Duravent Troubles

[workinprogress]

Hello All,

Last week in installed my new Englander Stove (Summer Heat 55-SHP10) which I ordered from AMFM Energy. Stove was a factory second with a few minor scratches in the metal but works fine.

Was able to get a good deal ($$) on a Duravent kit from Lowes but now I am paying for the savings in other ways. I was doing a nice corner install and was able to get a nice vertical run of just under 4 ft before going thru the wall.

During vent installation I applied high temp RTV to each seam. And was very careful to get complete coverage.

My first burn (4 hrs) went without a problem but I had all the windows open to get rid of the paint smell. The next time I ran it had just a hint of smoke smell. So using the flash light method I was able to find a small exhaust leak right at the back of the stove/vent connection. In an effort to seal it correctly I carefully disconnected the stove from the vent and reapplied RTV to the joints and reassembled. And that is where things went downhill. My next burn had more smoke coming from another seam. I sealed that. Another burn had another leak in a different location. At that point I sealed externally all the seams. I am still getting a minor smoke smell.

Any suggestions?

My current plan is to pick up high temp foil tape and seal all joints. I am wondering if I should take advantage of the warm weather this week and try to disassemble everything and try to extra heavy RTV again.

 

[johneh]

I do not use the high temp . RTV to hard to get apart to clean pipes .
I only use the metal tape easy to use easy to replace .
After installation no more smoke leakage on start up or at any time
Works well for me !

 

[jackman]

I'll second that. Just use foil tape.

 

[TimfromMA]

Duravent should be self sealing.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I think you have an issue outside as well. I'd put on a 90 and run the vent pipe up one 4' section (or more to clear the roofline). Keep in mind that even though the vrent is small ID, it will still provide some natural draft. I'm of the mind that a straight horizontail install like you have is basically a no-no. Finally, all the twist to lock venting is self sealing as was stated previously, except, at the stove termination where you need red RTV.

 

[papa bears stove]

I believe that the dura vent sold at the box stores does not have the bead of silicone in the pipe like the dura vent pro has. When using regular dura vent I would silicone each joint and install with a tee with that has a cap on it to remove for cleaning purposes. Rarely does the pipe actually need to be taken apart for cleaning as running a brush through it should be enough coupled with burning the stove on a higher level on a consistent basis. The install looks good to me as he has already gone up 4 feet on the inside of the house before going through the wall to the outside.

 

[funflyer]

I would most definitely take the vent back apart and seal both the inside then outside joints. There would be no reason to ever take them back apart if you used a cleanout "T" which you most likely did since you bought the install kit. Even if you need to take them apart, it is effortless with a pair of inexpensive strap wrenches. I took the advice of a few installers and used a liberal amount of sealant on the inside then smoothed it down once the pieces were twisted together. This makes the inside joints less likely to hinder the efforts of the cleaning brush. Also, don't forget to seal the outside of the 90s at the 2 center seams also, even though they don't rotate.

 

[bogieb]

Use either metallic tape or self-sealing silicone tape (high temp). Both are much easier to remove if needed, and easy to apply more if you miss a spot.

 

[workinprogress]

I think you have an issue outside as well. I'd put on a 90 and run the vent pipe up one 4' section (or more to clear the roofline). Keep in mind that even though the vrent is small ID, it will still provide some natural draft. I'm of the mind that a straight horizontail install like you have is basically a no-no. Finally, all the twist to lock venting is self sealing as was stated previously, except, at the stove termination where you need red RTV.

I actually have almost 4 ft of vertical inside the house. So the set up is not straight horizontal.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's the outside (not the inside) that concerns me. Your termination cap is below the roofline (always a no-no) in an elevated install, especially if the prevailing wind is against the house on that side. I realize the stove is forced (negative draft) but the combustion fan don't push very hard Your other issue is, if the siding isn't completely sealed you can get smoke infiltration and it's going to eventually discolor your siding.... these things do make a certain amount of soot and smoke on startup. I've seen them discolor siding more than once.

