This is my 3rd year of using my Shaver 165 which I purchased from Greg Steinacher. I received the furnace within a week or two of the purchase. Prior to receiving the furnace Greg had giving me the manual so I had the pad ready when he delivered the furnace. My install consisted of two zones for a two story home. With doing the install myself, the
Shaver cost me a little less then $7000. I figure it to be paid for in propane savings this year. My neighbor has a Central Boiler which he had installed for around $12000 so he probably has a couple more years to go before he's is paid off. As far as I know he has Not had any problems and neither have I. I have done some mods to my furnace including buying the spark arrester from Greg, I posted some of my other mods last November. This year before I fired it up I added a flue blocker on the inside of the fire box as I never did like seeing the flames shooting straight up the flue. What I did was I bought three pieces of stove pipe (the kind with the open bead, ie the black stove pipe available where any kind of wood burning furnace parts are sold) and I fitted the pieces together one inside the other until I had one thick piece still opened down the length of the closing bead. Together the three pieces are about a quarter of an inch thick and cost about $23. I cut about 5 inches from the total length of the pipe so it would fit into the fire box over the flue pipe. The opened end faces the back of the fire box and the extension rest on the floor of the fire box, so the the only way the fire/heat can go up the flue is to go around the pipe extension on the back side of the fire box. Anyway I hope this will help the furnace retain heat in the firebox. On a side note I have not had any problems with my furnace, and maybe if I had spent more for a different brand I would not have to do mods...but where's the fun in that? Also Greg is a good person and he is trying to help like a lot of the people on this site offering suggestion and advice.