Help!! we came home to a serious problem!

[Johnpolk]

We left Sunday morning for a two day family trip. Came home tonight (monday) and was excited to start the fire back up and immediately noticed a large water mark rusty circle on top of the stove. Turns out the the thimble around the stovepipe had water dripping from it. Sorry if terminology is wrong. Never had this happen before. Is it from the warm house air meeting cold outside air there? I'm assuming the space in that box is uninsulated. Is there a way to insulate it? We've never had this happen before but we do burn almost 24/7 so maybe this is the first time it's had a chance to happen. Just doesn't seem right. What if we decided to only burn casually? It would condense all the time then. I'm hoping you guys have ideas or suggestions before I call the installer. The black box around the stove pipe that I called the thimble was ice cold to the touch before I started a fire

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Check the storm collar for leaks. You probably had rain or lots of snow melt when you were gone. I just tried to seal a leak with 3M aluminum tape, but that was only a month or so ago so I can't tell you if it will last. Other solutions are high temp caulk.

 

[Johnpolk]

I don't suspect the storm collar. The chimney has a chase around it so that should be keeping the water away. It was warm for two days and we had some melting but now that we're having this Problem it's below 0 temps.

 

[fossil]

Relax, fire the stove back up, nothing to panic about, stay warm, keep an eye on it.

 

[Johnpolk]

This is our second season and it's the first time it's happened but there was a lot of moisture hanging off of the bottom of that cathedral support box. Doesn't seem right

 

[fossil]

It's not right. It's something that needs to be addressed and fixed. But it's not something that's going to kill you while you figure out what's going on.

 

[Johnpolk]

It's not right. It's something that needs to be addressed and fixed. But it's not something that's going to kill you while you figure out what's going on.

I agree to that. Just trying to figure out if that support box should have some sort of insulation in it so I'm educated before I call the installer

 

[BrotherBart]

See what the installer says and if it makes sense. Don't volunteer ideas about condensation. Just tell he/she/it what is happening and let them figure it out.

 

[Hogwildz]

Chase or no chase, if it aint sealed properly, could be the culprit.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

I'd check storm collar. Also is there flashing etc. around the chase? The water has to be coming from somewhere. Might be worth having a good roofer look at it.

 

[pyroholic]

Mine gets in through the cap with the right conditions, comes down in between the triple wall, then out the ceiling box. Only a couple times a year. I think it's the cap design on mine.

 

[cc rangeley]

We left Sunday morning for a two day family trip. Came home tonight (monday) and was excited to start the fire back up and immediately noticed a large water mark rusty circle on top of the stove. Turns out the the thimble around the stovepipe had water dripping from it. Sorry if terminology is wrong. Never had this happen before. Is it from the warm house air meeting cold outside air there? I'm assuming the space in that box is uninsulated. Is there a way to insulate it? We've never had this happen before but we do burn almost 24/7 so maybe this is the first time it's had a chance to happen. Just doesn't seem right. What if we decided to only burn casually? It would condense all the time then. I'm hoping you guys have ideas or suggestions before I call the installer. The black box around the stove pipe that I called the thimble was ice cold to the touch before I started a fireView attachment 122238View attachment 122239

Are you sure the water stain isn't from a leak? We had high winds and heavy rain on Sunday PM, and I had a drip coming out of the box at the ceiling.

 

[SKIN052]

I have the same happen in my shed from excessive rain, by design on most systems it is not 100% water tight. Nothing to worry about in my opinion unless it happens often, more than a couple times a year. Fire it up and everything will dry out.

 

[Fireshoppe]

First, sorry you are having trouble. Second. you may not insulate inside that ceiling support.

So let's figure this out. Can you access the chimney from inside an attic space? If yes then an inspection with a good light is in order. If not then let's use process of elimination. If condensation is expected, where is the water vapor coming from? i.e. a sub zero temp system will typically have low humidity accompanying it. Check the weather history, what has the humidity been? If under %50 I would not suspect condensation from outside air. So is there a moisture source from inside your home, i.e a vent-less gas heater? Or a high efficiency gas furnace that may vented improperly or very close to the chimney? If no moisture source can be surmised I would then suspect a leak that will need to be inspected and handled by a roofer.

In any case your chimney looks like a DuraTech system. Ask your installer if there is an attic insulation shield in place. This part allows insulation to encompass the shield while insuring the required 2" air space clearance around the pipe. This is the best insulation available for this system.


A chimney is a conduit to the outside which allows smoke and gasses to be vented out of the dwelling and providing draft for the stove to function. Conversely, without heat inside the pipe that conduit also allows cold air to fall chilling the pipe itself and causing a cold spot similar to a single pane sheet of glass. That is the trade off so a fire in the stove is the best defense for this.

 

[Johnpolk]

I'll keep looking into it. Thanks for bouncing ideas around. I'm not thinking it's moisture leaking in from outside because it's been below zero lately.