Wood-burning samovar: modernizing a rarity. How to convert an electric samovar into a wood-burning one The choice of samovar shape is also interesting

Wood-burning samovar: modernizing a rarity

A wood-burning samovar is a symbol of hospitality, comfort, and the strength of family ties. If you live in a house, and even outside the city, a samovar just begs to be included in the interior.

Yes, whatever it is in the interior, in everyday life or in holiday traditions that always hold the family together. A wood-burning samovar is a symbol of hospitality, comfort, and the strength of family ties.

Homemade pastries, jam, and tea made with your own hands are not considered relics, but the samovar, which comes in handy in this “company,” is considered something long forgotten.

Meanwhile, heating a samovar is not difficult, and even interesting; repairing it is also not the most expensive thing. Well, if there is nothing to repair yet, look for an interesting model in the store - new samovars are becoming fashionable.

Construction of a wood-burning samovar: how to use the unit

The operating principle of a flame samovar, or a wood-burning samovar, has not changed for several centuries. To understand how to use such a device, it is worth understanding how it works.

The first fire samovar appeared in Rus' at the beginning of the 18th century

Construction of a wood-burning samovar:

Body (or water tank). It differs in size, design nuances and decor. The body is equipped with handles for easy carrying. If the body is simple, copper, without any special decoration, such a samovar will not be as expensive as a painted analogue.
Jug. This is the name of the pipe that runs through the entire body. This is where the combustion process takes place. At the bottom of the jug there is a grate connected to the base, and there are already special holes through which air is supplied to the firebox.
Lid. The lid closes the body and has a hole for the top of the jug. The lid has handles as well as steam releases.
Hotplate. After boiling, a burner is fixed on top of the lid to the outlet of the jug. There is a teapot on the burner. Moreover, in fact, you can put an electric kettle there.
Faucet. It is located at the bottom of the samovar, just above the bottom. If the faucet was located at the very bottom, then the same scale could get into the cup.

Sectional view of a samovar: unit structure

This is the kind of samovar our ancestors heated, and our contemporaries also heated almost the same one.

What is the difference between a modern samovar and a traditional one?

An antique wood-burning samovar is usually made of copper. Today, a wood-burning samovar is made of brass. In addition, a modern wood-burning samovar can be copper-plated, or, for example, contain a galvanic coating. There are nickel-plated models, and there are models coated with a special heat-resistant varnish.

If you are restoring a wood-burning samovar, you will need some repairs, which you can do yourself, or you can turn to professionals. It all depends on the volume of restoration.

If we are talking only about decor, cleaning and descaling, such procedures, of course, can be performed with your own hands efficiently.

But not everyone can do more complex repairs, eliminating cracks and leaks, tinning, replacing components.

The choice of samovar shape is also interesting:

Jar;
Turnip;
Vase;
Acorn;
Glass;
Egg.

Collectors know what variations of the form there are. And the decor cannot be enumerated at all - smooth, corrugated, painted samovars, etc.

Why is it not recommended today to heat copper samovars? The fact is that they are susceptible to oxidation, and this is not very good, and in appearance such a wood-burning samovar quickly deteriorates

Cones for the samovar: brewing aromatic tea

The name wood does not mean that only firewood can be used. A fire samovar can be heated with coal, and if you want unusual tea, you need to heat it with cones.

It’s worth saying right away that you won’t find a better way than heating a samovar with charcoal.

After coal combustion, not much ash is formed, and the resulting powder is easily removed.

But how, if you have a samovar, can you not brew tea using pine cones with your own hands? Indeed, it is worth drinking this tea at least once, but taking into account some nuances.

Firebox of a samovar with cones:

Melting a samovar with them is not the best option, the soot will be considerable, but you can add it to the firebox while water is boiling;
The cones contain a lot of resin, which tends to clog the inner pipe in the samovar;
The cone should only be pine.

To ensure that the tea is not only aromatic but also healthy, only pine cones are used.

And here’s another curious fact: the water in the samovar will not come into contact with the burning fuel, but nevertheless, it will have the aroma of the wood that was used to melt the samovar.

