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Nomex (Aramid) gasket material

jtriplett38
jtriplett38 Posts: 29
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I went out on a limb and ordered some aramid material (generic name for the brand name Nomex) from McMaster-Carr's website this week. They sell it in 1" wide strips of 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, or 100 feet lengths. I ordered two of the 10' long strips, 1" wide. Each 1/8" thick strip is only $4.50 for a grand total of $9 for more than plenty material to replace my original felt gasket. This combined with an $8 can of Super 77 makes for a cheap gasket fix.
The material appears to be the same stuff that everyone has been posting about (Nomex)
McMaster-Carr's site (aramid is at the bottom of the page):
http://www.mcmaster.com/#aramid-fabric/=3cjjn6
A little Wikipedia reading on aramid:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramid

I'm going to try it on my egg and I'll let ya know how it turns out.

Comments

  • It will be interesting to read how you make out!
    The Naked Whiz
  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,759
    You did catch that it should be preshrunk in the dryer for about 20 minutes right?
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
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    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
  • NoVA Bill
    NoVA Bill Posts: 3,005
    Good luck with your experiment, the pricing you noted is extremely good in relation to one Egg dealer I'm familiar wrt Nomex.
  • Both of my mediums need there gaskets replaced bad, so I just took the plunge with you and bought the Aramid. I guess we will have two success or disaster stories to report back to you guys. Thanks for the info Triplett, I didn't want to spend the money for nomex.
  • For anyone visiting the McMaster website, note that the picture they show of this material is not accurate and does not have dimples of any kind on the strips. I received my material yesterday it appears to be identical to stuff that's being sold on BBQ websites. It looks like a slightly off-white felt strip. Also note that the McMaster description of the aramid states "aramid fabric is also known as Nomex".
    The shipping was only $4 for this material but I live in Atlanta about 20 miles from the McMaster warehouse. Either way, shipping shouldn't be very much since McMaster has warehouses across the country (Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New Jersey).

    On another note, I'm definitely going to preshrink my gasket material before I put it on. I'm hoping to get it done this weekend but we all know how procrastination can sink in (especially with the thought of not being able to use my egg for a few days).
  • jtriplett, I ordered the material from them today, I actually received my material a few minutes ago. They couriered it to my office which I found extremely bizarre since I checked the "ground shipping" box. The only charged me $4.50 for shipping and couriered it? Who knows, but I'm happy about it. Is your material very soft as well? I was expecting it to be firmer for some reason. It say 100% Aramid on it though. Hope it works, if it does, you saved me a good bit of money. Good work.
  • I've watched all the different gasket installation videos and checked out a lot of the pictures of the Nomex on the web and the stuff from McMaster appears to be exactly the same stuff that everybody is using. All that being said, yes, my aramid is very soft as well. You have to remember that the factory felt gaskets were soft once too AND companies make fire retardant clothing out of Nomex/aramid. It is a fabric after all.
  • True. I saw that they had Aramid with fiberglass, but I know alot of people discourage fiberglass in the gaskets. I just was wondering if what you received was the same as what I did. Thanks.
  • I looked at the aramid with fiberglass but was also leery of fiberglass near food. If you read the McMaster description, the aramid with fiberglass is Kevlar. Kinda cool to have a bulletproof gasket :^)

    I was also eyeballing the carbon fiber strips they sell on page 3450 of the online catalog but it's almost 8 times more money and would probably fall into the same food safety category as fiberglass. The temperature resistance they indicate sure is tempting though.
  • Hi everyone! New Egger here and first post. Great forum you have here. Very informative! Thanks for all the help I've already gotten while lurking!

    I work with Nomex quite a bit for making parts in the electrical generation & transmission industry and what you're getting from McMaster should and will be the same 'stuff' you'd get from someone calling it by it's Brand name Nomex. Actually, it's may still be DuPont's Nomex but since DuPont is VERY protective of their master distributors, McMaster likely takes the easy way out. And definitely bake it prior to use as it's terribly hygroscopic so get all the shrinkage outta the way beforehand.

