Drolet Tundra main pipe rust holes

[Matt78]

Just cleaned our Tundra I and this is what our center HX/exhaust pipe looks like. No holes, but some pitting and rusting. It's looked like this since the first burn season after we got it in 2014.

Good to hear! Mine is paper thin where the rust is. If I poke it with a screw driver it probably wouldn't take much to put holes in it.

I was able to find SS 6" x 3" band clamp at Napa that I think will work perfect! I believe this Might best be last year for my furnace. Or I'm going to cut the back half of the pipe off. Maybe even the whole pipe. And replace it with SS. See what Drolet says first though

 

[Matt78]

Not sure how long these are...but they are sure cheap, especially for stainless!
Amazon product ASIN B07BJYG2H4

Yelp I've also got cracks on the front in about 3 places!!

 

[sloeffle]

This isn't what I wanted to hear. My Caddy is about 10 years old and this is the setup I have. From looking at the picture though, I could of swore the exhaust pipe on my furnace is a lot thicker though. I want to say it's 3/16 to maybe 1/4 thick.

I have to eat crow on this one. Did a through cleaning of my stove last week when the temps were pretty warm. The center heat exchanger tube on my furnace is around 1/16th of an inch thick. After 10 years of having the furnace I don't have any rusting though. I don't run the furnace full time so that's probably why I haven't seen it yet. I wonder if the kind of wood ( more acidic ) you burn makes a difference too. 90% of what I burn is ash due to EAB.

 

[maple1]

Different woods can definitely be more acidic. Some boilers have warnings in their manuals for it. I think oak?

 

[laynes69]

I do have a dungeon for a basement that's damp. However, there's zero corrosion on the hot side of the exchanger. Mine was only where the large tube passed from the hot to cold side. Since I removed the bad area and replaced with stainless I won't have any more issues.

 

[sloeffle]

Different woods can definitely be more acidic. Some boilers have warnings in their manuals for it. I think oak?

Yep, I have heard the same.

 

[sloeffle]

I do have a dungeon for a basement that's damp. However, there's zero corrosion on the hot side of the exchanger. Mine was only where the large tube passed from the hot to cold side. Since I removed the bad area and replaced with stainless I won't have any more issues.

I'm definitely going to do a semi-yearly check on mine. I bet you that is why PSG stopped making the design that you and I have. It looks like the return air for all of their new furnaces comes in from side and not over the center heat exchanger tube.

 

[Matt78]

I have to eat crow on this one. Did a through cleaning of my stove last week when the temps were pretty warm. The center heat exchanger tube on my furnace is around 1/16th of an inch thick. After 10 years of having the furnace I don't have any rusting though. I don't run the furnace full time so that's probably why I haven't seen it yet. I wonder if the kind of wood ( more acidic ) you burn makes a difference too. 90% of what I burn is ash due to EAB.

Pretty much all I burn is ash, for the same reasons. I believe it was from creosote setting there. That I didn't really see. It was the only place it was really rusty. I learned my lesson to clean it better in the spring and not the fall.