Stove pipe chalking and peeling

[pm01]

This is our first season with a new Jotul Oslo stove. The dealer installed the stove and ran single-walled 6" pipe to a thimble in our masonry chimney. The pipe is short, with a single elbow. The length of the pipe is approximately 15" vertical up from the stove, into the 90-degree elbow, then about 36" horizontal to the back of the thimble inside the chimney.

The dealer caulked the pipe where it meets the stove, and he sprayed flat black paint over the pipe and caulking. Since the install, the paint has become powdery and chalky and wipes off when touched. The caulking is peeling and flaking out of the joint and falling away.

The dealer says this is normal and needs to be touched up annually. The dealer also says that the caulking isn't necessary, and that stovepipe leaks are okay. If I hold a lit match where the pipe exits the stove or where the pipe enters the thimble, the draft leakage will almost suck the flame off of the match.

I have a magnetic thermometer on the stove top, right where the manual says to place it. The temperature shown has never exceeded 600 degrees. The Oslo manual says 400 - 600 degrees is the desired operating temperature for the stove. Our standard burn is around 500 to 550 degrees.

Are the the chalking paint and peeling caulking normal, and are the draft leaks okay -- as our dealer says? Thanks for your input.

 

[ikessky]

I would seal the joints in the stove pipe. When I put all my pieces together, I smeared furnace cement from a tube (smooth stuff) on the crimped end along with some coarse stuff from a tub. Then after I got them all together and installed, I smeared even more of it on the joints. My method is probably overkill though.

The paint chalking really depends on what they used. The standard finish on black stove pipe normally becomes chalky over time. I've never worried about mine, but then again, I have a wood furnace that is hidden from view.

 

[DAKSY]

Hey, pm01

This is our first season with a new Jotul Oslo stove. The dealer installed the stove and ran single-walled 6" pipe to a thimble in our masonry chimney. The pipe is short, with a single elbow. The length of the pipe is approximately 15" vertical up from the stove, into the 90-degree elbow, then about 36" horizontal to the back of the thimble inside the chimney.
The dealer caulked the pipe where it meets the stove, and he sprayed flat black paint over the pipe and caulking. Since the install, the paint has become powdery and chalky and wipes off when touched. The caulking is peeling and flaking out of the joint and falling away.
The dealer says this is normal and needs to be touched up annually. The dealer also says that the caulking isn't necessary, and that stovepipe leaks are okay. If I hold a lit match where the pipe exits the stove or where the pipe enters the thimble, the draft leakage will almost suck the flame off of the match.
I have a magnetic thermometer on the stove top, right where the manual says to place it. The temperature shown has never exceeded 600 degrees. The Oslo manual says 400 - 600 degrees is the desired operating temperature for the stove. Our standard burn is around 500 to 550 degrees.
Are the the chalking paint and peeling caulking normal, and are the draft leaks okay -- as our dealer says?

Some "chalking" of the paint is reasonable, but I'd question the caulking failure...
Hi-temp RTV should last a while longer than yours did, but maybe it failed because the paint underneath it lost its adhesion as it began to "chalk..."
Try getting the highest rated Black RTV you can find & use some StoveBrite paint on the connector to see if it lasts...
As far as the "leaky" connections go, if your Oslo drafts correctly & you don't have trouble getting a fire started when the stove is cold,
the connections are a non-issue (IMHO)