# Living With an Obsolete Pellet Stove



## wilbilt (Nov 27, 2007)

So, I have been using this old Trail Blazer stove for a month or two now. The model is a "1600 Classic PS" or something similar. 

The stove is vintage 1994 or so, and the manufacturer is long out of business. It was a freebie. I have been looking for a manual or any other literature, but so far have come up empty-handed. Most of the pellet stove information I have found relates to modern units festooned with bells and whistles.

This thing is quite primitive by today's standards. No auto-ignition, no thermostat. It does have all of the basic safety features, though.

I have been experiencing an issue for the past week or so related to excessive augur feed rates in relation to the burn. If run on anything but "low", the pellets would quickly fill and overflow the burn pot, choking the combustion. There are two trimpots accessible by small screwdriver for the augur feed rate. One is marked "H" and one is marked "L". The "L" trim was responsive to adjustment, but the "H" screw seemed to do nothing.

The augur cycles once about every ten seconds. The pots control the length of the augur cycle, thus controlling the amount of fuel dumped into the burn pot. Try as I might to fine tune these adjustments, it would overfill and nearly kill the fire if the output control was  set anywhere but "Low".

As the nights have been getting colder, This has become more of a concern. The "Low" setting just doesn't cut it when the outside temps are in the 30s.

This morning, my wife shut it down around 10:30 in preparation to leave for work. I had left about 6:00, after putting the  stove into "shutdown" mode for several minutes to burn out some of the unburned fuel. I set it to "Low" before leaving, and it feebly attempted to heat the house until she shut it down.

Arriving home this afternoon, I got a wild hair and decided to investigate the beast a little bit. I pulled off the cover attached to the control board and poked around with a flashlight. The board is very simple, no Pentium processors here. A couple of chips, a few capacitors and resistors pretty much sum it up. I looked at the solder joints, but  didn't see anything obviously wrong.

I blew out the trimpots, hoping that maybe they were just dirty. Looking around inside the stove, I could see the ONE blower fan. The same fan is used for combustion and convection. There does not appear to be an exhaust fan on the vent pipe.

One fan does it all. It is mounted in the stove base, and essentially pressurizes the the entire stove. It pushes air into the heat exchangers, and under the burn pot as well (!). After my visual perusings, I put it back together and lit it.

I have noticed in the past that I could feel a fair amount of air escaping the left side panel at the front. I never thought much about it, but today after lighting the stove, I gave the panel a whack and it popped back in. The air leak is now nearly gone.

The effect on the combustion was immediate. The feed rate is no longer excessive, and the stove is burning very well right now. 

I guess sometimes, you just need to kick it.


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## Kenny1 (Nov 27, 2007)

wilbilt said:
			
		

> I have noticed in the past that I could feel a fair amount of air escaping the left side panel at the front. I never thought much about it, but today after lighting the stove, I gave the panel a whack and it popped back in. The air leak is now nearly gone.
> 
> The effect on the combustion was immediate. The feed rate is no longer excessive, and the stove is burning very well right now.
> 
> I guess sometimes, you just need to kick it.




Errr, do I understand correctly that combustion chamber air is escaping into your home (instead of being vented outside)?

That does not sound very safe.  You may want to get that looked at by a pro.


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## wilbilt (Nov 27, 2007)

Kenny said:
			
		

> Errr, do I understand correctly that combustion chamber air is escaping into your home (instead of being vented outside)?
> 
> That does not sound very safe.  You may want to get that looked at by a pro.



No, it would actually be pre-combustion air. The fan draws air from beneath the stove and pressurizes the entire stove housing beneath the hopper and burn pot. Some of this air is pushed out into the room through the heat exchanger tubes and some of it enters the combustion chamber via holes in a baffle under the burn pot.

Combustion gases are pushed out the vent pipe by the same air pressure. It's a pretty big fan (5"-6" diameter). It's definitely not the most modern design, but the price was right and it is EPA-certified.

The "leak" I spoke of was  due to a loose side panel that was venting air pressure before it reached the burn chamber.


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## pegdot (Nov 27, 2007)

wilbilt said:
			
		

> I guess sometimes, you just need to kick it.



Hmmm.......mines a 91' so it couldn't hurt......now where did I put those steel toe boots? lol

Glad you found a fix!

