Trying the Nomex gasket

tazcrash · July 2012

Ok, after my last steak cook, my gaskets pretty much peeled off. I took my trusty putty knife, and scraped moat of the glue and gunk from the face.
At that point I figured why not try the Nomex I have sitting there. So it went into thw deyer for 45 minutes. Also it looked like i got the end of a strip because now i have 2 seems on the bottom portion.
I took the bands off, removed the lid, inverted on a moving blanket, and sanded it clean, hoping to have a good adhesive surface.
I sprayed the egg face with the 3m super 77, then sprayed the Nomex, and applied it making sure to hunch it up on the inside to prevent stretching, then reassembled it.
So far so good. After sitting 24 hours I lit the egg for 250 for a few hours. The next day i got it over 700 (complete with flashback

to make sure I burnt off any glue I might have gotten on the inside.

If this fails, i will re-sand, and just stay gasketless.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

I'm doing the same thing today

tazcrash · July 2012

Have fun, get some gloves when doing the glue. Or get some pumice soap to take off some skin

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

Have fun, get some gloves when doing the glue. Or get some pumice soap to take off some skin

Yeah, I've used that glue plenty. it's a mess. I might look for some type of brush on.

Why the dryer?

xraypat23 · July 2012

i had mine on for almost a month and 5-6 overnight 250 cooks. Did a clean burn last week which stuck the dome closed, carefully got it open, amazingly keeping the new nomex gasket intact. whole thing looked in great shape. Did a hour 650 pizza cook(10 pies), snuffed it out down to 300 added a little fresh coal to the top and did another overnight. Gasket is dirty as hell, but all there.

lousubcap · July 2012

@ Cen-Tex-various gasket replacement sites/videos suggest pre-shrinking the gasket in the dryer or oven. I think that's what Fred mentions here- http://www.fredsmusicandbbq.com/category_s/230.htm scroll on down to the 3 part video. I have done it more as a "what's it goona hurt precaution". And you replace yours with dome in place as I recall. Good luck!

tazcrash · July 2012

Thanks Cap.
That's where i got it from. Evidently it can shrink. And i didn't want it happening after i glued it.

lousubcap · July 2012

@ Taz- I sprayed the egg face with the 3m super 77, then sprayed the Nomex, and applied it making sure to hunch it up on the inside to prevent stretching, then reassembled it.

Could you amplify the part about hunching (bunching?) it up on the inside. After mine is dried I try to keep the inside of the gasket slightly inside the lip of the seating surfaces but that's about it. Probably need to revisit the videos when next due for the replacement. In advance, thanks for any insights.

tazcrash · July 2012

Sorry yes bunching.
Basically,, when i put it on, i made sure that the outside was flat, and not stretched. As a result the inside gets bunched or compressed.

ncbbq · July 2012

Thanks for sharing some info on this. The mothership sent me a nomex one a couple of weeks ago and I need to do this soon myself. I have just been dreading it.

tazcrash · July 2012

@ncbbq Me too. I've had mine for a couple months.

The most work was taking off the bands and dome.
Also if I could go back, I would have covered the insides better. Maybe use painters tape in addition to cardboard template.

nolaegghead · July 2012

I used a 3M Roloc pad on an angle die grinder to remove the old gasket adhesive. It made quick work of removing it without damaging the ceramic.

AleBrewer · July 2012

I have the high que gasket at home....waiting for some time to remove the dome and apply the new gasket. The high que gasket has adhesive already on it. We'll see how well it works.

I need to apply some sealer to my temporary pressure treated table too.....Waiting for a good time to do both at the same time.

nolaegghead · July 2012

I left the dome attached. If I didn't have that angle die grinder, I probably would have had to take it off.

