You CAN change the gasket on BGE XL without removing the dome!

Hi everyone, long time user, haven’t been on the site in a while though.  I looked for discussions on here about changing the gasket on a big green egg XL.  Most videos show the large and many people on this forum talk about using zip ties to hold the springs in place.  The XL, at least my version from 2015, does NOT have springs that need to be tied back.  All the advice about zip ties makes no sense to me on an XL.  To remove/adjust dome on an XL, you remove the springs.  But I digress.....

So can you change the gasket on an XL without removing the dome, which I find to be a real pain in the butt?  The answer is YES....because I did it yesterday with absolutely nobody helping me.  I admit I did not go for the Rutland because I understand it has fiberglass and is NOT recommended around food.  That said, I’ll probably try the Rutland next time.  I didn’t feel like following all the complex instructions. 

I used a paint scraper on the bottom and top to remove the old gasket and remove about 80% of the glue.  Then I used Goo Off or Goo Gone - I poured it directly on the bottom but used a rag to press it on the top.  Clearly, if the top was turned upside down, it would be easier to work with.  But I persevered.  I used goo gone about 3-4 times all around and scraped, scraped, scraped and scraped.  Then I used a sanding block and in parts another sanding sheet that was more like the green scrubbing side of a two-sided sponge.  Finally, I used a little razor to get off tiny flecks of leftover glue.  My hinges are just tight enough that i was able to keep the dome lifted at the perfect angle to allow me to get behind to the back of the dome’s gasket spots.  Or you can just have someone hold it at the perfect angle where the top is about 2-3 inches clear from the bottom.

Finally, I put the new gasket on bottom first and then on the top.  It was really easy, I went really slowly around the hinges and it was perfect.  Only annoying part is that the BGE brand gasket for XL/2XL is supposed to have exactly enough leftover to then put a piece of gasket around the top of the dome for the daisy wheel.  Last time, I had enough.  This time, it feels like its too short (though I measured by laying it around the existing gasket strip under daisy wheel, so that is probably adding a fair amount of width...maybe I have just enough left over to remove the old piece and replace).

I have taken the XL dome off one other time and its really a pain in the butt to adjust...I have always had a modest underbite but I don’t lose much smoke so I just don’t worry about it. Yesterday I released the top carriage bolt and the side nuts to try to pull the dome closer to front....i got it back to a decent place, dollar bill test in front was strong, in back a little weaker.  But I’m so glad I didn’t take off the dome.

YES - YOU CAN REPLACE THE BGE XL GASKET WITHOUT REMOVING THE DOME 😛

Happy cooking to my fellow eggheads