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Gaskets on new Eggs

skihorn
skihorn Posts: 600
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
There was a post over the weekend from a new owner whose gasket had slid off on one of his first cooks. Unfortunately, I did not see (and post on) the thread until just before it slipped off page 1. Therefore, I thought I would repeat the story here for those who just took shipment of an Egg.

My gasket (both top and bottom) simply slid off on my third or fourth cook even though it had never been above 400. My dealer said that they have had that happen to three customers in the last month (all brand new Eggs) and have never had it happen in their previous nine years of sales. Obviously, BGE had a bad batch of adhesives.

Fortunately, I have a great dealer. They gave me a new gasket with a can of adhesive (in addition to the self-adhesive) and printed instructions. All at no charge even though the gasket is excluded from the warranty. They told me if it didn't hold they would come to my house to apply the next one. Chim-Chimney's in League City, TX is the best!

So, if you have a new Egg and the gasket slides off, don't lose your temper as I did, and don't blame yourself. Talk to your dealer about a replacement (they aren't expensive even if they do charge you) and put another back on. I am not very handy but had little trouble replacing mine which has worked for two cooks nows - knock on wood.

Comments

  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Was the gasket sliding on both top and bottom surfaces and all the way around?

    It would be interesting to know if you dome seal was thight - dollar bill test.

    GG
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    Yes, the dollar bill was snug all the way around. I know that is supposed to be a good thing, but could it have an unintended consequence?

    My new gasket is not quite as tight. It offers resistance at all points but not as much as the original (now dead) gasket.

    Freddie
    League City, TX
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    The following is my experience and thinking...

    the tighter the overall dome/base alignment the saver the gasket is.

    If the pull on a dollar bill test is weak, loose or no resistance, I would say if there are any high temps there is going to be a problem. The worse the pull the more likely the problem.

    There has been a couple of posts thinking BGE has some bad adhesive, I guess it is possible, but I think it is very unlikely.

    GG
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    Just curious, why do you think it is unlikely that there was bad adhesive? According to my dealer all three had the exact same description - it just slid off, and all three were Eggs delivered just days earlier. From reading the e-mail from BGE I certainly got the impression they believed it was an adhesive problem, or at least they weren't disagreeing. I know my dealer is convinced of that. I am not trying to say you are wrong. Just curious why you disagree.

    As to the tighteness - While tightness is a subjective feel, when I described my original gasket dollar bill test (before I had any problem) everyone here agreed it sounded like I had a very good seal. Many commented mine was tighter than theirs ever was. Basically, it was extremely snug (to the point of almost tearing the bill except right at the hinge (the least weight) where it was moderately snug. It was definitely tighther than my newly applied gasket - of course, my new gasket hasn't stood the test of time yet.

    If I learn anymore, I will certainly pass it along.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    I haven't seen the email you are refering to from BGE, if they are saying it is defective then that is the answer.

    I watch the 'adhesive/gasket' posts pretty close as it is a near and dear subject with me.

    Possibly it is the 'sliding' that is sounding like something new and different than other posts.

    It appears to me that the adhesive will liquify at somewhere between 475° - 500° - I have not way of testing that other than that is about where I have experienced the problem.

    Unless that temp is exceeded greatly, my experience is the liquification seeps up to the gasket and begins to hold with the other gasket. If the dome happens to get opened one gasket seems to pull the other gasket off of the rim. If the egg cools then the gasket seems to be sealed together.

    I have had 6 gasket failures in about a year, this is something that I want to understand.

    I talked with my dealer and was told he has only had two customers that have had gasket failures.

    Me and onther person that has an XL. There solution for the XL user was engine header tape which so far has resolved his problem.

    For now I want to use the BGE solution - Felt or Nomex.

    There are some 2,200° adhesives out there but gaskets are going to wear. I am not sure if the high temp sutff would ever come off.

    A lot of folks have momved on and used Rutland, Cotronic, high temp silicone (only) and those that don't have any gasket at all. Again, for now I want to use the BGE solutions. Some point in time I will give up, but not now.