    I also work with Carbon Fiber. Trust me, you don't want that stuff ANYWHERE near your food B)
  • Pelle031, thanks for chiming in on the discussion. Good to know about the carbon fiber. I also like the idea of actually baking it to "pre-shrink" the material instead of just putting it in the dryer. I'm thinking I'm gonna have a good long term gasket on my hands.
  • I decided to replace my gasket tonight and it looks like it came out pretty well. The 3M Super 77 glue is REALLY fun to work with. That's some sticky stuff. I put the top of the egg back on to clamp the top and bottom gasket together (with a layer of plastic wrap between). I'll probably fire her up for a short time each of the next few nights before I start cooking on it again. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I sure don't want to have to do it again any time soon.
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,452
    did you apply the glue to egg AND gasket, or egg only?
    canuckland
  • Getting my egg this weekend.It's nice to know this information.
    How difficult is it to remove the dome and replace it and realign???
    Jon
  • I put glue on the egg surfaces and the gasket. I had read another post where someone sprayed the glue into a cup and used a paint brush to brush it onto the egg so I did that. The cup and the paint brush are total losses so don't use anything nice. I used a solo cup and the glue melted it by the time I was done.
    I did this on my back porch but I would recommend doing this job at the back edge of your property well away from your house. The overspray from the glue gets EVERYWHERE. It took some finesse to get the gasket on without stretching it at all. Since the gasket is straight and the egg is curved, it's a little bunched up in places but it should smooth out.
    I pre-shrunk the gasket material in the my kitchen oven at 300°F for over 30 minutes prior to application. I didn't take the time to measure before and after too see the shrinkage. I'm sure it will be fine.
    My old gasket came right off without much coaxing. I must have had one of the bad ones from the factory.
    I didn't take any pictures of the effort but I'll snap a few of the finished product, along with the debut of my newly built egg table.
  • It's never really that difficult to take things apart. I've been taking things apart for years, but I always seem to have parts left over......
    Seriously, there are only two bolts to loosen to take it apart so that's pretty straight forward. You need to have a nice safe place to put the dome when you remove it and watch out for that spring mechanism, if you're not careful, it could whack you with the ring/handle when you take the dome out (didn't happen to me).
    As for realigning, I'm not sure. I haven't put mine back together yet, it's still sitting on the porch curing right now. I'll let ya know but I can't imagine it's that hard to get it right.
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,452
    Thanks for sharing, I'll use an inexpensive disposable glue/staining brush.
    canuckland
  • Here are some pics of the final product. Aligning the top and the bottom wasn't all that hard. I used the "dollar bill" test that I've seen mentioned on the forum and I have a pretty good seal all around. I have been cooking with a loose gasket and lots of air gaps for so long that I forgot how easy it is to control the temp with a good seal. It's like I've got a new egg.
    IMG_2061.jpg
    IMG_2056.jpg
  • Glad that worked out for you! Thanks for the pics.
    Jon
  • looks good. I noticed on the web site where you purchased your gasket material that they specified a max temp of 600 for this material. Is this the same temp the egg gaskets specify? I crank my large up hotter than that (lost gasket during a very hot pizza cook).
  • The 600° spec probably has a good safety factor in it. It won't spontaneously combust at 600°. I had my large egg up in the 600's tonight and didn't experience any problems. Either way, the Nomex/aramid (attached to the egg w/3M super 77) should hold up better than the factory felt gasket with the sorry excuse for adhesive. My factory gasket came loose within the first 5-6 cooks.
    I'm very happy with my new gasket.
  • Hey all,

    I was searching the forum for gasket help and found this thread. I'm on my 2nd gasket in 5month, it is about done. Is this aramid/nomex material better to use than the rutland gasket mentioned on the naked wiz site? Which will last longer? I grill atleast 6 days a week, so it needs to last longer than the factory stuff.
  • I've cooked with my new gasket 4-5 times now without any noticable changes. I'm guessing this stuff will last a lot longer than the factory felt.