Wood water heater for country houses

The pleasure of relaxing in the countryside is often reduced by the lack of hot water. After a whole day spent in nature, so nice to rinse under a warm shower! However, such benefits of civilization are not available to all gardeners. Lucky for those who have a sauna on the site, but even in this case, you can splash in hot water only once a day, and even then, having previously spent a lot of time and effort on the furnace.

Even if you visit your six acres for only a few hours, and do without water procedures, washing hands and dishes in cold water from the well - not the most pleasant experience.

To solve this problem, dacha owners usually resort to the help of water heaters. There are several varieties of these devices, and today we will tell you in detail about wood-fired water heaters.

Devices that use the heat generated by burning wood to heat water are also called "titans." Titan stoves are one of the first devices that cottagers began using en masse to heat their homes - primarily due to the availability of fuel. Today it has become much more difficult to get firewood, and its price has skyrocketed, so wood-fired water heaters have lost their initial popularity.

Wood-fired water heaters are considered by many to be a relic of the past, but there are still those who continue to use such devices, and remain satisfied. Among the main advantages of wood-burning water heaters their owners name:

• ease of operation;
• reliability and durability of design;
• the ability to use different types of fuel (it should be noted that some cottagers in addition to firewood use for kindling household waste, such as paper, plywood, old furniture and remnants of building materials);
• long service life (with proper care, titanium will work properly for decades).

Experts see the use of wood-fired water heaters as having more negative sides than positive ones. Here are the most significant disadvantages:

• Despite the rather large volume of the tank, in order to evenly heat water, you should pour it in small portions and wait for each of them to warm up.
• In modern titans water comes automatically, but to automate the supply of fuel has not yet succeeded. Therefore, the wood in the furnace will have to be placed manually.
• The fuel, which is used for such water heaters is very specific. Firstly, firewood is quite expensive. Secondly, they take up a lot of space and weigh a lot. Consequently, there are certain difficulties with their delivery and storage. Finally, you need to make sure that the wood does not run out and stay dry all the time.

Wood-fired water heaters work on a very simple principle. In the lower compartment of the titanium is laid fuel, such as wood or coal. After some time, the heated air begins to rise up through a special hole. In the upper compartment, the water is heated. On average, this takes 20 to 30 minutes if the water heater is a storage water heater. In flow-through water heaters, water is heated in motion, passing through a heat exchanger to the faucet.

The heated water moves upward, where there is an outlet hole with a tee connected to it. The water is then redirected to the shower head or the faucet spout.

Wood-fired water heaters, suitable for use in the country house, can differ in several key parameters.

One of the most important is the type of firebox. It can be separate and welded (built-in). In the welded furnace heating is much faster, but in the case of breakage it is very difficult (and sometimes impossible) to repair.

Another important criterion is the power of the device. With wood-fired water heaters, it is quite large: this indicator is usually not less than 10 kW.

A wood-burning water heater can be used not only to heat a small amount of water for washing dishes or for washing, but also to take a shower. Devices with a wood-burning fireplace, equipped with a shower hose with a watering can - this is a more modern modification of the already familiar titans.

The most common water heaters with a shower are devices of the "Ermak" series. It heats large volumes of water rather quickly. For example, for a family of 4 people to take a shower in turn, the device will need only 30 minutes to heat water to a comfortable temperature.

The production of wood-fired water heaters is not a lot of companies, and most of them are Russian, which will please those who support the domestic manufacturer. We offer you a list of the best devices, which gathered the most positive feedback from buyers.

If the prices for wood-fired water heaters seemed to you too high, you can make such a device yourself. You only need to stock up on the necessary materials and tools, some free time and patience.

So, to build your own wood-fired water heater, you will need:

• A tank of galvanized steel or stainless steel of a suitable volume;
• pipe for the chimney;
• pipes for water drainage;
• metal profiles;
• grate;
• set of fasteners;
• power drill;
• grinder;
• welding machine.

We will equip our wood-burning stove with a furnace, which will have the following device: combustion chamber, ash pan, chimney. In the combustion chamber should be a special hole through which air will enter the furnace, - it is called "ash pan". Above the furnace we organize a tank for water.

Assemble the water heater in the following order:

1. Using a welder, cut off the top of the metal tank;
2. Having stepped back from the bottom of the tank about 0.25 m, install the grate on which the fuel will be laid;
3. Having moved aside from the grid about 0.5 m, we separate the upper compartment by fixing the metal profile across the tank;
4. Seal all joints to prevent water from the tank from spilling into the furnace;
5. Cut the necessary holes: one for loading firewood, the second for ash removal, and the third for oxygen intake;
6. install the door for the wood window;
7. install the chimney;
8. organize the water supply and draining.