Sorry it took me so long to update you guys on the silicone gasket door tests. I cooked for nearly 10 hours on friday and the gaskets on both doors performed as I hoped they would. I was able to maintain my pit temp of 275 without any issues at all with the use of a stoker. I said going into the test that if I could get 4 hours out of a load of lump then I would be quite pleased. I averaged exactly 4 hours per load of lump but I think the conditions were working against me! Cloudy, 20 degrees, 15-20 mph winds out of the north. Now I am wondering how long a load will last in ideal conditions.
Kind of hard to tell, but the gasket held up fine to the high temps of the first cook. I'm not ready to say that this gasket will last but I thinks it's a decent sign that it made it 10 hrs on the first cook.
Just when you think it's all finished, I bought a new trailer for business that will double as our (TTNuge) comp. trailer and I am going to have to cut 6" off the exhaust to get the thing in the back door.