Trailblazer Classic 1700.....first burn!

[wryfly]

Hey yall......anyone have any experience with this stove "Trailblazer Classic 700"??

We've been looking to replace our small old stove and this would fit in nicely.

Thanks!!

 

[wryfly]

it's 24" wide x 16" deep x 25" high....I've attached a picture, though probably didn't do it right

cool...it did work. We plan on putting it into our firebox (which is pretty small in itself) until we can afford to get a proper insert installed.

ps....i see your from Maine....I grew up in the County

 

[wryfly]

ahh....good question. I'll have to find out.

 

[wryfly]

ya I'm sure I'll need to go through it pretty well...replace brick, reseal...etc. but it looks like a good little stove. Do you like your larger one??

 

[wryfly]

it's late 90's.....they bought it in '99

 

[wryfly]

....they're asking $175 for it.....too good to be true??

 

[Fake coal burner]

That is the same stove that I pulled out last year. I have the owners manual in front of me and the brochure. It list as a 1700 or 1800 I think the 1800 is with pedestal Good stoves tubes are welded in fire brick on top of baffle. standard size brick. Heated 1100 sq. house soild brick house with single pane windows every 6 feet. No problem for 15 years. The only seals is the glass and door seal. I replaced the door seal once in the 15 years. Used it every day. I also took out the cheap cinter brick and replaced all with clay fire brick. The company is long gone. I don't think you can go wrong at that price if it is not warped any ware I ran mine at about 350 deg. stove top temp. If epa they are clean burning. Only got about a pint of dry flakes out of flue pipe With good dry seasoned wood. I still have mine is setting in the shed not being used. Bought a gas coal to replace it last year.

 

[wryfly]

Hey coal burner.......since you have the manual there, could you check something for me? The height of the stove was given @25".....is this the height from the ground (bottom of legs) or the height of the firebox?

The fireplace that it's going into is only 23" tall so I would need to modify the legs for it to slide in, but if it's the height of the firebox, it won't fit for us.

Thanks.....

 

[Fake coal burner]

Hey coal burner.......since you have the manual there, could you check something for me? The height of the stove was given @25".....is this the height from the ground (bottom of legs) or the height of the firebox?

The fireplace that it's going into is only 23" tall so I would need to modify the legs for it to slide in, but if it's the height of the firebox, it won't fit for us.

Thanks.....

They don't post any spc. in the owner manual. I took the measurements from my Trail blazer 1700 . Do you have a ash clean out in your fire place? I had one in mine and did a modification on the stove to clean ash out with out shoveling. Made it easer to clean and less ash dust in the house.

 

[wryfly]

great visual there Burner......when I get home this evening, I'll post the sketch I have of our fireplace.....

thanks!

 

[Fake coal burner]

great visual there Burner......when I get home this evening, I'll post the sketch I have of our fireplace.....

thanks!

Can you post a picture of your fire place opening and the measurements ? The damper is up from the face of the fire place which mite give you a little more room by tilting the stove as you go in. Thats what I had to do.

 

[wryfly]

I have a pretty detailed plan and section of the fireplace, but I'll try to get a photo of it as well. Is that damper necessary? I was going to have the flex-duct coming through the smoke chamber and make the connection to the collar. Our fireplace is only 23" tall.....it's a real pain!

 

[wryfly]

Thanks lady......I did put in a new masonary floor and extended the hearth out 16" from the face of the fireplace. I was wondering whether to cut the legs to fit, or to just remove them and set the stove on 4" bar stock. If I ever sell the stove in the future i could just replace the original legs......just a thought.

 

[wryfly]

....so here is the sketch of the existing firebox. Someone refered to this as a "heat-a-lator", the sides and the back are metal, ideally I could remove this, but think I'll be getting into a can of worms that i don't want to open.....

.....thoughts?

 

[wryfly]

hey there Diva......I totally agree. This setup thermally is like a big hole in the wall. This is a 120yr old farm house that we've been living in and renovating.....fun fun. This room went from concrete slab with no insulation in walls or roof to rigid on the floor with ply and wood flooring-walls have batt with 1 1/2" interior foam-ceiling is spray foam. I still don't know what to do with this chimney short of tearing it out and starting new.

I've attached an updated sketch with the stove in place, things are tight, but looks like it'll work.....??!!??

 

[wryfly]

Thanks Diva.....would you put the fan under the stove blowing into the box or behind the stove blowing hot air out of the box? As for the "fun" idea....your idea of fun is different than mine apparently The interior brick acutally goes up 5' to a timber mantel then steps in with stud wall and gyp above. My sketch does not show the propser depth of the existing chimney base, it definately extends past the exterior of the house further than shown.

As for a block off plate - would batt insulation be sufficent or should i get a metal plate to git up there with a hole for the flex liner?

My folks were saying that the farmers were having some issues this year......seems they're always fighting something.

 

[wryfly]

It must have the secondary air intake because it does have the perferated tubes in the ceiling. Will the hot air behind the stove affect the air flow into these tubes? should i get a mason involved and get a fresh air duct installed in the brick work??.....just another big hole in the wall. The room has been tightened up quite a bit with the new insulation and air sealing......

thanks for the dialog Diva......much appreciated

 

[Fake coal burner]

Do you have any combustible material behind the tin box and chimney wood studs etc. Metal and brick will transfer heat to the combustibles material. I can give you the stove clearances if you do have combustible material or would like them. Do not place a fan in front of stove blowing air. Your secondary burn chamber intake is in the back of stove at the bottom. If will act like a blow torch when stove is inclosed in fire place I did that on mine when I first installed it . I can show how I made my fan set up to get around that. Cheap. Do the block off plate save heat from going up chimney.

