Requesting help from alignment/dome band gurus

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Greetings-

In the fall I installed a new band/hinge and a Rutland gasket. This is the thread if you want to see that (though not necessary) work as to how I got to my present situation.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1188930/new-gasket-hinge-band-installation-with-pics#latest

Things were great until my last two cooks when I noticed smoke coming out of the sides of the Egg at such a slow rate that I mistook it for steam the first time. The second time it was more pronounced which led me to believe I have a dome/base intersection issue. There is no overbite/underbite problem, they line up great. I did the dollar bill test and if you consider the front of the Egg to be 6 o'clock and the hinge to be 12 o'clock, from 12 to 4 the dollar will slide out with some pull. From 4 to 9 the dollar will NOT pull out at all. From 9 to 12 the dollar comes out with some pull. This matches up with where I was seeing the steam/smoke when the Egg was in use.

My question is how to fix this- Do I loosed the carriage bolts on the dome band with the red tabs in place, adjust as best I can and re-tighten (hoping for a good seal), do I need to loosen the carriage bolts on both bands and re-tighten, or is there another fix possible?

Any guidance/procedures would be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading.

Cheers,

johnmitchell

I had a similar problem after doing exactly what you did...I spent days and copies amounts of adult beverages to try and correct, nothing seemed to work, now I am assuming you removed your top gasket when you installed the Rutland.. Well what worked for me was to reinstall the top gasket with the standard BGE gasket.. Problem solved.. Dollar tight all the way round..

SoCalTim

This will be a two man fix, you'll need to loosen the bands, make proper adjustments. The have someone hold the top dome down with pressure while you tighten the bolts.

Just so you know, you might not ever the factory adjustment ever again, but that's ok .. this is where the above mentioned 'dollar bill' test comes into play, as long as the seal is snug, that's all that really matters.

And don't forget ...

johnmitchell

To add to this Ron @RRP He suggested to lift the Rutland in the affected area and using a putty knife spread a layer of the heat resistant adhesive to build it up then re seat the Rutland.. You would have to take a guess at what the gap is or use a feeler gauge.. I am sure he will chime in with some ideas, but it can get sorted out.. Good luck

RRP

Chris - as @johnmitchell summarized above here is my "exact" reply:
In your case what I suggest trying first is to measure as best you can the height of the offending gap plus then using whatever means like 2 pieces of tape or a wax stick marker and mark where the gap starts and ends. Then using a flat blade putty knife carefully lift up your Rutland that full length plus an inch more on each end and then apply more Permatex Ultra Copper to build up the offending area, “butter the edge” well and then carefully put the Rutland into the wet Permatex, cover that area with Saran Wrap or wax paper and carefully close your dome. Wait 24 hours to cure and then do your dollar bill test again. I honestly feel that should resolve your problem. 

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Gentlemen-

Thanks for the information and encouragement, I need both. @RRP - should the permatex I bought for the installation still be good or should I purchase a fresh tube?

Thanks again,

RRP

ChrisgrillsSTLMO said:

Gentlemen-

Thanks for the information and encouragement, I need both. @RRP - should the permatex I bought for the installation still be good or should I purchase a fresh tube?

Thanks again,

Just squeeze the tube to see if it is still soft or even squirt out a little. If you just used it this Fall then it should still be good.