A little smoke?

MCRyan

Hey all! Need a little advice. I adjusted my lid because I had about an 1/8" lip on my XL. I guess over time, the lid loosened and shifted a bit. So, there was a slight underbite up front behind the handle. Anyway, that project was kind if a pain in the a**. Still not sure if the bands should be closer to the edges of the lid and base, or further down around the notches... Any opinions are welcome on that front.

The other concern is that I had the temp up around 450-500 last night and some smoke was puffing out the right side. Not a lot of smoke, just like a burning cig. Anyway, my adjustment must have created an uneven seat where the gasket had worn down. Should I be concerned? Will it seat down over time? Sorry for the long post. I'm anal retentive with stuff like this. Any feedback is appreciated and TGIF!

EGGjlmh

I am the wrong guy for the answer I'm sure but, I would try to remedy it.  I think with low and slow cooks you will have a hard time holding your temps.

NPHuskerFL

@MCRyan‌ after you made your dome adjustment did you perform a dollar bill test clear around? That should be done on any egg after adjusting to ensure a tight fit dome to base.

MCRyan

@NPHuskerFL‌ No, I've never heard of that "test". I'll do a search and look for instructions. I'm disappointed that an attempt to "fix" an alignment issue is snowballing into more issues.

What about the bands? Is there a rule if thumb regarding their placement around the base and lid? Just wondering.

henapple

If the gasket is much less in thickness on that side it's probably the problem.

MCRyan

I think you are right henapple. Is it a really big deal if it's just a little smoke? It's not like it's billowing out or anything. Only at high temps do i see any puffs.

MCRyan

Just a little update...  I reajusted my top band yesterday and performed the dollar "bill test" with some print paper in about six different places around the Egg.  I shifted the lid a bit with a subtle nudges front to back, left to right.  Nothing major.  I lit her up last night and cooked skirt steak & chicken for fajitas at 500 degrees.  Not a puff of smoke anywhere in sight around the edges when closed.  NICE!

I read a lot of info about lid adjustments.  It appears that a good a rule of thumb is to position and tighten the bottom base band as close to the edge, or as close/flush to the top of the base as possible.  Then, loosen the top band, adjust accordingly with the dollar bill test and tighten the band up where it sits.  Pretty logical.  Again, thanks for all the feedback with this issue!!!

NPHuskerFL

@MCRyan‌ Glad you to were able resolve the problem. Egg on.

MCRyan

Thanks NP!  Doing brats for a large crew tonight.  Great weekend for cooking out.

cook861

that a good information except up here in the great whit north we dont have any paper $1 or$2 .lol but we do have print paper 

MCRyan

@cook861 - that's funny! There's a good reason as to why I went with regular paper (wife and three kids), but I digress