Question about safety items on my Quad Mt. Vernon

[PelletGirl]

Unfortunately, he is the only Quad dealer in my area that sells the pellet stoves. Lucky for me, my husband is mechanically inclined and can do most of this himself. I will try to take a photo of the cement. It says it's for fireplaces, etc but I don't think it's what they should have been using.

The auger does stop when the hopper is opened.

 

[DMKNLD]

I am beginning to think you need to find a good dealer, as the one you have seem less than perfect, to be kind about it. No installer of their own, and a rigged hopper switch? Not good...
.

I concur, Wilbur. Though we would all hope in the retail and customer service world that 'everybody is doing their best, as they have it figured out', clearly some stove shop dealers and install techs have it figured out better than others. Like you, I would put PelletGirls' installer in the latter category. For essentially a new stove, and the top $$$ that Quads go for, she and her hubby deserved allot better service, IMHO.

Makes me appreciate ever more my local Quad dealer, Don and Teresa Oaks of Don's Stove Shop in Livermore Maine, who I don't believe the prior home owners that we inherited our stove from even purchased it from, but who still supports me in the tinkering and parts maintenance of my vintage Castile. They have always been there willing to answer a question or do parts support, ie swapping out a control board for his floor model box, took a part back that didn't fix my problem after trying it in my stove, helped me with pellet source recommendations, etc.

Even just the 'little things' of attention to customer service they do - I probably step in their shop or call them once or twice year to buy something I need, but they remember me by name and recognize my geeky voice on the phone. So I'll certainly buy my next pellet stove from them and support them in parts purchases when ever I can.

So, between great local Quad dealer support and my most excellent pellet supplier, Steve Barker and his family run business at SIB wood pellet warehouse, I especially count my 'pellet blessings' after I read horror stories on this forum about abysmal customer service and discreditable retail product support. Disclaimer here - no proprietary financial relationship to either Don or Steve's retail operations - just a satisfied customer.

PelletGirl, keep the faith, sista ! *Hopefully* you are through the worst of your stove purchase 'odyssey' !

 

[kappel15]

Aside from warranty issues(which you can be guided on, on here), there is lots of help on this forum that can steer you thru any issue you may have. Stay warm. kap

 

[PelletGirl]

As requested, here is a photo of the cement they used on the stove when I asked them to re-silicone it. It was put on the outside of the vent pipes. Don't know that it's totally inappropriate, but I don't think it will solve our issue as it's not exactly what is needed. It did help though - just didn't fix it.

 

[DMKNLD]

As requested, here is a photo of the cement they used on the stove when I asked them to re-silicone it. It was put on the outside of the vent pipes. Don't know that it's totally inappropriate, but I don't think it will solve our issue as it's not exactly what is needed. It did help though - just didn't fix it.

I use the Rutland cement on my Vermont Castings wood stove to cement the rope gaskets to the stove door and firebox mating surfaces. It's a major PITA to chip out the old Rutland cement when I replace the gaskets, which gets very brittle with age and heat, nor is it meant to function as an airtight sealant, I don't believe.

The product description says it is 'suitable for sealing small cracks and pinholes in cast iron', but not sure how well that will work with the galvanized steel that outer pipe PL venting is made of.

Rutland does make a high temp 600 F RTV silicone that I've heard works well on pellet vent sealing. (broken link removed to https://rutland.com/p/4/600-degree-f-rtv-high-heat-silicone-sealant)

I'm guessing your install guy didn't have any of that in - house, and / or didn't want to take the time or effort to find it.

 

[PelletGirl]

Once they left (and left us the leftovers) we looked at the tube and didn't think it was the right stuff.

Thanks for the link - we've been having trouble finding it around here so we may have to order online.

 

[kappel15]

I use Rutlands clear silicone caulk rated for 500* I have yet to replace any on my pipes.

 

[PelletGirl]

I will recommend that one to my husband.

Can this be used inside to seal the joints as well as on the outside?

 

[kappel15]

Yes, it is rated for well below freezing also

 

[PelletGirl]

And the 500 degree is enough - don't need the 600? And you can use it to seal inside pipes as well as on the outside of pipes?

Sounds like what we need!

 

[DMKNLD]

Some folks say the stove connection to the first section of pipe, which has the hottest flue temps of the venting system, may be worth going with the 600 F rating. But I believe the 500 F is probably fine. Your stove's snap discs and high temp limit switches are designed specifically to shut down the pellet feed system if you get an over-fire in your stove, which should keep your vent from getting so hot that it started to compromise the silicone sealant integrity of your venting,

Yes, you can use it on the inside or outside of the vent, Taking them apart if you have to at a later date can be a challenge with both interior and exterior seals, (though it's less likely to leak smoke), so that's why allot of folks go with the silicone liquid sealant on the inside and silicone tape on the outside, which is easier to take apart if you need to, and for some, more aesthetically pleasing if you have allot of visible interior vent piping.

If you plan to to take your venting apart to DIY reseal it, since you have already had your vent silicone sealed, you may need to get a couple of strap wrenches to take them apart. Although your vent is new enough and hasn't been heat cured for an extended period yet, so it may come apart easier perhaps.

