Shaver Improvement Forum

[Windwalker7]

Yes, we use the Ranco instead of the "hot water tank" thermostat that the Shaver comes with.

The Ranco allows precise control of when the blower kicks on and off. It also has a temp display so you can see actual water temp.

 

[DLav]

Ranco stat

The original stat my Shaver came with had temp swings of 40 degrees. The Ranco digital stat has worked great for me. One mod I would highly recommend. I'm kinda surprised after all this time that Shaver hasn't made that improvement themselves.

 

[Yomax4]

Thanks for the info. I am planing to change the old Stat for sure. I am undecided between a Ranco and an Aquastat. Very similar in what they do but the aquastat is not digital and most have a 3-10 degree adjustable reaction. I am using 3 now and they work well. The only reason I would not buy the Ranco is a thread I was reading where they complained of multiple failures over a 2 yr. period. Anyone out there had one go bad? I know the Honeywell Stats are long lasting but the Ranco is less cost and a bit cooler because it's digital..

 

[scag52]

The original stat my Shaver came with had temp swings of 40 degrees. The Ranco digital stat has worked great for me. One mod I would highly recommend. I'm kinda surprised after all this time that Shaver hasn't made that improvement themselves.

They have . Its a option now.

 

[Holdstihl]

My shaver mods

I ordered mine with the auto damper but changed the mounting a little by rotating it to the left to keep the door completely closed. While I had the blower off, I ground the booger welds off the flange and siliconed it so it actually seals. The chute below the ash door is attached to the block wall and is probably my favorite mod (other than the wall itself). I use a slightly altered garden hoe to clean the ash bin, piece of cake. Also, makes it easier to load wood, no more bending over - nice. The larger grey box houses the Ranco ETC while the smaller one is the blower shutoff. The back of the wall is open to allow access to the underside of the boiler. Already had to get under there to find a water leak. I added a shim to the door latch to tighten it which helped, still getting a little smoke leakage and will probably have to re-silicone. For this season I'll live with it. The poker leaning on the side is what I use to clean the stack. Dropping into the 20's tonight (finally!), hopefully we can get some of this creasote burned out.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Yomax4]

Awesome setup.. It's Blocks for me in the spring for sure. I have it on the shiping pallet with mods but the Block is what I need. At 6'5", I would enjoy the block method better. I ordered my Ranco today but I think for this winter I will put a "T" in my outgoing Pex to house the probe. Should be better than What I have until I can put a well in the top. Cold in MN. but I need to get my fan mod installed tomorrow.

Nice Pic's, Thanks.

 

[Windwalker7]

I had a little trouble understanding the wiring instructions that came with the Ranco.

Bookmark these sites, they make it simple

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





http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=40898

 

[Yomax4]

Ranco

Thanks for the Install doc's. I'm sure I can handle this with the pic's. My only question is why no-one is using a simple Aquastat. You just wire it in like a light switch and set the temp with a screw driver and it does the rest. You can set the temp differential from 3 - 10 degrees for reaction time just by turning a wheel. I do like the Ranco and thats what what I will try.
Temps are supposed to hit 35 in MN. this weekend. What a perfect time to get some outside stuff finnished up and a little more Bow Hunting.umpkin2:

 

[Holdstihl]

Ranco

I didn't even install a well for the probe, just notched the DHW coil cover and dropped the probe in the water. The guys at shaver said this would be ok. So far, so good.

 

[scag52]

I'm curious to see how it holds up being in the water.

 

[Yomax4]

blower

Did the Blower mod on my 250 yesterday. I had to take the 4" Elbow pipe apart because of space constrictions but I still ended up with a 45 degree pipe. I had to cut the flange off of the dryer flap damper and I used aluminum tape to secure it to the pipe and to secure the elbow to the fan. The boiler loves this application. Clear heat coming out when it's up to temp. She blows smoke like my diesel tractor once the fan kicks on..I had to insert a 3/4 " Deck screw to help keep it closed when the fan is off.. Like it a lot so far....

 

[Holdstihl]

smokey shaver

She blows smoke like my diesel tractor once the fan kicks on..I had to insert a 3/4 " Deck screw to help keep it closed when the fan is off.. Like it a lot so far....

Maybe you aready did this, but try sealing that mounting flange with silicone (after you grind the bubblegum -errrrrrr - welds, and spatter off the face). Also, silicone any small gaps on the discharge side of the blower housing. This seemed to really help the smoke now that ALL of the air is actually reaching the fire. I would still like to see less smoke and my next mod will be installing a larger blower (possibly). I am absolutley convinced that Shaver doesn't use a big enough fan on these larger models. I never had any smoke issues with my 165 with a 50 CFM blower, burning any kind of wood. The 290 (and probably your 250) holds more than twice as much wood and uses a 71 CFM blower??? Doesn't make sense to me. Of course a bigger blower requires a different mounting flange and maybe a little more space in the back, which might complicate things at the factory. My next concern is forcing enough air through that dinky 1 1/4" (or whatever it is) inlet tube with a larger fan (why such a small tube SHAVER??). Also, it seems like the stack ID needs to be 6 or 8" not 5. Any thoughts?

