Questions for Smoker Mods

[smokeating]

Hey everyone,

I am new to the area of smoking as I just recently got a new smoker for Christmas (the Master Forge vertical charcoal smoker - basically an ECB). While I have already been having a lot of fun modding it out, I have run into a small snag and am in need some guidance from all of you! I recently got in my gasket/RTV silicone to seal the lid a bit better, but I may have made a mistake in the ordering. I ordered this gasket: and this RTV silicone: . So my questions were, would a 1/4"-5/16" gasket be big enough to seal the gap? Also, I see that most people have a red or black colored silicone and mine is copper! Will that silicone be okay to use for the gasket?

Thank you all in advance and I hope to get my smoke on in here in coming days!

 

[daveomak]

Smokeating, morning and welcome to the forum.....   It looks like you ordered the right stuff... If the silicone is good for headers, it should be good for a smoker....   

When sealing the door, if the gap is not uniform, tweak the door to get it as best you can...  

Clean the door surface with alcohol to remove grease etc so the silicone will adhere well....  have some plastic wrap ready....

silicone the door.... place the gasket material in the silicone...  masking tape may be needed to hold it in place....

cover the area where the gasket will come in contact, with plastic wrap or the gasket itself.... Close the door.....    

(the plastic is in case there is too much silicone and it squeezes out and glues the door shut...... when the silicone dries, the plastic will peel easily)....  

take pics of your process for others to learn from, if possible...  

Dave

 

[smokeating]

Hey Dave,

Thank you for the response, it is good to know I ordered the right things, however, in regards to sealing the gap of the door, I am actually wanting to seal the gap of the lid. While I feel that the 1/4" gasket would for sure be big enough for the door, I am just not sure it would have enough coverage on the lid. However, I think I may just go ahead and try to seal the gap on the lid with the 1/4" gasket and if it doesn't work out, I can always rip it off and order a bigger gasket. With your tips, I think I am going to try and seal the door too! I actually have some pictures of me modding the fire pan, and adding vents, but I feel that this person has done a much more thorough job in documenting his mods: http://home.comcast.net/~day_trippr/smoker_mods.htm .

Thank you again for your help and I will post back with my results!