Last weekend just before bed we noticed our Lopi stove was smelling a little more smoky than usual. A few hours last my wife and 3 kids were awakened by the carbon monoxide detectors going off. We called 911 and the came and aired out the house and I shoveled all the coals out of the stove. In the morning i realized that the bottom piece to our external chimney has fallen off. It turns and has something like threads that hold it on. I am using the stove again and have some buckets and wood as a precaution. I am thankful that we had detectors and hate to think what might have happened. God was watching over us. Paul
Get the proper cap/plug asap. I see it’s Duravent so the 1/4 lock design. Each company has different designs for that. They’re available online and your dealer should have one around. Ditch that wood in favor of something non combustible. Where’s the original cap? It’s possible for a hot piece of material to fall to that point. Rare, but possible. I have found ash in ours after hot burns that may have ignited something in the flue (not a full chimney fire, but close).
Wait- is that length of pipe setup just putting pressure on the cap? The lock mechanism is the partial thread. You have to get it just right and it will lock in and stay. I have never had ours just fall out. Expect the handle to eventually break those cheap rivets or spot welds, though. Mine went after 14 years. I fixed it with screws and dabs of jb weld epoxy. While CO is a concern with any combustion, wood stoves usually provide the patented smell of smoke to alert people that something is wrong. Your draft pull probably failed due to the open system when the cap/plug fell out. All fixable.
I am not sure if I just didn’t tighten it properly. I put it back on and turned it about a quarter turn the piece of wood is not actually touching the pipe just a precaution. I will look for a new one to install.
The whole bottom piece is the cap and really heavy. I searched for duravent 8” cap and this is all I found. What is a good search term and do I really need a cap that long? I have seen some black pieces in the bottom and clean it often.
I had a similar experience a few years ago, when it was extremely cold (for Nebraska). Couldn’t figure out why I couldn't get draft going, and after struggling to get things going I discovered the “plug” had come out of the bottom of my T. It’s in sorta a window well so now i check it for tight periodically. Glad you caught it and all is gooder again
Glad everyone is okay and the co sensors worked. Let us know if something failed or it just wasn't installed correctly. That would have me worried.
