Old Country Brazos cook chamber door issue

S

stepheneleven

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Let me start out by saying I was aware that these smokers had leak issues and that gasketing was necessary. I’m just wondering if you think my door gap is excessive and I should go thru the hassle of shipping it back to Academy. Someone from their escalations department is calling me back in the next 3 days to discuss.

Anyway I applied the recommended 3/4 inch wide 1/8” thick fireblack gasket around the entire cook chamber door. Hoping that would fill the gaps I saw. Did pretty well except for a 7 inch portion on the left side of the door. The gap is still so big I can easily slide another piece of the 1/8” thick gasket right into the cook chamber without any obstacle. I laid in another piece of gasket and it does not fill the gap.

Am I being too picky for a cooker in this price range?

Has anyone had experience returning something this huge to academy?

Any other suggestions on a fix? Not super handy, not sure how I would go about bending steel this thick.

Really regret my purchase. I should have just saved a little more and got an LSG 20”. Here are some pics, I’ll try to get better ones or maybe a video. I included the right side for comparison.

2038c3f08efed6ab32fa7aa10e3552d8.jpg
4d9aa1b56b097f20b0a415cd2a11b6d8.jpg
 
I will opine that no, you are not being too picky. The door looks messed up.
 
Safe to say a gap that large is well out of reason, I wouldn't have it and there's no reason to expect the average user would have the means to rework the lid for a proper fit at home.

I'd stick an LED lantern in it and close the door and take some photos of the lid shut at dusk to show how bad that really is.
 
You paid good money for that smoker. I would not insist on an air tight seal but the fit on that door is not wonderful. If you are not happy, you are not happy. Being or not being handy is not the issue- you bought a COOKER - not a project.

Let us know how they resolve this.

The website shows a 1/4" thick- I don't think that's true - 3/16 maybe. I am (a bit) handy and would tackle fitting that door only if I got a really good deal on it to begin with.

Ratchet straps and a big ass hammer might make it act better.
 
It looks bad and it should not be like that...... but it ain’t gonna hurt nothing and it’ll smoke up some brisket just fine.......just extra exhaust.

When I was putting BoomShuckaLucka on her trailer she fell off flatten the door on a round vertical I beat on it beat on it Ratchet straps on it . the best I could -I have a gap I can stick my finger in at the top half of the door......
 
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I would take pictures and try to get academy to give you a kickback or store credit and just keep it .
 
Send it back. You will never be happy with it. I have a Pecos and it doesn't even need gaskets. Send it back
 
it is 1/4" steel but it looks like it was bent, i would have refused delivery and made notations on the delivery ticket.
had mine delivered to the store and the cooking grate was too long and would not fit. i got 20% off and it only cost me $50 to get it fixed.
 
Did it look that bad when you purchased? I'd definitely send it back. OCBP are great in the $4-500 range, but I wouldn't pay the extra for a Brazos over a Wrangler/Pecos. JMO.
 
I agree. Contact Academy. You will never be happy with it. I know it would bug me every time I looked at it. It is not supposed to be like that so it is defective.
 
Thanks everybody, always nice to get second opinions before arguing with someone on the phone. Hopefully the return process isn’t a big headache and I don’t have to pay some ridiculous shipping back.

I would’ve definitely refused delivery if I realized the magnitude of the gap, and that it wasn’t fixable with gasketing. I truly wanted to make it work. I just have to draw the line at attempting to bend 1/4” steel to the proper round.
 
Well now you have laid hands on the thing and realized that you don't want it. In your first post you said you should have just saved a little more and bought a LSG. If you are certain that you want a stick burner then you should ask for a full refund and get the LSG.
 
The bottom of the door looks bent in the second picture. It loses it's curve and flattens out. If I didn't know any better I'd say that cooker fell on it's side.
 
WilliamKY said:
The bottom of the door looks bent in the second picture. It loses it's curve and flattens out. If I didn't know any better I'd say that cooker fell on it's side.
Click to expand...

I encourage the Ben Matlock approach to this situation.
 
No sir. That is why I went to a couple of different academy’s to pick the old country pit out I wanted. Pits seem to be great bang for the buck but craftsmanship seems to vary wildly. That and I may agree that this pit could have fallen at some point.
I like the pit for the price but I’d request another one with no more out of pocket for me.
Please let us know how academy handles this and good luck.
 
I don't care what it is, gasketing should NOT be left up to the customer.
It shouldn't be needed.
 
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