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Looking for a good approach to reducing air leaks on my WSM

B

BBQ Bros

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To all you WSM masters out there, what have you found to be the best way to reduce the air leaks on the door, the lid/middle section area and the middle/bottom section area? Shoot me links to any resources you have or just let me know here on this thread. I'm going to wait til I hear back from a good handful of you guys before I proceed w/ anything.

I came across these gaskets on eBay. Has anyone bought these from this guy? Any good? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gasket-Weber-Smokey-Mountain-high-temp-Nomex-seal-mod-smoker-bbq-18-5-22-5-WSM-/170768327955?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c295e513#ht_500wt_1156

Thanks in advance for any advice-
 
I bought the gaskets. They work really well. Kinda tricky getting them around the dome. I also bought a silicone sealent from ace hardware, it's better then what comes with the gaskets. Also a Cajun Bandit door will do wonders.
 
Sell it and build a UDS!

:laugh:



(sorry......had to do it.......:becky:)




Seriously, I don't have one, but I've heard of folks doing something as easy as using foil, high temp silicone and allowing it to set, installing a Cajun Bandit door, etc.

Which one is it? 18" or 22"?
 
J'ville Grill said:
How bad is it leaking? If it's new it will seal up after a few good cooks.
Click to expand...

it's not leaking that bad, mostly out of the door, so that's my main area of concern. i use a DigiQ DX, so controlling the temp isn't really an issue, it's more an issue of wanting to maximize fuel efficiency b/c my 22" model uses a TON of charcoal, even w/ the DigiQ controlling it and never opening the lid during a cook. i knew that going in to it, but if I can mod it to be as efficient as possible that will help as i cook on it almost every weekend...
 
I have both the 22 & 18 and the door leaks can be a pain, I just let mine gunk up and they seem to be fine now.
 
I use a little foil between the bottom and mid section like a gasket.Its all I need and works great. Throw it away when the cook is done.
 
I've heard that the stainless steel doors sold by Cajun Bandit fit much better then the stock doors.
 
Step one, buy a bunch of fuel and wood chunks.

Step two, buy a bunch of large hunks of pork.

Step three, cook a bunch of pork in a short period of time. It's good practice as well.

All the BBQ gunk will build up and seal up any leaks.

All done, plus you have all that nice food to enjoy.

On using a lot of fuel, try not using water in the pan, and just cover it with foil. That should ease the fuel usage, and no water doesn't affect the moisture content/dryness of meat. Meat has all the moisture locked up inside, and releases it's own during the cook.
 
El Ropo said:
Step one, buy a bunch of fuel and wood chunks.

Step two, buy a bunch of large hunks of pork.

Step three, cook a bunch of pork in a short period of time. It's good practice as well.

All the BBQ gunk will build up and seal up any leaks.

All done, plus you have all that nice food to enjoy.

On using a lot of fuel, try not using water in the pan, and just cover it with foil. That should ease the fuel usage, and no water doesn't affect the moisture content/dryness of meat. Meat has all the moisture locked up inside, and releases it's own during the cook.
Click to expand...

I cook a TON of butts and picnics so the top/middle, middle/bottom sections don't leak that much b/c of all of the "gunk" you're talking about. The door is my biggest issue...

I def always use water in the water pan, so maybe i'll try a cook w/o it like you recommend. I hear ya and agree w/ your comments about the moisture, but I SWEAR whenever I've cooked on other cookers (mostly offset stick burners) w/ no water, the meat never comes out as juicy as the stuff I do on my WSM. I know there are debates on using water (like on this forum...), and I'm prob just psyching myself out, but I'm a little afraid to not cook w/ water... Guess that just shows my inexperience as I've only really been heavy into cooking my own Q' for about 2 years now...
 
BBQ Bros said:
it's not leaking that bad, mostly out of the door, so that's my main area of concern. i use a DigiQ DX, so controlling the temp isn't really an issue, it's more an issue of wanting to maximize fuel efficiency b/c my 22" model uses a TON of charcoal, even w/ the DigiQ controlling it and never opening the lid during a cook. i knew that going in to it, but if I can mod it to be as efficient as possible that will help as i cook on it almost every weekend...
Click to expand...

Can you define "a ton of charcoal"? How much are you using? And how does usage vary when it is colder/hotter?
 
I use a 16." clay saucer in my 22 & a 12" clay saucer in my 18, both wrapped in foil (I also foil the water pan 1st)
 
I'm perplexed that you've cooked a lot in the WSM, and the door is still leaking. Maybe it needs a tiny bit of tweaking so it fits flush to the center section a bit tighter. Other than that I got nothing.:noidea:
 
fnbish said:
Can you define "a ton of charcoal"? How much are you using? And how does usage vary when it is colder/hotter?
Click to expand...

at least a bag and a half when doing long, overnight butt cooks followed with 5-6 hr rib/chicken cooks the 2nd half of the next day after the butts are pulled, foiled and put in the cooler. i'm in North Central Florida, so it's always warm/hot (even during the night) most of the year so i don't have extreme temp differences to compare...

as i said on one of my other responses on this thread though, i knew before i bought my 22 that i'd be using a lot of charcoal and i'm fine w/ that. just trying to make any cuts i can w/ some simple mods...
 
El Ropo said:
I'm perplexed that you've cooked a lot in the WSM, and the door is still leaking. Maybe it needs a tiny bit of tweaking so it fits flush to the center section a bit tighter. Other than that I got nothing.:noidea:
Click to expand...

i've tried tweaking the door, it just still leaks a good bit. but my def of a "good bit" may not be the same as yours... looking at all these responses though is making me think i'll be giving the Cajun door a shot...
 
Thinking about going the Cajun door route myself. Have found rotating the middle section at times helps with the seal at the bottom.

As for charcoal use, I fill up the ring one time and then can go at 225-250 for 14+ hours with having to add any. Then again I do not use water at all in my water pan.
 
The Nomex gaskets look nice. I made up a folded foil gasket for my 18.5, it does not look pretty, but seals the door up quite well. I would try the foil... if it makes a noticeable difference in fuel consumption, then the gasket could easily pay for itself in less charcoal used.
 
You need to check the bowl, the middle section, and the dome to see if anything is out of round.
I just picked up a WSM with an out of round bowl and center section. Once you find where the out of round is, a good gentle bear-hug will get things back in order.
If your bowl is out of round at the lip, the middle section will not fit right - air leak.
If the botoom of the middle section is out of round, it will not sit on the bowl tight - air leak.
If the top of the middle section is out of round, the dome will not fit right - air leak.
As far as the door goes, it may be a little mis-shapen. But, if the latch is not pulling the door closed all the way, you can tweak the door all you want and it won't seal.
I have 8 WSMs. All have stock doors. All have been checked for out of round. All maintain great temps. The fire snuffs in all of them when the vents are closed. If your WSM does those things, but a little smoke sneaks past the door, get over it.
 
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