Exhaust 3-4" reducer alternatives?

[briansol]

I have a 3-4" reducer for my 4" pipe up the chimney to my 3" inlet on the exhaust port of my stove. The reducer set up my dealer used is pure garbage. It is impossible to take apart. And once you do it is a mind bender game to re-connect it. I used a hammer to re-build it. that shouldn't have to be the case.

I didn't get a good pic of it, but here you can see the pipe has a 'bowl' style piece that allows for swivel in the pipe. This is what never really seats properly. There is a 3" piece that is also lipped like the cup, which is the toughest thing to rebuild. That slides over the exhaust port and connects to the swivel pot.

Basically, next time i clean my pipe, i have to break this down again, and re-seal up 3 joints. Not to mention moving the stove just to quick clean is basically impossible to do witout breaking the pipe.

Are they all this bad? Luckily the stove has a built in T to a quick clean out, but still, the pipe needs to come off from time to time for a thorough cleaning.

My knuckles are all cut up.

I said more swear words yesterday than the rest of 2012 combined. Most were the F-bomb. lol

I'd love to get something better if its reasonable to do so. Any suggestions before i pull the entire thing out in a fit of rage? lol Most of the pipe is fine. I'd just love to have something better to connect it with and perform the reduction. Something flexible would be even better..

 

[Delta-T]

do you not have a flex liner running up your chimney? Is it some type of rigid liner system? "theoretically" you are supposed to be able to clean the pipe through that there access port (be aware, when the gasket on that hatch fails, you must replace the whole flue assembly to the tune of approx $100, no fun). If you have a rigid liner then I'm not so sure you have a whole lot of options other than adding a few feet of flex between the stove and the rigid.

 

[briansol]

it is semi-flexible. i can move it around to a certain degree. it's not super plyable, but it does offer some flex. I have no idea what brand it is.

The access port is tiny. it opens all of 1". maybe. and only on 1 side, so you get the < effect. I do the best i can with it through out the year, but in the big clean, it doesn't suffice.

 

[Delta-T]

hmm, any way you could snap a pic of your venting? ICC Excell makes a 12" piece of double wall pipe that has a removable panel (door like) that allows you to put a cleaning brush in without a "T". That might be something that could be integrated into your system, or is availblable from the manufacturer of your pipe. Be advised you should not mix and match venting brands when it comes to double walled pipe. You can transition from double wall to single wall flex of different manufactrers.

 

[briansol]

next time im in there to clean it, i'll take better pics. i'm not moving that thing again for a bit. lol