We ordered our Shaver 165 in November of '07 , and had it running in March of '08..Besides extending the chimney 6 feet ( $25.00) and putting a tee and thermometer on the overflow ($5.00) it is all stock...including the Therm-o-Disc thermostat....And we use it year round for our DHW in the summer...August next year it will have paid for itself..We're happy with ours but seems a lot of folks aren't happy with their Shaver..anybody else have a problem-free Shaver ??Just wondering.....
I traded my 165 after using for a year to a shaver 290, before I used it the first time I insulated the bottom and added more insulation to the whole stove, also added a ranco digital stat. also added an elbow to the overflow to eliminate steaming and water loss.
I am very happy with my stove operation this year, been easily getting 15 hour burn time, around zero degrees f. today.
I'm not sure if it is the modifications, the bigger stove, or my wood is seasoned better, probably the combination of all.
If there is 1 piece of advice I would give,it is whatever stove size the manufacturer recomends, go at least 1 size bigger, I don't think you can go to big.