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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Replacing the bottom of my 290. Rotted out!!

« on: November 04, 2015, 02:47:23 PM »

Yep.  Knew it was coming after seeing all the posts.  After 5 heating seasons, its rusted out.     Replacing the bottom with 1/4" plate steel.  Plasma cutting off the old one.  I will post pics as I go and show you what I am dealing with. 

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Got my hands on some huge pieces of coal

« on: November 02, 2014, 08:24:04 AM »

As you can see in the pic, they are big.  Anyone have any advice on how big of pieces I should break them into?  I have never burned coal before and want to use this on bitter cold days mixed with some wood.  They are heavy!  I hope a sledgehammer will bust em into decent sized pieces.  Anyone?   

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / My Stack solution

« on: October 20, 2013, 08:09:14 AM »

Been alot of posts about stack types and lengths etc so I wanted to show you what works perfect for me.  Since I am into the diesel truck world heavily I figured why not use a "stack" off of a truck or tractor.  This fits perfect down the inside of my shavers pipe and keeps rain out on those days when it is idling.  I have never had an issue with it clogging.  Every once in a while when the furnace is burning good I will smack it a couple times with my poker to loosen the small bit of creasote and it  spits it out.  Run this now for 2 years and am very happy how it works! 

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Finally cool enough to cut! "pics"

« on: August 11, 2012, 05:49:46 PM »

Well after a horrendously hot summer I finally got to do some cuttin today.  God I love the smell of 2 stroke gas and wood!!!!

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Equipment / New toy/firewood hauler

« on: March 07, 2012, 02:31:21 PM »

Suzuki Carry with hydraulic dump bed, 4 hi and 4 lo with push button front and rear differential lock, heat, stereo/cd, wipers, etc.  Lifted with aftermarket wheels and tires.  Will be a blast to use!

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / You guys have to watch this!!!

« on: February 23, 2012, 10:15:01 PM »

This lady is from an environmental "save the world" organization just slamming the hell out of outdoor wood furnaces!  You need to fast forward to the 15 minute mark because there is a couple of things she is discussing.  Just lovely......

Ep31: Environmentalist Nancy Alderman

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / How much TSP to raise ph?

« on: February 09, 2012, 08:23:38 PM »

I have read that TSP can be used to raise the ph in our systems.  I tested my water and it is right at 7 and I want to raise it to about 10 or so.  How much should I use or should I use something else?  System is approx 300 gal.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / 2 speed blower?

« on: January 03, 2012, 08:44:46 PM »

Just thinkin..........when the furnace temp drops to set temp and calls for forced air, why wouldn't there be some way to have the fan come on full speed (like normal), but then after 2 or 3 minutes cut back to say half speed to eliminate alot of heat being blown up the stack?  This would work great especially on warmer days where the wood has been smoldering for hours and needs "hit" hard with air to bring it back to life but then have just enough air to keep the coals sustained without going overboard.  There must be some sort of relay or fan speed control that could be set up and timed that would make this idea work.  I know that if I have my fan speed set about 50% and the furnace hasn't cycled for awhile, it seems that it takes forever for it to get the wood burning like a champ.  But once it is burning it burns awesome without having the fan full bore pumping heat out the stack.  There has to be some sort of happy medium on having to much forced air and just the right amount.  Any thoughts on this guys?

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Does your furnace overshoot temp?

« on: November 27, 2011, 08:52:30 PM »

I have the high limit on my furnace set at 167 degrees.  I notice that after it gets to that setting and the fan and damper close that if I check it 10 min or so later it will be at like 173 degrees or so.  Only around 6 or 7 degrees.  It is like clockwork.  I am thinking that the thick firebox in my Shaver is what is storing all of this heat and there is a delay in the release of this heat.  Sound about right?  I know some people were saying that "thicker fireboxes waste enegy" but wouldn't this phenomenon offset this somewhat?  It takes a LONG time for it to drain off this heat before it calls for another cycled burn.  I only have a 5 degree swing because of this too.  Any thoughts guys?

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Speaking of auto dampers.....

« on: November 23, 2011, 01:38:22 PM »

This is a pic of my setup.  It is a Bellimo controllor I bought from Grainger with the flap and hinge whipped up from some aluminum.  The controllor is pricey but should last a lifetime.  It is spring loaded return so if the power goes out the damper automatically shuts.  Works flawlessly!

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Shaver Furnace / Some "mods" I did on the 290

« on: September 12, 2011, 01:55:52 PM »

Been busy over the summer and did some things to my owb.  I pulled all of the insulation out of the sides and top and replaced it all with 2" foam board.  Did the bottom also.  I wanted to be able to remove this should the need to ever weld on it arises.  I put in a Ranco t-stat and also put in a variable speed fan control.  I already have the solenoid flap on there but I think that the fan doesn't need to run wide open all the time.  Maybe half speed?  I am going to play with this when I fire it up and see if i can tell any difference in wood consumption.  Has anyone done this mod?  I think the polystyrene insulation will really make a huge difference.  My water temp was 87 degrees when I did this and after 3 days of lows in the upper 40s and highs in the low to mid 70s it only dropped down to 84 degrees.  Wow!  I will try to post some pics soon.

12

Shaver Furnace / I love my Shaver 290!!

« on: January 10, 2011, 07:56:01 PM »

I am new here but have visited this forum a bunch over the past few months and have found it very informative.  After many, many years of wanting an OWB I purchased my pro series 290 the end of October.  I am heating my home (3400 sq ft), and my shop (2200 sq ft), and my hot water. My furnace is 125 ft from my house and 50 ft from my shop.  I installed the entire system and insulated my own lines.  The only thing that I have modified on it was putting a solenoid and flap on the fan.  It has worked fabulous!  We have had some bitter cold days and nights and it keeps right up flawlessly.  I see some people on here bashing Shaver but the bottom line is: THIS FURNACE IS THICK IN THE RIGHT SPOTS AND WILL LAST A LOOOONNNNNGGGG TIME!  And by chance if a weld would ever start to leak or rust through there will be plenty of metal to weld to many years down the road.  THAT is why I bought it.  I am thrilled to be off of propane although my clothes dryer is gas and stove also.  I had a woodstove in my shop for 15 years and have grown up with wood heating as a kid so I am no stranger to cutting wood and love doing it in the fall.  Glad to have finally registered here and look forward to all the interesting and informative info on here in the future!  CHEERS!!