    GG
  • Inksmyth
    Inksmyth Posts: 308
    i have burned a gasket on my xl. I feel the problem on the xl is a combination of felt gasket and height of the grill. Mine burned when I flipped a burger and got a small flash fire at grill height. the gasket almost seemed to catch fire bubble and burn. Soon after that I welded the egg together on a hi temp cook. Cooled and stuck. I have been following this gasket thing with interest. At this point I have not decided what type of replacement to use.
  • Beachbum
    Beachbum Posts: 61
    Exact thing happened to us on our Large...so we put yet another seal on it with adhesive and it pulled away on the felt side, not the Rutland gasket side... SOOO... we went and bought a new ring. $100 later it seems to have done the trick, but this is getting mighty expensive!
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Interesting event. I have experienced the bubbling but not a self sustaning flame.

    There were some pictures of an adhesive failure where the adhesive strip had separated from the nomex. The adhesvie was a thin strip of membrane hanging by itself.

    I am going to give the nomex and 3M 77 a try next.

    Thinking out loud... I am thinking of getting some high temp silicone. Put a wide bead on the bottom rim, then some wax paper or plastic wrap then another bead of high temp silicone and let the egg form its own gasket from the weight of the dome.

    The seal will take care of any wave in the ceramic and any mis-alignment from the bands - as long as the bands don't slip.

    As long as the silicone doesn't go hard putting probe wires through the gasket level would not be a problem not should it result in future leaks.

    GG
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    What new ring did you buy for $100?

    GG
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    Grandpa's grub: You do appear to be the expert. Shoot me an e-mail and I can give you a little more specifics about the conversation between me, dealer, and BGE. Nothing earthshattering. Just hate to post private conversations on a public board.

    skihorn61@yahoo.com
  • Wanabe
    Wanabe Posts: 355
    I did a 4 hour cook on my new Mini (second cook); nothing over 400 and my gasket was sliding also. There is defiantly a problem with the adhesive. I rechecked the dome fit after the first cook and it was perfect. I went to the dealer but he didn’t have a replacement gaskets. Any manufacturer can have a bad batch of product so I don’t have any hard feeling towards BGE.

    I am heading west for the winter so I may call the Mothership and see if they will send me a new one.
  • Riley
    Riley Posts: 51
    Mine just went a few minutes ago. The top one just pulled right off when lifting the lid. It was kinda freaky. I hope I can get a replacement, and get it done right. My seal hasn't been that tight yet. I adjusted it tonight on the top ring.

    I've had my Large for 4 days now.

    :(
  • Klag
    Klag Posts: 208
    This is kind of off the topic, but what is the harm from not having a gasket? My egg is very old, and my first 300 cooks were all 600+ degrees (only did steaks for the first 3-4 years I owned it). I have no gasket, and haven't for as long as I can remember.

    I've never had a bad cook, all the food was perfect. However, I've never done a cook longer then 5 hours. Baby backs and beef back ribs were my longest cook so far.

    Does lack of gasket make it harder to hold low temp? Make meat less moist? Give temp spikes?

    I guess I'm trying to decide if I need to even bother replacing mine.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    I guess it all depends on you. There are a lot of folks that don't have gaskets or their gaskets are very old and almost gone.

    If your egg holds the lower temps and doesn't seem to spike, lump goes out when the vents are closed, then other than having a somewhat soft surface when closing the dome ther is no use for the gasket.

    I am really glad your egg is preforming well without a gasket for that long of a time.

    In my case, when I don't have a gasket, it takes a long time for the lump to go out, using more lump. It is harder to control temps under 300° and if it is wind at all I have a hard time controling temps under 450°.

    But as important to me, out here it cost me about $1,100 for my large, nest, mates, bag of lump, ash tool and setter. I don't want to just oh to heck with the gasket, I don't need it. I would kind of like it to be functional (and there).

    Secondly, I simply have become interested in the gasket and alignment aspects of the egg.

    I love the egg, love the way it cooks, love the food and I want to understand more.

    GG
  • Klag
    Klag Posts: 208
    Thanks for the info!

    I don't have any problems holding temps at 225, 250, or 275 even on windy days. However, my lump takes forever to burn all the way out when I'm done.

    I have a medium Egg and use pretty small amounts of lump anyway so it never bothered me I guess.

    Thanks again! Your gasket info is always helpful!