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

[BBQ Bros]

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...#ht_500wt_1156

Thanks in advance for any advice-

[K-Train]

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.

[Wampus]

Sell it and build a UDS!





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




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"?

[Callahan-que]

How bad is it leaking? If it's new it will seal up after a few good cooks.

[BBQ Bros]

Originally Posted by Wampus

Sell it and build a UDS!

Never! I LOVE my WSM! But, i am planning on attempting my first UDS project over the coming months so we'll see how that goes...

Which one is it? 18" or 22"?

it's the 22.

[BBQ Bros]

Originally Posted by J'ville Grill

How bad is it leaking? If it's new it will seal up after a few good cooks.

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...

[Still Smokin]

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.

[Lion Bout The Q]

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.

[Callahan-que]

I've heard that the stainless steel doors sold by Cajun Bandit fit much better then the stock doors.

[El Ropo]

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.

[BBQ Bros]

Originally Posted by El Ropo

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.

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...

[Jason TQ]

Originally Posted by BBQ Bros

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...

Can you define "a ton of charcoal"? How much are you using? And how does usage vary when it is colder/hotter?

[Still Smokin]

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)

[El Ropo]

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.

[BBQ Bros]

Originally Posted by fnbish

Can you define "a ton of charcoal"? How much are you using? And how does usage vary when it is colder/hotter?

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...