 

[ngzcaz]

As the forums indicate, mods were inevitable due to the old design of this unit. My top five ( in no particular order ) would be

1. bypass to avoid a faceful of smoke when opening the door.
2. better standard thermostat
3. better standard blower setup.
4. A REMOVEABLE ash pan
5. factory insulation around the chimney

I agree the 1 1/4 inch might be a bit small on the larger units ( seems ok on the 165's ) but wouldn't extending the air tube almost to the beginning of the grates result in a hotter fire & better combustion ? If they hadn't cut the tube flush with the firebox I probably would have extended it by now just to experiment. . Combustion is a bit tricky, you want a nice hot fire but you want the heat inside the stove. Seeing flames shoot out the chimney only serves notice that a lot of heat is being lost. Then again, not enough heat and you have a plugged chimney in short order. A 6 or 8 inch pipe may work on a larger unit. The 165's seem to have enough with the 5 inch.

Ahh.. to be able to direct the building of these units..

:biggrinbounce2:

 

[Yomax4]

Puffer Belly

My 250 smokes like mad when it kicks in. I suppose it's burning all the creosote that formed while it was idle. I have no neighbors so I really don't care that it smokes like that. I did seal it all up tight.
I agree that the stove pipe should be larger. At least 6" so it is easily reconfigured. I spent months trying to find a piece of the exact pipe they use. I will be welding it on today I hope. I wanted it to be a couple feet taller. I will just tack it on for this winter and install insulated pipe in the spring.
I sell equipment to some of the big name MN. based OWB companies and to walk through their plants is awesome. Central Boiler, Heat-more and several others. The quality is superb and they are all nearly perfectly assembled. I have to laugh at my Shaver because when the knot heads put my roof on they put it on crooked so it has a 3" overhang on the right front and none on the left. I like the way the unit functions but it's the scabbiest fab job I have ever seen. Now they have switched to donkey #### putty instead of caulk. I guess $60.00 worth of caulk per unit was too much..

 

[Windwalker7]

Does your Shaver smoke every time the blower kicks on?

Mine will smoke when I just fill it with wood for the first cycle or two. After that, it doesn't smoke much at all.

I blame the smoking right after a fill on moisture on the wood.

Is your wood dry?

 

[Holdstihl]

but wouldn't extending the air tube almost to the beginning of the grates result in a hotter fire & better combustion ? :biggrinbounce2:

I really don't think so

 

[ngzcaz]

Well... a bellows certainly works with a concentrated air blast. If you opened that little tip into a much larger opening, forced the same volume of air into the fire, seems to reason that the resulting effect to the fire would be much less dramatic. If you are familiar with a common torch and have the air/gas set to flow at a given rate with a given tip, then only change the tip to a much larger tip, the resulting fire will not be the nice hot blue flame. It will have a yellowish flame and be impossible to cut anything or heat up as quickly. I'd think it would have the same effect in this application. It would be interesting to find out.


:monkey:

 

[Holdstihl]

Does your Shaver smoke every time the blower kicks on?

Mine will smoke when I just fill it with wood for the first cycle or two. After that, it doesn't smoke much at all.

I blame the smoking right after a fill on moisture on the wood.

Is your wood dry?

Well, the smoke is definately heavier after a fill. I was home all day today and watched it closely. I set the temp up to 175, and the differential at 5 deg. Minimal smoke after things get hot like you say. The previous settings were 160 with a 15 degree diff. Probably too cool, but its been mild weather here and I figured I could save some wood. Guess you can't have it both ways. And yes, the wood is dry

 

[Holdstihl]

Well... a bellows certainly works with a concentrated air blast. If you opened that little tip into a much larger opening, forced the same volume of air into the fire, seems to reason that the resulting effect to the fire would be much less dramatic. If you are familiar with a common torch and have the air/gas set to flow at a given rate with a given tip, then only change the tip to a much larger tip, the resulting fire will not be the nice hot blue flame. It will have a yellowish flame and be impossible to cut anything or heat up as quickly. I'd think it would have the same effect in this application. It would be interesting to find out.


:monkey:

Right, so how much larger would fan AND the tube have to be to have that effect on an area the size of your grate? Alot Right?

 

[Yomax4]

250

OK... I insulated under my 250. I installed it on the ship pallet after mods. I plugged it up good under there. I had already did a fan mod with the cheap laundry flap and 45 degree stove pipe. Today I installed the Ranco and tacked on an extra 30" extension to the stove pipe. ( temporary ) It took a little tinkering but I think I have created a Monster..I can't wait til tomorrow to see how it all works after the programmable thermostat is done with it.
Does anyone run a programmable stat in the house? Mine shuts the stove down until about 5am. Then in the morning the furnace cycles a few times while trying to catch up to temp. After that no more cycling. House and shop are HOT!! and thats what its' all about!:rockn: