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To Gasket or Not!

purcellj
purcellj Posts: 44
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
So I'm a newbie in Egg-land. In roughly 30 cooks, I've burned up my gasket.

I'm the boy-scout type so I bought a Nomex at Freds on a recent trip, just as a backup.

Last nights chops were tasty...and I noticed a significant air leakage at the gasket.

So today, I scraped off all remains of the gasket to see if the gasket-less guys were correct. I loosened the bands and re-aligned. When looking at the seam I could see light when fully closed (it's not going to get any better). Tonight's chicken is cookin' now, but I see lots of air leakage at the seam. Temps seem to vary much more than with a gasket.

Tell me why I shouldn't install the Nomex tomorrow!
John
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Comments

  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,834
    I would just for the fact that the gasket adds some
    cushioning for the dome if closed too hard.
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009

    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,481
    some people here are lucky enough that their domes and bases were produced with a flat, level plane. That means they match up and in spite of being ceramic on ceramic they are reasonably tight without a gasket. OTOH most people's eggs were not that lucky and there are imperfections. My large for instance needs gaskets because it has enough waves to make a Navy veteran seasick!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    I thought about going gasketless when I burned mine up. That is until I still noticed leaks and my charcoal still burned up upon shutting the EGG down, compared to how it did with a gasket. I went with a Rutland and also put put a piece of Nomex around my green cap. I'm amazed how much charcoal I'm able to save for the next run! A gasket is worth it, just on the charcoal savings, in my opinion.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • crghc98
    crghc98 Posts: 1,006
    you answered your own questions...you have air leaks that won't get fixed, so you will need a gasket.
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  • purcellj
    purcellj Posts: 44
    crghc98 wrote:
    you answered your own questions...you have air leaks that won't get fixed, so you will need a gasket.

    Actually this doesn't answer the question. After last nights cook, temps do stablize, they just bounce more. And the fire went out when I was done.
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  • purcellj
    purcellj Posts: 44
    RRP wrote:
    some people here are lucky enough that their domes and bases were produced with a flat, level plane. That means they match up and in spite of being ceramic on ceramic they are reasonably tight without a gasket. OTOH most people's eggs were not that lucky and there are imperfections. My large for instance needs gaskets because it has enough waves to make a Navy veteran seasick!

    While I can see a bit of light, it sounds like mine is flatter/more even than others. I'll probably install the gasket simply since I have a spare, but it's nice to know I could do with out.
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,481
    well suit your self, but if you can see light then you aren't as flat as you think. For most cooks the added air flow can be forgiven, but if you are doing an overnighter for instance you may find the compounding longer term effect of temperature creep turn into a gallop!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • crghc98
    crghc98 Posts: 1,006
    but they bounce more (which temp control should be pretty easy), and how long before the fire went out? I know it's hard to tell how fast and how much extra lump was burned, but if you see light I would say you need a gasket (and mine is a fried gunky burnt mess so I am definitely in the camp if it shuts down then you don't need one)
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  • ChuggaBrew
    ChuggaBrew Posts: 57
    Agree with loco...the gasket provides A LOT of protection to the ceramic if closed to hard.
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