Sealing your smoker

[Shawnt]

Hello Everyone. Well installed a bigger stack on the smoker Friday because the old one was too small,Frank and Rick pegged that first thing!!LOL.The first smoke in May produced a very bitter product. On Sunday I did my Second smoke since building the smoker and the results were great!! The butts turned out awsome!! Now I find I use a lot of charcol. I'm thinking about sealing the doors of the firebox and the smoker,I feel I maybe loosing heat from these areas. Any thoughts on this?
Any ideas how to do it? I was thinking about welding in a "c" channel and using fireplace door seal?

[The Czar]

What we did on the Frantronic was to take fire rope and rivet in as a door seal....

[alleyrat58]

I never put a C channel, just used high temp rtv and stuck fire rope around the outside edge of the door. Close the door (slowly) and allow the weight of the door to settle until the RTV cured, usually overnight. It has always worked great for me!

On a previous smoker where we couldn't really use fire rope, we ran a nice thick bead of high temp rtv along the outside of the door, covered it with max paper and closed the door. We ended up with a nice custom -fit gasket when we removed the wax paper the next day.

[Gizmo]

What alleyrat said is right but I think they've been monkeying with the recipe on the high-temp silicone seal cause it's been taking 2 to 3 days cure time for me to get past that "tacky" stage - otherwise I gotta say sticking down firerope with high-temp silicone is the "A" answer for a good door seal that won't work it's way loose ...

[Tom_Heath]

X2 on the silicon and rope.

Havent used any in a while so I will have to update once i open my next tube and do up my door.

What I really want is some commercial oven door gasket that locks into a groove. But I want alot of things.

[Gizmo]

Tom that actual commercial over door gasket goop SUCKS!
I tried 2 different brands and the high-temp silicone beat it hands down for adhesion, strength, etc... just sayin'
Keep in mind I wasn't using a mounting slot design - just flat steel...

...or there was an idiot putting it on in my shop ... which has happened before ...

[Tom_Heath]

HEY.... theres one of those guys over here too, he is always the one doing the work when something goes wrong. LOL

I am amature at best so I think I shall go with the high temp RTV once again.

[k.a.m.]

Shawnt, what I do if the doors are barely leaking is make sure the door strap is super clean then spray a light coat of Pam on the chamber mating surface. Then apply a bead of black RTV (no rope gasket necessary) to the clean door strap and gently lower the door. Do not push on the door let it rest on its own weight. Once the RTV is cured trim off any excess.
(note) If you use to much Pam or other oils the RTV will not cure properly so lightly is the key.
I hope this helps.

[Gizmo]

Kam is the pam acting as a releasing agent?
If so have you ever had it stick?
Sounds like a perfect way to make a custom gasket ...

[k.a.m.]

Rick, the Pam creates an oily surface that the RTV will not adhere to. If you use to much oil the RTV will break down and not cure properly. I have never had a door stick yet I guess there is always a chance if you do not apply enough in an area. You can also use wax paper (slick side facing the RTV but it sometimes is a pita to work with .

[PvilleComp]

I used saran wrap with the RTV when I did mine. Worked a treat, but I had to scotch tape the suckers so they would stay~ ;)

[Gizmo]

Thanks guys - I'm gonna try that...

[SoloQue]

OK, ignorance can be painful but since I am about to go through the whole seal the doors routine I gotta ask what is RTV. I have ordered the rope gasket and the reviews seem to agree that the adhesive that comes with the rope sucks. SO, I really would prefer to just sound stupid to you guys instead of the fellow at the hardware store when I walk in asking for something that I have no clue what it really is.

[Gizmo]

Room Temperature Vulcanizing - i.e. silicone caulk

[k.a.m.]

SoloQue, this is what I use it can be had at just about any auto parts store.
RTV sealer

[SoloQue]

Well, the rope gasket arrived and I picked up a few tubes of RTV sealer at Advanced Auto (thanks for the heads up on that stuff guys). I laid in the gasket around the door and eased her down. No problems and she looked good. Next I went after the fire door since I was seeing quite a bit of smoke around the door. I damn near couldn't get the door closed when I went to set everything in place but she finall locked into place. 16 hours later and I fired everything up this morning. Thought I would never get the box shut but it's keg tight.

[Gizmo]

It's nice to set the hinges after the rope gasket is in place but I'm glad to hear you got 'er closed.
Go gently on your fire size - kinda sneak up on temp cause it will prolly run more efficient than you're used to ... good luck!

[SoloQue]

I put a fair amount of fuel in from the get go but I kept the dampers fairly tight so I wouldn't overheat like my first few runs. Since I wasn't sure if the door would cooperate after getting hot I hedged my bet and loaded extra up front so hopefully I have plenty for a serious long burn. It took about 75 minutes to creep up to 190 but therms haven't budged for over 2 hours.

[Gizmo]

Sounds like it's working then!

[Smokeone]

Sounds like it is right on, then!

[Shawnt]

Well the rtv sounds good. I didn't think of that!! I would like to use the rope but I have a feeling I wouldn't get the door closed..
Kam I liked the idea of the cooking spray!! I'm going to give that a go.

[Shawnt]

Oh and BTW my last smoke(was only may second smoke and with the bigger stack,Thanks Rick and Frank!!) I did 2 butts and it turned out soo good. A huge difference with the bigger stack and the results. I'm going to take this smoker to the cottage and show off!! LOL!! I'm looking forward to smoking for a bunch of people!!

[Gizmo]

Glad you got 'er workin' right!

[Shawnt]

Well guys,I went with the high temp. silicone and it will get the test next weekend. Heading to the cottage Friday and expecting about 30 people so this will be the real test.

[Frank_Cox]

Shawn, I took the liberty of fixing your pic, I don't know if that is the pic you wanted but there it is.