Soot coming out of my chimney pipe.

stevemartin said:

Hey All,

I had my Enviro EF3 cleaned out by a stove shop about a month ago. They went outside and ran a chimney brush down it and cleaned it out.

The other morning I was outside and tapped on the pipe. When I did, there was a large amount of soot that came out and landed on the ground. Is this common?

Also, where the stove pipe meets the house, should I caulk around that?

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I would say that it happens. It's pretty tough to get it spotlessly clean.

Yes, I would caulk around the pipe to keep the weather and moisture from getting into the wall of the house.

No

Yes

hossthehermit said:

No

Yes

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X2

stevemartin said:

Hey All,

I had my Enviro EF3 cleaned out by a stove shop about a month ago. They went outside and ran a chimney brush down it and cleaned it out.

The other morning I was outside and tapped on the pipe. When I did, there was a large amount of soot that came out and landed on the ground. Is this common?

Also, where the stove pipe meets the house, should I caulk around that?

Click to expand...

Is that all they did? Ran a brush down it from the outside? If that is the case where do you think that ash that was on the interior walls of the pipe went?

It's not soot it's ash and yes common,
Yes caulking is good

stevemartin said:

They took the chimney pipe apart at the bottom and cleaned it out there while the other guy was running the brush.



Thanks for the other responses. I will caulk around the outside where it meets the house.

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You should also check the caulking (high temperature silicon sealant) around the thimble as well. If the installer didn't do the area around the flue pipe on the outside it is possible they forgot to do it all the way around the thimble on the outside as well.

Ash accumulates on the inside of most termination caps as well as in the flue itself.

The reason I asked if that was all they did is there have been cases where the flue was cleaned only to discover that the ash was deposited in the area between the combustion fan and the tee. If this is the case the combustion fan will send some of it right back into the flue as well as not being able to really provide the proper airflow to maintain a decent burn.

stevemartin said:

Forgive me for asking as I am new to pellet stoves but what is a thimble and a termination cap?

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A termination cap is the last piece attached to your flue outside. It provides somewhat of a wind barrier and a vermin screen. It also may redirect the exhaust stream downward at an angle.

A thimble is a couple of pieces of metal that provides a sleeve that a flue passes through in order to guarantee proper clearances to combustible materials. In essence it becomes a third flue wall wherever it is used. You never modify a thimble or flue pipe.

stevemartin said:

Oh okay, got it. Yes, there is no sealant around the thimble. I will make sure to seal around that.

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OK, now I'm worried, they failed to seal around the flue on the outside where it passes through the thimble and they failed to seal around the outside of the thimble as well.

Remember this sealant is on the outside of the house. The inside is left unsealed. There is a reason for this, anyone care to guess what it is?

What else might have been missed?

SmokeyTheBear said:

The inside is left unsealed. There is a reason for this, anyone care to guess what it is?

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OK, I give up. My stove was installed by the dealer and they sealed the inside. I'm clueless.

SmokeyTheBear said:

OK, now I'm worried, they failed to seal around the flue on the outside where it passes through the thimble and they failed to seal around the outside of the thimble as well.

Remember this sealant is on the outside of the house. The inside is left unsealed. There is a reason for this, anyone care to guess what it is?

What else might have been missed?

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My guess is that if you seal both ends, that you trap heat in the middle rather than venting it into the house? Could also be that condensation could form and rust out the pipe, which you'd never see until it's too late.

jackman said:

OK, I give up. My stove was installed by the dealer and they sealed the inside. I'm clueless.

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The inside arouind the flue where it goes through the thimble is not sealed, the outside is sealed. This is so if someone has a joint inside the thimble (not supposed to have one there at all) and it loosens up you will smell it instead of it causing a fire inside the wall before you notice it.

Sealant on the flue pipe joints and mechanical fasetners inside the house (this sealant may be already provided by silicon O rings on some flue pipe) and mechanical fasteners on the outside.

Basically you need a mechanical joint and a gas tight joint on the flue pipe inside and mechanical only outside.