So your tea can be apple or pine. This is explained as follows: bubbles of active oxygen begin to form on the surface of the internal heating pipe during boiling.

It turns out that the water in the samovar becomes, let’s say, alive.

Therefore, it is believed that tea from a samovar is special, soft, and the water for it has healing properties.

If you are not going to hand over your existing samovar for repairs, or if you don’t have any samovar at all yet, you will have to buy one. There are also a lot of questions about how to choose. In order for the samovar to keep you happy for a long time, and for the tea to always be tasty, you need to choose carefully.

How to choose a fire samovar:

External persuasiveness. The simplest thing is that there should be no dents or cracks, and there should be no uneven color.
Sustainability. Place the samovar on a table or other flat surface; it should not wobble.
Jug device. If this part is made of thin iron, quick repair of the samovar is virtually guaranteed.
Tinning the inside. The inside of the product must be tinned with special food-grade tin.
Tightness. Neither the faucet nor anything else should leak.
Capacity. If there are at least three people in your family, then the volume of the samovar should not be less than three liters. There are smaller models, which are popularly called “egoist”, from which you need to drink tea in several approaches if you have a company.

Models with a corrugated surface are considered more stable.

How to brew tea in a samovar: instructions for beginners

Finally, the most important thing is how to drink delicious tea from such a vaunted samovar. If you have no experience, you will have to read the instructions.

Before lighting the samovar, prepare a sufficient amount of wood chips

Lighting up a fire samovar:

Place the samovar on a small table, it should be stable;
Fill with water, close the lid;
Light the wood chips and throw them into the jug, then add more wood chips (if the first one has not gone out);
Place the pipe, let it flare up;
Add wood chips until the water boils (the pipe, in turn, will create draft for combustion);
At the very end, add herbs or the same cones for flavor;
Pour tea into a teapot, pour boiling water over it and place on top of the samovar.

The tea should be tasty, aromatic, and the very atmosphere of such tea drinking is incomparable with automatic tea brewing from an electric kettle.

How to heat a samovar (video)

A fire samovar in your home or dacha is a necessary thing that will definitely decorate summer evenings and family or friendly gatherings. And the process of brewing tea itself is at the same time a pleasant ritual, which, like all good traditions, should be adopted from older generations.

Wood-burning samovar

Source: http://openfile.ru/remont/%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80-%D0%BD%D0%B0- %D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%85-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%88%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%BA %D0%B0%D1%85-%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8-%D1%80%D1%83%D0%BA.html

Samovar Cornflower

The samovar was not an ordinary household item, but a kind of personification of wealth, family comfort, and well-being.

Nowadays, the samovar has been almost completely replaced by modern devices such as an electric kettle.

However, a samovar made of plywood will be something original and will add individuality to your space. The drawing in PDF format is available for download.

DIY plywood samovar

The plywood samovar was made by Lyudmila Pelymskaya, a master of artistic sawing.

To make this craft you will need the following supplies:

Preparation of the workplace

Before you start cutting out the Samovar, you need to prepare a working surface - a table (workbench). On it you will create your craft.
Observe the following rules:

Order - during work, on the workbench, there should be no unnecessary items.
The tool must be at hand, for this it is necessary to store it in the designated place.
The workbench should be located in a bright, spacious, ventilated place.

Not everyone can place a workbench in a suitable location. In an apartment, as an alternative, the workbench can be placed on an insulated balcony. In this case, you can work on your product at any convenient time.

You might be interested in the article: workplace organization

Which plywood to choose

To make a Samovar you will need lumber - a sheet of plywood. When choosing a workpiece, pay attention to common defects - knots, cracks, delamination and other defects.

The thickness of the workpiece is determined by the dimensions indicated in the diagram.

The workpiece must be sanded, starting with coarse grains and ending with finer ones.
The surface must be smooth; to do this, secure the sandpaper in the sanding tool. Don't have a tool? - An alternative is to choose a flat and not large block wrapped in sandpaper.
Sanding must be done along the layers of wood.
Sand until the surface of the workpiece is smooth and smooth to the touch.

