trailblazer 1700 questions

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sardo_67

Member
Sep 19, 2017
207
mid CT
i tried posting in the old thread but the replies are turned off so i am going to start a new one.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/trailblazer-classic-1700-first-burn.36029/


just picked up one of these off FB for $50 last weekend for my 24x24 shop, nice little stove, however i can't seem to really get it going hot, used dried hard wood and split it to almost kindling size then ran it with the damper full open. i could only get the chimney pipe up to 400* for a short time as it seems the damper isn't large enough to let a lot of air in. it mostly sat around 275/320* according to my magnet stick on thermometer placed about 3.5/4ft up the straight 6" single wall black pipe.

when i get home after work i plan on giving it a really good cleaning as maybe something is plugged or dirty still, did these stoves have an option for a blower? i saw a small hole in the bottom of the stove in back as we moved it but i didn't really look that hard as i needed heat last night so i got it in and going quick as i could.
 

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i tried posting in the old thread but the replies are turned off so i am going to start a new one.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/trailblazer-classic-1700-first-burn.36029/


just picked up one of these off FB for $50 last weekend for my 24x24 shop, nice little stove, however i can't seem to really get it going hot, used dried hard wood and split it to almost kindling size then ran it with the damper full open. i could only get the chimney pipe up to 400* for a short time as it seems the damper isn't large enough to let a lot of air in. it mostly sat around 275/320* according to my magnet stick on thermometer placed about 3.5/4ft up the straight 6" single wall black pipe.

when i get home after work i plan on giving it a really good cleaning as maybe something is plugged or dirty still, did these stoves have an option for a blower? i saw a small hole in the bottom of the stove in back as we moved it but i didn't really look that hard as i needed heat last night so i got it in and going quick as i could.
Well first off drop the thermometer to 18" off the stove. Then what type of chimney do you have and how tall?
 
Well first off drop the thermometer to 18" off the stove. Then what type of chimney do you have and how tall?

will do

i have a vertical thru roof chimney. about 8ft of vertical 6" single wall black pipe to the adapter thru the roof into class A for another 12ft or so where it's capped. i am not expecting to get the shop up to 80* after burning this for 30 minutes or anything, just want to get it up to a higher temp for creosote prevention as well as to better heat the shop.
 
will do

i have a vertical thru roof chimney. about 8ft of vertical 6" single wall black pipe to the adapter thru the roof into class A for another 12ft or so where it's capped. i am not expecting to get the shop up to 80* after burning this for 30 minutes or anything, just want to get it up to a higher temp for creosote prevention as well as to better heat the shop.
How dry is your wood and how full was the firebox? Your chimney certainly is tall enough
 
How dry is your wood and how full was the firebox? Your chimney certainly is tall enough

wood is dry, i started with smalls stuff to get it going then added some larger later on, the coal bed built up pretty quick and when i open the door to poke it around and add wood it was really throwing some heat at my hand lol, just cant run it with the door open ya know.

i have been running wood stoves since i was a kit as i grew up with one so nothing new there, just seems the intake holes are too small and then the coals build up in front of it.

there isn't any grate or bottom to the stove, just a brick box so to speak so am i missing something? as i said later tonight i will be giving it a very through cleaning as maybe the holes were blocked up some.

should i take the damper cover off and check in there for issues? when it's running i put my hand near it and can feel air moving into it, if i close it the fire starts dying fairly quick so it is doing something.
 
wood is dry, i started with smalls stuff to get it going then added some larger later on, the coal bed built up pretty quick and when i open the door to poke it around and add wood it was really throwing some heat at my hand lol, just cant run it with the door open ya know.

i have been running wood stoves since i was a kit as i grew up with one so nothing new there, just seems the intake holes are too small and then the coals build up in front of it.

there isn't any grate or bottom to the stove, just a brick box so to speak so am i missing something? as i said later tonight i will be giving it a very through cleaning as maybe the holes were blocked up some.

should i take the damper cover off and check in there for issues? when it's running i put my hand near it and can feel air moving into it, if i close it the fire starts dying fairly quick so it is doing something.
Yes but how dry is it? What is the moisture content? And no woodstoves generally dont have grates unless it is just part of an ash pan system
 
