Stainless T discoloration

[clark77]

So I come home from work yesterday and after sitting down to relax, I notice that the T connector doesn't seem as shiny as it was the day before. So I take a better look at it and this it's what i see.



Knowing that it wasn't like this before, I checked my high temp indicator I made on the thermometer and it was just over 600. I asked my wife if anything happened and she said that the stove got to just over 600, stayed there for a while and slowly went down. Over 700 is over firing for my stove. So I know the stove didn't over fire, I didn't know why this was discolored so much. After some good advice from a member here, I checked and saw that the pipe was angled down instead of level or just above. It was explained to me that the gasses lingered to much in there causing it to over heat. I know when I installed it, the pipe was just above level. So I pushed the pipe up to where it's supposed to be but it wouldn't stay there. Since I am still burning, I cut a piece of aluminum and placed it under the clean out to hold it in its proper position.
I guess due to the kids and dogs playing and rough housing in the room, it made the connector not level anymore.
So a couple questions...
Is the T connector still good to use or is the integrity of it compromised?
How do I get the T connector to stay at the proper angle since gravity is against it?
Am I able to leave the piece of aluminum there to hold things in place or is that not to code?
Thanks for your feedback.

 

[BrotherBart]

It is fine. Mine looks that way all the way from the elbow to the top of the liner after nine burning seasons.

Heat happens.

 

[chimneylinerjames]

That was not discolored because it had a slight downward pitch. It would change no matter what angle it was at, its what happens when stainless gets hot. The tee is fine, it didn't loose any strength.

If it keeps dropping down, go ahead stick a piece of metal under the tee if you want, it wont hurt anything.

 

[Nick Mystic]

When I installed my SS flex liner with a set up similar to yours I noticed my T-connector angling down a bit instead of level or a bit of a rise, so I went back up on the roof and loosened the connector on top and pulled the liner up another couple of inches to remove the slack and put the weight on the top connection rather than have the T-connector have to carry the load. This also straightened the liner up better inside my clay tile flue making sure the liner wasn't touching it anywhere. I have a centrally located chimney, so I didn't insulate my liner. If your liner is insulated it's not as important to keep it from touching your flue tiles.

 

[clark77]

My liner is not insulated due to me having a interior chimney. I will probably cut another inch off the bottom of my liner when the weather gets a little warmer. So for now, the piece of aluminum will stay holding it up.
Looks like we have another below zero night tonight. This has been by far the coldest winter or at least the longest cold snap I can remember. We hardly ever had below zero nights but the last few weeks, it's been the norm. I know my regency would be struggling if it was still burning but the f55 is holding it's own. I did bump the thermostats up a degree or two just so I don't have a frozen pipe. Just not worth it in my opinion. Better safe than sorry.
Thanks for the feedback about the discoloration. Is there a point where the stainless will start to go down hill? And if so, what are the indicators to look for.

 

[NinjaTech]

Stainless get an oxide layer on it when it's heated, you can actually tell the temperature by the colour. Based on the purple you were about 550. If you Google stainless colour chart and look at the images you can compare yourself.

 

[clark77]

To me, 550 isn't a high number at all. I was just concerned that my wife over fired the stove. So now I'm glad she didn't.

 

[bholler]

Being blue or purple is defiantly a sign that it was over fired. Actually a few manufacturers recommend replacement if the pipe is purple.

 

[clark77]

Being blue or purple is defiantly a sign that it was over fired. Actually a few manufacturers recommend replacement if the pipe is purple.

any idea if forever flex is one of those manufactures? once again, I know the stove was not overfired, I can only think of two reasons. one, the horizontal section of the tee was no longer level or slightly slanted uphill but was now slanted downhill out of the back of the stove. two, the stove temp never exceeded 650 degrees but maybe flames made their way up and into the top of the stove and into the tee connector. I don't know what else could have caused it. I would hate to think that if I get the stove to 650, its going to make the connector over fire. 700 is still an optimum temp as per jotul to burn.

 

[bholler]

Yes olympia is one of them Just because the stove was not over fired does not mean that the pipe was not over heated. I am not there to see it and i was not there to see it being run but i know that the only time i have seen blue or purple is from a chimney fire

 

[BrotherBart]

Was the stove burning when you took that pic in the OP?

 

[clark77]

Yes it was. Stove has been burning since last Saturday. I don't remember the temp when I took the pic but some where in the 300-400 range.
If there was a chimney fire, wouldn't it be blue/purple all the way up the vertical section?
I really think that the horizontal section being slanted down has something to do with it.

 

[BrotherBart]

I can't understand why in that pic the tee and snout are discolored but the liner appears to not be discolored.

 

[bholler]

I can't understand why in that pic the tee and snout are discolored but the liner appears to not be discolored.

I agree totally it is very odd not sure how that would happen

 

[clark77]

Here's the other side.

 

[bholler]

It is very odd the liner does not even look like it is browned at all Has a pro looked at it at all?

 

[clark77]

No one had looked at it. Just the hearth.com pros

 

[fire_man]

I agree totally it is very odd not sure how that would happen

I can tell you how it happened on my Palladian "T" which looks about the same as the OP's. It was a brand new T and my wife was firing it up with the bypass open (flue gas going straight up the back of the stove and into the T). The stove top never got above 250F but flames were raging in the T. It only took less than 10 minutes but now the T is purple. She just was not used to the quick heating of the T compared with the Progress.

The Progress has been burning for 3"+ seasons and you can still read the writing on some of the paper stickers on the T. The difference is that the flame path through the stove has a long way to go even with the bypass open, so the T never gets really hot, even though the stove top has hit 600F.

 

[clark77]

That would make sense. still seems far for the flames to reach the tee though.
Did you replace your tee or keep running it?

 

[Dune]

Being blue or purple is defiantly a sign that it was over fired. Actually a few manufacturers recommend replacement if the pipe is purple.

That is wrong IMHO. What do these manufacturers claim will happen?
As pointed out, polished stainless turns purple at under 600

 

[Dune]

I can't understand why in that pic the tee and snout are discolored but the liner appears to not be discolored.

I can. The flame didn't reach those parts. You can see the difference in the light straw, the dark straw the purple and the blue.

 

[fire_man]

That would make sense. still seems far for the flames to reach the tee though.
Did you replace your tee or keep running it?

I did not replace my T. I am sure some manufacturers would love for me to replace my T after running it hot for 5-10 minutes.

It's not far at all in the Palladian or Keystone or Fireview for the flames to reach the T. Flames get sucked right up the opening in the back and straight to the T.l I have a really good draft in the Palladian so for now on I will be more careful.

 

[clark77]

I did not replace my T. I am sure some manufacturers would love for me to replace my T after running it hot for 5-10 minutes.
It's not far at all in the Palladian or Keystone or Fireview for the flames to reach the T. Flames get sucked right up the opening in the back and straight to the T.l I have a really good draft in the Palladian so for now on I will be more careful.

Can you post as pic of your T? How long have you been running it like that?

 

[bholler]

What do these manufacturers claim will happen?

It seriously reduces the corrosion resistance of the metal If it is just the tee that is not a big deal really but if it is the liner to it can be a problem.

 

[fire_man]

I've been running it for 2 months or so now. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow.

I thought those liners were rated to survive a minor chimney fire or 2 which would be much hotter.