You may be interested in the article: Improving the quality of plywood.

Transferring the template to plywood

In order to start cutting, you need to transfer the drawing to the workpiece, for this:
Print the template to the required scale. Using tracing paper and a ballpoint pen to transfer the diagram onto the plywood.

For convenience, secure the template with tape, buttons, or just your hand. Think about how best to arrange the elements of the samovar in order to save lumber.

Take your time, your future product depends on the correctness and accuracy of the translation.

You might be interested in the article: Quick transfer of a drawing.

Sawing a Samovar from plywood

Basic rules that should be followed when cutting:

The position of the jigsaw in relation to the workpiece should be perpendicular (90 degrees).
Make sure you move smoothly up and down - do not jerk and take your time.
Use the Sawing Table
First of all, cut out the internal elements, then proceed directly to the outline of the product.

If you suddenly leave the cutting line, don’t be upset. It is possible to correct the lines using needle files or sandpaper directly during assembly.

Rest

Due to prolonged stress, fatigue occurs, productivity decreases, concentration decreases, and eyes and fingers get tired. This can lead to injuries, so I recommend that you take short breaks and do simple gymnastic exercises.

You might be interested in the article: Exercises for the eyes and hands.

Assembling a samovar from plywood

Look at the drawing of the finished product; assembling the samovar is not very difficult.

Before gluing, make sure that all elements fit together without any problems; if necessary, adjust using a file. When the craft is assembled without problems, begin the gluing process.

To connect all the parts together, use PVA, Titanium or epoxy glue. Avoid glue smudges.

Varnishing crafts

To add sophistication to the samovar, it can be coated with stain, imitating valuable types of wood.

You can varnish the product, matte or glossy, depending on your preferences. Choose a high-quality varnish; you can apply it with a brush or spray gun.

Do not leave bubbles, lint or visible stains on the surface of the product.

You might be interested in the article: Varnishing crafts.

Drawing of a Samovar made of plywood

You can download the Samovar diagram from the following link:

Source: http://chudo-lobzik.ru/samovar-vasilek/

Samovars: restoration and care methods

One of the symbols of Russia is the samovar.

He is also the personification of home comfort, strong family ties and family well-being.

Let's not talk about modern, electric, representatives of the tribe - they can be called a profanation of the idea itself and its simplification. We are interested in real, wood-burning (charcoal) samovars, their restoration and care.

Few people can afford antique “bellies”, since they are already classified as antiques. However, in the attic or in your grandmother’s closet, you may find an old copy that is worthy of taking pride of place on the table during evening tea parties and is able to further unite your already friendly family.

However, years spent neglected and in unsuitable conditions certainly took a toll on his “health.” And restoring it is a very expensive matter.

For example, the simplest restoration of a samovar in Moscow starts at 8 thousand rubles, and it is not a fact that your case will fit within the allotted amount.

But many works can be done independently.

Cleaning the insides

The first thing you should begin with when restoring a samovar with your own hands is cleaning it from the deposits that have appeared as a result of its use.

Due to repeated boiling of raw water, scale forms on the internal surfaces, which slows down the rate of boiling of the next portion and contributes to the burning of the walls of the working jug of the unit.

For anyone who knows how quickly samovars fail due to scale, restoring the condition of the inside to its original form is a priority. This can be done in several ways.

Modern chemistry: descaling agents like Antiscale or carburetor fluid. The samovar is filled 2/3 full with heated water, the drug is diluted in it according to the instructions and left overnight.
Traditional vinegar, which is often used to clean teapots: a glass of essence is diluted with 6 glasses of water, the solution is heated to 70 degrees, and after 2 hours the scale layer is removed with a wooden spatula.
Boiling with soda and vinegar: boil water in a samovar, add baking soda (2 spoons per liter), after a third of an hour the mixture is drained and replaced with water with vinegar essence (for four liters - half a glass). After a similar time, draining and cleaning with a wooden tool takes place again.

