probably just stove paint burning off....smoke coming from support box

[dentman4411]

They say overfires happen just when you turn your back and Im no exception....

I decided this morning to go ahead and get a good temp rolling (500 on stovetop 300 on single pipe) and then loaded up the stove and let her simmer for a few minutes... went 20 feet to kitchen to pour a cup o joe came back into foyer and my support box is SMOKING! pipe temps were at 600. I prepared to soil my britches grabbed the fire extinquisher... shut down the damper closed air intake climbed a ladder to inspect the ceiling ... drywall cool to the touch, i slid my fingers behind the drywall and support box temps were ambient. went outside checked the roof...appeared ok. Opened windows and doors to let smoke roll out.

that was about 2 hours ago. house smoke has cleared up, but foyer smells a bit like melted styrofoam. i do have rafter vents installed i wonder if one melted. ive been standing guard until fire dies down and then do a full inspection.

edit : i suppose it was the stove paint burning off both the single black pipe and the support box. the guy who installed it all was a bit of a picasso and used alot of touch up paint to cover the bumps and scratches of the installation. i read somewhere each time you achieve a higher temperature the stove paint will give off a little odor. and since my flue pipe hasnt seen anything north of 300 it was just a matter of time before it cured again.

 

[webby3650]

I would still take a look, but I'd say it was the paint on the pipe. 300 is a pretty cool pipe, 600 is more normal for single wall.
Now, once it hits 900 it should be done curing.

 

[ScotO]

You should be fine, and I think you pinpointed the culprit. But, when you play with fire in your home, you have to be ever skeptical and I would most certainly do a full inspection of the surrounding combustibles, just for piece of mind. Like webby said above, 300 on single wall is nothing......600 is more in the normal range for that. But follow your gut, do the inspection and we expect a full report later when you finish it.

 

[dentman4411]

10-4 thanks fellas. stove is still cooling, down to about 250 now. figure i may as well get the most of the heat that was already there. Will report back with pics later this afternoon. BTW How do i keep my pipe temps at 300 and not over fire the stove? (damper closed in cat mode) im guessing my "comfortable" operating temp of around 500/550 is "cool" for this old VC Defiant.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

The one thing I'd want to check is that you have a cap to prevent stuff from falling inside your ceiling support box. I've seen a few installations where people have neglected to put any cap around the top of the support box, and that opens the possibility for stuff to get inside the box and end up right next to the chimney.

 

[dentman4411]

yea I believe its all there Lumber jack, here's a pic. theres an oversize aluminum sheet with a "corrugated" flange that received the class a pipe, then after that the angled ring sits above the joint

 

[webby3650]

10-4 thanks fellas. stove is still cooling, down to about 250 now. figure i may as well get the most of the heat that was already there. Will report back with pics later this afternoon. BTW How do i keep my pipe temps at 300 and not over fire the stove? (damper closed in cat mode) im guessing my "comfortable" operating temp of around 500/550 is "cool" for this old VC Defiant.

Once the stove is locked down and cruising, don't worry about the pipe temp. When you are starting it up, with the bypass open, the temp can climb pretty high. It's a good thing, just don't let it get out of control.

 

[webby3650]

Lumberjack was referring to a cover for the ceiling support box. It's called an attic insulation shield. It would be in the attic, can you take a look in there?

 

[Lumber-Jack]

yea I believe its all there Lumber jack, here's a pic. theres an oversize aluminum sheet with a "corrugated" flange that received the class a pipe, then after that the angled ring sits above the joint

Does your chimney transition through an open attic space? Or do you have a cathedral ceiling?
It is usually the support boxes in open attic space where I've seen boxes left open. You can see this one has a cap on the top, I've seen some installation that didn't have that cap.

edit: Webby's got it.
Of course if you have a cathedral ceiling you probably won't be able to get in any attic space.

 

[PapaDave]

Wait, 600 on exterior of single wall is WAYYYY too hot.
Or, are we talking internal temp?
When my s/w pipe gets to 400-450 (not too often) things start smelling funky, and mine's already cured.

 

[webby3650]

Wait, 600 on exterior of single wall is WAYYYY too hot.
Or, are we talking internal temp?
When my s/w pipe gets to 400-450 (not too often) things start smelling funky, and mine's already cured.