Peg


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## wilbilt (Nov 27, 2007)

pegdot said:
			
		

> Hmmm.......mines a 91' so it couldn't hurt......now where did I put those steel toe boots? lol
> 
> Glad you found a fix!
> 
> Peg



Is yours a Trailblazer? I would really like to find a manual and/or schematic for this thing.


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## pegdot (Nov 27, 2007)

Sorry, for the confusion. No, I have an old Breckwell that I'm trying to figure out. I have the manual but since I have NO experience with pellet stoves it's not a lot of help. I don't know what "normal" is! lol 

Peg


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## wilbilt (Nov 28, 2007)

pegdot said:
			
		

> I don't know what "normal" is! lol



Welcome to my world...


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## hearthtools (Nov 28, 2007)

Most of the time problems with a pellet stove is just Neglect and need a good cleaning.

I would start with taking the stove apart and cleaning every nook and cranny.
Take the blower(s) out and clean
Clean any ash traps you might find.

A easy way to do this is to take it out side and take it apart and blast it with a Leaf blower or air compressor.

then after you get it back together make sure all seals are good on the door and ash pan if any.
make sure your seal on the combustion blower is good too.

Clean out all the pipe and any bends in the pipe
Make sure the cap is clear.

Connect the stove and test it out.

If you


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## wilbilt (Nov 28, 2007)

hearthtools said:
			
		

> Most of the time problems with a pellet stove is just Neglect and need a good cleaning.
> 
> I would start with taking the stove apart and cleaning every nook and cranny.
> Take the blower(s) out and clean
> ...



I'll pull it out and disassemble it in the spring. It doesn't have an ash pan or drawer, and I do vacuum everything accessible once a week or so. It's a primitive design compared to current models.

Somewhere out there, are some guys who worked on these things.


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## Kenny1 (Nov 28, 2007)

wilbilt said:
			
		

> Kenny said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...






Oh, OK, I think I get it now.

Well, its good that you have it under control.  

Cheers   

Kenny


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## eernest4 (Nov 28, 2007)

If you vacuum every accessable spot & the stove is running ok, then, the take it outside and use a leaf blower thing is excessive work for little or no reward. Dumb & dumber.

Good vacuuming should be more than enough, unelse you miss a important spot you dont know about.

How easy is it to move a 400 lb pellet stove down a flight of stairs????

 real tough for two guys ,impossible for 1 guy.

Before I do that, if I REALLY had to, as a last resort,first i,d vac up everyting I could find inside the stove, then i'd leaf blow it in the living room and vac up the room afterwards.

of course, i got hardwood floors,no carpets. It would ruin a carpet, forever.

Hardest way to repair stove. It work , but really hard to do.
Need take a shower & wash cloths afterwards, not to mention a lung full of soot.
Wear dirty old clothes & a resperator.

Good luck breathing afterwards. Just a little soot dust make me cough and leave the room, hacking.


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## hearthtools (Nov 28, 2007)

eernest4 said:
			
		

> If you vacuum every accessable spot & the stove is running ok, then, the take it outside and use a leaf blower thing is excessive work for little or no reward. Dumb & dumber.
> 
> Good vacuuming should be more than enough, unelse you miss a important spot you dont know about.
> 
> ...



OK smartie

If you dont have anything constructive to say to help this guy out dont say it at all.


I volunteer my time here to help people. 

How many pellet stoves are 400 pounds?
I said the easies way to clean.

Our service guys take out all the blowers from the stove and take them out to our service truck and blast out the blowers with air with an air compressor.
You can not clean dust bunnies out of the blower motor and blower wheel with a vacuum.


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## SOSDD (Jan 19, 2008)

wilbilt said:
			
		

> pegdot said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I have the same stove as you do, Trailblazer 1600 classic. I want to thank you for your finding of the trim pots, that was quite usefull. Also I will mention that my eploration of the unit found that the inlet screen to the blower was half clogged, somewhat like the inlet of a blow drier can get after a while. After cleaning that screen and wiping the fan blades, I found the unit seems to function much better, even on high speed. I have not found a manual yet, but if I do I will let you all know.

I also found that next to where the power cord enters the unit, there are two binding posts, one black, and one red. I tested them and found 13.1 volts dc. I wonder what the purpose of that power supply is?


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## bit_flores (Jan 19, 2008)

Dude!

That 13 volt connection might be to attach a 12 volt marine battery for a battery backup feature!   If you find a manual, check for the battery backup in the documentation.


