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chimney leaks in rain, why?

paulmars | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on April 24, 2020 07:53pm

All the screws are sealed on the outside with silicone sealant. Also, a bead of silicone on top that support piece that twists around the pipe. Pipes are installed in proper direction, so its not leaking in the pipe assemble joints. Every pipe seam in the garage drips water when it rains.

I cant figure out where it comes in. Id rather not get up there with a hose. It only leaks when there is a lot of rain. Either very hard rain or just a long rain.

Ideas?

pics: https://www.diychatroom.com/f17/chimney-leaks-rain-why-685761/#post6135701

tks,
pa

Reply

Replies

  1. calvin | Apr 24, 2020 10:11pm | #1

    Well, not there and cannot tell but,

    Is this single wall pipe that you snap together (make round)?

    On the angled pc as well as the adjustable elbow, where does the seam end up?

  2. paulmars | Apr 24, 2020 11:55pm | #2

    vertical pieces have vertical seams. Others pieces have seams on bottom (underside).

    1. calvin | Apr 25, 2020 07:36am | #3

      Ok,
      Starting from the bottom. Hose each section of pipe for a few minutes. Check for leaks each section. Don’t blast it with water but flood the area. Take a break between each section so the water has time to work it’s way down.

    2. calvin | Apr 25, 2020 08:26am | #4

      Please post pictures here of the top of the chimney and the thimble at the wall.

  3. User avater
    Plumb13 | Apr 26, 2020 06:11pm | #5

    Holy cow. I just looked at the pictures of your chimney. I'm not surprised it leaks, I'm surprised your house hasn't caught on fire. Please, get someone who knows what they're doing to tear out that mess and do the job right.

    **************

    I'm sorry I wasn't more diplomatic about this yesterday, but it struck a nerve. Back in the '70s, the "back-to-the-land" movement was big in Nashville. People I know went to surrounding counties with lax building codes so they could build their own homes. To make a long story short, improperly installed wood stove chimneys cause fires.

  4. paulmars | May 18, 2020 03:08pm | #6

    i found and fixed the leak.

    why should my house catch fire?

    1. calvin | May 18, 2020 04:09pm | #7

      Don’t hold us in suspense. Where did it leak and how’d you narrow it down? Might help others down the road.

      As to your current question, again I’m not there to see so I can’t advise. I will say that from the pics, there’s a lot of turns and I cannot tell the slope. I would tho make sure to keep a check on creosote buildup often.

  5. paulmars | May 18, 2020 08:50pm | #8

    Im sure the lenghwise vertical seam is too tight to leak, but for some reason I installed the horiz piece with seam on top, so water was just sitting there. A bead of silicone fixed that.

    the slope is well above the min required by the codes. I draft is well within furnace spec.

  6. User avater
    Plumb13 | May 20, 2020 08:12pm | #9

    paulmars: "why should my house catch fire?"

    To be honest, I know very little about wood stoves, but my main concern is creosote build-up. When I saw the pictures of your installation, my alarm bells started ringing - single wall pipe, crooked elbows, angled run, horizontal run, chimney braced with scrap sheet metal - it looks like the slap-dash installations that caused fires in two of my friends houses. Please, get a pro to take a look at this.

  7. paulmars | May 21, 2020 12:14am | #10

    a licensed pro installed this oil furnace in garage with single wall galvanized pipe up and out the roof. He placed the furnace sideways which carrier says dont do. He used too small a return opening. He did not have an opening below barometric dampers to measure the draft. He didnt ck or set the draft then or when he came back the next 2 years for service. Over the years Ive had 4 or 5 different licensed tune up ppl here and none checked the draft or mentioned to me that there is no hole to measure it. Last licensed guy told me that I needed to change my nozzle size and pump pressure based on manufacture specs he got online. Those specs were for a different revision later year model then mine. I even asked carrier and they confirmed what I thought, that I need to use the specs of my revision, not a later one. There is more, but u get the idea. Dont even ask about the roof or the windows I had installed, both years ago. Not anymore.

    The codes would have let me stop the pipe 2' shorter then it is, but doing so resulted in insufficient draft, so more research and I learned that codes dont know it all. I needed 2' more and that got my draft in spec.

    1. User avater
      Plumb13 | May 21, 2020 05:21pm | #11

      OK, sorry, I get it now, it's not a wood stove in a cabin, it's an oil furnace in a garage. The pictures in the link you provided are blurry and I didn't look close enough.

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