AleBrewer · July 2012

Yeah....I have an angle die grinder as well, but I need to remove the enitire egg from the table to seal it, so I might as well do the gasket then.

robnybbq · July 2012

Why does the lid need to come off when changing the gasket? I am waiting for my new "High Temp" gasket to arrive any day now.

nolaegghead · July 2012

tazcrash · July 2012

Why does the lid need to come off when changing the gasket? I am waiting for my new "High Temp" gasket to arrive any day now.

I wanted to make sure i did as thorough and as good a job as i could have. The back top would just seem like such a troublesome area to try and apply glue thoroughly.

tazcrash · July 2012

I used 120 sandpaper, but if you do it when the egg is hot, you can get most adhesive and gasket off with a putty knife. Wear some long gloves and be very very careful.

nolaegghead · July 2012

Yeah, I can see that. I used tape, so there was no need to apply a separate adhesive. So far it's holding up perfectly. Done a couple high heat pizza cooks, and no ill effects to the gasket thus far.

nolaegghead · July 2012

...and you have to re-align the top anyway once you get the new gasket on. Obviously the Nomex is thicker than the stock felt, it was pinching in the back before re-alignment.

tazcrash · July 2012

...and you have to re-align the top anyway once you get the new gasket on. Obviously the Nomex is thicker than the stock felt, it was pinching in the back before re-alignment.

+1

robnybbq · July 2012

Ahh - What a PITA. Why dont they just correct these on new Egg's if its such a problem. To remove the lid I will have to get new bolts for the bands as well.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

I might just roll gasketless for a while. Not feeling the lid removal and realignment

nolaegghead · July 2012

I honestly didn't have any problems replacing the gasket with the top on. But I had a die grinder to remove the old one.

Give it a shot, if you can't get the old one cleaned off enough to feel good about putting a new one on, no harm done - keep running gasketless for a while.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

I honestly didn't have any problems replacing the gasket with the top on. But I had a die grinder to remove the old one.

Give it a shot, if you can't get the old one cleaned off enough to feel good about putting a new one on, no harm done - keep running gasketless for a while.

I can scrape it easily with he dome on. I've replaced several gaskets without removing the lid but it seems this nomex is thicker and will have to adjust the dome anyway?

Plus, now having to apply spray cement, it might be a little harder than using the felt gasket with the adhesive on it.

nolaegghead · July 2012

Well, taking off the top off the bear trap isn't too tough, if you have spray adhesive, you could create a mess or a big taping job with it on.

Just readjusting the top for the thicker gasket was simply a matter of loosening the top bolt, getting it in the right position and tightening down. Took a couple of tries before I was satisfied with the dollar bill test.

I use an impact wrench to loosen/tighten the bolts, so it's quick.

SkinnyV · July 2012

Had the official stick and peel on the old gasket during pizza last night. Its about 2 inches of top missing, and complete charred all around to where it flakes off.
Mini is just about a month old, I see u can roll gasketless but saw smoke escaping last night for first time. I think the gasket looks cleaner on so may try to replace but sounds like a pia.

Little Steven · July 2012

Had the official stick and peel on the old gasket during pizza last night. Its about 2 inches of top missing, and complete charred all around to where it flakes off.
Mini is just about a month old, I see u can roll gasketless but saw smoke escaping last night for first time. I think the gasket looks cleaner on so may try to replace but sounds like a pia.

If your gasket is completelt gone you won't have so much leakage. I did ribs on Saturday, 8 hours @ 200* with no problem.

cmkratt · July 2012

I installed the nomex a few months ago. I did not pre-shrink in the dryer, but I was careful not to stretch the gasket while installing. I've had no issues since - still going strong.

NewEnglandEgger · July 2012

I've been putting off my gasket replacement for a month, primarily because it means a 24 hr no cook period!

I have not had any obvious problems going without. It does clearly not have a good seal, which is no surprise. Fun to watch the DigiQ pulse the fan. Smoke spills out around the rim each time.

Btw...sitting next to it now while a 4lb half picnic goes from 180 to 195. Smells so damned good!

TC
aka NewEnglandEgger

Trying the Nomex gasket

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