Chimney Sealant Required?

[mayhem]

Obviously I need to call my installer/cleaner but might as well ask here too.

I had a new stove and chimney installed this spring, Morso 3610 and a double wall black stack running about 25-30 feet up through one end of my great room. Works well now that I've gotten a better idea of how to move the air where I need it to be. Problem...I've noticed a bit of fluffy stuff poking out through the seams between the lengths of pipe...it looks like ash (very light grey, vacuums right up, no stains) to me. Being my first year burning at this house alot of my wood is fresh and not very seasosned at all, resulting in what I am sure is a heavier buildup of creosote and ash in the chimney than you would expect in a year...I'll have it cleaned out in the spring of course. The part that bothers me is that if there is enough space for some ash to come into the house through those seams, how much air is going OUT through those seams, which I assume is reducing my draft pretty significantly. Are those seams something that can or should be sealed up with a high temp black gasket cement or something or is this a normal state of affairs and the potential air intrusion into the pipe is a good thing?

Another item I noticed the other day when I tossed some birch bark in to rekindle a nearly out fire is that when i had a very heavy burning flame going on in there...the kind that wraps around the innards of the firebox and goes a foot up the chimney, I noticed as I was walking by the stove that I could see light shining through the stove collar. Upon closer examination I was able to see that I was looking at a tiny circle of flame light shining throuhg a tiny gap where the collar meets the top of the stove body. There was no open falme exposed outside the stove body and I couldn't smell or see any smoke smell coming out (I have a combo smoke/CO about 8' down the hallway and another at the peak of the cathedral ceiling above the stove). Seems like I may ahve a gasket or someting missing here. Again, wondering what this is costing me in draft, if anything. I took a photo of it but don't have it with me to post here...I'll toss it up tongiht if I get the chance. Planning on printing it out to show the stove dealer and see if they can tell me I'm missing a part or something.

Thoughts? I'm thinking this isn't dangerous as we've been burning since October wihtout ill effects, but I'm not naive to think that just because nothing bad has happened, it doesn't mean it won't. Should I consider this a more critical problem than I've been thinking it is?

 

[babalu87]

I went through the same thing the first month with the stove top flue , I sealed that up with stovepipe cement been fine since. Pretty hard to mate up smooth cast iron and stovepipe perfectly.

Is the other pipe all insulated?

 

[mayhem]

Yep. All insulated double wall black inside the house, triple wall silver through the ceiling and outside. I've attached a couple pics...its about 22 feet off the floor where it pierces the roof, another 4-5 vertical feet to get through the roof (11/12 pitch) and then 8 more feet or so outside.

So just a tube of stove cement to seal it up? I assume I have to pull the sections apart to get a good seal and probably have to remove the chimney and then take the collar out of the stove to do it properly, right?

 

[babalu87]

I just stuffed it in around the stoves collar and its been fine since. A wet finger smoothes it out so it looks good.

As far as the pipe I wonder if it got twisted all the way? Mine runs up the outside of the house but it looks like the day I put it up.

 

[mayhem]

The seams on the pipe line up within a half inch or so between any two pipes all the way up.

Any stove cement do or is there a difference in quality between brands?

 

[babalu87]

Half and inch is alot, I would think they should all line up. May be best to have the installer take a look.
I know my pipe (Selkirk) twists and locks. Can you give any of them a twist?

I used Rutland and its been fine, came in a little tub though.

 

[jtp10181]

What the heck brand of pipe is that? Doesn't look like its mated together all the way.

We use simpson DVL double wall black and it would be impossible for anything to get form the inner wall to outside the pipe if it was connected properly.

 

[Bill]

I have double wall interior pipe that looks similar to that pipe, but I have small slots on the bottom of each section, that allows air to cool the pipe. For the life of me I can't figure out how you get ash on the outside of the pipe. I would think it's impossible to do on mine. Mine twist together also, hence the circular horizontal line on each section.