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## wilbilt (Jan 19, 2008)

bit_flores said:
			
		

> Dude!
> 
> That 13 volt connection might be to attach a 12 volt marine battery for a battery backup feature!   If you find a manual, check for the battery backup in the documentation.



That's exactly what it is. I ran mine on car batteries during a recent 55-hour power outage.

The fan runs more slowly when on battery, so the stove takes more watching to make sure the pot doesn't overflow. That's OK, as there isn't much more to do in the dark other thna watch the fire!

On the bright side, battery life was excellent. I ran one battery for nearly 24 hours before swapping it out...and it still started my truck!


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## jtp10181 (Jan 19, 2008)

As I read the first post I was thinking it sounded like an air leak. Guess it was...

Also FYI your stove functions in the opposite way as many of the modern ones. You have a POSI pressure firebox so it should be sealed up tight so there are zero air leaks. Most of the current stoves out there are NEG pressure firebox and POSI pressure venting, with the combustion fan between the firebox and the vent.


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## SOSDD (Jan 19, 2008)

All I can say is wow! After adjusting the trim pots and cleaning the air intake, this unit is working as new. I am simply amazed at the difference in funtion. Even on high, which I was only able to run for short times before, it is doing fantastic.


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## wilbilt (Jan 20, 2008)

SOSDD said:
			
		

> All I can say is wow! After adjusting the trim pots and cleaning the air intake, this unit is working as new. I am simply amazed at the difference in funtion. Even on high, which I was only able to run for short times before, it is doing fantastic.



Good to hear.
I did vacuum out my intake screen a while back, but did not clean the fan. 

I will make it a point to do so the next time I do a major cleaning.

Does your stove have an outside air kit?


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## wilbilt (Jan 20, 2008)

jtp10181 said:
			
		

> As I read the first post I was thinking it sounded like an air leak. Guess it was...
> 
> Also FYI your stove functions in the opposite way as many of the modern ones. You have a POSI pressure firebox so it should be sealed up tight so there are zero air leaks. Most of the current stoves out there are NEG pressure firebox and POSI pressure venting, with the combustion fan between the firebox and the vent.



Yes, the entire stove runs on positive pressure. I had a leaky door gasket and it was blowing sparks out into the room. Yikes.

I think I finally have my wife conditioned to close the door *before* she turns on the blower, LOL


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## pelheat (Jan 21, 2008)

From the last couple of posts, I believe you have a licensed ( or not ) clone of a Thelin 12VDC stove.
Jay Thelin developed a 12VDC pellet stove in the early 90s that uses a single fan for combustion and convection.

The Thelin will trickle charge a connected 12 V battery while it is plugged into AC.

On another topic, does anyone have any knowledge about an Earth Stove model MP 35/50 ?
I'm looking for any information regarding burn-back problems and solutions.

Thanks in advance.


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## wilbilt (Jan 21, 2008)

pelheat said:
			
		

> From the last couple of posts, I believe you have a licensed ( or not ) clone of a Thelin 12VDC stove.
> Jay Thelin developed a 12VDC pellet stove in the early 90s that uses a single fan for combustion and convection.
> 
> The Thelin will trickle charge a connected 12 V battery while it is plugged into AC.



Looking at the description on the Thelin site, it seems like the technology is very similar. Everything from the banana plug binding posts, the low-medium-high setting, single fan and auger operation are very familiar. The very low power consumption while running on battery is something I have experienced as well.

The TrailBlazer stove looks nothing like the Thelin, which are very attractive IMO. The TrailBlazer is just a typical black box.

I also see that Thelin is located about 25 miles from here, while the Oregon company that manufactured the TrailBlazers seems to have vanished from the face of the earth. I wonder if there was any connection between the two.


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## wilbilt (Feb 2, 2008)

SOSDD said:
			
		

> All I can say is wow! After adjusting the trim pots and cleaning the air intake, this unit is working as new. I am simply amazed at the difference in funtion. Even on high, which I was only able to run for short times before, it is doing fantastic.



Sorry to dredge this thing back up, but it's probably good to keep it all in the same thread.

I had a revelation of sorts today while cleaning my stove. It had been burning worse since I bought a different brand of pellets a couple of weeks ago. They are Lignetics I bought at TSC, and they were stored outside (a bit damp).

At any rate, the combustion had really gotten bad the past couple of days so I decided to give it a good cleaning and clean off the fan blades as *SOSDD* suggested.

