Gasket installation on WSM with photos
 

Here's documentation of my Nomex gasket installation warts and all.I purchased the kit from bbqgaskets.com off of ebay for $27. Shipment was prompt but the instructions were not too clear.

The good news is after doing the cure burn for two hours I shut the vents down and the temp dropped from 400 to 150 in an hour.After two hours it's cool enough to cover.

Here's my work table for the job --

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_02.jpg

Here is the material and tools. The narrow gasket material goes on the top lip of the center section and the top sidewall of the fire pit. I put the wide material around the door opening. That was pretty stupid. I should have put it around the door. Before beginning I ran the gasket material in a hot dryer for 30 minutes to pre-shrink it. This recommendation came from a bge youtube video.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_05.jpg

I cut the tip of the gasket glue at the narrowest marking. I don't like the tube as an application device. Air causes the glue to spatter sometimes. Maybe if I was more careful about applying pressure from the bottom it wouldn't have happened.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_07.jpg

I put a zigzag bead along the low edge of the dome receiving flange at the top of the center section and used a mustache brush to spread it. It worked ok. The glue seems to set up pretty quickly. I used the grill supports as landmarks and installed one quarter of the circumference at a time. The gasket material was lightly misted with water per the instructions. I think bbqgaskets.com could have included an application tool.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_09.jpg

Here's the top gasket installed.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_11.jpg

Here's the glue for door gasket.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_15.jpg

Here's the door gasket installed.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_16.jpg

Here's the glue applied for the bottom gasket.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_20.jpg

Here's the bottom gasket installed. The bottom gasket makes for a very tight fit. I may remove it if it doesn't work out well.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_21.jpg

Here's my WSM with the ugly-arse door gasket.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_22.jpg

Here's the thermo an hour after shutting down the vents on a 400 degree fire.

http://www.dacamerawork.com/food/web..._gasket_23.jpg

I'm not familiar with what you can get at the local auto supply stores but I suspect you might be able to put together what you need for this mod on your own cheaper than this kit. Thanks for looking.

Wow impressive write up, thanks. I know this thread is ancient, but I am surprised it had no replies. I was considering this for my WSM 22 I picked up on Craigslist yesterday. If you are still out there, how has this held up? Are you still pleased with it? Thanks!

Very good write up. I'll have to look into doing this when I finally get my hands on a WSM. Did you have any issues with the gasket shrinking since you threw it in the dryer?

Not sure why you installed a gasket, these things run great without any mods

I've heard that the 18" seal up nicely after a few cooks but my 22" never sealed properly especially around the access door. I had to install these gaskets myself. Made a pretty big difference.

wow, yeah I have the 18 and it's fine

i have an 18 and 22, the 22 needed some door tweaks but i ant see a gasket kit being worth it on an uninsulated cooker, especially a wsm

I don't think that all WSMs need them, but they are definitely something to consider if you are having real problems with one. I bought a scratch and dent model off eBay that had more dents than scratches and never sealed well for me until I installed the gaskets. It works like a dream now.

I had problems with getting the middle to fit with the lower gasket installed per the instructions. I moved it to the middle section as shown below and problem solved.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psc61fec03.jpg

Nice pics; I also wondered why anyone would was time and $ putting a gasket on a wsm. Great write up though.

I had really bad leakage around the access door and where the lid sits. The gasket helps out a lot. It's not perfect but I had to do something.

You could also seal the access door with heat resistant tape if you don't plan on using it, which if you run the cooker dry you won't have to. You can also buy a better door from cajun bandit. I have both the 18 and the 22 and find I use the 18 more often.