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So, I got my egg open last night

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soonerburrage
soonerburrage Posts: 39
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
That's the good news.

THe bad news is the felt circling the the top and bottom of the egg was chared. I guess this is what was causing it to act like the base and lid were glued together.

The last thing I cooked on it was two filets on a raised grid. I took them off and opened the vents so it wouod get real hot and clean itslef.

Next day, stuck together.

SO, my question is what is this going to do to my egg?

Can I still cook on it or do I need to order some more felt?
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  • Crimsongator
    Crimsongator Posts: 5,797
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    Pictures would good to be able to provide the best opinions. My gaskets are not pretty and gray any more. They are flat and black and seal very well. If they still function, it will be just fine. Others who have shared your experience may be able to help.
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  • jeffinsgf
    jeffinsgf Posts: 1,259
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    Charred, but still adhered is what you want. A gasket is only "failed" if it is gone. If they stay pretty and "felt-like", you're not cooking. ;)
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    you can still cook on it.

    if it didn't fall off, it's fine.

    how long did you let it go wide open? the egg can easily hit 1000 degrees if it has a decent load of lump and is allowed to run unchecked.

    ...next time, go at 600 or so for maybe an hour, that's all you need. and take out the dome thermo just to be careful.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Firetruck
    Firetruck Posts: 2,679
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    Mine did it once shortly after I got it. If you were able to pry it apart w/o pulling the gasket loose from either the top or bottom, then think nothing of it. Keep on cooking like normal. One thing to keep in mind also is doing a fairly high temp cook with a platesetter in the legs down position or any heat shield that would deflect the heat directly out at the level of the felt. The direct heat can cause problems with the gasket.
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    I regularly clean the felt with a small brass-wire brush. My large is about 7 months old & although the felt doesn't look new it is still "felty". Fortunately I've never had the gasket adhesion problems that many have experienced, even though my first cooks were 600*+ steak sears. Anyway, after a few cooks I noticed some sticky buildup on the felt & started brushing it on a regular basis. Top & bottom maybe once every three cooks or so. This seems to keep it fairly clean so even after a cleaning burn I can't imagine it would ever stick.
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,749
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    you can cook for years with charred gaskets, what to do is check for gaps while closed and reset the dome if the gap gets excessive. origionally i bought a second gasket to replace it, never installed it and found out it just didnt matter. charring isnt a bad thing, falling off and melting is the problem. the egg will cook with no gaskets, it just takes a little longer to shut down.
    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
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    when it sticks shut, it's usually the relatively new, clean wool fibers melting together. they melt around 1100 or so.

    many of us actually felt a little relief when the gaskets got good and dirty, because then we were sorta past the "might stick together" phase.

    i'd be careful about maybe overworking the felt, and perpetually re-fuzzing it (is that even a word? haha).

    there was some thinking early on that maybe some of the newer gaskets were melting together from glue failure, but most times it's the wool fusing. and lots of free fibers could actually encourage that.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    I hadn't considered that the re-fuzzing (sounds good to me) could actually cause a problem. I've never gone above 700* but I'll be careful nonetheless.

    The stock gasket on mine's never been a problem though. Judging by the amount of dust that was on the boxes I think it could have sat at the dealer for a while though. Seems like if I did have to take it off it wouldn't be easy.

    I always learn something new each time I visit this forum.

    Thanks.
    HL
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  • McPhreak
    McPhreak Posts: 42
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    Disregard what everyone else is saying. Your egg is now officially busted. Please send it to me. :P
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  • BBQMaven
    BBQMaven Posts: 1,041
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    Glad to see you got it open. My 2 year old large's gasket is very thin and brittle (in fact there are places there is no gasket). Make sure the gasket is contacting all the way around - take a dollar bill and place it across the bottom gasket (one end inside and one end out) and close the lid - if it drags when you try to pull it out, it is sealing. If you find an area that the dollar bill slips out with little or no resistance, you will need to adjust the bands.
    Kent Madison MS
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