Help a newbie, please

[gadgetnut]

Hello, everyone. I'm new here and completely new to wood stoves-- I've never used one before. I did read this site's FAQ's before posting.

I inherited a wood stove in a rental cabin I purchased. I imagine the stove is twenty years old or so. I paid a chimney sweep to clean the chimney two years ago and I bought a chimney brush and swept the chimney again this summer. I have a new tenant in there who is having some issues. During a very light rain, mostly fog and mist, he complained of some water dripping down the outside of the stove pipe onto the stove top. We just re-roofed this summer and the boot and gaps and everything looks watertight from above. During the light mist we climbed up on the roof. The top hat above the chimney is in excellent condition. We removed the top hat off the chimney top on the roof and the interior of the stove pipe up there was definitely slightly wet/damp. Could this be condensation from wet moist air? Does a little water sometimes run down on the outside of the stove pipe in the house?

The tenant is also complaining that some soot is falling down the stove pipe onto the top of the stove. So I have some gaps in the stove pipe that a small amount of soot is escaping from. Is a little soot normal? These issues are not life threatening, or are they??!! Should I tell him to chill or what do I need to do?

Also if you inherited a 20 year old wood stove, are there other things I should check or maintenance work I should perform beside chimney cleaning? Thank you for helping the newbie today. I tried to post some photos below, not sure if this board will allow me to link or add attachments. Thanks.

 

[titan]

Check the seal betwee the storm collar and chimney
oof flange.....may need to be re-siliconed.

 

[gadgetnut]

Thank you... here we go, complete ignorance here, could you steer me towards or describe the juncture you just described? The pipe above the roof, insulated I guess, is larger than the stove pipe inside the house... and water is dripping down the outside of the pipe inside the house. All I see outside, above on the roof, is a 12" wide stainless steel pipe section exiting the roof. At about 12 inches above the roof this pipe is separatable and we lifted the top section off to clean and look inside. Thanks.

 

[COAL STOVE]

After viewing your pictures and reading the description of your problem. I believe it is going to be a easy fix. It looks like the crimped ends of the stovepipe are facing the wrong way. The crimped ends should always be facing toward the stove flue collar. That way, any condensation will drip inside the stovepipe, into the stove and not on the outside of the stovepipe, on top of the stove.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

how is the pipe from the stove installed? is it "male end up" or down? if its male end up its backwards and the liquid flowing down the pipe could leak out at a seam and run down the outside of the pipe onto the stove. if male end down this cannot happen. being as the stove was there when you got there you do not know who did the install , it could very well have been done backwards.

if you are still fighting and want a solution ,should you not fine one , have a WETT or NFI certified chimney professional inspect the hookup. he should be able to find the issue and advise the best way to fix it.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

After viewing your pictures and reading the description of your problem. I believe it is going to be a easy fix. It looks like the crimped ends of the stovepipe are facing the wrong way. The crimped ends should always be facing toward the stove flue collar. That way, any condensation will drip inside the stovepipe, into the stove and not on the outside of the stovepipe, on top of the stove.

good call, great minds i guess. or i just type too slow lol.

 

[gadgetnut]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like the stack of stove pipes from the stove top upwards to the drywall ceiling may have been stacked upside down. I will have to examine the installation closely to determine if this is the case. Given that situation, how do I separate this tightly stacked section of parts?? Just lift and finesse them loose? Will all these same parts accept being inverted and restacked on the stove or do I need any additional parts or gender benders? I would like to resolve this myself if possible. Thanks again!

 

[learnin to burn]

I hope this isn't the case but if the pipe from the stove to the ceiling is upside down, more than likely the the ceiling box as well as the class A pipe through the roof is too. Then you are talking about redoing the ceiling and roof, not just the pipes.

 

[gadgetnut]

Okay.... question: my prior tenant had used this stove for two years as is and never mentioned these problems (some soot fallout, some water drippage on the stove)-- this installation is twenty years old, exactly as it is now-- can I safely ask this tenant to disregard these issues and continue to use the stove as is?

 

[learnin to burn]

Soot falling from the pipe on the stove is not normal. Water dripping down the pipe and on the stove is not normal. As for is it life threatening - it's possible

If it were me in this situation, knowing there were no problems before this new tenant arrived, I would tell them not to use it until I was able to repair the issues. If soot is falling on the stove and the pipe is 20 years old it is possible the pipe is failing. If the pipe is failing then the possibility of a fire or a CO leak is there. After looking at the pictures a few times now i think you have double wall stove pipe. To me it looks like there is a stove adapter on the stove and an adapter at the ceiling. If it is double walled then the interior of the pipe could have rusted through and you wouldn't know it because the outer pipe looks to be in good shape.

