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How long does a gasket last?

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Ztifpatrick
Ztifpatrick Posts: 2
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hello to all, got my BGE about 10 days ago and joined this forum tonight. I'm really pleased with the egg but my gasket looks shot in one place already. About 10 inches of it top & bottom no longer look or feel "felt" like. It's black and hard, didn"t spill anything on it. Any ideas? Could not need replacing in 10 days?
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  • Grillin & Chillin
    Grillin & Chillin Posts: 733
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    As long as you take care of it. The BGE was designed to make fire & close. Most mistakes are made and burn gaskets making fire and leaving open, which in turn flares up and burns gasket.
    BGE'er since 1996 Large BGE 1996, Small BGE 1996, Mini BGE 1997
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    Nonsense. Mine lasted maybe a dozen cooks - all of which were 350° or less. The last one was a pizza or steak (forget which) where the temp was 500° or higher. Dome was closed for all. Gasket was as described by the OP. Melted.

    OEM gaskets are made of felt. Felt doesn't like high temps. There are alternatives: Nomex, Rutland, Cotronics - or NONE AT ALL. I replaced mine with a Rutland. LOTS of 700°+ cooks without issue. Many don't replace at all. But few have gaskets that last "as long as you take care of it". Unless taking care of it means not using your egg.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Florida Grillin Girl
    Florida Grillin Girl Posts: 4,972
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    My 14 year old large still has the original gasket.

    I replaced the gasket on my new mini after only a few months, but this egg was used for many high temperature cooks, like pizza.

    It depends how much you use it, at what temperature, and how picky you are about it. Some forum members have been egging with no gasket for years with no problems.

    Do a forum search for gasket problems and you will have yourself hours of reading.

    Good luck to you.

    Faith
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
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  • 2Fategghead
    2Fategghead Posts: 9,624
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    Ztifpatrick wrote:
    Hello to all, got my BGE about 10 days ago and joined this forum tonight. I'm really pleased with the egg but my gasket looks shot in one place already. About 10 inches of it top & bottom no longer look or feel "felt" like. It's black and hard, didn"t spill anything on it. Any ideas? Could not need replacing in 10 days?

    Ztifpatrick, Welcome to the forum. I have two large eggs and on one egg I replaced the gasket three times. The last time was a nomex gasket and so far it's waring just fine. My other egg has never had a gasket changed. It is almost non existent. Both eggs preform very well and I may or may not replace the gasket on the egg that is almost non existent because unless I can't cook on my eggs any longer I will leave them as they are. Unless like I say I change my mind. I say to you if you can't cook on your egg with your gasket the way it is remove the part that is keeping you from using it until you decide to change it. It's what ever works for you. For me it's not hard to replace a gasket and I could do it every year if I want to. Enjoy your egg and cook lots of good food and have fun. Tim
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  • Part Time Cooker
    Part Time Cooker Posts: 10
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    well i seen this and had to reply. i have a large egg and when i cooked on it 10-12 times the gasket burnt. The green egg store here replaced it under warranty. A few months went by and the same thing happened. I got fustrated and started looking on here about the rutland gasket. I went to my local hardware store and bought 8' for less than $10.00. I stopped by Advance Auto Parts and spent $5.00 on the high temp copper rtv that one of the pages talked about. I sear at 700 degrees and cook on mine 3-4 nights a week. No more problems with the gasket. as a matter of fact my buddy just bought a XL and burnt his the first week. I bought him the Rutland gasket and no more for him either. If you need help here please let me know and i will help you get this fixed. The people who has had one for years with no problem must not use there BGE often or doesn't cook at high temps. everybody i know that has a BGE has replaced it.. Hope this helps.
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  • Squeeze
    Squeeze Posts: 717
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    My first one lasted 7 years. Would have been longer if I did not drip a boat load of Blues Hog on it.....
    Kevin Jacques
    The University of Que L.L.C. ®
    Killen, AL
    www.uofque.com

    Take Your Taste Buds to School!
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  • Ztifpatrick
    Ztifpatrick Posts: 2
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    Good to see so many replies so fast! This is a hopping place. Well even though I may have toasted part of my gasket in the first 10 days of use, I feel better all ready. I can cook the way it is, the only thing I saw which bothered me a little, was during a dense smoke I saw some traces of smoke coming out at the damaged gasket. I guess I will run with it for now. It does raise the question of how it happened. I did some high temp cooking and one time when I was waiting for it to light it flared up a bit. Anyway Thx for the info.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    Part Time Cooker wrote:
    The people who has had one for years with no problem must not use there BGE often or doesn't cook at high temps.

    I think it is safe to say that Faith uses her egg(s), umm, frequently. :) I imagine, like many things these days - they just don't make 'em like they used to.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Grillin & Chillin
    Grillin & Chillin Posts: 733
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    You will NEVER burn a gasket by lightning lump with BGE or similar "fire starter" then closing dome immediately. Wait till it comes to temp & put food on. Rest you should know..........
    BGE'er since 1996 Large BGE 1996, Small BGE 1996, Mini BGE 1997
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  • TampaQ
    TampaQ Posts: 40
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    mine has lasted 10yrs, but I don't see any felt left...

    I have not replaced my felt and it still works great. Don't sweat it, cook on it this weekend and I guarantee if there is a problem it will not hurt your cooks..

    Plus what needs to be fixed will be handled.
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  • PattyO
    PattyO Posts: 883
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    I had some separations and burnt gasket the first week on my medium. The dealer ordered Nomex for me and when they came to replace it they disassembled the whole egg because they thought it was out of alignment. The first time I used it with the new gasket the top dome fell off. Now it is in two pieces with the bands just laying on the deck. The gasket is damaged, again, from the fall and the vultures are circling waiting for the dealer to return. I am NOT happy with this grill or the design that allows this to happen. I haven't had one full week of cooking and this medium with the accessories was over $1200. I thought I would love it so much that I purchased a mini.
    PattyO
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  • pci
    pci Posts: 249
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    I got my med. in Nov. fried the gasket just after a few cooks. Called the mother ship & they sent me a nomex @ no charge. I used it through the winter with some gasket missing & when it warmed up this spring I installed the nomex. So far no problems.
    Patty hope your dealer gets you taken care of soon
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  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
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    Mine is 4 years old. It is black and crispy. It works fine. I can hold my egg at 220 with no problem. I got a replacement hi-performance gasket from RRP about 6 months after I bought the egg, figuring I would need it. I still have it in the box he sent to to me. Someday I'll replace it, but it is working fine. I think with the new gaskets if they don't pull off right away you will be in good shape.
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  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
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    I agree, when I use my BBQ Guru, smoke comes out of everywhere. But it holds lo temp perfect.
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  • PhilsGrill
    PhilsGrill Posts: 2,256
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    I wouldn't worry about it since 95% of all original gaskets are still in use.
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  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
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    More Hogwash!

    method of lighting an egg has nothing at all to do with the gasket longevity. Closing immediately has nothing to do with it either. How do come up with this stuff?
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,889
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    Oh? :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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