HELP! Made my mods, how long do I run smoke through to cure my grill?

[rob sicc]

I made my first set of mods.  I would have made them all at once but my wife hid one of the gaskets on me and I we can't find it.  LOL (no joke).

I added a gasket with RTV where the FB meets the CC.  I also added the same high temp gasket with RTV on the FB door.

I had bought Lavalock but as I mentioned I can't find it.

I think I will need to add a new latch of something to the FB door.  The leak between the FB and CC is gone.  The FB door is leaking a little and the CC, well once I find the lavalock, I'm sure my problems there will be taken care of. I may add the latch on the CC also.

The reason I am asking for help is now that I've added the gasket and used the RTV, how long do I have to run smoke through the smoker to cure it and make it safe to cook in?

 

[ps0303]

Just run it through a session of smoke to see if the leaks are gone.  I used some high temp RTV but it didn't last very long.  For the smoke chamber you could use a felt style gasket and it will last longer.

http://bbqgaskets.com/contact_4.html

 

[rob sicc]

 
Just run it through a session of smoke to see if the leaks are gone.  I used some high temp RTV but it didn't last very long.  For the smoke chamber you could use a felt style gasket and it will last longer.

http://bbqgaskets.com/contact_4.html

Well, I ran through one set of coals and some leaks are gone and some are not.  AHHHH!

It seems the FB door might be a little warped.  I think I will be ordering a clamp kit.

any suggestions of a good website to get replacement clamps?

 

[wood river bbq]

Try www.kck.com for door latches

 

[ps0303]

A local Harbor Freight might have a set of door clamps you could use.

 

[lambo711]

How are you liking this smoker so far? Its on my list of possibilities just havnt seen many of them out there yet.

 

[rob sicc]

 
How are you liking this smoker so far? Its on my list of possibilities just haven't seen many of them out there yet.

I like the smoker a lot.  I managed to get it on sale for under $170 on Amazon.  It has a good size CC.  If has 6 grates.  The 6 grates will come in handy when i make jerky.  I did have to do some mods.  If you get this model, do the mods as you build it.  I needed to disassemble it.  it was a big deal but would have been easier to do the mods while assembling.

The mods I did was to use a fiberglass gasket and attach it using RTV where the FB and CC meet.  That works perfect.  no more smoke leak there.

The next mod was the FB door.  I added the same gasket (and RTV0 to the FB door. That did not work 100%.  I have since ordered a new clamp for the top of the door.  I believe it will cut the leak down almost completely if not completely.

The third mod was to put lavalock gasket on the CC door.  The lavalock is in the mail.  I believe it will work.  if not I will order a new clamp again.

Finally, I replaced the thermostat on the door because everyone says the factory thermostats on the lower end smokers are junk.  $8, and is consisted of

I only have 2 issues.

The first issue is that there may be 6 grates but there is only;y 4-5 inches between grates.  you can take the grates out to fit a roast or chicken or turkey so it's not a big deal.

The second issue is the FB.  The door to open and refill is on the side and opens to the side.  When you want to refill you need to pull the coal box out to dump more coals into it.  I need to get a map for under the smoker so it doesn't ruin my patio.

I have run a smoke through it and it was a lot of fun.  Everything went very smoothly and it helped my find my initially leaks.  I can't wait to smoke something else.

Please let me know if that helps. I will be happy to ask any other questions.

 

[wood river bbq]

Normally, I cook on gravel but if rain is predicted I roll the unit onto my patio and under the patio cover. My wife goes nuts every time I do this for fear I'm going to get grease etc on the patio bricks. To solve the problem, I purchased from Walmart the largest alum oil drip pan that is used to protect the garage floor from oil leaking from the car. Works great for me -- I just roll the cooker onto the pan and the wife is happy. I don't want to mess up the patio either.