Chimney caps and stove pipe leakage

I know this is not the time to put a cap on my insulated chimney with Santa coming soon ( I probably haven't been good enough anyway) but does a cap reduce the draft. I don't have any to much draft anyway. Is there a tape or caulk you can use to seal the joints in stove pipe. I get too much leakage before it gets to the insulated portion. I still need to be able to take the pipe apart to clean the back of the Adobe. It does seem to be working slightly better since I added the storage, but I think it will still need cleaning unfortunately. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. PS I'm thankful for the help I get from all you experts. Jim

Yes, a cap will reduce the draft a bit.

You can use high-temp silicone RTV to seal the joints. Auto parts stores usually have it, if nothing else.

Joe

A personal experience I had with no cap was water and creosote. Very acidic. Ate right through the stainless inner and the middle galvanized section of insulated triple walled chimney. You need a cap if for no other reason.

My draft was sluggish during the warm months so I removed my cheapo $6 cap and it definatley improved things. This also seemed to reduce some of the puffing and banging issues with my boiler. I reinstalled the cap last week with the onset of colder weather (improved natural draft) for the reasons metioned above. Make sure your leg supports on the cap are long enough to allows plenty of space for the smoke to vent and flow. I'm shopping for an 8" cap that allows better flow during warmer weather.