Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers with NON EPA-Certified Models Only => Shaver Furnace => Topic started by: R W Ohio on May 12, 2008, 06:38:09 PM
-
How many Shaver owners are viewing this site?
Tell us about your Shaver unit and how do you like it.
-
I own a Shaver and bought one because of the low price. Around $4300 for the 170 gallon. Using it for a house around 1900 sf. and occationally a 30x36 shop that is not insulated yet. It seems like there is alot of room for improvement in this brand of boiler. First of all it would be nice to figure out a way to close off the fan when the water gets to temperature as it will pull air through the fan even when its off. Which uses more wood. And when the water is up to temp and the fan is off it has a hot spot right above the grate which makes the water boil so I have to put water in it daily. Another thing is if you open the fan all the way when its running you have to crack the ash pan door cause it seems that it pushes all the heat out the chimney. This is the first year for it and I didn't have the best of seasoned wood either.
-
I have one on the way. After my research I felt the Shaver would be the easiest to keep running and with the .400" of steel I thought it would last the longest of what I have easy access to. I also like the fact that parts are available for me to buy almost anywhere and not just at a dealer. They may not have the best fit and finish, but from what I've seen and heard none of them look pretty after a few seasons of burning! :D
I look forward to following and posting on this site!
-
I am currently looking at ordering the Shaver outdoor stove, last year I spent many hours researching all of the different types of stoves and made my decision. The heavy firebox, warranty and the price were the driving factors. I would like any input anyones before the purchase is made.
-
We're happy with our Shaver so far...it arrived in March this year, been using it for our DHW since then,no problems.. It's simple,no electronics,thermocouples,etc.--Does the job well without unnecessarily over complicating things..
-
Gandgracing, my neighbors Wood Doctor had the same issue, as did the replacement fan i bought for my Wood Master from Graingers. Get a rubber end cap in the plumbing section at Lowes, etc. Has a hose clamp on it and just slide it over the end of the motor,that's sucking air thru. Did that 2 years ago and no problems. My stove runs year round. I also oil the motor twice a year. Hope this helps. Charlie :thumbup:
-
They look like a good furnace. I actually had my sails set to the Shaver until I called and left three different messages for a call back. Then I found out who my closest Woodmaster dealer was and bought one from him.
-
Gandgracing, my neighbors Wood Doctor had the same issue, as did the replacement fan i bought for my Wood Master from Graingers. Get a rubber end cap in the plumbing section at Lowes, etc. Has a hose clamp on it and just slide it over the end of the motor,that's sucking air thru. Did that 2 years ago and no problems. My stove runs year round. I also oil the motor twice a year. Hope this helps. Charlie :thumbup:
I don't understand, rubber end cap? how does this seal the air off when fan is off, or let air in when fan kicks on? Please explain
-
Only been using my shaver 165 for a couple of weeks, so far all is well and working good. not that cold out yet, hopefully I will still be happy when it gets below zero. (Northern Minnesota) :-\
-
Yoda, it seals the end of the motor housing that has slots cut into it. Squirrel cage is on the opposite end. My rubber flap the opens with the solenoid sits above the squirrel cage. when the flap is closed it can still draw air thru the other end of the motor housing, where the slots are, if the flexible pipe boot is not on. Maybe you set up is different. Worked for me, just fine.
-
Yoda, it seals the end of the motor housing that has slots cut into it. Squirrel cage is on the opposite end. My rubber flap the opens with the solenoid sits above the squirrel cage. when the flap is closed it can still draw air thru the other end of the motor housing, where the slots are, if the flexible pipe boot is not on. Maybe you set up is different. Worked for me, just fine.
The squirel gcage on mine is visible through the slots so I think my setup is a little different if I understand you correctly. Cool idea though and I think I could get to work in my application also. What do I ask for at home depot or what department/ whats it called or normally used for? Thanks for the idea and the reply :thumbup:
-
Plumbing dept.-Flexible rubber , pipe end cap. By the "Furnco couplers". Probaly a three inch. Your set up my be different. You'll have to see when the stove has cycled off, if it's drawing air thru the end of the motor housing. Cover it with plastic wrap and see if the smoke wisps shut down comming out of your chimney. Or do a smoke check with something to see if it's drawing air thru the motor end cap. Like you said your set up might be totally different from mine.
