Shaver Improvement Forum

[fletcher0780]

Fletch.. kinda curious, do you think you need more draft by putting on a chimney extension ? W/the draft door 1/3 open on my stock blower, there's more than enough and if I went your route with the Ranco mod the outside of my boiler might be red..

No, I don't need more draft. I want to build a lean-to/shed to cover my boiler and wood, so I need to extend the chimney up higher. I previously used single wall to extend it when it was warmer and the smoke was hanging low, but that clogged up quick so I know I'll need to use insulated pipe. Lot's of plans to upgrade this thing in the Spring, the most important being more/new insulation.

 

[ngzcaz]

I'm w/ya on the insulation. I need to have a better thermostat for sure. The fill area/copper tubing access ( which I have no hot water coil ) is almost useless since you can add chemicals from the steam fix. Other than drilling for a water temp probe/thermostat I'm not sure what good it is to me. I could probably close it off permanently. It seems to be giving some guys problems unless you smear a tube of caulk around it.

:agree2:

 

[fletcher0780]

I'm w/ya on the insulation. I need to have a better thermostat for sure. The fill area/copper tubing access ( which I have no hot water coil ) is almost useless since you can add chemicals from the steam fix. Other than drilling for a water temp probe/thermostat I'm not sure what good it is to me. I could probably close it off permanently. It seems to be giving some guys problems unless you smear a tube of caulk around it.

:agree2:

I'd consider welding it shut. You could then add more vertical pipe to your steam fix, and end up with another 20 gallons of water in your tank, not to mention a cooler chimney pipe.

 

[310 german]

Anyone else have inconsistent burn?

I don't know about anyone else but one of the biggest annoyances I have is inconsistency of the burn in the furnace. It seems to vary greatly depending on what the ash/coals situation is in the firebox. The air supply will make its way up through one or two places in the coals covering the grates. As a result, you get raging torch :angry2: until the area above the hole is burned out, then the fire slows down greatly until you knock more wood down to cover the air supply hole. I think the gaps in the grates may be too big, or too numerous. To remedy that, I will be building a new grate for next season that is also a shaker grate. As noted in an earlier post, I want to build angled sides into the firebox that will hold refractory brick. Hopefully those two things will allow better air flow, and cause the wood to somewhat self-feed downward toward the grates. I like to load the firebox up pretty good, and sometimes it works flawlessly. It always seems like it doesn't work right at the time I really need it to, though:censored: (ie: -10 degrees and I have to be gone for 10hours). Murphy's law, I suppose.:bang:

Does anyone else have issues with the way theirs burns?

 

[ngzcaz]

For a month and a half I wasn't even raking anything, just shoving more wood into the box. Then it started angling upwards and I resorted to raking it level. The only thing I notice is black chunks in the ash pan occasionally, that may be from me raking and knocking it down prematurely.

If your water temps are Ok, the house is warm, seems its functioning as it should. I noticed what you are saying when I opened the door but if you let it alone, it has a way ( at least for me ) of leveling itself out most of the time.

Here's the biggest annoyance..by far... the blast of smoke in your face when you reload. I knew it was going to do it when I saw the chimney pipe so low in the firebox but I didnt think it would bother me as much as it does. A bypass could be made for this unit but it may kill the idea of moving the OWB in the future unless other mods are done. The only thing I've found that works is to wait until the unit is burning completely clear out the chimney, get your reload pile ready, open the door and toss it in ASAP and close the door. If you screw around the new wood starts burning and smoke it up good.

 

[fletcher0780]

Here's the biggest annoyance..by far... the blast of smoke in your face when you reload. I knew it was going to do it when I saw the chimney pipe so low in the firebox but I didnt think it would bother me as much as it does. A bypass could be made for this unit but it may kill the idea of moving the OWB in the future unless other mods are done. The only thing I've found that works is to wait until the unit is burning completely clear out the chimney, get your reload pile ready, open the door and toss it in ASAP and close the door. If you screw around the new wood starts burning and smoke it up good.

I think raising the boiler a foot would help with the smoke in the face, at least you wouldn't be bending over to load it. I'm thinking of using 2" black pipe to extend the legs up 12-16", it looks like the legs Shaver used are 2" black pipe. I figured I could get a coupling that's a slip joint with set screw(s) on one side, and female thread on the other so I can just cut six pieces to length, lift the boiler, and viola. That will make it easier to insulate the bottom too, my burn times suck right now I loaded at 10PM (full load), and at 5AM this morning my oil boiler was running. Went out to check the Shaver and found water temp of 145* and an empty firebox, it was in the teens last night. I've got my fingers crossed that insulation will fix this issue, it has for a guy on another forum. Nothing worse than listening to the oil boiler running after spending almost $10K (everything included) on a wood boiler.

 

[Redbird]

air delivery

I agree that the fire all burns out at the front, and once done the air goes over the top of the wood and out the pipe. I believe this is mainly due to the fact that when the damper is wide open (with a solenoid or manually opened) the fan is blowing right at the ash door and shooting straight up at the front making it the hottest part of the fire. I am going to make an air diffuser out of a piece of pipe, much like the burner in a gas grill, so that the air flow/pressure will be distributed more evenly under the grate. Place it in front of the fan inlet in the ash area and make it the full length of the ash box and make a handle on it so it can be removed to clean the ashes out. Hopefully this will help the fire to burn more even and increase effeciency. Makes sense in theory.

