Gasket on er off

mountaindewbass · April 2012

So I know there is another question all the time about gaskets. I have some now to add to the annoyance of them.....

1.. If the egg needs a new gasket does it need replacing, does it make a difference in the cook and smoke?

2. Can I change the gasket on the lid with the lid attached? I would rather not take it apart to put on the gasket.

3. I know Travis doesn't use a gasket, is that a safe method? It seems the easiest to me.. And without a gasket does it make a difference in cooking meat?

The Cen-Tex Smoker · April 2012

1)- it matters most on low and slow because it allows for additional airflow. No problem on most cooks (or any cooks if you adjust the lid like Travis)

2) Yes I do it all the time and it's much easier than taking off the dome

3) it's safe but I'll let Travis chime in on whether it makes a difference

travisstrick · April 2012

My XL has been going strong for 20 hrs on one load of lump and no gasket. There is not one single thing having a gasket makes better. In fact, I would say no gasket is better becouse I don't have to stress like a dog sh!$'ing razor blades every time my egg gets above room temp.

Seriously, to answer your questions, the only plus to a gasket is that it pads the lid for closing. I don't think it needs padding but it does pad it.

stike · April 2012

i borrowed a gasketless egg once, and found that when using lighter lump (like cowboy or RO), that a lot of the leftover lump burnt up after shutting down. i used some weekend warrior in it the next day, and found that the leftover lump didn't burn as much after shutting down (but still more than in my own egg).

the dome to base match up is not perfect. there may be a couple airtight gasketless eggs out thre, but as a general rule, you aren't going to be airtight without a gasket.

you can still do lo and slow cooks.

but i find mine behaves better, and saves more lump, than gasketless

Hungry in Lilburn · April 2012

I wasn't happy with my burnt off, replaced it and was happy

JerkChicken · April 2012

I agree most eggs don't need it but it helps pad the lid closing. I leave my crispy blackened gasket on it just for a little extra padding.

A couple days ago I had the biggest flashback I've ever had on the egg. I was heating it up to 450, got sidetracked, and overshot the temp; it was reaching 700. I shut both vents to start snuffing the fire and cool the egg back down. About a minute went by and stupid me was in a hurry and wanted to change the grid configuration or something and I opened that lid wide up. The oxygen starved furnace was ignited and flame was about 1 and a half times the size of the Large BGE. I lost all of my arm hair and my entire forearm was in mild pain for the rest of the night. I can still feel it today.

My point is, I almost dropped the lid during the explosion, and I do believe a gasket could effect the difference between a padded dome slam vs. a non padded dome slam and subsequent damage to the ceramics.

stike · April 2012

re:"I agree most eggs don't need it but it helps pad the lid closing. I
leave my crispy blackened gasket on it just for a little extra padding"

the reason it was originally installed was simply to cushion the dome when closing. whiz has an original owner's manual on his site i think.

but when it was discovered that an airtight egg could ride 225/250 all day every day, i think it became 'required' equipment in the user's eye. fwiw, the simple felt gasket was fine, until they improved the ceramics mix to refractory ceramic (from earthen ware stuff), and users were able to regularly take the thing nuclear. then they started running into gasket issues. they really should kill it off and solve the gasket issue.

Doc_Eggerton · April 2012

I did 220-250 for 11 hours last weekend with my fried gasket Lge, and when I cleaned up the next day had enough lump left for that evenings meal. I suspect it could have gone at least a couple more hours without a problem.

Brownie · April 2012

Mine is dark, crispy, and most of the way gone. It doesn't give me any troubles through the week on short cooks, but on low and slows my temp tends to wander a bit and smoke will sneak out from where my gasket used to live. Overnights are out for me till I get her fixed up.

stike · April 2012

fired and crispy is different than no gasket. my small has a flattened crispy gasket. not a bad thing. ABSENT gaskets... that's what i was referring to. again. some of you may have wonderfully matched eggs, but rare are the domes and rims which match without a gap.

what can i say. i knda like my fire to gout out when i shut the thing down. and without a gasket, it didn't

mountaindewbass · April 2012

So really what I'm hearing is that it's a personal preference, and if I want I can just keep my burned up gasket on as padding.

Thanks for the help guys, I'm glad I have knowledgeable people to ask q's

xraypat23 · April 2012

The egg doesn't have machined surfaces, so as much as people say they love their egg without a gasket, it really is necessary if you want an airtight cooker. I went gasket less for a while, but on high temp cooks, even after adjusting the lid multiple times I could still see the bright fire inside showing thru. I called BGE and they sent me the nomex one free of charge. I just don't know why they haven't just started shipping the new eggs with the new gaskets, its an obvious design flaw.

Mickey · April 2012

3 with-out gaskets. Works fine.

Flamethrower · April 2012

Just ordered my new gasket from the Mothership,Great customer service so far,Gettin the hi temp nomex

BigTex33 · April 2012

I just burned half my gasket away going nuclear to clean my egg this saturday...still worked fine after on a brisket smoke and a ribeye searing at 750*.

Eggdam · April 2012

My gasket is a month old and is definitely showing some wear. Just curious how long the nomex gaskets last? Has anyone had to replace nomex ones or do they last?

Duganboy · April 2012

I just put a new gasket on my LBGE. After 15 years, I thought it might be time :D

xraypat23 · April 2012

I've let my nomex one "cure" for about 3 weeks now. Have done about 3 low temp 12+ hour cooks, it should be well seated by now. Going to fix my eggs underbite and go for a high temp burn out with all my scrap charcoal(I save all the old stuff in bags to add to the fresh, but have way too much)

JayHawkEye · April 2012

Try it without. If it works, great. If not, add one.
Personally, I could not get the gap to disappear between my lid and the base no matter how much I tweaked things until I put a new nomex on. Now it's sealed again.

smokesniffer · April 2012

When you put on a new Nomex gasket, do you have to adjust the lid to the base due to the new gasket?

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