On the surface? These are normal temps. Not while cruising, but while getting the stove up to temp. Perfectly normal.

 

[dentman4411]

right right thanks guys, cathedral ceiling here so nothing to cover

@papadave and Webby3650 -- I spoke with the install guy today and told him my story... he said not a problem for that triple wall. 900 he suggests theres a problem but 600 during start up is fine. I am still personally concerned about that high a temp passing through my 2x10 ceiling joist but i gues thats what the triple wall is for...thanks for checkin in on me guys. much appreciated.

 

[Bub381]

It's the single wall of your connector that was hot i thought,not the triple wall above.If triple is 600 i'd be cleaning my pants out.

 

[dentman4411]

single wall inside the house - convert to triple wall at the support box and on up to the chimney cap... unless i have my nomenclature backwards...

 

[Bub381]

That's what i mean but triple being 600? Wow!

 

[dentman4411]

nah, 600 at 24" above the stove top magnetic mount to single wall. i think some words got cross fired along the way

 

[rideau]

It bothers me that you are talking about opening windows to let the smoke roll out, and the smoke being cleared 2 hours later...and a burning smell lingering (?styrofoam). I have had a smell from paint curing on my pipe. I have never seen smoke coming from any part of my pipe, certainly not from the support box. I'd be really concerned there was a fire of some sort, and personally would be checking everything out very carefully.

 

[turbocruiser]

It bothers me that you are talking about opening windows to let the smoke roll out, and the smoke being cleared 2 hours later...and a burning smell lingering (?styrofoam). I have had a smell from paint curing on my pipe. I have never seen smoke coming from any part of my pipe, certainly not from the support box. I'd be really concerned there was a fire of some sort, and personally would be checking everything out very carefully.

I'd like to echo these exact thoughts ... I'm sure the excess paint was probably contributing to the smells you smelled but if something was smoking then something was wrong as far as I'm concerned. I'd really recommend inspecting every inch of the system to make totally sure that something didn't start burning or charring somewhere.

 

[dentman4411]

agreed fellas. Im adding a length of pipe outside this week and am gonna inspect everything from the top down. I know the smoke was coming from the surface of the support box. the same way smoke came from the single wall pipe the first day i fired the stove after installation. the styro smell could have been me imagining things but again i agree its gonna get a full inspection.

 

[Bub381]

Same here, no smoke from new pipe or stove and i think it was Begreen that checked his support box after he had it pro installed and found the wood from the hole being cut was in the box.Scarey.

 

[dentman4411]

so before i tear it all down and inspect Im hopin for some confirmation, I have to remove the pipe and storm collar but not the aluminum flashing right? The alum. flashing is kind of bowl shaped, and mildly corugated on the end pointing north... i think i should be able to see inside the support box from the roof looking down. afterwards just put it all back together and use some fresh roofing cement for the storm collar.

 

[webby3650]

If you can get into the attic, check it out from there. If not, then you shouldn't remove the flashing. I'm not sure what you mean by the corrugated end, but the upper end should be tucked under the roofing, not visible. You will need to use silicone, not roofing cement on the storm collar.

 

[dentman4411]

If you can get into the attic, check it out from there. If not, then you shouldn't remove the flashing. I'm not sure what you mean by the corrugated end, but the upper end should be tucked under the roofing, not visible. You will need to use silicone, nor roofing cement on the storm collar.

webby its a cathedral ceiling no attic

 

[turbocruiser]

webby its a cathedral ceiling no attic

Not arguing about your particular place but we have cathedral ceilings and large attic areas; just pointing out the cathedral ceilings and large attic areas can be combined it is just a matter of making the roof trusses that way.

 

[dentman4411]

UPDATE

so the weather broke today so i went up and took everything apart and to my pleasure, i find everything to be functioning properly. I did take several pics and hopefully Begreen who mentioned there may be something in the support box but i found a minute amount of dawdust. (removed the dust)

I did find the installer did a sh*&tty job of hacking together a support box. If anyone can chime in on whether this is cosmetic or something that needs rectified. in a few of the pics, behind the sliver of support box where he cut 2 to make it fit, i see a little black. i do not think its char, its either black paint from the back side of the support box or a little heat from cutting the hole in the roof. its the ONLY place it appears around either joist flanking the support box.