 

[ngzcaz]

Fletch.. my temp was around zero last night. Loaded her up at a little after 8 pm and reloaded about 6:30 am. Not much left, maybe another hr of heat but at least the oil burner wasn't on ( temp on the aquastat on the oil burner was a tad over 150 degrees, its normally not much higher ) and certainly enough to just throw as big logs as I want. But I have a small home and not heating a garage.. Higher firebox would indeed help the blast of smoke. Obviously, you are addressing the issue of additional insulation especially if you raise it up in the air. And speaking of the firebox, I'd rather have another foot in depth to toss on more logs than another foot or two in length for longer stuff. The longer the firebox is, the more raking and screwing around one has to do. Luckily, I have less than 6k in my setup. I feel for you having the oil burner come on. Honestly, I don't think mine could heat 170 gallons of water at that temp and maintain it. Be running constantly thereby wiping out a lot of the savings I had by making fires all year.

Redbird.. No question many of us are going to do a lot of tinkering. By sharing ideas maybe we can all be better off. A lot of good ideas were discussed here, ones that could be applied toward any furnace, not just the Shavers..

:agree2:

 

[John D]

Fletcher, I think just getting insulation underneath it will help you a lot.It did me,If you insulate the bottom tight,it will help be eliminating air infiltration up the sides,and back,this along with sealing the many poorly insulated spots(rear ) should help you quite a bit.I tell you I am SO glad i upsized to a 250 .Now wish I'd went with the 290 now. Last night it was 3 degrees here,and i loaded at 1100pm,loaded as tight as I could given the door size,and checked it at 715 after putting my daughter on the bus,and I had about 1/3 of what i put in left,water temp was 179.I just threw one good sized 12" x 34" locust on it,and one small scrap 6" x30,that should last me the rest of the day.Remember my house is a Ranch,and very tightly insulated,I only burned 1000-1100 gallons of oil in a yr w 8 ppl taking showers every day,and all the heat .I think I could have went til about 1100 am today before I needed wood.

 

[ngzcaz]

If anyone is interested in a see thru steam pipe fix, take your regular 1 inch pex, heat it or take sandpaper to it and the color will come off. Mine happened to be orange, now its translucent enough to see thru. And for the time being I made it long enough to condense the steam back in the pipe. I just bent it after heating at the end upward a tad. Its enough to show me the water level in the pipe. I think condensing the water back into the pipe and subsequently back in the furnace might help a bit in the water usage. I'm thinking how much is lost with a pot on a hot stove, same probably holds true with the OWB if the vent is constantly steaming.

This is ok short term but I'm still looking for an absolutely clear tube to mess with.

 

[user 28181]

I tapped the inside of the 1/2" with a 3/8" pipe tap..then increase it to 1/2"...this has been working good.

 

[ngzcaz]

Thats an interesting setup. Is it an optical illusion that the water lever elbow seems to be higher than the pipe coming out of the boiler ? Would it be building pressure if it is ? Or is the water level just enough to be seen and still steam ?

Actually, this is a good time to ask what the water usage has been for those who have done the steam fix, prior to and post. How much and how often is it needed ?

 

[user 28181]

That must be an optical illusion. I keep the water level about 1/4" below the top of the elbow.No steaming problems.Other than this all I've done to the 165 since March of 08' was add 6' to the chimney.Has worked great down to 1 below...so far

 

[fletcher0780]

Actually, this is a good time to ask what the water usage has been for those who have done the steam fix, prior to and post. How much and how often is it needed ?

Before: around 5 gallons per day at its worst
After: maybe a gallon per month

 

[david78]

I was adding water every day before the steam fix; opening the valve for about 30 seconds, however much that is. Now I almost never add water.

 

[Dan-o]

steam fix

I use to add water every day as well, usually about 30-45 seconds with the fill valve open, and usually once a week now and it only takes about 10-15 seconds to top it off.

 

[kyboy68]

Hello I am new to this forum. Seems to be a lot of good info on here about the Shaver OWB. I have the 250 model. And have the same problems as the rest have.
26LCS would you be willing to tell some more info on your set up on the overflow?

 

[fletcher0780]

Hello I am new to this forum. Seems to be a lot of good info on here about the Shaver OWB. I have the 250 model. And have the same problems as the rest have.
26LCS would you be willing to tell some more info on your set up on the overflow?

All you need to do is create a p-trap or affix a 90* pointing up to the end of the existing overflow. What we accomplish by this is to limit the surface area of water exposed to the atmosphere.

Tell us about your installation and any specific problems you've experienced, and if you're happy with the boiler.

 

[kyboy68]

Thanks Fletcher0780 for the explantion on overflow.
My owb is setting on a pad @ 80' from my house. I stalled 4" pvc with an 1 1/2 insulation on it from owb to my house. I ran 4 pex line threw it two lines for hot water heater and two lines for the heat in house. overall I am happy with my owb.
dislikes:
No draft control.
Temp control of the water in boiler.
craftmanship of the owb.(uneven cuts on metal, backdoor will not close all way)
Likes:
cut electric bill in half and it is a comfty 73 degrees in the house

 

[fletcher0780]

Look what someone is selling on ebay now...

Kind of steep if you ask me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Burn-less-wood-and-recover-faster-Shaver-Wood-Furnaces_W0QQitemZ150323995107QQihZ005QQcategoryZ41987QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem