Another Gap/Gasket Thread

Unknown

HI all. Seems my medium egg is leaking enough to make it tough to hold temp once in a while. I thought perhaps I could just adjust the band and re-set the dome, but it seems that even with two grown men holding the dome/tightening, I can't seem to keep the lid entirely flush. Once the band is tight, I have maybe an eigth to a quarter of an inch gap in the back of the egg.

I thought that perhaps the "good" part of the gasket in the front of the egg was preventing me from seating it tight all the way around, but now that I have scraped off nearly all of the old felt, I dont think that is the case.

With that said, I'm all but prepared to live with the gap and wondered if I went for a Rutland gasket instead of the BGE gasket that the extra thickness would fill the gap and solve the problem. Is this a wise idea or should I try harder to make the seal more perfect before I replace the gasket? I'm a little concerned about the fiberglass/food warning from the Rutland folks and was thinking I'd stick with the mothership version if possible (note the Nomex isnt available to me in Columbus OH so I would get the old school model). However, I'm not sure if the original gasket is thick enough. I ordered one anyhow, so I can check for that when it comes in -- it did completely seal when I bought the egg last year.

Any coaching or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. A few photos of the gap and bands are here ->
[/img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/21865533@N00/sets/72157604544283963/

Thanks in advance.

PedroWuzHere

I couldn't tell you if this would make a big difference, but your carriage bolts are on backwards. The bands may be slipping due to it. Hope this helps

Frank from Houma

It is difficult to tell from the photos but I think you can alleviate the gap by making sure your bands are tight up against the lip on the dome and bottom. When I changed my gasket the bands would tend to slide away from the lip as I tightened. I used some clamps to ensure the bands stayed against the lip as I tightened the bands and it worked. I have as good a fit as I have ever had. Order the Nomex gasket from BGE. Your dealer will not have it. You have to call BGE yourself. It was $25 for an XL.

I understnd that others have not had problems with the adhesive on the gasket but I did. My first cook after installing the nomex gasket resulted in the adhesive back coming off. I finished removing the adhesive material and reinstalled with 3M 77 spray adhesive. Several cooks since then with a couple over 650 with no problems - I'm real pleased with the performance.

Here is a bunch of pics that will probably bore the heck out of a bunch of people but maybe help a couple.

Tools I used to clean the surface


Scraped for a while and then pulled out the grinder with an abrasive pad (not grinding wheel), cleaned throughly with acetone, and let it dry for a couple hours before installing the gasket.

Mask off the areas that you don't want oversprayed with the spray adhesive


Adhesive on the Nomex gasket didn't hold (I used the spray as well first time installing the adhesive)
That is not the gasket hanging down - it's the adhesive.


Use clamps to make sure the bands are tight against the lip. For the dome, I let the weight of the dome help.


Good Luck

Grandpas Grub

Mark,

I had a simular problem on my medium but my egg was new and gaskets were new.

With a problem like you are describing, call John Creel, John Creel at BGE, 770-938-9394 ext 118. Phone John, don't email.

Explain the problem as you did above and the size of your egg. Ask John about the about Rutland and using a power sander/grinder on your egg. You will find you are not supposed to use a power grinder/sander on any egg.

GG

mikeb6109

i had a similar experience with my large my solution was loosening the bolts i indicated in your picture. after trying everything,i finaly gave this a try and solved my gap problem!! hope this works!! do both sides....

Unknown

Excellent. thanks for all of your suggestions. I have a medium and the "nest" so I'm not sure I can get clamps that can do the trick (all of the clamping tricks I've seen use a table). Perhaps I can just use a 2 x 4 on top and bottom and clamp to that.

I'll definitely try loosening the bolts as you've suggested on top.

This board is awesome. Extremely helpful.

Mark

Frank from Houma

I can't remember how I did it, but I did clamp from the top vent using a couple pieces of wood the first time I adjusted the bands. You don't need but a little bit of clamping pressure to hold the band tight against the lip. You should make sure it is tight against the lip all the way around dome and bottom.

Good luck "El Band Ito"

Hungry Joe

Give the Mother ship a call. Try to talk to John. I had the same problem and called just to get some assistance in figuring out what I was doing wrong. After some trouble shooting and sending some photos John came to the conclusion my ceramic lip was tapered to a point where it would lift the lid when I tightened down on the bands.

Hungry Joe

After looking at your pictures closer I would try installing another gasket and getting you carriage bolts on properly before calling for help.