Again, I would have added a 90 and went vertical above the roofline, but thats me.

 

[OhioBurner©]

I used metal tape because I had it. It seems to work ok. But it is kind of a pain to get nice and sealed without wrinkles. And also not as easy to remove as silicone tape. It always splits into a bunch of little pieces when I try to take it off, then left with goey residue. It works but I plan on switching to silicone tape if I take it off again. Especially in your installation thats black I wouldnt want to be putting silver tape that would look terrible! Get black silicone tape.

Duravent should be self sealing.

Finally, all the twist to lock venting is self sealing as was stated previously, except, at the stove termination where you need red RTV.

No! The standard duravent is not sealed and twist lock has nothing to do with sealing. Twist lock means you dont have to have 3 sheet metals screws to attach the pieces together.

There are multiple types of stovepipe made by Duravent. Their Pro pipe has seals. The regular PelletVent does not and needs sealing... always read the manufacturers instructions, like this excerpt from Duravents website...

 

[SidecarFlip]

I used metal tape because I had it. It seems to work ok. But it is kind of a pain to get nice and sealed without wrinkles. And also not as easy to remove as silicone tape. It always splits into a bunch of little pieces when I try to take it off, then left with goey residue. It works but I plan on switching to silicone tape if I take it off again. Especially in your installation thats black I wouldnt want to be putting silver tape that would look terrible! Get black silicone tape.





No! The standard duravent is not sealed and twist lock has nothing to do with sealing. Twist lock means you dont have to have 3 sheet metals screws to attach the pieces together.

There are multiple types of stovepipe made by Duravent. Their Pro pipe has seals. The regular PelletVent does not and needs sealing... always read the manufacturers instructions, like this excerpt from Duravents website...View attachment 145470

When I installed mine 11 years ago, it was (self sealing and twist lock). Maybe things have changed in as much as I don't install venting regularly....,

 

[workinprogress]

Started tonight with the idea to separate the sections, seal with Rtv and then tape the seams. Tried to take the pipe apart but no luck. Even with strap wrenches I couldn't get joints apart. Instead of going crazy and damaging the pipe I just moved to taping the seams with 3m flue tape.

After taping I did a test burn and no smoke leaks. We have a strong south wind tonight. Will keep track of the winds and see if a change in wind create a smoke smell.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's windy here to and the temperature is dropping like a rock...an icy rock. This afternoon, my wind speed indicator registered a couple 55 mph gusts

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Point your termination cap straight down, not at an angle.

I would dump the regular Duravent and use Duravent-PRO, which has built-in silicone O-ring seals.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Point your termination cap straight down, not at an angle.

I would dump the regular Duravent and use Duravent-PRO, which has built-in silicone O-ring seals.

+1. Didn't notice that. It must be opening straight dowm, no exceptions.

I went and looked at my 11 year old venting (I have a spare length in thr shop) and it has the seals inside each end so I presume it's Duravent Pro but I don't remember it being called that. I do remember it not being cheap 11 years ago. Was almost as much as the stove was..... I got everything online from an outfit called ventingpipe.com. Probably out of business now....

 

[workinprogress]

Thanks

I straightened the end cap (straight down). I have already started to price out other venting systems. I would recommend staying away from the regular duravent at all costs.

 

[workinprogress]

I have burned the stove mulitiple days and it think things are finally sealed. Since my last post I ended up sealing the clean out and all the pipe seams (long seams). Took a couple days burning to finally get the paint/burn off smell gone. Now I have been trying different pellets brands and fine tuning settings.

Since I am new to pellet world I had a few questions.

Ash- seems like after 15-16 hours I get the pile of ash seen in the picture. I have tried a couple pellet brands and they all produce this similar pile.

That pile is from about 3/4 bag of pellets.

 

[bugman31964]

Looks like my wear plate after the same amount of time. Scrape it off to the side with a paint scrapper and continue to let it roll.