After using any of the methods, the first water boiled in the samovar must be mercilessly drained.

Bringing back the shine

Both during storage and with regular use, samovars become darkened and become dull. Restoring their presentability is not a difficult task, although it is painstaking.

Metal Polish polish from the German company AUTOSOL is suitable for samovars made of aluminum, brass, copper and stainless steel. In addition to cleansing from everything foreign, it forms a film that protects against the appearance of new traces of the effects of time. True, it is quite expensive.
For samovars made of cupronickel, the Israeli “Metal Cleaner” is more suitable. However, this polish is also suitable for any non-ferrous metals. In addition, it costs much less than the German offer. The only drawback is that it will require finishing with GOI paste, which costs a penny.

If the layers are too thick, no paste may help. In this case, you will have to resort to grinding, which is not very encouraging: the strength of the metal decreases somewhat, and excessive diligence will lead to the appearance of a hole in the side.

Samovars: restoration using folk methods

A number of owners of old “bellies” fear that modern chemicals could damage their family property.

They can be offered a number of ancient methods that are clearly not capable of causing damage to the samovar.

Baking soda is lightly moistened with water and acts as an abrasive. We warn you: you will have to rub for a long time, but you cannot press too hard - scratches will appear.
The patina can be easily removed with crushed chalk. It is better than soda in that it cannot scratch the tank, but worse in that it takes even more time.
The following folk method: wash the samovar jug with warm soapy water, dry it and carefully rub it with sifted clean fine river sand.

Our advice: if there is only a thin coating on the samovar, it does not look like it has been in a fire, do not try to completely remove the patina. An antique item should bear traces of time.

We return the crane to functionality

A stuck spout prevents you from using the samovar for its intended purpose, and a leaking spout spoils the whole impression of tea drinking. We solve problems like this:

Lubricate the faucet that does not turn with WD-40, wait for a while and tap it through a wooden block to return the key to normal.
Leakage of the key from below is eliminated with “Valve” paste: it is removed, coated and returned to its place. The samovar is filled with boiling water, and the tap is turned in a circle until it fits into place. The main thing is not to overdo it so that the key does not fall inside.
Leakage from above indicates that the key is worn out and does not occupy the entire hole allocated for it. Nothing will help here other than changing the design.

After any chemicals used, hot water with citric acid is passed through the samovar several times - so as not to be poisoned by it.

Restoring the body

The most difficult thing about repairing and restoring samovars is the need for tinning. A wall covered with an oxide film can not only spoil the taste of tea, but also cause harm to the drinker.

Therefore, the samovar must be covered with a film of tin, which oxidizes much worse.

It is almost impossible to find tinkers in the modern world (except in special restoration workshops, where it is expensive), so you will have to cope on your own.

The samovar is treated from the inside with fine sandpaper, washed and rubbed with ammonia or soldering acid.
The vessel is heated on the stove, a small piece of tin is placed on the bottom and melts.
The melt is carefully rubbed over the surface of the tow.
The samovar is heated again, and the tin layer is brought to equal thickness and the desired density.

The manipulations are repeated until the layer of poluda becomes identical and continuous throughout all the insides.

How to extend the life of a samovar

In order for you to be disturbed as little as possible by the restoration of samovars, the price of which is very high, and not all operations can be carried out independently, follow simple rules:

Do not leave the samovar hot without water.
Before the cold weather, when leaving the dacha, drain the water from the belly.
Handle the samovar with gloved hands - you will have to clean it less often.
Before sending for storage, remove the key valve and lubricate it with edible fats.

If you live in a house, and even outside the city, a samovar just begs to be included in the interior. Yes, whatever it is in the interior, in everyday life or in holiday traditions that always hold the family together. A wood-burning samovar is a symbol of hospitality, comfort, and the strength of family ties. Homemade pastries, jam, and tea made with your own hands are not considered relics, but the samovar, which comes in handy in this “company,” is considered something long forgotten. Meanwhile, heating a samovar is not difficult, and even interesting; repairing it is also not the most expensive thing. Well, if there is nothing to repair yet, look for an interesting model in the store - new samovars are becoming fashionable.

