Moisture...

[Pagey]

So last night we had a long, torrential downpour in Middle Tennessee. It literally nearly filled my wheelbarrow it rained so much. When I got up this morning, there was water in the right corner of my ceiling support box dripping onto the stove. I checked upstairs (still don't have all this boxed in yet, shoot me later), and there was a little moisture in the bottom of the support box where the Class A joins the double wall stove pipe. Not much, but just enough to run down to that corner and drip. There also appears to have been some moisture around the collar on the stove, as you'll see. There was no visible moisture on the exterior of the Class A, and there was no moisture evident on the ceiling. It's as if the rain was so intense it just got some past the rain cap. Oh, and there were still a few coals left, and it did not appear that any moisture leaked past the bypass damper and into the fire box itself. Considering the fact that we had enough rain to fill a wheelbarrow nearly to the top, this was a small amount of moisture, but it does concern me.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Support box:

Stove top 1:

Stove top 2:

Upstairs Class A for reference:

There was no evidence of any leaks on the ceiling:

 

[Jags]

EEEEEkkk! Get that cleaned up off of your stove asap. Sounds like driving rain made it where it ain't supposed to be. Have you ever noticed any moisture before?? If not, you may want to chalk it up as a fluke, but if this becomes a habit of your pipe, I would really look into it.

 

[Pagey]

We've had rains before, and this was not an issue then. But last night I know we got over 3" and we had 15-25mph winds all day and some during the night as well. That's why I'm thinking/hoping this was just a one-off event relating to the downpour.

But, I wanted to post here to get more thoughts and opinions, as you guys have been at this far longer than me.

 

[Jags]

Sounds like this may be one of those "exceptions"

 

[Pagey]

Let's hope so. I've sent the same pics to the dealer/installer, so I hope to hear something from them soon, too.

 

[Pagey]

I did some more checking after work tonight, and I can see where the water ran down the back side of the Class A in the second floor of the house. I haven't been on the roof or in the attic yet, but it may very well be that there is a small leak around the storm collar that let this trickle down. If it were a large leak, with the amount of rainfall we had last night, we would have been swimming this morning. Another thought is that the gutters (full of leaves, I'm sure) overflowed and allowed water to run in behind the soffit. It could have found its way down the Class A that way, possibly. In any event, I should be up on the roof this weekend, and I'll know more then.

 

[Nic36]

It doesn't sound like this is your problem since you have found water on the outside of your pipe. But, I had a problem with water getting inside the Class A chimney by wicking in at the seams during a rain. The water would wick in and make it's way down to the stove pipe adapter where it would drip out. A few others have had that problem too. It seems everyone with that problem was using Supervent brand chimney. I caulked the seams on the outside pipe and have had no more leaks since. I was worried, because I was in bed last night listening to the same storm come through. We got LOTS or rain, so it's no surprise that water found its way in somwehere.

 

[snowtime]

Looks to me your 4th pic shows a section that should be boxed in. It is required and goes to safety.

 

[jeffee]

I had an experience quite similar to you. The installer came out and did more caulking around the storm collar, and it hasn't happened since. This was nearly a year ago, I'd guess less than a month after my new installation.

Hope this helps.

 

[Pagey]

Looks to me your 4th pic shows a section that should be boxed in. It is required and goes to safety.

You are correct. I've simply not gotten around to picking up the materials and setting up a time for my father-in-law to do so. It is on the agenda soon. More and more rain today, so I suspect I'll come home from work to find more water. :-/

 

[Pagey]

Bah, went home at lunch to find more water. It looks like the water is running down the vertical seam in one of the last runs of Class A. Without access to the roof, I'm going to guess that I've got water coming in around the storm collar, following that seam which is going to be the path of least resistance. Wish I had the day off and access to the necessary equipment.

 

[Pagey]

Update: the installers came out yesterday morning and did some more caulking. I also had them install the roof brace kit for my SS. The manufacturer calls for it at 5', but I have 4.5' out the roof AND we live in a very windy area. I figured better safe than sorry, right? And today, as luck would have it, we have 20-30mph winds, so I feel confident it was the right call to make. The additional sealant will be tested tomorrow, as we're expecting yet MORE rain - for the next five days, in fact. I hope my leak is fixed, but I won't know until some time tomorrow. But rest assured I'll be here to bit** and moan if it's not!