 

[wryfly]

hey there Burner.......thanks for the heads up with the fan. We are clear of combustables around the brick, the problem is the conductivity to the outside, but no easy way around that for now. We have an older small box stove in there now that we've been using for a couple years now, but it's not very efficient and was meant to just be temporary.

I'd like to see your setup for the fan.....thanks!

What do you think about the price.....$175??

 

[Fake coal burner]

hey there Burner.......thanks for the heads up with the fan. We are clear of combustables around the brick, the problem is the conductivity to the outside, but no easy way around that for now. We have an older small box stove in there now that we've been using for a couple years now, but it's not very efficient and was meant to just be temporary.

I'd like to see your setup for the fan.....thanks!

What do you think about the price.....$175??

SEE if you can get him to come down to $ 150.00. Find something wrong with the stove like broken brick or some thing. The company is long gone, history. No parts other than glass. Bricks you can find and cut if you have to. Door and glass seals you can get at a stove shop. Put the savings toward you blower system or flue pipe etc. Doent even worry about the heat being conducted to the out side. Mine was the same. If you will pm I will send you the pictures and diagram of the cheap blower system and how I hooked it up manual over ride and automatic. with parts that I used. single and duel system. about 50.00 total parts. I use the same blower system with my gas heating stove with a slight modification. No blower oppt.

 

[Fake coal burner]

hey there Burner.......thanks for the heads up with the fan. We are clear of combustables around the brick, the problem is the conductivity to the outside, but no easy way around that for now. We have an older small box stove in there now that we've been using for a couple years now, but it's not very efficient and was meant to just be temporary.

I'd like to see your setup for the fan.....thanks!

What do you think about the price.....$175??

Did you get the pictures I sent by e-mail to you on msn. of blower set up, for trailblazer?

 

[wryfly]

Hey Chunk.....I did get those, thanks a ton. I like your setup, but i don't think i'll be able to take advantage of the blower system. I think I'll get through this season and monitor how it works. Then maybe develop something next summer if we need it.

 

[Fake coal burner]

Post some pictures of your install as you go along with the trail blazer. You can make the blower set up with the stove in place. in the winter time as I did with both stoves. If you have ceiling fan you can use that instead. I found on mine I have about 2 feet of cold air on the floor with no fan, Air gets trapped. I have no ceiling fans. What is size of your old chimminey? How wide is the old damper in you fire place? When you make your damper block off plate> when stove is in a confined place such as you are doing. Do not use galvanized sheet metal It could give of some fumes that will make you sick. Use un galvanized sheet metal. I talked to my friend who is metallurgist. He says galvanized metal will melt at 1000 deg. Can start to give of fumes at 700 deg. when confined with steady heat. Might be slight but every day can make you sick. He said to ask for un galvanized metal. He came over to look at my set up.

 

[wryfly]

So we were down to the lower 30's over the weekend, and I was itchn' to get our new-old stove fired up. Also gave a shot to top down firestarting.....my wife was full of doubt, but low and behold, this little stove came roaring to life.

We are very excited about this new addition, although I am a bit disapointed at the depth that it sits into the firebox. I was hoping that it would be proud of the brick more than it is. The final finishing touch to this room is to cover this brick with a cultured stone product.....then I came up with another idea....

To pull the stove further into the room, the brick above the firebox would need to be cut back, ideally in a nice flat arch. This would allow the liner coming down through the damper to angle towards the space instead of turning straight down. Then when we do the cultured stone, we could treat the arch to mimick a true stone arch contruction.

Any thoughts or concerns with cutting this brick up to the level of the damper?

Thanks for all your feedback in this process....much appreciated!

and the folks we bought if from actually spent some time in my neck of the woods in northern Aroostook county.....small world!

 

[Fake coal burner]

So we were down to the lower 30's over the weekend, and I was itchn' to get our new-old stove fired up. Also gave a shot to top down firestarting.....my wife was full of doubt, but low and behold, this little stove came roaring to life.

We are very excited about this new addition, although I am a bit disapointed at the depth that it sits into the firebox. I was hoping that it would be proud of the brick more than it is. The final finishing touch to this room is to cover this brick with a cultured stone product.....then I came up with another idea....

To pull the stove further into the room, the brick above the firebox would need to be cut back, ideally in a nice flat arch. This would allow the liner coming down through the damper to angle towards the space instead of turning straight down. Then when we do the cultured stone, we could treat the arch to mimick a true stone arch contruction.

Any thoughts or concerns with cutting this brick up to the level of the damper?

Thanks for all your feedback in this process....much appreciated!

and the folks we bought if from actually spent some time in my neck of the woods in northern Aroostook county.....small world!

Your stove sat in your fire place just like mine did. I could not bring mine forward there was brick leveling stake sticking in the brick chimney about 5 feet up. Could not reach it. My Chimney was only 7 inches at the damper and above about 10 inches wide inside. If you can brig it out more by doing the arch Idea that will work ok. Is the front on the chimney looking at it from the front of the stove setting on the fire place damper plate? My chimney sits on the back of the damper plate for reinforce ment.. On your picture are these hot air ducts and cold air returns for fire place?