2 new Simpson Duravent PV Elbows leak at factory seams?

[Murhah]

New installation with Simpson Duravent PV. Smoke leaks out of the factory seams only - none from my joints where I put red High Temp RTV silicone sealant. On the first install I got a small amount of smoke leaking only at the factory seams in the elbow. I put some RTV sealant on it, and got it mostly fixed, but having paid $38 I wasn't satisfied with it and returned the elbow to the store as defective. I picked up another one off the shelf. This one leaks worse. It's very noticeable on start up, with a smaller stream once the heat gets going, but still plainly evident with a flashlight.

My thought is that there should be NO smoke leaking from any where in the pipe. With 2 successive problems I'm willing to think I'm either doing something wrong or expecting too much.

Setup:
Whitfield Quest. 3" Duravent PV pipe. Cleanout T at stove to 3' vertical to 6" vertical to 90 degree elbow to 2' horizontal to horiz. cap. Pipe support on vertical to stabilize. Vertical confirmed plumb with a level.

In the first install I had a 1/2" rise on the horizontal as it went through the wall between the elbow and cap. On the second install I have it very close to no rise (to insure that the 90 degree elbow is not being "stretched" to 95 degrees due to pipe angles). The smoke is coming mainly from the angled shoulders.

Is it normal to get some leakage from the elbow at startup? What are the chances that I got 2 defective elbows in a row?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jtp10181]

What version of the pellet pipe is this? Easiest way to tell is b the part number on the sticker. Pellet Pro has a "PVP" in the part number and the old stuff is all numbers.

 

[mnoack]

New installation with Simpson Duravent PV. Smoke leaks out of the factory seams only - none from my joints where I put red High Temp RTV silicone sealant. On the first install I got a small amount of smoke leaking only at the factory seams in the elbow. I put some RTV sealant on it, and got it mostly fixed, but having paid $38 I wasn't satisfied with it and returned the elbow to the store as defective. I picked up another one off the shelf. This one leaks worse. It's very noticeable on start up, with a smaller stream once the heat gets going, but still plainly evident with a flashlight.

My thought is that there should be NO smoke leaking from any where in the pipe. With 2 successive problems I'm willing to think I'm either doing something wrong or expecting too much.

Setup:
Whitfield Quest. 3" Duravent PV pipe. Cleanout T at stove to 3' vertical to 6" vertical to 90 degree elbow to 2' horizontal to horiz. cap. Pipe support on vertical to stabilize. Vertical confirmed plumb with a level.

In the first install I had a 1/2" rise on the horizontal as it went through the wall between the elbow and cap. On the second install I have it very close to no rise (to insure that the 90 degree elbow is not being "stretched" to 95 degrees due to pipe angles). The smoke is coming mainly from the angled shoulders.

Is it normal to get some leakage from the elbow at startup? What are the chances that I got 2 defective elbows in a row?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I have a 45 degree Simpson Duravent elbow on my corner installation & the installer did spread silicone completely over all seams on the elbow before the stove was ever fired up; so whether it is normal or not, it was at least not entirely unexpected.

Mark

 

[Bxpellet]

My Selkirk Metalbestos elbows all leaked I put silicone on all seams, and on the clean out T on the the bottom trap, after that no smoke or leaks.

 

[richg]

I have often railed about the high price and low quality of simpson dura vent. The construction quality is simply hilarious! I've had more leaks than a spaghetti strainer. I looked inside one elbow before installing it....a worker had tried to put red silicone on a seam in the stainless, and missed completely. Your best bet is to spraypaint the pipe, and then apply rtv to every single seam, joint and rivet. Then, and only then, will this silly overpriced junk stop leaking.

 

[petejung]

My Simpson stuff all leaked at every joint, too. I RTV'd each joint and no leaks since. I think I'll clean and spray paint the pipes this summer, though, just to make it look a little nicer.

 

[Bagged Wood]

I must have got lucky with mine....I have a clean out T , a 45, 36in. vertical, and then a 90 into the flue.
Didn't have any leaks. Have been using the stove for almost 2 months now.

 

[Murhah]

I'm using plain old PV pipe, not the PV Pro.

Exactly where are you guys putting the silicone before pushing the joint together? - in the female end of the pipe, on the outside of the inner pipe? It seems to me that is where the smoke could creep in between the liner and the outer wall, and then the rope gasket does nothing.

I'm using red RTV, but could I use just regular clear silicone on the outside seams?

Lastly, what if you ever want to disassemble? Will the RTV remain pliable enough to allow un-twist in 2-3 years?

Thanks for comments so far. I feel slightly better.

 

[Philip]

I have a simple vent setup - stove adapter, 45 elbow, two 1' lengths of pipe and a 2' pipe. I put the adapter and the 45 together and put a bead of rtv on the inside at the joint. Then I added the first 1' pipe and sealed it on the inside joint. Did the same thing for the second 1' pipe. Then I put the assembled pipe thru the wall thimble, moved the stove into place and sealed the stove adapter to the stove with a bead of rtv on the outside. I had to use my fingers to make that seal because the joint was slightly behind the sheetmetal of the stove. The 2' pipe on the outside of the house is PVP pipe so it is not sealed with rtv. That allows me to easily unscrew that 2' piece and clean out the rest of the pipe that's thru the wall. I guess I was lucky that the 45 did not leak at the factory joint or maybe I sealed the factory joint on the inside just to be on the safe side. That was last December and I just don't remember!

 

[staplebox]

My 45 elbow leaked at the outside corner. Tried to seal it with RTV - still leaked. Used the flexible silicone tape posted elsewhere here and that did the trick. Then used the rest of the silicone tape on the other Simpson made joints inside the house - just t o be safe.

 

[heb80]

my 45 degee elbow leaks a little bit too. In the spring I'll RTV it.