I got that done (removed the control panel to gain access to the top of the fan) and proceeded to start cleaning the firebox. I vacuumed out the burn pot and the bottom of the box as normal, and started scraping the heat exchanger tubes. There is a thickwalled 1/2" tube about 2" long that sticks down from the center of the top of the firebox. I had always assumed it housed a temperature sensor, as it has sort of a ceramic appearance.

As I was scraping, I bumped the tube, and it moved a little. Curious, I pushed on it again an noticed a stream of ash fell down from the upper rear of the firebox. I grabbed a flashlight and looked around up there. The tube is attached to a U-channel that wraps around the center heat-exchanger tube and is welded to the plate behind them.

It is a handle for rattling the upper baffle to clear the ash from up there.

After dumping and vacuuming out a huge volume of ash from up there, the stove is burning wonderfully.

I feel like an idiot, but I am smiling right now.


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## chris1450 (Dec 7, 2008)

wilbilt said:
			
		

> SOSDD said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Hey! I appreciate you bringing this thread back up... and now I am WAY later lol. I just picked up one of these stoves a week ago. Runs like crap. Creosote build up is amazing. So I took the panel off of the control board side and saw all you did and thought it was pretty interesting. Doesn't seem to safe if your away from home and your blower fan fails. It would fill the room with smoke before the lack of oxygen put the fire out. Guess that is what carbon monoxide detectors are for. Anyways, I thought maybe the tube to rattle the asses from the flu may have been some sort of flu control.. but you can't make it stay in any position, so I guess your right about knocking ashes free from the flu. I am taking the door into work and media blast it clean and replace the rope seal on the door, then hopefully next weekend can fire it back up and see if the cleaning I did will help the situation. I have a feeling it will as when I was transporting the unit home, it fell over on it's face.. probably knocking a bunch of ash and creosote into the area of the flu that plugged it up. Any luck on a manual yet? Anybody?


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## wilbilt (Dec 7, 2008)

chris1450 said:
			
		

> Hey! I appreciate you bringing this thread back up... and now I am WAY later lol. I just picked up one of these stoves a week ago. Runs like crap. Creosote build up is amazing. So I took the panel off of the control board side and saw all you did and thought it was pretty interesting. Doesn't seem to safe if your away from home and your blower fan fails. It would fill the room with smoke before the lack of oxygen put the fire out. Guess that is what carbon monoxide detectors are for. Anyways, I thought maybe the tube to rattle the asses from the flu may have been some sort of flu control.. but you can't make it stay in any position, so I guess your right about knocking ashes free from the flu. I am taking the door into work and media blast it clean and replace the rope seal on the door, then hopefully next weekend can fire it back up and see if the cleaning I did will help the situation. I have a feeling it will as when I was transporting the unit home, it fell over on it's face.. probably knocking a bunch of ash and creosote into the area of the flu that plugged it up. Any luck on a manual yet? Anybody?



It's good to know there are still some of these around. I still haven't found a manual or a source for parts.

Let us know how it turns out.


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## wilbilt (Dec 7, 2008)

Dow N. Jones said:
			
		

> curious as to how its vented
> i have little trblzer woodstove EPA!...from yardsale & its great for burning sawdust + WVO + modifications



Currently it's vented two feet straight out with a hood. Plans are to go out a foot and up 4-5 feet when the economy recovers.


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## hmr17 (Jan 12, 2009)

My father has a trailblazer 1600 in his house.  It used to work great.  Unfortunately it now fills the house with smoke.  I believe the smoke is coming back through the pellet chute and into the hopper.  The chimney looks pretty clear.  I can't figure it out.  Any ideas?  My father thinks it's the pellets.  I don't think so, there's still positive air flow in to the hopper through the pellet chute.  Doesn't make any sense to me.  
  I have all the paperwork that came with the stove.  Its 29 pages.


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## chris1450 (Jan 12, 2009)

The smoke isn't coming up the pellet chute. It is coming thru gaps in the pellet hopper, or thru a bad door seal. You say the chimney looks clear... trust me.. from my experience it HAS to be clear. Do a very good cleaning. It would be a very good idea to pull the stove back away from the chimney. Look down the exhaust and make sure that is clear also. Take a vacuum to it and scrape any debris away from there.  Also, there is a tube that sticks down into the burn chamber at the top of the door.... you have to shake that around a bunch to clear the ash from the upper chamber area. This is important. It may be a good idea for you to take a side panel or two off and vacuum out and clean very well the whole area there.. especially the fan blades and air intake.  These models don't seem to be very forgiving to dirt. 

