When I purchased my unit 3-30-10, I had to buy the rust blocker from Shaver. The cost was $250 and was told it was good for 5 years and no test were needed . By the way it was in a 5gal jug.
Wood Nutt, i did read that in the manual..Ben Shaver told my neighbor and me for the warranty we had to use there rust blocker.
Jimr is correct. When using the product that Shaver supplies....we do NOT have to have the water tested. The only thing required by them is that every five years the old gets drained and new treatment put in.
My FIRST Shaver 165 was JUNK and I told them so...we had a bit of a go around, but I won...and also decided to upgrade as the dealer rep here wasn't of much help and I learned a lot by calling Shaver up and talking to a fellow who no longer works at Shaver...his name was RAY. He KNEW all there was to know about the product and he held nothing back. I basically informed them that I was going to give them the benefit of doubt and that they build me a unit that their wives could put in their dining room and store their fine china in....or else I was going to be taking someone to court. I received my 250 Pro 6 months later and to this day...KNOCK ON WOOD...I've not had any issues and I can tell you the difference between the 250 PRO and the first 165 I got is like night and day.
I don't come on this site very much....just here now because a friend of mine was having issues with his Shaver and told me about the fellow over her that was having issues with his 165.
What ever you end up doing in repairing your unit...get that rust blocker from Shaver...no testing is involved. good luck with the repairs...and remember, no matter what anyone says on here regarding Shaver products and believe me there ARE a lot of naysayers....all these wood furnaces have one thing in common...heat the water. Some may be built like tanks and some many pay for name only...I can think of one right off the top of my head, but I'm NOT here to bash manufactures. Make your repairs and make it right for you. Wanna get a hold of me, look for me on the other site.
Lugnut
aka: Jerry