New BGE user, one question

Sebastien

Hi to all, just got a large BGE this past week-end. I did assembled it according to the instructions which was easy to do. However I had a little gap between my gasket on the rear left where the two bolts are. It was like 1/16" maybe. I tried adjusting the lid but was unable to get rid of this small gap so I though I could use it anyway. Unfortunatly hot air was leaking through this gap and the gasket is already burnt at this location ( 4" wide ) and the gap is now more like 1/8" ! I'm tempted to use a Rutland gasket on the lower portion only to fix that gap instead of re-installing a new BGE gasket that seem too thin and burn very easely from what I see.

What are your though on the Rutland or any other aftermarket gasket ? I know it contain some fiberglass which is bad with food but it should never contact the food nor drop onto the foods. Let me know what my alternatives are.

Thanks,
Séb

Zippylip

A lot of people use Rutland gaskets without a problem. Another alternative is a Nomex gasket you get get through BGE. Or, you could just operate it as-is for a while until you really get a firm understanding of how the egg works, sacrificing your starter gasket in the process, then put on a new one... Whatever you do, don't ever stop cook'n because of a gasket issue

Mainegg

We have not had to replace any of ours yet but I do know that a lot of people are replacing with the thick white Rutland. their thoughts are that on the bottom it will not be dropping anything on the food it's self. The mini we just got in Ocala fried the gasket the first time we used it so we will be replacing with that. Julie

WessB

If you have a brand new egg that you can't adjust a gap out of...TAKE IT BACK....either have the dealer fix it or replace it...why try to bandaid something that is brand new..

bubba tim

Hi Julie, I know of a guy that is selling a 1947 tear drop. do you want the info? Here in Fl.

Mainegg

YES! searsportrugs@aol.com I would love the info. thanks Tim.

Zippylip

now why didn't I think of that :huh: - 30 days dude, beers in the parking lot

gdenby

Unless the Egg was mis-manufactured with an unflat bottom or dome, you should be able to get a perfect seal with no gap areas.

I'm not sure where the instructions are, either with the included DVD, or maybe the main Egg site, but there are several different ways to get the the seal tight. With one of mine, I had to loosen 2 of the nuts that fasten the hinge to the top and bottom on one side.

As mentioned, cooking without a perfect gasket, or any gasket at all, is do-able. If the leak is big enough, tho, you won't be able to stop the lump from burning, and you will use much more than if you can damp it down.

WessB

Amen brother...lookin forward to it.

loco_engr

Local dealer had to have the factory rep. come in for an adjustment problem on a large. Rep spent 5 hrs and then gave up. Figured it was a bad dome. Dealer was sent a replacement.
Good Luck

Sebastien

The instructions came with the DVD and there is also a separate sheet for the band and hinge installation. I actually continu cooking on it even if there is a leak but I effectively consume much more lump that way. And I can't work on it anymore since the gasket is too thin now that it burnt. That's why I tough about replacing the gasket and then working hard to fix it before re-utilising it. If it doesn't work then I will contact my dealer but he is 1h30 away.

Thanks for all the suggestions,
Séb

Sebastien

Are you sure it's the white ? On the Naked Whiz web site he clearly mention NOT to use the white one, they said to use the grey-black one. I personnaly don't know at this point the difference.

* For your info, I just sent an email to my dealer in case he can do something for me.

Séb

Semolina Pilchard

You have email.

Nicolas_Kershanko

I received my Egg from the local distributor warehouse in boxes (not assembled) a few weeks ago. They were told I didn't buy the package deal that included the nest and that I was making a table. They assumed I didn't want it assembled. Because I did want to wait to get it assembled because of the distance to to the warehouse I took it home to do myself.

It proved to be a very frustrating experience. In trying to get a perfect alignment, I dinked around with the bolts so much that I actually broke one that attached the band to the hinge. It is impossible to find a replacement bolt for it here where I am. I ended up having to grind out my own.
I also bent the band carriage bolts so much that I had to replace them too.

But to get to my point, I learned a lot on getting the lid to align correctly for setup. For me this was only allowing a small 1-2 millimeters misalignment at any one spot all around the lid.

Here are my final observations and steps that got me a proper alignment.

1) WHICH EVER BOLTS YOU TIGHTEN DOWN, THE LID WILL WANT TO MOVE OR GET SUCKED IN THAT DIRECTION.
1a) To help balance the tightening effect, I took the top band and flipped it over so that the carriage bolts for the top and bottom were on opposite sides of each other. In essence, if you are looking at the BGE from the front the bottom band's bolt was on the left and the top band's on the right.
1b) To compensate for the lid sucking backwards toward the hinge I added a single washer between the band and the hinge assembly. This kept the lid pushed forward after tightening.

2) THE LID WILL NOT SIT FLAT/FLUSH IF THE BANDS ARE NOT LEVEL ALL AROUND ON BOTH TOP AND BOTTOM.
2a) The hinge tends to be the heaviest and causes the bands to lift in the front. I used tools to push both bands to the farthest they could go (up for the lid band and down for the bottom half). Because I had flipped the top band to have the carriage bolt on the other side it proved useful for a fulcrum point for each side. I simutaneausly used two nail pullers to wedge between the band and the hinge to press them up or down as the case may be.
I then tightened the bands bolts together.

3) BECAUSE THE LENGTH OF THE BAND CARRIAGE BOLTS, A NORMAL DEPTH SOCKET WON'T REACH ONCE YOU START TO GET DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF TIGHTENING. OVER BENDING THE BOLTS MAKES IT HARD TO ADJUST.
3a) I added 3 or 4 washers to the band carriage bolts to keep the nut farther out toward the end to be able to use the socket wrench, give added resistance, and minimize the bolt bending (it still bent just not as severe).