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If you don't use a gasket, please.

travisstrick
travisstrick Posts: 5,002
edited December 2011 in EggHead Forum
I would like to hear from those of you who do not use a gasket. Obviously it will work fine for high heat. I would like to know if anyone has any problems with smoke or low and slow. I'm trying to avoid putting on a new gasket.
Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
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Comments

  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited December 2011
    I'll always have one on mine for the reason of saving charcoal when shutting down the egg.  My lid and base come together OK but not good enough to not have a gasket.  Also, when windy, I'd worry about temp fluctuations with air being force in. Especially in the winter when its nasty out.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • ribmaster
    ribmaster Posts: 209

    I had mine go as high as 250 when I wanted 225. It took two hours to get down to 236.

    I have not noticed an increase in lump use.

    I grill therefore I am.....not hungy.
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  • bigguy136
    bigguy136 Posts: 1,362
    Why not clean the surface, put down a cheap bead of 100% silicone, cover with wax paper, close the lid except the last 1/8", dry and do the second side? Silicone is great for bonding to and can handle the temp.

    Big Lake, Minnesota

    2X Large BGE, 1 Mini Max, Stokers, Adjustable Rig

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  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Why not clean the surface, put down a cheap bead of 100% silicone, cover with wax paper, close the lid except the last 1/8", dry and do the second side? Silicone is great for bonding to and can handle the temp.
    That sounds too good to be true. Can anyone think of a reason not to?
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
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  • BBQMaven
    BBQMaven Posts: 1,041
    travisstrick
    Lost my gasket in first few months of cooking on my LBGE (over 6 years ago) and I don't miss it. I can cold smoke, cook low/slow, and high temp cook pizza without any worries. All I did was loosen the band and seat the lid tight to the base. 
    Kent Madison MS
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  • FrankC
    FrankC Posts: 416
    There were some pictures of how a guy did this using a jig to get a smooth and level finish on the silicone over on the other forum. He used a product called, I believe, Permatex Copper, and his result looked really attractive and like it would work well.

    Pat
    Here's the link:  http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1124006&catid=1#

    I did it to both my large and medium.  Best gasket I've tried, and I've been through the felt, nomex, and rutlands.

    fc
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  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948

    Here you go:   http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1124006

     

     

    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,739
    i havent used a gasket in years, i think maybe the only thing that changed is maybe i regulate temps more with the bottom vent than the top but i cant say for sure. i can hold temps from 140 to 1200, never tried to go lower. when shutting down an egg, oxygen isnt going to enter thru the gasket area, sink down below the lump, then rise up thru it to keep the fire going, it may take a little longer snuffing out the fire but not much. ive seen reports of eggs still burning the next day but i suspect its a leaky lower vent, the silicone bead around that vent eventually gives out
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i borrowed an LBGE once which had no gasket.  i found the lighter lump (like cowboy) was entirely used up the next time i opened it to use it again.   i usually fill the thing with more charcoal than i need, and shut it down, saving whatever's left for the next cook.  in this case, though, the remaining lump continued to burn.

    i switched to weekend warrior (much more dense lump) and that lump DID go ot after shutting down, but it too continued to burn.

    i think we all adapt to whatever our set-up is, which means it is fine to cook with or without a gasket.  but i do prefer a cushion for the dome (the gasket's original purpose, before user's began realizing they could coast all night on these things due to their airtight nature).  and I have found the tight gasket saves me lump in the long run.

    it all works, it's just about what works for you
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,739
    stike, are you sure you didnt pass out drunk on the beach, woke several hours later red as a lobster, went inside and woke up the next morning, vents still wide open and lump gone.
    :))that happens alot with that particular egg.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    hahaha

    it was funny, because i would never have experimented ala the Naked Whiz (one charcoal vs. another).  it just so happened that I had the cowboy, and some generous dude left a bag of Weekend Warrior.  Either that, or I found their stash and stole it without realizing.

    I honestly did find the cowboy burnt down to ash, but the WW was mostly left.

    I'm betting you don't see an issue because you use the WW mostly (i think?), and don
    't you also use just the 'right' amount of charcoal anway? I don't think you overfill unless you want a high lump level, right? 

    In the end, I think gasketless is a perfectly fine way to go.  I just replaced my felt with Rutland before hearing anything about going gasket-free, and the thing doesn't appear to have any likelyhood of coming off any time soon.





    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • bigguy136
    bigguy136 Posts: 1,362
    Why not clean the surface, put down a cheap bead of 100% silicone, cover with wax paper, close the lid except the last 1/8", dry and do the second side? Silicone is great for bonding to and can handle the temp.
    That sounds too good to be true. Can anyone think of a reason not to?

    I built R/C airplanes and this is what I do where the wing attaches to the fuselage. It makes a custom perfect seal.

    Big Lake, Minnesota

    2X Large BGE, 1 Mini Max, Stokers, Adjustable Rig

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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Also, if you don't want to make a jig using a router and all that, here's another way to make a Permatex gasket that's a bit more straighforward: Permatex Ultra Gasket
    The Naked Whiz
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    you will want the high temp silicone (rated to 500-600 or so).  the rim itself never gets to that temp, but there is direct radiant heat bearing on the edge of the gasket which will be above that.

    first couple times i used the egg after adhering a gasket with Permatex Copper hi-heat silicone, I got some burning (of the silicone), where it had bled out from under the gasket.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    And you and your family did not go to the closest emergency room?

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    thankfully, the fibers from the rutland (which were lodged in our esophagus) filtered the fumes out
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Ghost Man
    Ghost Man Posts: 24
     More home-designed gasket ...

    My gasket

    No problems, works perfectly .. Does it loose it hangs still stuck in the edge band ..

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1MKJ11X0-w   
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    re: "Does it loose it hangs still stuck in the edge band"

    can you clarify?
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Ghost Man
    Ghost Man Posts: 24
    Well as you might have seen a fiberglass band is pressed firmly between lid hinge band and lid. This glass band are gasket, silicone-glued to ..
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