Looks like the top section of pipe has a slip joint. You should be able to unscrew it and slide it down to remove the interior pipe.

 

[begreen]

Nice shakes on that cabin!

I have a couple concerns outside of the posted questions. It looks like an older Country stove, choked down from factory 8" to 6". What is the make and model of the stove (check for plate on back of the stove)? It appears to be pretty close to the back wall. That's ok for a select group of stoves, but for safety sake it should be confirmed ok for this particular stove model. Also, what is the distance from the flue pipe to the rear wall?

 

[gadgetnut]

Truly appreciate your help, thank you. Having more information helps me evaluate this situation and the proposed remedy from a local dealer. I asked the tenant to stop using the stove and I am having the stove & pipe evaluated by a local certified dealer next week. Given the age of the stove and the proximity to the rear wall, I'm imagining a new installation will be his suggestion. I will post back here with that dealer's assessment and remedy. Thanks again, you Hearth guys are great!

 

[gadgetnut]

@BeGreen... thanks, the cabin does have AMAZING cedar shakes! It has received very little care or maintenance and we cleaned and stained the exterior this summer-- but even with very little or no care the siding is in flawless condition. You are correct, it is a Country brand stove. We found the manufacturer's plate on the back and unfortunately all of the numbers are illegible, model, serial numbers etc., so I'm uncertain if it is a low clearance model or not. I do know it has been there and been used heavily for twenty years with no apparent issues. But we'll see what the dealer says next week. Thanks guys.

 

[keydiver]

I would recomend a new stove. Then go over proper operation with every new tenet. if its a rental maybe even consider a natural gas stove. My former landlords had a small cabin next to the house we rented and they upgraded the cabin wood stove to a natural gas.

 

[gadgetnut]

I was told the pipe chimney, depending on the environment, might have a 20 to 25 year service life. Is this also true of the wood stove itself? Are there reasons to replace a 25 year old wood stove? Thanks.

 

[chumscrubber]

I think you should find someone qualified nearby to take a look at the whole system. Since the tenant has complained about these issues, they are a liability to you, and you need to make a best faith effort to address them. Just my 2 cents, I'd hate to see you the victim of a frivolous lawsuit.

 

[gadgetnut]

Hello everyone. The dealer said my existing installation is not reasonable and recommends I not use it. He said the uninsulated stove pipe in the house is way too close to the drywall. He cannot read the model number on the existing wood stove either but he does not believe it is a low clearance model. The back of the existing stove is 10" to the drywall. As you all noted, the six inch pipe inside the house transitions to the larger pipe just below the ceiling... it's not installed to cascade from top to bottom, it's almost like it's installed upside down-- it's loose and there's a visible open gap-- that's where the soot and water is coming in.

He proposes an entirely new installation: a new Lopi 1250 black stove with standard legs (low clearance model), an outside air barometric damper, class A pipe outside, double wall interior 6" pipe with elbow. Certified, permitted installation. 10% sale price off retail on the Lopi stove.

He said I could possibly keep the old stove but I don't have neither enough space nor enough tile on the floor to push that stove out 3' feet; he said I could put a couple heat shields on the drywall to reduce the allowable clearance to 18"... but not sure I want to do all that on what he estimated is a 23 year old stove.

Thoughts, please? Thanks.

 

[learnin to burn]

If you can swing it I would go with the new install.

 

[Pagey]

That definitely sounds like a safer and more efficient installation. If you go with a Lopi, I don't think you'll be disappointed. We've certainly enjoyed ours, and it is a quality stove.

 

[gadgetnut]

Okay; thanks; never heard of Lopi before. Not thrilled to replace all this but it looks like the way to go. If I had realized, I might have done this work earlier this summer before I re-roofed and while I was remodeling. Now I'm line with everyone else needing a new stove at the start of the heating season!! As I said, Lopi is offering 10% off and the dealer did mention the availability of some tax credits I can apply for.

 

[Pagey]

Lopi is a brand manufactured by Travis Industries (they also make Avalon). They are a quality, reputable manufacturer. http://www.lopistoves.com/