Pimp My Smoker Stainless Door Mod


 
M

Michael Reimer

New member
Purchased a CB stainless door and messed around with the Weber factory latch. I did not like that very much and wanted to upgrade. Here is the step my step with photos:

1. Removed the stock door from my WSM.

2. Threw away the factory latch.

3. Purchased a black power coat compression latch from the web. http://www.reidsupply.com/products/...re/latches/compression-latches/?fl=4294927977

4. When this arrived I had to enlarge the hole on the stainless door by about 1/16th. Used a Unibit to do this.

5. Purchased a cheap head gasket at my local auto store and used a paper cutter to trip it to the same size square at the compression latch. This is so it does not get hot.

6. Installed both the latch and the gasket and adjusted it so it is sealed tight.

7. Used a Dremmel tool to trim the extra bolt that was on the back side of the latch.


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Michael Reimer said:
Scott,

I used this one.

Item No: SC-62325

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike; Did you use any sort of gasket to seal the door to the smoker? If not, did you find that you were able to get a nice, tight seal by "massaging" the door a bit and then using the compression latch This is a terrific modification, and I appreciate your help.
 
Scott, I just did bacon in mine today. It leaks more under the lid seal that the door. They is what is so good about a compression latch. You can adjust how tight it seals. As mentioned above I did use a auto head gasket on both sides of the actual latch. It keeps the latch cool to the touch. Other than that you will be good to go. The main reason I did this mod is because with the stock latch the insert seems to pull out of the plastic. I drilled mine but was not happy so I went to this solution and it is way better.
 
Michael Reimer said:
Scott, I just did bacon in mine today. It leaks more under the lid seal that the door. They is what is so good about a compression latch. You can adjust how tight it seals. As mentioned above I did use a auto head gasket on both sides of the actual latch. It keeps the latch cool to the touch. Other than that you will be good to go. The main reason I did this mod is because with the stock latch the insert seems to pull out of the plastic. I drilled mine but was not happy so I went to this solution and it is way better.
Click to expand...

It looks like a terrific modification...especially for about $27 (cost of the latch plus shipping). I'm gonna do it!

Thanks for your time, and for your helpful responses!
 
Reviving an old thread.

After breaking yet another lousy Weber handle I installed this fix. OUTSTANDING. Truly. It took all of about 30 minutes from start to finish, and that included "massaging" the Cajun Bandit door a bit to get the corners to seal better.

I did one thing differently than Michael, however. The threaded part of the latch that goes through the door is actually square, with the corners rounded-off and then threaded. Rather than simply drill out the hole in the door to make it larger, I used a small grinding bit on my Dremel and squared off the existing hole. After a little trial-and-error, I got the hole squared off enough so that the latch would fit through, but it doesn't rotate within the hole. By doing this, even if the retaining nut should somehow loosen, the latch won't spin in the hole and I'll still be able to use the latch until I can put a wrench on it to tighten the retaining nut. I doubt the nut will ever come loose, but this is one of those "just in case" ideas.

Hat's off to Michael for coming up with this idea and providing the latch part number. Well done, my friend!
 
Did this mod about 10 days ago and put it to the test last night and today with a brisket and now turkey. Works perfectly. HUGE improvement over the lousy stock handle. $27 or so, and 30 minutes of work. We'll worth the dollars and time!
 
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