Gap between stove and pipe

Hello all-
I've got a Pacific insert on one side of the house and this year added a Lopi Liberty to the other side of the hosue. Paid for installation on the new Liberty. Was getting it going this morning and noticed (after using it for a few days already) that there is about a 1 cm gap, 3 to 4 inches long in the pipe that connects to the stove top. In other words, if you stand over the stove and look down at the pipe, you can see into the firebox and the flames etc. I called my installer but I suspect that I won't hear back from them for a couple days given that it is the weekend. Out of an abundance of caution I carefully moved the coals to the Pacific and just started running the insert, letting the Liberty go out. It seems that the pipe was both overly crimped and also that section with the gap is missing what I assume is black cement that I see all around the pipe with the exception of the gap. I'm just looking for some feedback as to whether I'm over reacting and it is okay to run the Liberty with the gap for a few days or if letting it die and running the insert only was the right thing to do. It's going to be below freezing for a few days and that Liberty is a monster compared to the insert, but I'd rather not run it if the gap should be addressed first.
Thanks - Dave

Here's an image of the small gap between pip and stove. You can't see because I let the fire go out, but, if the fire were going you'd be able to see the glowing fire through that small opening. I mentioned that I've burned many times before noticing this and have a CO2 alarm in the same room, but now that I've noticed I'm reluctant to burn because that seems like the perfect place for co2 to escape especially overnight when stove starts to cool and draft is not as powerful. Any thoughts from anyone on this? Would getting some foil in there as a stop gap be a temp fix to last me until the installer comes back and gets some cement on it? Am I just overreacting?
Any thoughts or ideas is much appreciated. Getting might cold on that end of the house. Might have to kick on some oil heat sadly...

Swedishchef said:

My stove has a collar. There's a telescopic double wall piece that slides over the collar. Was yours cemented together?

Click to expand...

My pipe going from elbow out of the house is double wall but the one coming up from the stove (where the gap is) to the elbow is not because there was no clearance concerns there. The pipe going into the stove does not slide over the colar but rather is crimped and goes into the stove's output and then is held in place by 2 screws. Then a bead of what I assume is black cement is added around the connection with the exception of the gap that I mention. I'm sure my guy is going to come back and just finish the cement he missed, but not sure if I should keep her shutdown until then or if it is safe to burn.

begreen said:

1cm is a large gap. First, is the Liberty a freestanding stove and is the flue secured with 3 screws to the stove? If yes, the gap can be packed with some 3/8" rope gasket and furnace cement .

Click to expand...

Liberty is a freestanding stove. Flue is secured by 2 screws to the stove. I overestimated actual opening. It is about 3/4 of a centimeter. And that is because the pipe going into the stove was overly crimped. My guess is that my installer will get a mallet up into the flue (there's plenty of access) and hammer back that crimp so that the gap is almost non-existent, then will add cement where he missed it. Thoughts on any temporary solution with household materials? I have no rope gasket nor furnace cement and we have a storm starting up here in CT so I am in for the next couple days. If my best bet is to keep her shutdown then I'll do so.

begreen said:

Can you post a picture of the overall installation and connector pipe?

Click to expand...

Sorry if this is too dark. Black stove and dark brown walls don't play nice for contrast. Let me know if this is what you wanted to see. Basically it is that first connection right above the stove baffle that has the uncemented seam from the other pic.

begreen said:

(and some batteries and candles)

Click to expand...

Since I bought a huge generator a few years ago we've yet to lose power. Isn't that the way it always works?

begreen said:

For stove top temps, try putting the thermometer on the lower step, center.

Click to expand...

I'll try moving it. This is where the Liberty manual told me to put it, but I'm getting lower readings than I would expect based upon my experience with my Pacific Insert. It isn't quite doing much out here yet snow-wise, so I'm going to wait for this fresh load to get burning then I think I'll fly down to the hardware store and get some stove cement so I can put my mind at ease and still burn the big stove.

So they did not have Rutlands but they did have Meeco's Red Devil Gasketing Cement & Stove Sealer. I've used this before when I've reattached or replaced the door gasket on my Pacific. It reads that "it can be used to seal cracks in stoves and stovepipe. Withstands temperatures to 2000*F." I assume this is the same stuff and okay for my purposes?

webby3650 said:

Cement in this location will just dry up and fall off everytime you remove the pipe to clean. You will be fine till that pipe gets trimmed.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. It seems that he already used cement around that connection except the gap that I just noticed today. If it dries up and falls of when we remove the pipe to clean, then it would fall off when we remove it to trim it back 3/4". The reason I ask is because - while I believe you and BeGreen that I'll be fine in the short term, I have the cement now and it might just make me sleep a little better to basically "connect the cement" at this point. For gaskets it says 2 hours to dry. If I use a bead on the gap should I wait the two hours as well?

webby3650 said:

They had a lot of trouble with too much water in their cement for a while, be prepared for gusher!

Click to expand...

That is definitely true. Trying to get my gasket on was a nightmare the first time I did it. What a mess. Second time I was prepared with like 10 oversized, black binder clips (the kind that will hold like 200 pages of paper together. Used those as I worked my way around the gasket to hold things in place. Waited 5 minutes, took the clips off, closed the door on some newspaper, much easier. Maybe I'll try Rutland next time I'm doing a gasket replacement...