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Why banya and sauna are different types, why Russian hammam and furako
Bath is an international concept and is found in different countries in one form or another on the basis of a general principle - benefits for the body and soul in the process of heat exposure. And in what way, in what mode and with what entourage, depends on traditions and mentality. But everything flows, everything changes, and today we are happy to bathe not only in the primordial Russian baths, but also in baths that came from other countries. The main difference between them is the temperature and humidity regime - the effectiveness of the bath procedures depends on the microclimate, as well as how pleasant and comfortable the process itself will be. Let's consider the main types of baths and their features.
Classification of baths by microclimate
By and large, all baths can be divided into three main groups:
- Steam rooms with minimum heating are characterized by mild heating up to + 45-50 ⁰С and high humidity, which reaches 100%. In such a microclimate, the body does not experience overload, detoxification and cleansing occurs not due to high temperatures, but due to absolute humidity.
- Steam with medium heating - temperature within + 50-60 ⁰С, with air humidity in 60-65%. At medium temperatures and high humidity, a thin water film of condensed steam forms on the skin, due to which the body heats up faster and deeper.
- Dry-air - at a temperature of 100 ⁰С and above, the humidity is minimal and does not exceed 20%. High temperatures are necessary for deep heating, since dry air conducts heat worse than humid air. But many tolerate high temperatures more easily than high humidity with medium heat.
It is convenient that today there is no need to select only one of the modes, since modern furnace equipment universally and at will it is possible to obtain both hard dry burning and soft moist steam in the same bath.
Heating and steam generation method
To bring the bath to the specified temperature and humidity conditions, two main methods are used.
- Direct heating - closed, open or combined heaters are installed directly in the steam room, although some solid fuel models can be heated from an adjacent room. Steam is generated by the stone mass, which is periodically supplied with water.
- Distributed heat - pipes are built into the walls, floor and loungers, through which heated water circulates, heating the surfaces. In the original version, steam from the water boiling in the boiler circulated through pipes laid in the floor, and it was fed into the steam room through holes in the walls. In the modern version, the coolant is heated by an electric or gas boiler, and the humidity is provided by a specialized steam generator.
In both the first and second versions, as the heat is heated, not only equipment, but also walls becomes a source of heat, and additional heating occurs due to convection. To provide warmth to the washing room, modern saunas are often equipped with a water-heated floor.
Features of the Russian bath
A primordially Russian bathhouse is a log house with a stove, in which they steamed and washed, and took birth from generation to generation. In the modern version, the steam room and the washing room are separated, and the stove can be not only brick, but also metal (with or without brick / stone facing). In the Russian steam bath, the average temperature and high humidity: tanks with boiling water are no longer relevant, steam in the required quantity and quality is obtained from stones.
The air in the steam room warms up unevenly, which is quite convenient - on the lower shelves are those who prefer lower temperatures, and on the upper ones, under the ceiling, connoisseurs "hotter".
And, of course, what a Russian bathhouse without a broom, thanks to which there are not two, but three heat sources.
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FORUMHOUSE member
In a Russian bath, a fundamentally different way, effect and pleasure are added to the radiation from the stove and walls and convection: heat transfer by condensation of hot steam on the "cold" body of the steaming one. This method (moving steam with brooms from the ceiling to the body) gives the speed of warming up and the main tactile pleasure for those who understand and know how.
Features of the Finnish sauna
Although there is an opinion that the Finns themselves do not even mind giving up the park and waving a broom, the saunas, which have spread around the world with their light hand, are dry-air. The humidity in them is minimal, the temperatures are extreme, and they steam mostly while sitting. The air warms up evenly and there is no such difference between the temperature on the lower shelf and on the upper one, as in a Russian bath. Due to the seated position, steam rooms are characterized by compact dimensions and a compact metal stove with an open stove. And since watering the stones with water is not required to generate steam in saunas, the stoves can be electric, which does not need to be heated, it is enough to set the appropriate mode. Saunas are often not separate buildings, but premises directly in the house, since the minimum humidity does not create any particular problems when arranging a wall "cake".
What is in the bath, what is in the sauna, the effect depends not only on the microclimate in the steam room, but also on the "extras".
p9181848
FORUMHOUSE member
The most important detail of a proper bath: a barrel, a hot tub, or better - a pool, albeit small, for example, 150x200 cm, with a depth of 100 cm. After all, it is the sequential change in temperature when immersed in cold water that gives the main healing effect of the bath: temporary vigor; real euphoria (release of internal endorphins and serotonin); the final long-term increase in immunity.
Features of the Turkish hammam
A steam bath with minimal temperatures and absolute humidity is a Turkish hammam, although the Turks borrowed the idea from the Romans, but added to the thermae an original oriental flavor. If the Russian bath and sauna are similar enough, and in the same steam room you can enjoy both steam and dry air with varying success, the hammam stands apart.
In the bath / sauna, the air is first heated, giving off heat to the surfaces, in the hammam, on the contrary, the heating of the surfaces (distributed heat), from which the air is heated.
And the surfaces themselves are not wooden, but exclusively stone and its derivatives, and this is due not only to the craving of the East for luxury, but also to the high thermal conductivity of the material. In its original form, the hammam includes a dressing room and five steam rooms with different temperature conditions, as well as several pools with warm and cold water. The version adapted by private traders differs from a regular bath only in a specific steam room without a stove and in a tile.
Features of the Japanese bath
The Japanese bath differs from the usual one even more than the hammam - in it a steam room is not provided in principle. Instead, a wooden barrel with hot water (35-50 ⁰С) and a wooden "bathtub" with heated sawdust or pebbles (60 С). The barrel, furako, is voluminous and deep enough for the bather to fit sitting on a small bench, and the water level was slightly below the chest. The water is heated by means of a built-in oven.
A container with sawdust or pebbles, ofuro, assumes a lying position, they are buried in the sawdust, and lie on top of the pebbles.
But the main difference is not even that you need to steam in sawdust mixed with herbs, but also in sequence of procedures - first you need to take a dip in the shower, and only after that, you can immerse yourself in a furako, and then and lie in ofuro.
However, the effect is comparable to that of a traditional steam room and the Japanese bath is also beneficial for health.
If for the Japanese the bath is rather a philosophy, then for us it is one of the favorite ways to relax with family or friends. It is not for nothing that dachas gathered and are going not only for a barbecue, but also to steam, and often combine these most pleasant events. The microclimate is important, first of all, for health - high temperatures are contraindicated for some, and for others, high humidity cannot be tolerated. In addition, the design of the bath largely depends on it, starting from the dimensions and ending with the cake of the wall. And when designing, it is necessary to take into account, among other things, which vaping mode is preferable.
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In the video - how to design a real Russian bath.