foil tape on L vent

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wingman1776

New Member
Dec 19, 2010
70
central illinois
I have had my stove installed for a couple days. I used UL approved foil tape on all the inside joints. It all seemed ok I had been using wood pellets. My stove is a multi fuel stove I have a bag of corn so I thought I would try some. Well corn makes a lot of smoke when it starts. Every joint I taped leaked where it went over the ridge on the pipe it connected to. I was very surprised I do reg furnace installs all the time and was very care full to make sure I pressed the tape down as good as I could using a tape install tool that I have. I peeled off all the tape I put on and put silicone seal on each joint. I use foil tape a lot to seal air leaks on duct systems and thought it was fine if you are going to use it find a way to do a smoke test. Mine did not leak a lot but i feel any leak is too much.
 
What brand of pipe is it?

For best results with tape. It is recommended to wipe the pipe surface with mineral spirits. Then let dry and apply the tape.
 
sampson dur vent I cleaned each joint but on each piece of tape there was brown line all the way around where the pipes connect and a line right up each seam on the pipe it was connected to. I only saw smoke coming out of one joint on the seam line but i as sure they were all leaking bit or there would not have been brown line on each piece of tape on the seam.
 
I don't use foil tape on anything but pellet vent and even then its long term sealing qualities are lacking. The only reason I use foil tape on pellet vent is that I can cut it easily and take the pipe apart easily. I quit using foil tape on HVAC after learning about brush on mastic and mastic tape which actually seals and stays in place. Foil tape is not worth the effort after using a mastic product.
 
The foil tape is quicker for me to remove and doesn't leave much residue on the cap. In the off season I am going to stove temp silicone the other joints that will be permanent.
 
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