Ex large BGE
 

I am new here and probably posting in the wrong spot but I have a question. I received my ex large BGE for my birthday in August (I love grilling but new to the BGE, the husband thought it would be a good gift ;) )and was told we had to do some small "firings" if you will for the gasket to "cure". Well, my question is I did that but the "felt gasket" ended up falling off anyway, I do have another one on order but was hoping for some input here....I know, dumb question but I thought I would ask anyway. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum.

You guys are experts here and I hope someone can help? Thanks!!! :grin:

There were some eggs sent out with bad gaskets and you don't have to cure them. You may not want to do a 1000 deg pizza cook just use it as you would on any cook. I have had my egg for years and the gasket has been gone for longer than I can remember. I need to put a new one on but I keep forgetting. I don't drop the lid because I don't want to chip it. I have a small egg and the gasket is good on it and I use it on all temps. One problem with gaskets is that sometimes the dealers don't setup the egg correctly. You shouldn't be able to pull a dollar from between two gaskets while the lid is closed. If there is a gap on some part of the gasket the air can escape out through that gap and super heat that area causing the gasket to fail.

Most of us who have had eggs for years don't have a gasket on their eggs and the one's who do usually go with the high heat kind.

You probably fried the gasket. Felt is not meant to withstand the high temperatures that the ceramic can handle. Many times if the temp is sustained for a while above 500 degrees the adhesive will fail, it can happen with any ceramic grill. There are aftermarket gaskets like Nomex, and Cotronics. Maybe some others with EGGS will have some suggestions. I just ordered a Cotronics gasket for my Primo, but I haven't installed it yet.

Thanks for the info. The dealer did put the egg together and right now I am only missing a small portion of the seal (top left of my egg). I guess my question would be then, should I remove the entire felt seal until I receive my new one and is the seal really needed? Sorry for such stupid questions......I did notice smoke coming out of where the seal was missing last time I used it (made a yummh pizza, 2nd one on the egg) but have not used my egg since.

I really appreciate all of you being helpful to someone that is just learning.... TY so much!!!!

Same thing happened with mine..

Did many cooks at sub-300... First pizza cook at 500+ and I noticed the gasket peek back so I ripped it all off before any melting occured.

Haven't put on the replacement Nomex gasket yet that BGE sent upon my request.

I have read about the Nomex....was not sure it that was the route to go. When my seal failed, I was baking a pizza at about 550-575F....

Exactally what happened to me. TY !!! :)

Did you contact the BGE manufacturer about the gasket? I just ordered on from my supplier...hope it works.

I do a Neapolitan style of pizza and you cook it at 800-1200 deg. My gasket held for a while doing this ..but..

To answer the question about cutting it ..replace the whole thing..!

Make sure the Gasket you are getting from BGE is the NOMEX. It will hold up better than the felt. Nothing you can do now about the old one, just clean the surface very, very good prior to installing the new one. Clean the edge with rubbing alcohol (no acetone)a putty knife and some fine sand paper. The Dome will be harder unless you remove the band and flip it upside down to put on the gasket. Use 3M Super 77 adhesive. Let set 24 hours and keep your temps below 300º for the first few cooks.

Good Luck

Yes.. I called BGE headquarters and spoke with customer service. They shipped the Nomex one that day and I got it a few days later.

The gasket issue is the only thing I don't like about the BGE's.. Haven't had the issue with the mediums that have seen more use and high heat.. The gaskets are worn but functional.

I'm considering going gasketless as icemncomth noted above, and RTD has noted previously but not sure yet.. Then I'd have no concerns for the high heat pizzas but not sure how it would impact a low heat cooks for extended time periods.

Thanks for all the info and I will do what Pork Smoker recommended and look for the Nomex (I do have the other on order from my egg rep) but one other stupid question, I am in Pittsburgh and temps outside right now have been around 35F at night and 45F in the afternoons....do I need to watch outdoor temps to work with the gasket?

Thank you all for being so nice to someone new!! I really do appreciate it!!! :)

TY!! That help a lot. You guys are great here!!! :-D

No stupid questions here.

Reading my can of 3M no mention of temps. Just do not store above 120º. It's set up time is workable, 2 surface, I would guess if everything was prepped you should be good at 45º.

I know a lot of the Primo users have the Cotronics held on with Permatex Copper gasket sealant. Many of them claim to be able to go Nuclear with them. I personally never get my Primo above 450, just never found a reason to go higher.

The first cook with by BGE XL I fried the gasket. BGE Atlanta sent me a new one and that eventually melted when I cranked up to cook some steaks.

I then bought the nomex high heat gasket and it held out for a while, but whenever I did a high heat temp it would come loose. I would spray some new 3m on it and it would stick until I did my next high heat cook and then come loose again. The last time it came loose, it seemed to shrink a bit and burned inside the egg. Now I only have a gasket on the top of the egg.

I think I am done with gaskets. Not sure what the purpose is if you have a level seal. When I was cooking without a gasket I was still able to maintain a low temp cook for smoking.