-
mine is homebuilt, i made a box with a damper inside the box...has a small rod going into the box hooked to the damper...solenoid pulls the damper open when fire calls for air and blower turns on..works good.
-
Ive burned wood on and off for 30 yrs and got tired of loading an indoor stove every couple hrs so I broke down and bought a shaver. Ordered it nov 07 and received jan 19th.
I liked the fact it is thick heavy duty steel. Ive read up and thought I did my research but missed the forums that talked about all the problems with the shaver stove. I figured theres a learning curve no matter what because every house is different. I have a two story with walk up attic . With the basement I probably have 3000 sq ft. I have a 40 yr plus boiler in the house and Im also heating a garage with a water to air hanging heater and two salvaged cast iron radiators. The past two days were 0 to -7 and the house was stuck at 62 segrees. I didnt hook in a softner system this summer so I probably have some mineral deposits on the boiler water jacket . I talked to a water treatment service tech and he said a 10 to 20 % hydrochloric solution should take care of the deposits by circulating through the system till the ph tests about 7. I already
removed my 40 plate heat exchanger and soaked it in a 25 percent solution of muratic acid this past weekend. I sealed the rear access door ( didnt think it mattered LOL ) down as the stove was steaming constantly and I was adding water every couple days. The water treatment tech said the more water that evaporates the more deposits are left on the fire box which insulates the boiler. Think I will invest in a larger heat exchanger. Ive seen them up to 150 plates. Maybe a 100 plate would transfer more usable btu's. I checked the boiler water temp and the hottest yesterday operated at 125 degrees. The temp on my inside boiler was 120 degrees. Id like to get it to 185 degrees. Any suggestions as Ive got 7500 bucks invested so far and would like to think I can make this system work Some of the other posts on the stove make alot of sense so help me out guys. I also thought a dampner installed in the flue would help with the rate of wood consumption and keep the heat in longer.
-
woodburn, are you using good seasoned hardwood? One thing I've noticed is if I don't stuff the stove full of wood and carefully position the wood so more air can get at more of the wood from the forced draft blower , the water temp will rise much faster than if I fill the stove full, also I position the wood as far forward and over the grate as possible. Once I get it up to temp I use my poker to reposition the wood and then fill it full of wood (right before bed) Only down side is I have to put wood in a min of 3-4 times a day. Before I bought a new heat exchanger I would concentrate on getting your boiler water temp up to at least 155. I've noticed there is a big difference between 125 and 155. If my water temp drops below aprox. 125 my forced air fan will run and run and run struggling to even maintain house temp. Once my water temp gets over 155 the fan cycles about how it would with the propane furnace. Hope you get it figured out and I hope this helps. Also have you checked and made sure your forced draft blower isn't turnig off to soon? or is it runnig continually and your water temp still only gets to 125?Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but I did't want to assume anything.
-
Thanks Yoda for the imput. I have hot water heat and my circulation pump on the house side runs 24/7 and the pump outside does too. I read some other posts on this site and see a link to some boiler cleaner and treatments. I think i need to clean and treat my system as I never did since hook up last jan when I got the unit. I didnt seem to have any issues last season and Im thinking the buildup on the boiler is insulating the water from the fire and causing the decreased temp. I also thought I might line the inside fire box nest season with fire brick and put in some plates to deflect the fire to delay the exit out the flue. Its frustrating knowing Jan is just around the corner and still having a cold house.
-
If I remember correctly, if you remove your cover for your pottale hot water coil on the stove you should be able to see most of the outside (water side) of the firebox. just a thought.
-
does your draft ever close or your forced blower ever shut off, if so it sounds like a bad aquastat
if you never had problems last year i doubt that you would have enough build up not to get to the set temp
why not stand beside your stove for 10 min with the door open a bit to give it lots of air..see if the water heats up to your desired temp, i bet it does. if it does then youknow it will heat up..now look for a blocked draft or failed solenoid or what ever allows air into your stove and if that is not the problem than like i stated earlier, a bad aquastat ..these stoves are normally pretty simple things to trouble shoot..good luck
-
your chimney may be partially blocked also. Is it burning hard if you open the door real quick, or does it slowly burn better and better when the door is open?
-
replace your aquostat my stove did that to me last year when i went to fire it up could not get temp up no matter how i would adjust it replaced aguostat finally after hours of messing with it. worked fine not taking anymore chances replacing this year with ranco 111000 good luck