anyone know average lifespan of 24 ga. black single wall snap fit stove pipe?

[eernest4]

i am more than a bit courious about what the average lifespan of black 24 gague single wall
snap fit stove pipe is.
I did the initial installation 05/06 winter, then 06/07 winter & now 07/08 winter , so i guess
that comes out to three years.

I am begining to see some surface rust on all the stove pipes, but some worst than others
& on the bottom of the elbow that comes out of the back of the stove collar, I see a patch of rust that I plan to test with a ball ping hammer in the late spring.

For now, i intend to keep using it as i feel its not bad enough to require replacement quite yet.
But as i said, all the pipes get tested with the ball ping hammer this spring & many new sectons installed.

QUESTION:::Is there another or a better way to test 24 gague black single wall stove pipe
for weakness & potential rust thru than a ball ping hammer?
No one told me to test it this way, it just seemed like the thing to do.

I want 2 be sure that my stove pipes are "A-OK" (up to par) & = to the job, so if that means rejecting them all & replacing every thing, then that is what I will do.

But if some of the pipes are good enough for another heating season or two, then i should just replace what may
fail some time in the 08/09 heating season if not replaced.

I am probably erroring on the side of caution , here, but I want 2 be better safe than sorry.

I don't think that the entire run needs to be replaced, but probably just a couple of the
worst sections.

Nothing is at a bad stage yet, but I am anticapating that after a summer of rusting down time,
some pipes will be about due for swap out.

Anyone with experience here, I would be very glad to here your oppinion.

I intend to take the entire pipe run down & disassemble & inspect & replace sections just as
soon as someone tells me what to look for & how to spot it & test it.

No thin spots yet, but by oct; maybe so. I won't wait for oct. I will swap out weak pipe sections in june.

So ,please, feel free to chime in here with your advise & wisdom.

 

[begreen]

There are lots of variables. But I took down some interior, 24 ga, black, single-wall that was ~20 years old and it was still in pretty good shape. I don't know about its previous history, but it had be used 10 years by us.

 

[SlyFerret]

Probably a few hundred dressers. ;OP

-SF

 

[snowtime]

I have some on a wood furness thats 20 years old. Its surrounded by concrete so I have not been worried about it. Still check it every year and it seems like it is probably time to change it.

On thought- I think its important if you over heat it. If you have very strong draft and the pipe gets red it probably will wear out sooner.

 

[colebrookman]

I've got single wall that's at least 15 yrs old and it's still sound. I clean it every year and check for soft rust but so far after I wire brush it's good to go. This year I splurged and gave it a new coat of high temp paint. Now that's getting your moneys worth.

 

[eernest4]

Hi Snow Time!!

I do have a very high draft & my stove would like to overheat but I won't let it
go over 700 deg stack temp ,ever & only for a short time while I am watching it like a hawk.

I like to run it at 400 deg stack temp. but at start up & before I can initiate secondary burn, it frequently sees 700 deg for up to 8 minutes , but usually only 3 to 5 minutes. Once secondary burn gets going, stack temps can drop down to 300 deg. while stove top is 650 deg

I keep two magnetic stove thermometers ,one on the stove top & the other 18 inch over the top of the stove on the pipe.

I have both a in line draft regulator as well as a draft dump regulator, both manual opperation & I use both on every load of wood.

Stove was reciently converted to secondary burn resulting in much lower stack temps & higher stove top temps. But, i think after 3 years, my pipes are begining to get beat up a bit.
I guess the very high drafts comes with a 48 ft interior chimney as a given.

I STILL WANT TO KNOW THE BEST WAY TO TEST & INSPECT PIPES FOR THINNESS & RUST
as this is something I think i will be needing to keep an eye on more & more.

 

[Jimbob]

i am more than a bit courious about what the average lifespan of black 24 gague single wall
snap fit stove pipe is.
I did the initial installation 05/06 winter, then 06/07 winter & now 07/08 winter , so i guess
that comes out to three years.

I am begining to see some surface rust on all the stove pipes, but some worst than others
& on the bottom of the elbow that comes out of the back of the stove collar, I see a patch of rust that I plan to test with a ball ping hammer in the late spring.

For now, i intend to keep using it as i feel its not bad enough to require replacement quite yet.
But as i said, all the pipes get tested with the ball ping hammer this spring & many new sectons installed.

Anyone with experience here, I would be very glad to here your oppinion.

I intend to take the entire pipe run down & disassemble & inspect & replace sections just as
soon as someone tells me what to look for & how to spot it & test it.

No thin spots yet, but by oct; maybe so. I won't wait for oct. I will swap out weak pipe sections in june.

So ,please, feel free to chime in here with your advise & wisdom.

If you need new pieces of pipe after only 3 years, that must of been some awfully cheap pipe!
If you can remember where you bought it from, I would avoid buying any more from there in the future.
The stove pipe in our house is ~ 8 years old, and it is still in good shape. Our stove does most of the heating all winter long. I will probably replace it when it is 20 years old, just to be safe.

 

[eernest4]

Well, That pipe was not cheap when I bought it. The salesman said it was the best in the store, 24 gague & fully up to code & that they did not even carry the cheaper 28 gague pipe.

I think that part of the problem is that the stove is in the basement with a cloths dryer not too far away that humidifies the air & creates a rust prone envirement & the other part of the problem is that the stove is a rear exit 90 deg elbow setup.

I'm pretty sure i found a pin hole leak at the bottom of the 90 deg. elbow ,just 1 inch before it enters the stove collar. It could be caused by ashes inside the elbow, as they seem to accumulate there & i need to remove them at every 3 day cleaning. If moisture were to reach these ashes ,it could form some type of acid that attacked the pipe & ate a pin hole.

I'm no expert but this seems to be the case, as the bottom of that elbow (where moisture could pool) is in worst condition than the rest of the elbow.

I could probably poke a hole in it ,there, with a screwdriver, in another 9 months time, but it will be replaced in April, way before it could get that bad.

I slobbered some retort cement on it for now & that seems to be working OK but i know it is only a temporary fix to just get me by to the end of the heating season in april. Then I will put in a new elbow, but I doubt it will last any longer that the "not so old" one it replaces because of the ash accumulation inside that elbow, being only 2inch offset from the back of the firebox.

If the pin hole in that elbow gives me any more trouble before I can replace it in april, I will screw a sheet mental screw & a flat washer in the pinhole, just to plug it up good,until april replacement.

This probably would never have happened with a vertical collar comming out of the top of the stove.

 

[jbrown56]

Hi, When I had my old stove, I had horizontal pipe issues and a lot of creosote build up. Creosote is partially caused by moisture and I feel that it affects the pipe. I would change the pipe every four years. I cleaned the new liner and black pipe last week and had very little build up with the new stove after 4 1/2 months of burning. I feel that my black pipe will last longer with the new stove.

Jim