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Author Topic: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!  (Read 521447 times)

briguy

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HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« on: December 15, 2010, 04:22:53 PM »

Can someone tell me what mods to do to the shaver? I know this unit can be better. I am going through wood like crazy!  :bash:
« Last Edit: December 16, 2010, 05:14:40 AM by PhinPhan »
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tulenutn2o

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2010, 05:28:30 PM »

Can't help with a poor design. Maybe make it a lawn ornament. Is your wood seasoned good and dry? I looked  a long time before I bought and decided against shaver because  I did not feel their claims would hold up. Burning wood is not rocket science, and neither is this stove. It is pretty darn basic.
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briguy

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2010, 06:23:31 PM »

Yeah, this unit is not working very well. I would love to hear from experienced people who did the right mods to make theirs work well.
Thanks for your thoughts.
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yoda

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2010, 06:34:52 PM »

 What type of problems are you having? How many sq feet are you heating? where do you live? How long have you owned your shaver and how much wood are you going through? What type of wood? seasoned or green?
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willieG

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2010, 06:46:35 PM »

What type of problems are you having? How many sq feet are you heating? where do you live? How long have you owned your shaver and how much wood are you going through? What type of wood? seasoned or green?
just an added question...how far from the house and how well insulated are your underground pipes
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home made OWB (2012)
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Larson88

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2010, 10:33:32 PM »

personaly i think (along with most others) that the most important thing for an owb is that the fire shuts down tight from oxygen when its not calling for it and shavers dont and thats prolly one of the biggest reasons your burning to much wood. most furnaces come complete with a solenoid that opens and closes a rubber flap on your blower when it kicks on and off, that would be your first mod here is a link just to give you an idea

 http://www.altheatsupply.com/index.php/shop-by-needs/outdoor-wood-furnace-parts/replacement-parts.html?p=2

look at the laminated solenoid and the fan cover.
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yoderheating

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2010, 06:39:06 AM »

 I agree with Larson88, allowing your furnace to slowly burn constantly will not only burn more wood but it can cause creosote problems as well. A hot fire burns more cleanly and efficiently.  You want the furnace either burning hot with the draft fan running or not burning at all. A good way to tell if you have it sealing correctly is to watch the smoke. If everything is shut off the smoke should be barely moving out of the stack. If you have a plume of smoke when the furnace is shut off you need to find the air leak.
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briguy

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2010, 05:15:16 PM »

My furnace is 70 feet away. The lines are buried 4 feet down and placed in the bubble wrap 4 inch corrugated pipe. My house is a 2000 square foot ranch. The house is 2 years old with 2 x 6 walls with sprayed in insulation  The boiler feeds a hx. When the furnace is fed constantly it has no problem maintaining 70 degrees in below freezing weather. My problem is that I can't possible keep up with it's demand. I just tried to put a dampner in the smoke stack. I hope this helps? Any thoughts? Other thanthe dampner in smoke stack, what else should I do? Forgive me for not having a lot of knowledge on this. I do realize that this might be one of those trial and error projects in which I was told it be.

Thanks for all your help.
I am just a man trying to keep his 3 kids warm!
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Scott7m

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2010, 06:08:04 PM »

Kinda sucks when you buy a stove that's not completed!  I would assume you would have paid a couple hundred more for a stove that you didn't have these problems with.
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willieG

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #9 on: December 16, 2010, 06:23:38 PM »

Kinda sucks when you buy a stove that's not completed!  I would assume you would have paid a couple hundred more for a stove that you didn't have these problems with.
[/quote
]no need to bash the guy, after all he is in the shaver forum looking for help, i would think everyone with a shaver would offer their support and tell him what mods they did to make their stove better. I think the  mod of the blower and solenoid is a good start.
if he was having problems with one of your  models (as i am sure some folks have) would you bash him for buying a clunker or offer a suggestion to maybe help out

Briguy read on, i am sure help is here from some folks
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Ontario Canada

briguy

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #10 on: December 16, 2010, 06:46:10 PM »

Yes, you are right, I do not need bashing since I get it when I look at my infant shivering and my other two daughters wearing hooded sweatshirts to bed. I spent all of our money on this and feel guilty about it. The only thing left to do is move forward.

I will try the blower mod to see if that works a little better.
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Windwalker7

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #11 on: December 16, 2010, 06:52:01 PM »

There are several cheap/easy mods to improve the Shaver's performance  Here are mine

My Flapper blower mod

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=110817&highlight=


I put a double wall chimney pipe over the original flue pipe.  You will need to make the hole in the roof bigger then reseal. Here it is

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(alslozy1x5lpdx55wmktsxit)/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=45065&&SessionExpired=True

I replaced the thermostat with a Ranco. This is a must do for the Shaver. Allows precise on/off of the blower within the temps you want.  Also has a readout of waer temp.

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?644-Ranco-ETC-111000-000-120V-Wiring-Guide

You will need to put a dry well in the OWB for the probe of the Ranco.  I made a drywell out of a 14" piece of 1/4" copper tubing.   I soldiered a cap on one end and a 1/4 to 3/8 coupler on the other.  You will need to drill a hole in the top of the water jacket.  Insert the well you made. the coupler will prevent it from falling into water jacket.  seal it with hi-temp silicone.  Insert Ranco probe.
Other things I did.

Slid foil face foam under the OWB

Filled the attic of the OWB with unfaced insulation after the flue mod

Fill the inside of the back door of OWB with unfaced insulation

Also stuffed unfaced insulation inside the firebox door.  Just stuff it in between the door and that shield.  It will need replaced yearly.

With these easy mods you will transform the Shaver into a much more efficient OWB.  The mods are cheap and easy to do.

Windwalker7

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #12 on: December 16, 2010, 06:56:06 PM »

briguy,


I sent you a PM

willieG

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #13 on: December 16, 2010, 07:00:51 PM »

now that is what i call HELP  good post windwalker!

that is the kind of posts that have built this site to be as good as it is and still growing.
thank you from me and i am sure from the organizer (s) of the site as well
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Windwalker7

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Re: HELP! I hate my SHAVER!
« Reply #14 on: December 16, 2010, 07:07:10 PM »

Just glad to help!


I've been in those shoes and have had people help me in similar ways on other matters.  Just paying it forward.
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