First time ever leaking down outside of stove pipe

[wobbletop]

First post so I'll try to add as much detail as I can.

I've owned my house for about 10 years. The wood stove was installed by previous owner. Straight pipe from stove to cap.
We had a large amount of rain (2" in about 30 hours) and I had some dripping down inside the house down the stove pipe (not sure best way to describe) and resulted in a maybe a 4" diameter puddle on the floor.

The issue is this is just after I swept the chimney (from the bottom). Is this just coincidence that we had this huge rain storm and it leaked? Or could I have possibly damaged something? That's an open ended question for sure. We have had rain since then, but no noticeable leaks. We haven't had a fire in the stove yet this fall.

I did get up on the roof to do half an inspection and the cap seems intact. The caulking that I could see also looked fine, but I could only see about half of the top of the chimney, since it's hard to get up there.

The final question is about the transition at the top of the inside stove pipe to the through ceiling section. I don't remember if it's always looked like that. Could it have possibly shifted?

Thanks everyone!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It's possible something shifted, its possible that the water was a freak occurrence due to the heavy rain. Since you are literally playing with fire here and the lives of your family will depend on it, I'd get somebody out that can take a look at the entire system. Its not worth taking a chance that something was missed.

 

[MrCool1]

my newest stove setup started doing similar about the 10 year mark - we could hear it dripping into the box at the ceiling.
I clean my own chimney regularly, and went up and looked, kind of figured it was a roofing thing - so I called the company that installed the stove/chimney.
he was up there and back down before I could get my shoes on - and told me it just needed caulking.
it only did this on hard rainstorms from the south, where we get our "pineapple express" monsoons.
So I went and got a new tube of high temp silicone and went up and looked. and looked. it finally dawned on me that the "crimp" seam for the triple wall was facing due south. coincidence? ha!
I applied silicone to the entire seam vertically. not another drip heard since. eleven years ago and still holding.
I just checked it last weekend, as I went up and did my start of season cleaning. still has a tight grip on the triple wall.
hope you find yours and it is as easy a fix!

 

[begreen]

Had the same thing happen on our old Selkirk pipe installation and silicone on the seam also fixed the issue.

 

[stoveliker]

Same issue here. Was up on the roof last weekend to put caulk (well, I had a tube of flashmate, made for metal flashing) in the vertical seam.

Will tell after the next three hurricanes whether it worked

 

[begreen]

Same issue here. Was up on the roof last weekend to put caulk (well, I had a tube of flashmate, made for metal flashing) in the vertical seam.

Flashmate is made for ambient temp application, typically gutter systems, and considered flammable. Silicone is much better for chimney pipe which can get hotter than the flashpoint of Flashmate.

 

[stoveliker]

Flashmate is made for ambient temp application, typically gutter systems, and considered flammable. Silicone is much better for chimney pipe which can get hotter than the flashpoint of Flashmate.

yes. I know. But this is an insulated chimney system for an oil boiler chimney, outside. Not a hot wood stove chimney.

But I was planning to keep an eye on it. Silicone here seems to last not very long - it molds and then stops adhering .

 

[stoveliker]

Flashmate is made for ambient temp application, typically gutter systems, and considered flammable. Silicone is much better for chimney pipe which can get hotter than the flashpoint of Flashmate.

Would you advise I take it off nonetheless?

 

[MrCool1]

Would you advise I take it off nonetheless?

I think I still have half a tube left of the high-temp in black - from late this summer -I doubt if I ever use it before it hardens in the tube - I would be happy to send it to you for a safer fix if you want it.

 

[begreen]

yes. I know. But this is an insulated chimney system for an oil boiler chimney, outside. Not a hot wood stove chimney.

But I was planning to keep an eye on it. Silicone here seems to last not very long - it molds and then stops adhering .

It's less of an issue for an oil boiler.

All silicone adhesives are not the same. They have different formulations. I have found GE Silicone II to work very well, with strong adhesive and no issues with mold. It has a 400ºF rating.

 

[stoveliker]

It's less of an issue for an oil boiler.

All silicone adhesives are not the same. They have different formulations. I have found GE Silicone II to work very well, with strong adhesive and no issues with mold. It has a 400ºF rating.

That is the silicone I use for most cases where I use silicone. But I've had it peel off in a couple of years in a few cases (when used on metal - though that was zinc or copper, not stainless. Not sure if that matters.)

I'll keep an eye on it. I am on the roof regularly (neat freak...). Thanks for the advice.

@MrCool1 : Thanks too for your generosity. I will buy a tube if I feel the stuff I used is deteriorating as shipping a single tube across the country is not very efficient. I do appreciate the offer though.

 

[begreen]

There may have been oils on the metal. That can affect the bond. Wipe down with lacquer thinner or alcohol first if there is.

 

[stoveliker]

There may have been oils on the metal. That can affect the bond. Wipe down with lacquer thinner or alcohol first if there is.

I had done that. I think it was oxidation of the metal substrate that caused it to peel off. Meaning somehow water did get at rh interface. Or it started at the edge, pushed the silicone up which let in more water etc