus; rodents and insects are absolutely not interested in this insulation.
In addition to walls, experts use basalt insulation for floor and roof insulation. However, the high price does not always allow the use of the insulator as a universal material. The disadvantage of basalt can be a lot of weight.