OAK condensation

TimfromMA said:

Last night was the first time I've run my stove since OAK was installed. The OAK pipe is dripping wet due to condensation. What can I do to mitigate this? Should I be worried about the OAK section that passes through the wall?

Click to expand...

Insulation wrap will stop the condensation where the pipe is in free air. Where it is in a confined area there isn't a supply of moisture to condense.
What that condensation indicates is that you have very high humidity in your house. If it is a new construction, the moisture is coming from the concrete in the foundation. The concrete can take a very long time to fully dry out (a year or more). The condensation should become less of a problem as the winter sets in and the indoor relative humidity drops.

The pipe wrap solves it and as mentioned it's only a problem inside the house.

Every year I get the condensation too. I put a long thin foil tray on the hearth pad where the water was dripping from the OAK pipe. I bought the baking tray at Dollar General and cut it to fit the size I needed. Even in the middle of winter when my indoor humidity is in the 30's I get the condensation. Some very cold mornings it even frosts over. I even get some condensation on the thimble and have a small amount of drywall discoloration in that area. Very little but enough to notice.

This summer I happened to have that wall apart and looked for any moisture damage and found none. So besides the drywall discoloration no problems.

TimfromMA said:

Just for s**ts and giggles, I'll use some spray foam insulation around the pipe section in the wall.

Click to expand...

Don 't.

Use a fiberglass wrap on the OAK inside the room the stove is in. You might also check to see if the oak termination is sealed to the house.

The only time I get condensation is when the frost on the OAK melts during the winter. (temperatures below 10 ).

If you are getting condensation at this time of year the relative humidity in your stove room is too high.

TimfromMA said:

Just for s**ts and giggles, I'll use some spray foam insulation around the pipe section in the wall.

Click to expand...

SmokeyTheBear said:

Don 't.

Use a fiberglass wrap on the OAK inside the room the stove is in.

Click to expand...

I thought this was the prefered method, the theory being it move the dew point into a sealed area and prevented the condensation. Or is the condensation so far into the building the rules change?

johninwi said:

I thought this was the prefered method, the theory being it move the dew point into a sealed area and prevented the condensation. Or is the condensation so far into the building the rules change?

Click to expand...

The condensation is inside the house not inside the wall if the termination is sealed.

The spray foam can not handle the possible reverse vent temperatures and represents a small but none zero fire risk compared to even paper covered dry wall in this case.

SmokeyTheBear said:

possible reverse vent temperatures and represents a small but none zero fire risk

Click to expand...

thankyou

TimfromMA said:

Last night was the first time I've run my stove since OAK was installed. The OAK pipe is dripping wet due to condensation. What can I do to mitigate this? Should I be worried about the OAK section that passes through the wall?

Click to expand...

Selkirk DT. Never had condensation on my oak.