Weber Kettle Lid Gasket?

[mr_whipple]

Anyone ever put a gasket like lavalock on their kettle lid? I don't remember dropping the lid although anything is possible, but either the kettle itself or the lid is clearly out of round. High heat cooking isn't a problem, but trying to run the SNS or just run at a lower smoker type temps has become more difficult than I recall.

 

[normanaj]

I did it with my WSM. Can't see that there's much of a difference.

 

[chopsaw]

but either the kettle itself or the lid is clearly out of round.

Put the lid on the bottom and spin it . See if it gets tight in a certain spot .
Take some measurements of both and see if there is a big difference .

My 26 blew over right after I got it . The bottom was 3/4's out of round . ( 3/8 's each direction )
I used a bar clamp to pull it back in shape , then just used it until it sealed up .
If you try this , take it slow . Don't force it .

 

[mr_whipple]

Put the lid on the bottom and spin it . See if it gets tight in a certain spot .
Take some measurements of both and see if there is a big difference .

My 26 blew over right after I got it . The bottom was 3/4's out of round . ( 3/8 's each direction )
I used a bar clamp to pull it back in shape , then just used it until it sealed up .
If you try this , take it slow . Don't force it .
View attachment 699756

I had that thought yesterday but didn't get around to it. Had to mow and weed whack. I have some clamps like that but don't think they're big enough.

 

[hoagiehut]

Anyone ever put a gasket like lavalock on their kettle lid? I don't remember dropping the lid although anything is possible, but either the kettle itself or the lid is clearly out of round. High heat cooking isn't a problem, but trying to run the SNS or just run at a lower smoker type temps has become more difficult than I recall.

Yes, I have done exactly as you describe with pretty good results. As mentioned spinning the lid helps to find a tight spot. Like you, my problem was I wanted the lid in a particular orientation in relation to the SNS. I applied the gasket to the lid side. (FYI - my problem the lid was dropped and is slightly out of round.)

 

[seenred]

I once tried the lavalock gasket on the lip of the lid. I found it to be a PITA. Made the lid fit VERY snug, and I had to line it up just right every time to make the lid and the bottom fit right. I will say that once I got 'em lined up, the kettle was very airtight...but I didn't feel like it made enough difference in performance for the trouble. I eventually removed the gasket.

I like @chopsaw idea of using a bar clamp to try to re-round your kettle. If you took your time, that'd probably be the best solution.

Red