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[Coach]

Last year I ran with my fan open almost the whole way, this year I am trying to cut it back to 50 % open and running the water temperature at 180.  Just wondering what other guys are doing.     

[gandgracing]

It works so much better if you rig up a silenoid to open and close off the fan.  That way it uses the whole output of the fan when it needs it.  And
then shuts it down when not needed.  From my experiences if you run your temp at 180* you will notice some boiling.  150-170* seems to be
about the sweet spot when it gets really cold out.

[Scott7m]

if your getting boiling at 180 your stove has some issues.  the water is not being distributed around the water chamber the way it properly should.  Yes, by all means you shoulud have a solenoid to operate your flap on your stove.  I wasnt aware that there was one that didnt do that besides CB's natural draft. But it still uses a solenoid.   

My furnace is still operating at 150 degrees providing endless hot water and heating my 2200 sq foot home with ease.  The temps here have been in the low to mid 20's at night lately.

[gandgracing]

The only time I had boiling at 180* was before I had the solenoid on the fan. It would get to 180 and then overshoot and steam like crazy. Then I would have to add water.

[Russ Brumit]

I'm running mine at 150 with no problems . You can buy the selnoid kit from shaver for 75.00 or you can make one easy enough. One guy made one out of a dryer vent tube for a couple bucks. If your interested i can dig up the thread on how to do it.

[yoderheating]

 It always amazes me that people would buy a new product that comes without basic parts necessary to operate efficiently.  I am constantly reading threads talking about changes owners have made to shavers. Why doesn't the furnace come with things like draft control or aquastat? Does shaver give a reason for this?

[Russ Brumit]

The reason is simple . Money ! Everything you add takes the price up . The more you pay the longer it takes until you recoup your investment. Some people actually like tinkering with them too.

[Larson88]

i agree with yoder, i think its pretty ridiculous that they dont come with a solenoid, it is so important to shut your stove down tight. i think it would help sales if it came complete, besides not everyone is handy enough to install one on there own.

[Scott7m]

I dont understand why shaver does any of the things they do..  All this stuff should be standard!  Not an option, because the stove simply won't operate correctly without it.

One of the sad things about the industry of outdoor wood furnaces is that sadly we are all viewed as the same thing it seems.  Shaver sure doesnt help improve the image of the industry.  A simple google search of shaver outdoor wood furnace is enough to scare most anyone away from any manufacturer. 

[Russ Brumit]

What dont you understand ?  People just dont buy these things because they dont know what to spend their money on . They are trying to find a way to heat their home for less money. You haven't saved any money until you recoup the money you put out . This is a hard sale to begin with . Lots of cash up front and a lot of figuring out how to go about installing it .They offer a very simple design that lets the normal guy like myself do the install their self. Nothing complicated or to fancy to figure out. I used the stove just as it came for the first season with very good results.I did switch to the solenoid and it is better because i'm not home enough to adjust the manual slide.The stove worked well without it. I am still using the stock thermostat going into the second season . I have bought a ranco  digital thermostat and will install it soon . This gave me the option of saving money and doing things to the stove at a later time. I am selling Shavers and so far every person i have sold one to have been very happy with the purechase. I see your selling Natures comfort but are on the Shavers forum . Why ?  You dont have to like them , Just keep selling those higher priced stoves .

[yoderheating]

 I don't have a problem with shaver selling incomplete furnaces. I'm just trying to understand how not including a $15 solenoid and a $60 thermostat will somehow make people want to buy them. Most of my customers would gladly pay an additional $100 for a furnace that works correctly. 

[willieG]

there is a market for everything and many styles of the same thing. many folks get by with J.A pan tools that are cheap, others prefer a little better such as craftsman and still others will use nothing but the high end (and priced) snap on tools

all three are made for the same thing but some work better than others. the buyer has a choice and can make a good one or bad one but it is THEIR CHOICE

i am sure there are models of OWB out there as well...the "got everything" right down to the "bare bones" models
you make your choice and live with it just like everything else.

some folks enjoy 'tweaking" them and still others prefer to get one that is "plug and play" and have to do nothing but load wood in it.

[Russ Brumit]

I don't have a problem with shaver selling incomplete furnaces. I'm just trying to understand how not including a $15 solenoid and a $60 thermostat will somehow make people want to buy them. Most of my customers would gladly pay an additional $100 for a furnace that works correctly.

 I just dont understand why you are constantly hating on Shavers. Incomplete furnaces ,come on man just stop. I have one and i'm telling you it works just fine . So good that i used  zero propane last year. Heated a 2300 sq house ,2700 sq shop with poor insulation ,hot water in both with the breaker off all year and a pool. I did all this with the incomplete furnace your talking about.
As willie said some people like messing with them ,tinkering and trying to make them better.  I do ! its actually fun and a great learning expeirence. Its also something to be proud of by working to make it better.
  I like it so much i started selling them .I will tell you this , with the exception of one guy, everybody else who has looked at purchasing a stove have been very conservative when adding options. They just dont want to pay a dime more than they can get the stove for . I go over options like the solenoid and the ranco ,explaining that they are worth the extra money and they just say they will add them later. Times are tough and people have to make the dollar go as far as they can .

[yoderheating]

 Like I said I don't have a problem with Shaver selling anything they want to. I did have a problem (as many other dealers have) with some of the outlandish performance claims but that is a different subject all together.
 On this draft/thermostat issue I guess I am more curious than anything. I can understand shaver selling a stripped down furnace without many features that most major companies have. For example, the Heat Master furnaces come with a ash pan and shaker grate. Now of course that is nice but it does drive up the cost of the furnace. I can understand why a company wouldn't have this option so they can keep the cost low. It just seems to me that $100 worth of parts would save shaver a bunch of hassle and bad publicity. In my mind it wouldn't be worth the hassle to even offer an option without the draft control and thermostat. I may be wrong but it seems like that at least one out of ten customers would have trouble running a furnace without these options. That would lead to the dealer spending hours on phone or doing service calls. As a dealer I wouldn't have the time to do it, I'm already months behind on installations.  If I had 20-30 extra service calls a year it would  keep me from installing several furnaces. I guess I'm just looking at it from a dealers perspective and not an home owners.

[Russ Brumit]

No ,What you said was "I don't have a problem with shaver selling incomplete furnaces" . That statement is false. As far as claims of performance well there as so many variables to consisder. I'm sure if i dig i could find lots of negative web info on any manufacture.
 As for the ash pan, who needs it ? I dont. I get no more than two buckets every few weeks burning soft woods .Takes only a couple minutes to do . Not a problem at all. The shaker grate is available if any one wants one . I dont . I would rather order stuff i want and save money any day than have all these extras that i might not need or use. Every $100 matters. Now more so than ever. People everywhere have lost thier jobs or are worried they might be next.
 Another thing to consider is that not everybody has gobs of skills and the simple design makes them feel like they can handle understanding and working on it if needed.Everybody is scared of circuit boards that might fail and cost a fortune to replace.Nobodys calling me asking for help or service calls.All have been  satisfied..
 I just wish you guys would focus on selling your brand and not waste so much time worring about Shavers and constantly dragging them through the mud.