New XL Egg - air leak?

Mike0802

Hey everyone - noob here. Just fired my brand new XL egg and it looks like there is a air leak at the gasket towards the back. Is this normal? Do I need to call the dealer? Is there an easy fix for this, if it is an issue? 

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.

Now, regarding your questions:  (I have a LBGE but not XL but the following is applicable.)

That's not a "looks like an air leak", that is an air leak and no it is not normal. 

If the dealer assembled your BGE then I would tell them to come fix it as the base and dome are mis-aligned.  There is a fix as you need to loosen the band assembly and adjust using the blue spacers to get the dome and base on the same plane.  And while there, it looks like your band bolts could use additional tightening.  You should tighten them up until the bolts bend (can't really tell from the pic).  The bolts will fail before the ceramic (or so I have been told by my dealer).

Is it an issue-depends on whether you can control the BGE in the temperature ranges you want and how long it take to shutdown after a cook. 

All above-FWIW. 

WildmanWilson

It’s easy to fix yourself but if your dealer will come out then let them. My worry is they got it wrong once so maybe they don’t know what they’re doing. What’s some YouTube videos and you should be able to do it right. Should take ten minutes. 

tjv

your top band looks like it is not evenly positioned around the dome, dipping down at the nut/bolt which pushed dome up.  as mentioned, use the spacer and realign. 

Just make sure you are not dragging the dome over the bottom gasket when opening/closing. It will peel the bottom gasket.  If dragging, move bands up for more clearance. 

t 

cookingdude555

Bottom band is too low. I line the bottom band just below the lower gasket. This chokes up on the dome and makes it so the bands are not forcing separation between the two halves. My XL is my hardest to align for some reason. 

td66snrf

If you do it yourself make sure you get the bolt bands tight. The instructions say the bolts will break before the ceramics

stlcharcoal

That band is misaligned big time.

You should see about a 1/8-1/4" of green between the felt and band all the way around.  Open the dome, carefully take the springs off while making sure it doesnt slam close, carefully close the dome, then loosen the bands just enough to slide them into a better position.  Retighten until the bolts bend, then open and put the springs back on.

Do the dollar bill / pull test and if you still have a opening anywhere.  Sometimes the springs lift the dome and you have to put some weight on the corner.  Loosen the top band again then have someone push down on that corner as you tighten it up.