Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers with NON EPA-Certified Models Only => Shaver Furnace => Topic started by: powerstroke on January 10, 2011, 07:56:01 PM
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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!! :D
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Welcome to the forum ,Nice first post :thumbup:
I don't have a Shaver,but I am glad to hear you like yours.
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Welcome to the site!
Yes, nice first post.
Since you just inslalled last October answer this one question and be honest........how many times a day, do you find yourself looking out the window just to watch it work?.......LOL!!!
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Nice Post, Glade you like your stove. Sure beats buying oil or propane.
Happy burning.
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Greetings powerstroke,I too am a new shaver owner a 165,did my own install also back in March.If I were you Id pour a 150 ft side walk to the stove cause youll make a thousand trips a day out there..lol it is amazing how the blower mod turns this unit into a different animal.
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Yes windwalker I looked at it about 30 times a day the first month it was running! I found that putting the stock t-stat just under 150 degrees is about perfect for me. My water coming in is about 147 degrees and that is plenty warm. I do plan on buiding a 15x25 or so metal pole barn around it this spring for my wood and for ease of loading in the elements. I cut so much wood this fall in anticipation of this thing that I hope I can burn it all in the next few years without it going bad! I have probably 20 cords or better (at least) seasoning for the coming years and I plan on cutting more this fall. I live on 5 acres in the country with mostly timber but a farmer friend of mine bought 200 plus acres of farmground that has gobs of trees he wants removed in the next couple of years. Mostly massive fence lines and waterways that have grown up over the last 50 years or so. There is a massive amount of hedge to be cut and I can tell you from experience that there is absolutely no substitute for this wood! I am thrilled! And yes purplebowyer, the blower mod is an absolute must. The thing gets to temp quick and then just idles. Fabulous!!!!
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Yes that hedge is about the best wood you can get. It is a little rough on chains and really throws the sparks.
I always got to be extra careful when reloading the Shaver, when the previous load had hedge in it. Those little sparks seem to find their way under my shirt collar or in my hair....LOL!
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Welcome to the forum. Glad to see the furnace working good for you . I have the 290 also. That 58" firebox is nice isn't it ?
Lots of good people and info on here . As for the bashers, Just try to ignore them .They hate to see anybody using Shavers to save money . Their sales must be down.
As for the hedge ,That is some crazy stuff to cut. Never forget the first time i cut into it and saw the color.
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Yes that big firebox is nice Russ. When it is super cold, I load it to the hilt before bedtime and in the morning just put a few pieces in and it is good till bedtime the next night. Anyone know about how long the pumps usually last on these things? I am using 2 armstrong 50 pumps and the 30 that came with the stove for my dhw.
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Dont have any long term experience with the pumps. People tell me they last for years though. I think alot of it has to do with the right size pump being used for the job.
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iuse a header system to feed all my "appliances" 3 rads, domestic hot water and floor heat in one room of the house, this is all done with one taco 0011 pump and i am into year 11 on the original pump. i don't know how long it will last but i actually think i am on borrowed time now. i have a hard time understanding how that little pump can run so steady for this long but i have a replacement on the shelf for when it dies
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0011pump 11th year 2011 scary lol
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I have a 011 pump to. Mine is just in its 2nd. year. Was thinking of purchasing backup just in case. Don't know now whether to invest money for new one or not at this point or maybe wait a little while. Hope I can get 11+ years out of mine. Best price i found is around 156.00 plus shipping.
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My 011 lasted 2 seasons. I replaces the cartridge this season and also got a spare.
The cartridges are almost as much as a whole new pump! :-\
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Gotta ask, what is the blower modification? We just purchased the Shaver 290 and love it as well. Only thing, is that we are going thru wood.
Can someone give details and what/where we need to purchase components?
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Workman,
Hey, welcome to the site!
To save myself a bunch of typing check out this thread
http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=756.0 (http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=756.0)
You will see my post with links to the blower mod and some other mods.
With the blower mod, will be better off to also do the Ranco thermostat mod to regulate the temp and the blower better.
The link to the thread will explain things better.
Some people also do a slightly different blower mod using a solenoid to open the flap.
My mod is a dryer vent and has a cost of less than $20 for all the parts to do it.