:;&$',@;:/ Chimney pipe is stuck

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neumsky

Minister of Fire
Dec 25, 2011
629
Oklahoma City
Cleaning out my pipe with my new SOOTEATER...and want to move my slidable section back into place...and the -:(&$@&?#€} thing won't slide back into place...I guess I shoulda greased that pig! Any suggestions?
 
Have someone hold the stationary part so you can slide the movable part... Sometimes I had to twist my pipe just a hair to get it to move .. Maybe take a hairdryer to the outer part, try to expand it away from the inner part you trying to move.. Seems when you muscle the pipe it makes it even worse.. Slow and steady pressure..
 
It's messy but if you spray the joint with WD-40 it will slide apart. ;)
 
I wouldn't want to breath in heated WD 40,,, who knows what that's doing to you? A petroleum product will take a while to burn off as well..Could stink for a while... I think if you have someone hold the fixed part of the pipe and take the part that slides down and ever so slightly turn it left to right as your pulling down it will free up.. otherwise use the hair dryer to warm the outside of the fixed pipe.. Just don't hold it an inch away so you cook the paint.. keep moving it around as you heat...
 
the -:(&$@&?#€} thing won't slide back into place

Oh man I hear you. Unfortunately I gave up on this approach and find it less painful to drop the baffle now to clean the chimney. The last time I tried to slide the sections together, I "twisted" the pipe back and forth a bit which seemed to help at first but then I had the pleasure of trying to "twist" it back again to line up the screw holes and the flue probe hole exactly right. All the time worrying about what the impact on chimney overall over time would be - me wrestling with this thing a couple times each year.

I don't know if it's just the brand of pipe (duravent) or what, but it is a PITA to move once in service. Sorry I'm not much help, just feeling your pain...
 
Oh man I hear you. Unfortunately I gave up on this approach and find it less painful to drop the baffle now to clean the chimney. The last time I tried to slide the sections together, I "twisted" the pipe back and forth a bit which seemed to help at first but then I had the pleasure of trying to "twist" it back again to line up the screw holes and the flue probe hole exactly right. All the time worrying about what the impact on chimney overall over time would be - me wrestling with this thing a couple times each year.

I don't know if it's just the brand of pipe (duravent) or what, but it is a PITA to move once in service. Sorry I'm not much help, just feeling your pain...
That's why I like to have another person holding the pipe so you are isolating any stress or movement to one section of pipe.. I have a Duravent as well that has done that to me, that's how I know what worked for me... Yup not fun...
 
I like to have another person holding the pipe

That's a good point. Unfortunately, where I am (middle of nowhere), lining up another person to help is doable, but I can have the baffle off, ladder out, and chimney cleaned in less time. I won't even ask my better half - don't want her to associate wood stove with any kind of pain or stress. :) If this thing came apart easy, I'd be a happy camper.
 
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That's a good point. Unfortunately, where I am (middle of nowhere), lining up another person to help is doable, but I can have the baffle off, ladder out, and chimney cleaned in less time. I won't even ask my better half - don't want her to associate wood stove with any kind of pain or stress. :) If this thing came apart easy, I'd be a happy camper.
Hear ya, I'm out in the woods myself.. Wife helps, she doesn't mind a bit, it's part of country living.. she stacks wood as well..All has to get done...
 
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I wouldn't want to breath in heated WD 40,,, who knows what that's doing to you? A petroleum product will take a while to burn off as well..Could stink for a while... I think if you have someone hold the fixed part of the pipe and take the part that slides down and ever so slightly turn it left to right as your pulling down it will free up.. otherwise use the hair dryer to warm the outside of the fixed pipe.. Just don't hold it an inch away so you cook the paint.. keep moving it around as you heat...
Obviously it would need to be wiped off before you fire it up! Just wipe it off with some soapy water.

Sometimes those slips get stuck and they will not come apart if you had 4 people pulling on it! Just lightly spray down in the joint with WD, it will work. I do this stuff everyday, not once or twice every 20 years.
 
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Obviously it would need to be whiped off before you fire it up! Just wipe it off with some soapy water.

Sometimes those slips get stuck and they will not come apart if you had 4 people pulling on it! Just lightly spray down in the joint with WD, it will work. I do this stuff everyday, not once or twice every 20 years.
I'm saying what runs down inside the pipe as you slide it back down will not be getting wiped out.. Sorry I didn't know it all, I just suggested what worked for me... but that's the way it is on here :oops:
 
Wife helps, she doesn't mind a bit, it's part of country living.

oops - I think I better backtrack before I get in trouble with my better half - no question she also loves the wood heat, the whole experience out there, has no problem loading the stove, etc. I think she'd be happy to try to help with the chimney pipe thing / cleaning, but she's pretty tiny - she'd probably just end up just getting dirty, swearing a lot, and not having much success. Maybe I don't give her enough credit, but we got enough stress from other circumstances, so this job is on my list.
 
oops - I think I better backtrack before I get in trouble with my better half - no question she also loves the wood heat, the whole experience out there, has no problem loading the stove, etc. I think she'd be happy to try to help with the chimney pipe thing / cleaning, but she's pretty tiny - she'd probably just end up just getting dirty, swearing a lot, and not having much success. Maybe I don't give her enough credit, but we got enough stress from other circumstances, so this job is on my list.
She sounds like a good woman...;) I don't dare say too much on here anymore....
 
