Anyone got ideas/experience for a lubricant to help stovepipe go together ? Specifically, I remove the connector (single-wall pipe between my stove and the double-wall chimney) when I clean the chimney. It's a slip-on fit (the top piece of connector fits over an adapter an the bottom of the chimney) and it takes some pretty tough rotating and pulling to get it off. I'd like it to go back on more gracefully, especially as it makes me nervous to be putting so much stress on the adapter.
It seems like any kind of petroleoum product (grease, vaseline) is going to smoke pretty badly first time I build a fire (though maybe no worse than after touch-up painting). There's WD40, which lubricates fairly well before the solvent evaporates, and maybe there's not much left behind to smoke at that point. Soap maybe ? Or perhaps heating up the outer pipe (top of connector) beforehand, with torch or boiling water ? I can't beat on it, as the connector comes off in one piece with a couple elbows, so nothing to hit really.
It seems like any kind of petroleoum product (grease, vaseline) is going to smoke pretty badly first time I build a fire (though maybe no worse than after touch-up painting). There's WD40, which lubricates fairly well before the solvent evaporates, and maybe there's not much left behind to smoke at that point. Soap maybe ? Or perhaps heating up the outer pipe (top of connector) beforehand, with torch or boiling water ? I can't beat on it, as the connector comes off in one piece with a couple elbows, so nothing to hit really.