One good trouble shooting method I found out is when the stove is burning, open the door.. does the flame increase and act like a blast furnace? If so, your flu is clogged. guaranteed. Good luck to you...


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## hmr17 (Jan 12, 2009)

Thanks for the quick reply.  We'll clean out the chimney and see if it helps.  We have the unit out and the side panel off.  We've cleaned it out and sealed the hopper.  That's why we took the stove out again trying to figure out what's up.  I lit some pellets in the cup and turned on the fan.  I could see smoke coming into the hopper through the auger.  If you put a lighter to the auger while the fan is on, you can see the lighters flame being blown by the air coming in.  Seems like there should be some sort of positive airflow going into the hopper to prevent the air coming in from the firebox.  Really strange.  Maybe with the pellets in the hopper help prevent some of this airflow.  I can't figure it out.  We're doing this testing out side in a covered patio with no chimney attached.  So I can't blame it on a dirty chimney!  Maybe we'll try cleaning more around the tubes and the sliding baffle.  
  Thanks again.  If you've got any other ideas I'm all ears!


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## Zsparks (Mar 1, 2009)

I'd like to say 'thank you' to everyone who posted info on the Trailblazer here.  You guys helped me figure a few things out since I was given this thing without docs.  

The design is simple enough..  but a single fan producing positive airflow to the firebox makes me want to rethink using it.  I took the time to replace all of the gasket material on the door and glass - trying to make it as airtight as I could (although it's nott 100%, it's pretty close).  

What I also did was install a gasket under the fan to seal it better and quiet it down a bit.  I also removed the screen mesh at the fan intake and put a new, larger mesh on the back side of the pedestal.  That significantly reduced the nosie.

I'm also tempted to replace the electronics and give it a little more intelligence - like thermost control, remote control and more fail-safes.   But, I figure that it took me this long just to get the stove installed.. I might actually do something in 2010.

Thanks again, folks


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## maureen (Nov 14, 2009)

Chris 1450,
I recently got a Trailblazer 1600 manual and all. It too feeds faster than we like and it is nearly unused prior to our getting it, but my main purpose here is the manual. We will of course need ours but can copy for you and send if you still need one. Let me know. 
Maureen


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## chris1450 (Nov 14, 2009)

That would be great to have the manual. I would be forever in your debt to get a copy. Even copying it and sending it by email would be great. I can open most formats.


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## maureen (Nov 17, 2009)

Re; manual copy Trailblazer---Send me an addrss (snail mail) and I will copy and send. I,m afraid it won't be awfully fast as we live far from town and getting down to get copies the    old fashioned way will be necessary. Are you having a particular problem ? We very recently got our Trailblazer and would like to learn mre about it's quirks ( and it does have some)
Maureen


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## lw4521 (Dec 5, 2009)

I have read all the posts about The Trailblazer 1600 and want to say thanks to all that contributed.  I too inherited one  (actually bought it) and have been searching for written material for it.
To Maureen....if it is at all possible could I get a copy of your manual....I would be more than happy to pay you for it...however it is sent or copied....email, snail mail or even fax...if you let me know the price.
Thank you
Linda


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## mikebinamb (Dec 6, 2009)

Firestarter, Maureen, Linda, or anybody involved with the Trail Blazer Classic 1600:

We also inherited a stove with no manual, and would really appreciate anyone's help in getting a copy.  We're also willing to pay for whatever costs are incurred in mailing, faxing, emailing, etc the manual.

We're also specifically looking for a control board--or at least the control knob on the board.  Our knob broke off, and we've been using a screw driver to turn the control!! Sure would appreciate any leads for finding parts.

Newcomers, Mike and Bernice


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## bjr23 (Dec 6, 2009)

If the person with the manual for the stove scans it as pdf file it will email just fine and you can open it with the adobe reader witch you can download for free. The scanned file usually comes out clearer than a copied and recopied file and is a smaller file that a jpeg or tif (image file). bjr23


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## trailblazer16 (Dec 29, 2009)

I have a Trailblazer 1600 that has a problem with the auger/motor.  I am fairly familiar with the stove,  The one I just purchased is in fair shape but the auger won't turn on when the control know is in Low, Med, or High.   The control knob will turn 360 degrees (go past high and all the way back to the off position)  about half way, when the control knob is in the 3 o'clock position I can get the auger to turn on, but feeds continuously, turning with out stopping.  The amount of pellets fed through can not burn fast enough and the entire front will fill up if left to do so.