The operating principle of a flame samovar, or a wood-burning samovar, has not changed for several centuries. To understand how to use such a device, it is worth understanding how it works.

Construction of a wood-burning samovar:

Body (or water tank). It differs in size, design nuances and decor. The body is equipped with handles for easy carrying. If the body is simple, copper, without any special decoration, such a samovar will not be as expensive as a painted analogue.
Jug. This is the name of the pipe that runs through the entire body. This is where the combustion process takes place. At the bottom of the jug there is a grate connected to the base, and there are already special holes through which air is supplied to the firebox.
Lid. The lid closes the body and has a hole for the top of the jug. The lid has handles as well as steam releases.
Hotplate. After boiling, a burner is fixed on top of the lid to the outlet of the jug. There is a teapot on the burner. Moreover, in fact, you can put an electric kettle there.
Faucet. It is located at the bottom of the samovar, just above the bottom. If the faucet was located at the very bottom, then the same scale could get into the cup.

This is the kind of samovar our ancestors heated, and our contemporaries also heated almost the same one.

The device of a samovar (video)

What is the difference between a modern samovar and a traditional one?

If you are restoring a wood-burning samovar, you will need some repairs, which you can do yourself, or you can turn to professionals. It all depends on the volume of restoration. If we are talking only about decor, cleaning and descaling, such procedures, of course, can be performed with your own hands efficiently. But not everyone can do more complex repairs, eliminating cracks and leaks, tinning, replacing components.

The choice of samovar shape is also interesting:

Jar;
Turnip;
Vase;
Acorn;
Glass;
Egg.

Collectors know what variations of the form there are. And the decor cannot be enumerated at all - smooth, corrugated, painted samovars, etc.

Cones for the samovar: brewing aromatic tea

The name wood does not mean that only firewood can be used. A fire samovar can be heated with coal, and if you want unusual tea, you need to heat it with cones.

It’s worth saying right away that you won’t find a better way than heating a samovar with charcoal. After coal combustion, not much ash is formed, and the resulting powder is easily removed.

But how, if you have a samovar, can you not brew tea using pine cones with your own hands? Indeed, it is worth drinking this tea at least once, but taking into account some nuances.

Firebox of a samovar with cones:

Melting a samovar with them is not the best option, the soot will be considerable, but you can add it to the firebox while water is boiling;
The cones contain a lot of resin, which tends to clog the inner pipe in the samovar;
The cone should only be pine.

And here’s another curious fact: the water in the samovar will not come into contact with the burning fuel, but nevertheless, it will have the aroma of the wood that was used to melt the samovar. So your tea can be apple or pine. This is explained as follows: bubbles of active oxygen begin to form on the surface of the internal heating pipe during boiling. It turns out that the water in the samovar becomes, let’s say, alive.

Therefore, it is believed that tea from a samovar is special, soft, and the water for it has healing properties.

Rules for using a flame samovar (video instructions)

How to choose a fire samovar:

External persuasiveness. The simplest thing is that there should be no dents or cracks, and there should be no uneven color.
Sustainability. Place the samovar on a table or other flat surface; it should not wobble.
Jug device. If this part is made of thin iron, quick repair of the samovar is virtually guaranteed.
Tinning the inside. The inside of the product must be tinned with special food-grade tin.
Tightness. Neither the faucet nor anything else should leak.
Capacity. If there are at least three people in your family, then the volume of the samovar should not be less than three liters. There are smaller models, which are popularly called “egoist”, from which you need to drink tea in several approaches if you have a company.

How to brew tea in a samovar: instructions for beginners

Finally, the most important thing is how to drink delicious tea from such a vaunted samovar. If you have no experience, you will have to read the instructions.

Lighting up a fire samovar:

Place the samovar on a small table, it should be stable;
Fill with water, close the lid;
Light the wood chips and throw them into the jug, then add more wood chips (if the first one has not gone out);
Place the pipe, let it flare up;
Add wood chips until the water boils (the pipe, in turn, will create draft for combustion);
At the very end, add herbs or the same cones for flavor;
Pour tea into a teapot, pour boiling water over it and place on top of the samovar.

