Sealing a side firebox

My old grill finally died off and we just bought a new one. My wife loves grilling, but only with gas. I refuse to use gas (other than for searing and a few other limited purposes), so we were at a bit of an impasse. Then I found a Smoke Hollow grill at Sams Club which is both a gas grill and charcoal grill. It had a side firebox and a searer, seemed well built and sturdy, so we got it.

I'm liking it so far, but my only real complaint (after a week) is that the side firebox has ridiculous rubber stoppers which prevent the lid from closing tightly. I haven't used the side firebox yet, but it's pretty obvious the lid will leak a lot of smoke through the gap (even though it is a small gap) which goes all the way around other than the back where the hinges are.

I'm sure others have faced similar issues. What do you use to seal the side firebox? Obviously, it has to be non-toxic and heat resistant, but I also don't want it to look stupid- the grill actually looks pretty nice. I prefer performance over appearance, but is there a modification that won't sacrifice too much appearance?

I'm sorry if this is covered in a million other places on the board. This is my first day here so if I should be looking somewhere let me know and I won't waste your time. Thanks.

BBQ Bandit said:

Welcome to the forum.

Many leaks have been stopped by using aluminum foil or fireplace (rope) gaskets.

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Do the gaskets have an adhesive/how do you keep them in place on the rim of the firebox?

Thanks much.

Thanks for the tips!

sullysQ said:

I got the same combo setup at Christmas comes in handy for a townhouse with limited space and sometimes needing to cook something quick but must confess I havent gotten a gas tank yet just used the charcoal side for grilling or smoking. But I've had the same issues with mine I took off the rubber stoppers off the firebox and cooking chamber and sealed with AL foil so far. Gonna break down and seal it off better but haven't gotten around to it just bandaid so far. Buy or search on here for a DIY charcoal basket(must have). But for the price its not bad.

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How much charcoal do you find you need to light in the chimney to get to about 225 with the Smoke Hollow? How has your experience been with it so far?

PaddyKC said:

I would try multiple layer of foil as needed. A little at a time. I had to do this with my OKJ Longhorn. It's a simple fix, the rope and selant are kind of a pain... Sense I foiled my firebox I get like a 7 hour burn from one load of charcoal...

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I will try it.