Try some dry kilm scrap 2x4s etc. no glue type or pressure treated boards. See if the temp. climes up. If it does wood is wet or not seasoned enough. All so is the flue pipe clean cap clean. Your high enough. I put a oven thermometer on top of the stove. Do a good cleaning on the stove take the upper fire brick out and make sure its clean they plug up on the baffle shelf a lot. If that hole in the bottom towards the back its a rectangle hole is for the secondary air tubes. Take the 2 screws out on the front air damper and clean the air channels there is a 3/8 inch hole in the middle clean and do not rake coals towards the front you will block off the air hole. I hade one for years no problems., Check door gasket seal with dolor bill all the way around the door closed should be a drag when you pull it out. Let me know how it is working
 
Try some dry kilm scrap 2x4s etc. no glue type or pressure treated boards. See if the temp. climes up. If it does wood is wet or not seasoned enough. All so is the flue pipe clean cap clean. Your high enough. I put a oven thermometer on top of the stove. Do a good cleaning on the stove take the upper fire brick out and make sure its clean they plug up on the baffle shelf a lot. If that hole in the bottom towards the back its a rectangle hole is for the secondary air tubes. Take the 2 screws out on the front air damper and clean the air channels there is a 3/8 inch hole in the middle clean and do not rake coals towards the front you will block off the air hole. I hade one for years no problems., Check door gasket seal with dolor bill all the way around the door closed should be a drag when you pull it out. Let me know how it is working

ok thank you. the door gasket is brand new looking, glass is great.
where does the air actually come in thru? it looks like it goes in the center below the door opening.

i grew up with a wood/coal stove so the air would go from under the fire box, thru the grates into the fire then out the chimney, where does the air flow thru on this one?
 
There is a chanel just below the door and the sides. primary air comes threw the damper in front that the slider covers 3 slots goes into a 3/8 hole bottom center fire box.the rest goes to the sides to clean the glass. the one under the stove go up to feed the secondary air tubes you can see the channel with the door open right at the back center where no brick is covering the back.
 
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Moved the thermometer down some, started it with some stuff I split up pretty small. Took off and got up to 600 then sat there for a bit, I added more then closed the flue damper some and worked well.

Thing is after it burns for a while the coals build up and air doesn’t move thru it very well and it cools back down to only 275/300* and I can’t gdt it back up. But open the door and it damn near burns you it has so much heat.
 

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With that white on the flue pipe you might have had an overfire already. How long did you stay on 600 on the pipe for?

Dont know this stove but am guessing the air comes in the backside lower.
 
Moved the thermometer down some, started it with some stuff I split up pretty small. Took off and got up to 600 then sat there for a bit, I added more then closed the flue damper some and worked well.

Thing is after it burns for a while the coals build up and air doesn’t move thru it very well and it cools back down to only 275/300* and I can’t gdt it back up. But open the door and it damn near burns you it has so much heat.
Why are you running it up to 600? 450 to 500 should be the max with a mag thermometer on single wall
 
When you reload push the coals to the back of stove. That primary air hole is on he bottom floor of stove .just inside of the door ,
 
it was at 600 then i started slowly closing the damper as i wanted to lower it slowly, not choke it down too fast.

it seems i just need to burn very finely split wood and load a little bit at a time more often due to the size and air box design.


would anyone suggest using one of the heat exchanger deals that goes in place of the singe wall for a few feet?
 
Way too late to start closing damper. Close sooner.

If your needing to burn finely split wood, your wood isn't as seasoned as you think. Its wet.

No one here will suggest getting a heat exchanger, many here will suggest to take one out though. Bad idea.
 
Way too late to start closing damper. Close sooner.

If your needing to burn finely split wood, your wood isn't as seasoned as you think. Its wet.

No one here will suggest getting a heat exchanger, many here will suggest to take one out though. Bad idea.

what is the theory behind that, restrictive air flow?
 
Restrictive everything. Airflow, cleaning, heat.

heat.jpg
 
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would anyone suggest using one of the heat exchanger deals that goes in place of the singe wall for a few feet?
Definitely not. That is asking for problems.

For now, assume the stove is not the problem. This leaves the fuel, draft and the operator as the variables. By not closing down the air sooner almost all of the heat is going up the flue. 600F is much too hot. Try starting to close down the air to say 50% when the flue reaches 400F.

How tall is the flue system on the stove from stove top to chimney cap?
 
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