The tea should be tasty, aromatic, and the very atmosphere of such tea drinking is incomparable with automatic tea brewing from an electric kettle.

How to heat a samovar (video)

Wood-burning samovar (photo)

In execution, this is not a complex MK. It all depends on your taste and well-chosen parts and materials.
So - let's get started!
These, seemingly far from doll life, drugs from the home medicine cabinet gave me a good idea

For the elegant beauty of my future samovar, I bought the following items from a store that sells beads and other riches for making jewelry:
- golden metal things (called something like a “bead grabber”) - one flatter one with a diameter of approx. 2.5 cm
- a large beautiful metal part, quite heavy - as the legs of a samovar
- 4 wire nails made of flexible wire with beautiful tips
- two long wooden beads for handles
- a metal key (I took 2 different ones to look at the location)
A few details were not useful - I’ll use them another time)

The rest of the items are - as they call here - junk - a flight of fancy :)
The lid is plastic with a hole cut out in the center (I cut it out earlier for something - it’s useful now)

A ring from a Soviet pacifier - the diameter suited well as a samovar lid (on the right in the photo; the small one was not useful)

Plastic tube stick from a ball

Two large beads for the handles on the lid, sequin flowers for decorating the handles (6 pcs) and a bead holder for the spout of the samovar.

A piece of stiff wire and a bead.

Tools:
- awl
- knife
For gluing parts - Moment-gel glue

Acrylic paints “Black Gold” and “Gold”. You can get by with just gold, but it seemed to me that this option would be more interesting for the effect of antiquity.

Peel off the label on the ascorbic acid jar and cut off the top thread with a knife.

Remove the cap from an empty Pinosol tube (I only succeeded when I broke the bottle).
Turn the lid over in the opposite direction to that in the photo and cut off the top ring with a knife.

In a large jar, use an awl to make a hole in the bottom in the center, widening it slightly, and on the sides of the jar there are 2 holes for the handles of the samovar.

We thread the nails as shown in the photo (2 for each bead)

Bend the wire

We pass the wire through the holes and bend it from the inside.

Handles are ready!
We make a hole in the side of the jar at the bottom for the spout of the samovar. First with an awl, and then we expand the hole with a thicker tool or scissors to a diameter equal to the cut diameter of the ball stick.

Using a knife, cut 2 pieces of about 1.5 and 0.7 cm from the ball stick.
In the long one we pierce a through hole for a key.
We cut the key and insert it into the holes. It is desirable that the key fits tightly.

Unfortunately, I didn’t photograph the important moment of assembling the spout of the samovar.
I'll try to explain...
The photo above shows 2 tubes. We cut the edges of each slightly diagonally so that they can be connected at an angle of 90 degrees.
We coat it with glue and place a small bead wrapper on top of the formed corner, pressing a little along the edges so that it fits well into the tubes.
I think I explained it clearly - see the photo below in its finished form.
We coat the hole in the large jar under the spout with glue and insert the finished spout with a key into it.

We put a small bead on the wire and bend it in half, as in the photo above.
And then we put it on like a pyramid. We start with the large piece for the legs.
The ring in the photo was not useful - instead there was a cap with a hole.
Then a large jar, a pacifier ring, a golden part and a cap from Pinosol. We bend the wire in different directions and cut it.

This is how the samovar turned out.

I slightly missed the level of the hole for the spout, so I had to cover my mistake with a cardboard oval and make the hole a little higher. But this did not spoil the view at all. On a real samovar, there is a gasket at the junction of the spout and the body.
At the base of the handles and on the top of the lid we glue decorative flower palettes on both sides. On the top of the lid there are beads of flowers - these are handles (they can also be seen on the finished samovar, because I remembered about them after painting.
The samovar is almost ready!
Next is the most interesting part - painting.
First, the entire samovar was opened with “Black Gold” paint (metal parts superficially, so as not to spoil the effect of the metal, and plastic parts carefully). Next, everything is opened with “Gold” paint. Do not forget that it is necessary to create an object that is many years old, which has darkened with time, and then it was polished to a shine, but the years take their toll, and therefore the effect of imperfect cleaning must remain.

Showing a little imagination, let's breathe life into our handsome guy)))

Ready for tea party!!!
Sweets are very helpful...

Everyone enjoys a samovar - In the cold it’s simply a gift from God!

I suggest you show everyone what you have done and what parts you can use. Thank you for stopping by and reading to the end!

The samovar has been a symbol of Tula for several centuries. Many songs have been written about tea from a steaming water heater; business negotiations and intimate conversations have long been held over tea.

Today, the only enterprise in Russia that produces the original symbol of home comfort is the Tula Stamp plant.

The workshops where the Tula symbol is created were built back in 1905.

All samovars are made of brass.

The sheets arrive at the procurement shop and there, blanks are cut out of them on special machines.

They are given the desired shape in the stamping shop using a mold and a hydraulic press.

To produce premium samovars, a different technology is used. Instead of water, a punch (polyurethane) is placed into the workpiece.

After each operation, the parts of the future water heater are sent to the furnace to relieve stress in the metal and make it more pliable. There they stay for about an hour at a temperature of +600°C.

After leaving the furnace, all parts must be cleaned of scale in galvanic baths with a solution of hydrochloric acid. In total, each part requires 5-6 operations.

From here, the finished parts of the samovar are sent for polishing: they are sanded and polished on special wheels.

On a special machine, the body of the samovar is soldered and a tap is welded to it. All other parts are manually attached to the body using special rivets.

Then the assembled samovar is polished with “Viennese lime”. And again washed in a galvanic bath.

Then comes the turn of electrolysis. Using special pendants through which a weak electric current passes, the samovar is immersed in a nickel solution and “overgrown” with a thin layer of this metal.

The inside of the water heater bowl is covered with food grade tin.

The samovar is then sent for final polishing and final assembly. A heater is inserted inside electric samovars - a heating device that is produced in a neighboring workshop.

Here the device is tested.

Then some of the samovars are sent to the warehouse, and some are sent for painting.

Artists apply a special varnish to the water heaters, then transfer the selected design through tracing paper. Each samovar is painted only by hand.

The finished drawing is coated with transparent varnish and sent to the oven, where it is dried at a temperature of 130−150°C.

There is also a department of piece samovars at Stamp. Exclusive water heaters are created here.

It takes a craftsman a week to create each samovar.

All parts are cut out by hand and attached to the body with special pins.

Over the entire history of Stamp, several dozen such exclusive samovars have been created here. As a rule, they are made in only two copies: one is given to the customer, and the other is stored in the factory museum.

Here, by the way, there is a whole collection of all the products ever created at Stamp: chandeliers, fire extinguishers, gas stoves, heaters, kerosene stoves and even... oil pumps!

By the way, despite the fact that such exclusive goods are created on the territory of the plant, most of the territory is in decline...

Wood-burning samovar: modernizing a rarity

A wood-burning samovar is a symbol of hospitality, comfort, and the strength of family ties If you live in a house, and even outside the city, a samovar just begs to be included in the interior. Yes, whatever it is in the interior, in everyday life or in holiday traditions that always hold the family together. A wood-burning samovar is a symbol of hospitality, comfort, and the strength of family ties. Homemade pastries, jam, and tea made with your own hands are not considered relics, but the samovar, which comes in handy in this “company,” is considered something long forgotten. Meanwhile, heating a samovar is not difficult, and even interesting; repairing it is also not the most expensive thing. Well, if there is nothing to repair yet, look for an interesting model in the store - new samovars are becoming fashionable.

Construction of a wood-burning samovar: how to use the unit

The operating principle of a flame samovar, or a wood-burning samovar, has not changed for several centuries. To understand how to use such a device, it is worth understanding how it works.

