OK Joe Highland sealing mishaps with RTV

[smokeyjobe]

Hey guys - thought I had this figured out.

Purchased the Red RTV that seems to a popular sealing solution from Amazon.

Thought the 3 oz bottle would suffice to create a custom gasket on both boxes.

Applied the RTV around lip on the box (not the lid) and even smoothed it with a plastic putty knife.

Laid the wax paper on top and gently closed the lid.

When I came back about 30 min later I peaked under the lid, in spite of using nearly the entire tube, on the 2 boxes the wax paper only made contact in a few spots.

Either I'm doing something horribly wrong, 3oz wasn't enough, or my lid isn't sitting real clean on the body.

Any suggestions? Should I stack more RTV on top and try again after this batch cures or cut my loss, clean it up and buy rope?

(Bonus Question - How come OK Joe owners aren't often seen RTV sealing the parallel seem of the FB?)

 

[daveomak]

Silicone sealer will NOT stick to silicone sealer...  Scrape it off and power sand the surface to remove old silicone...

Squeeze on the new sealer really thick...  apply saran wrap to the other surface and gently close the door...  wait 24 and check...   If you still have gaps, you need to look at a high temp rope gasket sealer......  or beat on the smoker with a big hammer...  or look at making a flange seal out of metal...  or ,,,,   or....

Stove Gasket and Cement.JPG

• daveomak
• Aug 6, 2016

 

[gonavy]

I only used the RTV between the FB and CC box, and for the two halves of the FB.  For the lids on both I use nomex self adhesive strip works much better and will make a good seal.  I used the Lavalock and it has worked well for me.  Amazon has them right now for 10 bucks or so, you'll need two packs (pack is 15 feet) to do both boxes you'll have a lot left over.

Amazon Lavalock

 

[smokeyjobe]

Hey guys, appreciate the advice.

So I checked out Nomex. In researching it I saw some claims from Firefighters that the Nomex clothing they wear gave them cancer and made their man giblets atrophy.

 Dupont's product spec sheets say to keep it away from food and beverage as well... so I'm going to pass for now.

Next thing I saw were 'Rutland' gaskets... apparently those contain fiber glass

So I don't mean to wimp out here, but cant see myself serving food to my family knowing those issues.

Any other option besides those to consider?

 

[daveomak]

Did you check the red RTV to see if it was food safe ??

 

[SmokyMose]

Not sure what you're trying to do. When I assembled my CharGriller I put a bead between the two halves of the firebox, another where the box met the chamber and sealed around the stack where it connected. Wax paper?

 

[smokeyjobe]

 
Did you check the red RTV to see if it was food safe ??

Yes sir, admittedly it was a much shorter search as the product is FDA food safe.

Not sure what you're trying to do. When I assembled my CharGriller I put a bead between the two halves of the firebox, another where the box met the chamber and sealed around the stack where it connected. Wax paper?

Sounds like a great job sealing. I am attempting to create an RTV gasket between the lid and the boxes as well. Some folks use saran wrap, wax paper, or even a cooking spray like pam to coat one side of the RTV as its sandwiched between the lid and the box so after curing you can open the lid and the RTV only sticks to the untreated side creating a custom gasket.

Having time to do more research I see most people reporting success have the RTV gasket on the lid, where my attempt was to have the gasket on the box.

 

[wdoss89]

Having time to do more research I see most people reporting success have the RTV gasket on the lid, where my attempt was to have the gasket on the box.

This was going to be my suggestion. I tried to do the same on my firebox and id dint work out. But when I attempted the same process on the lid itself it worked....I did do the PAM and saran wrap technique. Also at my other failed attempt this last time I also taped off the spot I didn't want the RTV to squeeze out onto!

Good luck with your adventure!

 

[smokeyjobe]

This was going to be my suggestion. I tried to do the same on my firebox and id dint work out. But when I attempted the same process on the lid itself it worked....I did do the PAM and saran wrap technique. Also at my other failed attempt this last time I also taped off the spot I didn't want the RTV to squeeze out onto!

Good luck with your adventure!

Thanks everything, went really well with the lid side approach, but I was too cheap to remove what was already on the box lip...so up close it looks like crap, but works. When it comes time to replace it I'll take it down to bare bones and do it right.

I just went straight Pam, worked well. Most guides say use sparingly but I almost ended up with a sealed FB!

Let me ask, how does the tape work? What keeps rtv from sticking to it?