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## fancynan (Oct 8, 2011)

Hi,
Is anyone still monitoring this thread?  i recently bought a home that has a Trailblazer pellet stove.  I know absolutely NOTHING about these stoves (my first house).  I was thinking it might be worthwhile to hire someone to service it - clean it out, make sure it works, etc. And, to show me how it works - of course, like many others, I do not have a manual.  I don't even know how to turn it on, light it or use it.  There are actually some pellets still in the top - I guess that is the hopper.  And there is a lot of ash at the bottom when I open the front door.  Those of you who recommend vacuuming, do you use a shop vac or just a regular home vac?
Any advice to get going?  It is snowing today and it is bound to get colder soon, and it is the only source of heat in the family room - the main room I use for tv, work, and just lounging about.
I appreciate all advice.
Nancy


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## pelheat (Oct 8, 2011)

If you are going to use a vacuum - please do NOT use a household vacuum. The filter is not good enough to trap the fine ash from a pellet stove.
A shop-vac type is a much better choice but you must use the filter bags marked for drywall dust and other fine particles.
Regarding your particular unit, I have no knowledge of that brand.


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## DexterDay (Oct 8, 2011)

fancynan said:
			
		

> Hi,
> Is anyone still monitoring this thread?  i recently bought a home that has a Trailblazer pellet stove.  I know absolutely NOTHING about these stoves (my first house).  I was thinking it might be worthwhile to hire someone to service it - clean it out, make sure it works, etc. And, to show me how it works - of course, like many others, I do not have a manual.  I don't even know how to turn it on, light it or use it.  There are actually some pellets still in the top - I guess that is the hopper.  And there is a lot of ash at the bottom when I open the front door.  Those of you who recommend vacuuming, do you use a shop vac or just a regular home vac?
> Any advice to get going?  It is snowing today and it is bound to get colder soon, and it is the only source of heat in the family room - the main room I use for tv, work, and just lounging about.
> I appreciate all advice.
> Nancy



Fancynan... The best way to get some help or info on your unit is to start a Nee Thread. Click on New Topic up top, and then fill in the subject line. Then basically type what you typed here.

Hope you get what your looking for. I do know these units are a "Positive Pressure" stove. Which can/may be a little more dangerous if you have a bad gasket or leak somewhere.

A Shop vac works fine. Just make sure you have a HEPA filter in ot and possibly a Fine filtration bag inside (for drywall dust) . Othereise you will have a very dusty room on your hands.


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## Snowy Rivers (Oct 8, 2011)

Wilbilt

The best way to finish off a good cleaning is to attach a leaf blowers suction port to the stoves chimney outlet and with the stove door open to allow plenty of air to enter run the leaf blower wide loose.

This will suck out all the nasty crud in the chimney and the stove.

If you find the need for parts, most pellet stove auger motors are a 1 RPM unit and can be had from Graingers supply house.

A timer control system can be put together easily from off the shelf parts so that if the control board goes away, your stove need not become a flower pot.

The timers can be purchased through Precision Timer company.

A 120V 10 amp model 646 can be used as the main auger control and a model 644 one shot can be used to do the start-up  sequence.

Blowers are available from several suppliers too that can be readily adapted to most any pellet stove.

Back in the "OLD DAYS" the stove makers used off the shelf stuff for the most part.

Not until the 90's did the manuf's start outsourcing their controls over seas.

The basic safeties are all useable and must be retained in the stove.

Fabricating a new control panel is about all that's needed and then adding the heat control pot to control the timers.
A master on switch along with a fuse holder assembly, reset button and a start button to initiate the start-up cycle.

The fan/s can be controlled with a standard TRIAC that's used to control a ceiling fan.

With many of these older Pellet stoves the controls give up and then the stove becomes a Garage ornament or worse.

I have seen stoves that were in very very good condition mechanically and structurally taken to the scrap heap due to the fact that the controller had failed and a new one was no longer available.

Far too many of these great old work horses are disposed of every year due to the lack of original spare parts.

Many items such as the auger motor and fans can be readily adapted from other units and or by using universal parts.

My Two 90's Vintage whitfields have been retrofitted with my own controls.

The factory safeties and some additional ones have been added.

These two old beats just do a great job and will likely last 20 more years, maybe longer.

The practice by the manuf's of using a proprietary control board was a major cost savings for them, not the end user.