The first fire samovar appeared in Rus' at the beginning of the 18th century

Construction of a wood-burning samovar:

Body (or water tank). It differs in size, design nuances and decor. The body is equipped with handles for easy carrying. If the body is simple, copper, without any special decoration, such a samovar will not be as expensive as a painted analogue.
Jug. This is the name of the pipe that runs through the entire body. This is where the combustion process takes place. At the bottom of the jug there is a grate connected to the base, and there are already special holes through which air is supplied to the firebox.
Lid. The lid closes the body and has a hole for the top of the jug. The lid has handles as well as steam releases.
Hotplate. After boiling, a burner is fixed on top of the lid to the outlet of the jug. There is a teapot on the burner. Moreover, in fact, you can put an electric kettle there.
Faucet. It is located at the bottom of the samovar, just above the bottom. If the faucet was located at the very bottom, then the same scale could get into the cup.

Sectional view of a samovar: unit structure

This is the kind of samovar our ancestors heated, and our contemporaries also heated almost the same one.

The device of a samovar (video)

What is the difference between a modern samovar and a traditional one?

The choice of samovar shape is also interesting:

Jar;
Turnip;
Vase;
Acorn;
Glass;
Egg.

Collectors know what variations of the form there are. And the decor cannot be enumerated at all - smooth, corrugated, painted samovars, etc.

Cones for the samovar: brewing aromatic tea

The name wood does not mean that only firewood can be used. A fire samovar can be heated with coal, and if you want unusual tea, you need to heat it with cones.

It’s worth saying right away that you won’t find a better way than heating a samovar with charcoal. After coal combustion, not much ash is formed, and the resulting powder is easily removed.

But how, if you have a samovar, can you not brew tea using pine cones with your own hands? Indeed, it is worth drinking this tea at least once, but taking into account some nuances.

Firebox of a samovar with cones:

Melting a samovar with them is not the best option, the soot will be considerable, but you can add it to the firebox while water is boiling;
The cones contain a lot of resin, which tends to clog the inner pipe in the samovar;
The cone should only be pine.

To ensure that the tea is not only aromatic but also healthy, only pine cones are used.

And here’s another curious fact: the water in the samovar will not come into contact with the burning fuel, but nevertheless, it will have the aroma of the wood that was used to melt the samovar. So your tea can be apple or pine. This is explained as follows: bubbles of active oxygen begin to form on the surface of the internal heating pipe during boiling. It turns out that the water in the samovar becomes, let’s say, alive.

Therefore, it is believed that tea from a samovar is special, soft, and the water for it has healing properties.

Rules for using a flame samovar (video instructions)

How to choose a fire samovar:

External persuasiveness. The simplest thing is that there should be no dents or cracks, and there should be no uneven color.
Sustainability. Place the samovar on a table or other flat surface; it should not wobble.
Jug device. If this part is made of thin iron, quick repair of the samovar is virtually guaranteed.
Tinning the inside. The inside of the product must be tinned with special food-grade tin.
Tightness. Neither the faucet nor anything else should leak.
Capacity. If there are at least three people in your family, then the volume of the samovar should not be less than three liters. There are smaller models, which are popularly called “egoist”, from which you need to drink tea in several approaches if you have a company.

Models with a corrugated surface are considered more stable.

How to brew tea in a samovar: instructions for beginners

Finally, the most important thing is how to drink delicious tea from such a vaunted samovar. If you have no experience, you will have to read the instructions.

Before lighting the samovar, prepare a sufficient amount of wood chips

Lighting up a fire samovar:

Place the samovar on a small table, it should be stable;
Fill with water, close the lid;
Light the wood chips and throw them into the jug, then add more wood chips (if the first one has not gone out);
Place the pipe, let it flare up;
Add wood chips until the water boils (the pipe, in turn, will create draft for combustion);
At the very end, add herbs or the same cones for flavor;
Pour tea into a teapot, pour boiling water over it and place on top of the samovar.

The tea should be tasty, aromatic, and the very atmosphere of such tea drinking is incomparable with automatic tea brewing from an electric kettle.