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I'm saying what runs down inside the pipe as you slide it back down will not be getting wiped out.. Sorry I didn't know it all, I just suggested what worked for me... but that's the way it is on here :oops:
Nobody knows it all, that's what is so great about this place!
But this is a good fix for a stuck slip. Sometimes it's the only way to get it apart. It takes very little.
 
Nobody knows it all, that's what is so great about this place!
But this is a good fix for a stuck slip. Sometimes it's the only way to get it apart. It takes very little.
Cool, good to know....:) Learned something new...
 
This idea of two people yanking on it sounds great...I see the pipes bending and me just $h1!ca??ing it. Haha why is it??? I ALWAYS HAVE TO LEARN THE HARD WAY? I thought life was sposed to get easier with age!
 
This idea of two people yanking on it sounds great...I see the pipes bending and me just $h1!ca??ing it. Haha why is it??? I ALWAYS HAVE TO LEARN THE HARD WAY? I thought life was sposed to get easier with age!
One person holds only,, then you slide the other section down..gently.. Think about it, it's just a slight interference fit but over a long area of the pipe.. Even hold the pipe on opposite sides of the seam so as to egg the pipe away from the seam as you slide it down.. Also make sure your not grabbing onto the pipe area where the two sections are one inside the other.. Worse case take the adjustable section out and have one person on each end and pull! Maybe you had some major glazing inside the pipe before you slid it up...that has bound things up.. Good luck..
 
Oh man I hear you. Unfortunately I gave up on this approach and find it less painful to drop the baffle now to clean the chimney. The last time I tried to slide the sections together, I "twisted" the pipe back and forth a bit which seemed to help at first but then I had the pleasure of trying to "twist" it back again to line up the screw holes and the flue probe hole exactly right. All the time worrying about what the impact on chimney overall over time would be - me wrestling with this thing a couple times each year.

I don't know if it's just the brand of pipe (duravent) or what, but it is a PITA to move once in service. Sorry I'm not much help, just feeling your pain...
+1 for dropping the baffle. Soot goes right in the firebox and is easily removed, or just re-burn it. ;-) Also, not messing with the pipe screws allows them to stay much tighter for much longer...
 
+1 for dropping the baffle. Soot goes right in the firebox and is easily removed, or just re-burn it. ;-) Also, not messing with the pipe screws allows them to stay much tighter for much longer...
One the Oslo, It's way easier to just remove the Cook Plate on top. All you need is a 10mm socket and a small ratchet.
The Manual used to say to that the bolts should be removed, they were just for shipping. Now it doesn't say that, so I guess they should be put back. Bummer, it's so easy to clean with the top plate loose.
 
I don't even know if wd-40 is a petroleum. I thought it was silicone based. In any case, it smells good when burned. I get it on exhaust systems a lot. It also wipes off easily and does not stain like oil.

I have had sticky duravent slips. There is a seam of course, and the seam is usually my problem. If you try and align the seams then the slip is really tight, if you can get the seams offset even a little bit then you have much more room. That slip section is expensive almost 200$ and easily dented with hand pressure. Don't smash it. It's way easier to clean a little lube off than to replace it.

Also, unless you must, don't remove pipe sections for cleaning. Clean into the stove. Vertical flues are awesome.
 
we ended up getting our telescoping piece stuck while installing it, it just dropped right on down into itself, the whole 48". we had 3 people pulling on it, and ended up spraying it down with wd-40, putting some vice grips on either end, and attaching ratchet straps to the porch posts to pull it apart. It worked like a charm!
 
we ended up getting our telescoping piece stuck while installing it, it just dropped right on down into itself, the whole 48". we had 3 people pulling on it, and ended up spraying it down with wd-40, putting some vice grips on either end, and attaching ratchet straps to the porch posts to pull it apart. It worked like a charm!
LOL You'd make a great tooth puller.
 
I don't even know if wd-40 is a petroleum. I thought it was silicone based. In any case, it smells good when burned. I get it on exhaust systems a lot. It also wipes off easily and does not stain like oil.

I have had sticky duravent slips. There is a seam of course, and the seam is usually my problem. If you try and align the seams then the slip is really tight, if you can get the seams offset even a little bit then you have much more room. That slip section is expensive almost 200$ and easily dented with hand pressure. Don't smash it. It's way easier to clean a little lube off than to replace it.

Also, unless you must, don't remove pipe sections for cleaning. Clean into the stove. Vertical flues are awesome.

Definetly petroleum

  • 50% "aliphatic hydrocarbons". The manufacturer's website claims this ratio in the current formulation cannot accurately be described as Stoddard solvent, a similar mixture of hydrocarbons.[8]
  • <25% petroleum base oil. Presumably a mineral oil or light lubricating oil.
  • 12-18% low vapor pressure aliphatic hydrocarbon. Reduces the liquid's viscosity so that it can be used in aerosols. The hydrocarbon evaporates during application.
  • 2-3% carbon dioxide. A propellant which is now used instead of the original liquefied petroleum gas to reduce WD-40's flammability.
  • <10% inert ingredients.
The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety-relevant ingredients:
 
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