Removing all the old cured sealant and prep-ing the area with isopropyl alcohol or acetone is important to get the optimum bond, as new silicone won't stick to old silicone, despite what some sealant companies products claim.

If it were mine, I'd leave the vent together as is, remove all the exterior silicone the install guy gooped on, clean all vent junctions and metal to metal connections real well with iso or acetone solvents, then do the silicone tape wrapped around the junctions. As always, your results may vary......

Taking off the Rutland cement could be more problematic than the silicone, I will guess, as the directions say "after cement is dry, it can be removed by sanding, scraping or sand blasting", although again it hasn't been heat stressed extensively yet,so it may come off OK.

Good luck! There's always more to learn about this pellet stove stuff than you ever thought - huh? You guys are well into the 'steep learning curve' phase now ! Hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel is just that, and not still the on-coming train !

Cheers, and happy burning !

 

[kappel15]

And the 500 degree is enough - don't need the 600? And you can use it to seal inside pipes as well as on the outside of pipes?

Sounds like what we need!

I was referring to inside and outside of house,not the inside of the pipe. I don't seal the inside of the pipe. Lots of folks like the red RTV caulk, but that stuff is a nitemare if you ever want to undo a pipe.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Well, the installer may have been out of RTV, or if the pipes are black he likely used the cement because it is black compared the typical RTV red. I like the clear high temp silicone but use only red on mine only to make sure the next person knows it is RTV should we ever sell, etc. What I don't like about cement is that it can be much more brittle, and contains unnecessary fliberglass, I believe. Harmful? No. Helpful? Probably. Best choice? No, because it lacks some of the flexibility of silicone should pipes get banged around.

Personally, If the smell is only in the utility room I would also opt for a role of high temp silicone tape and use it on all pipe joints in that room. That will likely solve it. But I would also see if another dealer can be found should future maintenance or repair that is not DIY be needed. This one seems to outsource the "real" work and thinks being a dealer just means selling you stuff. I had one of those, and fired him.

 

[PelletGirl]

Well, the cement is already cracking and peeling off the pipes (finding little bits on the floor) so at least it won't be too difficult to remove before fixing it. My husband is still debating the tape or the silicone. We need to go around bent joints and he's not sure the tape will adhere properly. Also, should we ever have to take the pipes apart, we don't know how easily the tape will come off.

Any brands of tape recommended? If we get the silicone, I will get the Rutland that was suggested.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That cement is not the correct sealant, now the question is did they do anything right on the vent installation especially making mechanically stable connections.

 

[kappel15]

You have to hunt for a high-temp aluminum tape

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

You have to hunt for a high-temp aluminum tape

3M makes high temperature foil tape and self sealing silicone tape is available from several places.

Here is one link for 2113NA foil tape (600) http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1273881

Here is a link for clear silicone sealant (500) http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-500-D...ature silicone caulk clear&pebp=1416176551504

Here is a link for clear self fusing clear silicone tape (500) http://www.amazon.com/X-Treme-Tape-..._sim_hi_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1MJYH1T90C3NXNSDHQQ2

Make certain that the temperature requirements are met or exceeded. Consult (read) your instruction manuals.

 

[PelletGirl]

Thank you Smokey.

We did check the pipes everything appears okay except for this tiny leak (luckily, this was not a difficult install - fairly straightforward).

Is there an advantage to using the silicone tape over the aluminum tape or vice versa?

 

[Wilbur Feral]

The silicone tape is very easily removed. It has almost no adhesive, and as you stretch it it just sticks to itself. Much easier to remove than foil tape. You asked about RTV Or tape. i use RTV where joints will not need to come apart for cleaning, silicone tape where they will.

 

[sweetczz]

Every time my son or I would put pellets in the stove, and close the hopper lid, the hopper lid icon would come on! I noticed that first, my gasket was coming off and apparently made some issues as to the lid not positioning properly. Then, my son noticed that when you opened the lid (as others stated) the silver round magnet when partially shut didn't come close to aligning NEXT to the sensor (the regtangle piece with the wire on it to the right inside of the hopper. So we had to push the whole hopper lid more to the right until the metal round magnet contacted with the sensor. As Kap stated, perhaps an alternative to fussing with the lid might be to just leave a magnet on it to the left of the sensor. As soon as we moved the lid, we could tell it was in contact because the icon immediately disappeared.

 

[PelletGirl]

Every time my son or I would put pellets in the stove, and close the hopper lid, the hopper lid icon would come on! I noticed that first, my gasket was coming off and apparently made some issues as to the lid not positioning properly. Then, my son noticed that when you opened the lid (as others stated) the silver round magnet when partially shut didn't come close to aligning NEXT to the sensor (the regtangle piece with the wire on it to the right inside of the hopper. So we had to push the whole hopper lid more to the right until the metal round magnet contacted with the sensor. As Kap stated, perhaps an alternative to fussing with the lid might be to just leave a magnet on it to the left of the sensor. As soon as we moved the lid, we could tell it was in contact because the icon immediately disappeared.

Thank you. We were able to fix this issue and it was something similar. I appreciate your advice.