In the old days, you could scare up the solid state relays and have a stove up and going in a jiffy, for a very low cost.

The two relays I mentioned earlier can be had for about $100 and these things are very robust and unless hooked up to a dead short without a fuse, can work for decades without a hitch.

Good old back woods engineering can save these fine old stoves from the scrap heap.

My two Whit's came to me for $200 each.

They are loved a lot.

Snowy


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## pellet (Nov 28, 2011)

Can anyone tell me what the hopper capacity is for a Trailblazer 1600PS?  Any experts out there care to give an opinion on this stoveâ€™s quality?  Iâ€™m not too concerned about the control board, blowers and switches thanks to Snowey's input here (great info Snowey!), but otherwise?
Thanks!


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## fancynan (Nov 28, 2011)

Mine holds 1 40# bag.   On another note, my agur feed doesn't turn.  It was working for the two weeks after I had it serviced and now - nothing.  Any ideas?


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## pellet (Nov 29, 2011)

Has anyone gotten a copy of the manual for the Trailblazer 1600 yet?  I could sure use a copy.  Anyone?


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## pellet (Dec 21, 2011)

Bump....  Anyone?


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## DirtyDave (Nov 12, 2012)

PARTS     and it even works

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/hsh/3404507391.html


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## smwilliamson (Nov 13, 2012)

Some oldies I saw last year....

Scott pellet stoves, 91-94 Alberta Canada
Alltair, USA 94-95 ish, self cleaning rakers and only about 1500 ever made
Pellet King not sure when they were made but USA
Frost King, Pellet Master, Traeger (Earth Stove), Waterford, Whitfield (obviously), Trailblazer, Vermont Castings "Un-Reliant",


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## frankttaylor (Nov 20, 2013)

Ok so I know I am jumping on this way late.Someone sent me pics of manual and I have converetd to PDF because so many people have helped me along the way I need to pay back some how. As far as excessive smoke goes- I suggest moving that handle back and forth (lookes like some sort of tube coming down from top of inside of stove) I did that and it sumped a lot of ash and solved the smoke issue immediately. Of course my wife is mad because we all have black lung disease and that was stupid easy fix. Hahahahaha! If you need a copy of manual email me and I will send it to you in either word format or PDF.


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## UMainah (Nov 20, 2013)

frankttaylor said:


> Ok so I know I am jumping on this way late.Someone sent me pics of manual and I have converetd to PDF because so many people have helped me along the way I need to pay back some how. As far as excessive smoke goes- I suggest moving that handle back and forth (lookes like some sort of tube coming down from top of inside of stove) I did that and it sumped a lot of ash and solved the smoke issue immediately. Of course my wife is mad because we all have black lung disease and that was stupid easy fix. Hahahahaha! If you need a copy of manual email me and I will send it to you in either word format or PDF.


You could just upload the manual to this thread so people will have access to it without having to email you.


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## frankttaylor (Nov 20, 2013)

I tried to and it said file was too large. I tried to make file smaller and it still said to big. believe me I would rather go that route. If you have an idea I am open to it. I have nothing to gain except to help that is all.


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## UMainah (Nov 20, 2013)

Hmm, maybe @webbie could create an entry in the Manufacturers wiki and it could be placed there.


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## frankttaylor (Nov 20, 2013)

I am not sure how to do that. I clicked on that link and I gt confused- not hard to do


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## UMainah (Nov 20, 2013)

frankttaylor said:


> I am not sure how to do that. I clicked on that link and I gt confused- not hard to do


Webbie is the Admin. He would be one of the people you could talk to if you wanted to upload the file to the site.


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## frankttaylor (Nov 20, 2013)

Done and sent thanks!


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## chitabe (Nov 30, 2013)

frankttaylor said:


> Ok so I know I am jumping on this way late.Someone sent me pics of manual and I have converetd to PDF because so many people have helped me along the way I need to pay back some how. As far as excessive smoke goes- I suggest moving that handle back and forth (lookes like some sort of tube coming down from top of inside of stove) I did that and it sumped a lot of ash and solved the smoke issue immediately. Of course my wife is mad because we all have black lung disease and that was stupid easy fix. Hahahahaha! If you need a copy of manual email me and I will send it to you in either word format or PDF.


 I would love a copy of the manual. I acquired this stove from a friend and I love its simplicity, but I would like to know the ins and outs of it. Thank you in advance.


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