Petroni North
TVWBB Member
I am about to fit a gasket to my WSM 57cm cooker due to the poorly fitting door which, despite a fair bit of bending still has a lot of air able to get past.
Having checked Amazon and other sites for something suitable I settled on the BBQGaskets.com product supplied by Island Outdoor shown here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CI6WFCU/ but it was not only unavailable but no clue was given if it would ever be restocked. At £45 it seemed expensive too for what it was.
Then I checked the U.S. supplier http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00CI6WFCU/tvwb-20 and saw it was identical kit but at a third of the price.
So I ordered one. The shipping costs are of course extra at $11.99 making a total so far of $38.99 or £27.82 once converted to sterling (current rate £1:$1.40)
Got a card through the postbox today to say I had a package waiting at the post office which had an overdue customs charge of £3.82 plus a further £8.00 for the ‘handling charge’ of the Post Office telling me about the customs charge.
Bottom line is the total cost for the as yet untried gasket set stands me a total of £39.64
I ordered this before I learned about the stainless steel aftermarket doors replacement doors (Cajun Bullet) available from UK based (Brighton) BattleBoxBBQ http://battleboxbbq.com/shop/and-everything-else/wsm-replacement-doors/ at a cost of £36.00, although shipping via FedEx adds £9.50 and you still have to transfer your existing handle/lock or buy a new one which from memory involved drilling out the lock hole a little too plus the cost of the new lock which I think was about £26 (check).
Initially, based upon what I had read online in the first few days, I had planned to seal the door and both the middle and top ‘rings’. However, now that I am assured that the ‘rings’ will self seal as the cooker gets coated in various cooking gunk, I now only plan to sealing the door.
I also have a Weber replacement door due to arrive in a month or so and have bought some Vital Red RTV Silicone Gasket Maker (650f) in preparation for that one assuming it will also have gaps that I would want to reduce. If the gaps are small, but still warrant your attention, here is another solution you might consider. Check this link for a tube of liquid paste that can be used to seal between two surfaces normally to stop oils or water leaks. In my case I plan to use it as an air tight seal. See it here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00442KUDC/ I read somewhere on this forum that it works to seal the door gaps. I guess it can be applied either on the door or on the body of the cooker. I will apply it to the door as it will be less unsightly.
The trick, it said, is to squeeze a bead of it thick enough to deal with whatever gap you are trying to get rid of, but then to take strips of greaseproof paper and lay them onto the bead of the RTV until it is fully covered (also allowing for the spread that will happen when squeezed between surfaces). Then you push the door into place. The theory being that the paste will then spread and shape itself to whatever gap your door has but the greaseproof paper prevents it sticking the door and cooker together.
A Youtube video I watched (sealing the read differential on a vehicle) said the RTV fully cures in about 24 hours. At this point, you peel the greaseproof paper off and in theory, have a purpose made gasket exactly matching you air gap sealing needs.
So three things to share
- if like me you want to try a tighter door and remove/reduce the variable airflow into your WSM 47/57cm, then the above options might be useful links for you, if only to compare with other stuff you find
- As a result of changing my plans, I will have most of the gasket tape I bought from the U.S. available for others to use on their doors if they want to split the cost. I would sell it by the inch, i.e., total length divided into the total cost, less whatever I use for my door seal (about 20% I suspect) plus post and packing at cost. Therefore you could get a door seal at about 20% of the cost of going through the same process I did.
- And finally, for a really cheap and cheerful alternative, the RTV gasket maker might be just what you need.
My cooker is just for cooking, not a fashion statement or garden ornament so a bit of tape or gasket glue showing doesn’t bother me but these three options should provide a solution for whatever you might be trying to achieve.
If you are interested just PM me via this forum. Cheers!
Edit : a couple of pictures here https://www.flickr.com/photos/140157926@N03/albums/72157664593432711
Having checked Amazon and other sites for something suitable I settled on the BBQGaskets.com product supplied by Island Outdoor shown here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CI6WFCU/ but it was not only unavailable but no clue was given if it would ever be restocked. At £45 it seemed expensive too for what it was.
Then I checked the U.S. supplier http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00CI6WFCU/tvwb-20 and saw it was identical kit but at a third of the price.
So I ordered one. The shipping costs are of course extra at $11.99 making a total so far of $38.99 or £27.82 once converted to sterling (current rate £1:$1.40)
Got a card through the postbox today to say I had a package waiting at the post office which had an overdue customs charge of £3.82 plus a further £8.00 for the ‘handling charge’ of the Post Office telling me about the customs charge.
Bottom line is the total cost for the as yet untried gasket set stands me a total of £39.64
I ordered this before I learned about the stainless steel aftermarket doors replacement doors (Cajun Bullet) available from UK based (Brighton) BattleBoxBBQ http://battleboxbbq.com/shop/and-everything-else/wsm-replacement-doors/ at a cost of £36.00, although shipping via FedEx adds £9.50 and you still have to transfer your existing handle/lock or buy a new one which from memory involved drilling out the lock hole a little too plus the cost of the new lock which I think was about £26 (check).
Initially, based upon what I had read online in the first few days, I had planned to seal the door and both the middle and top ‘rings’. However, now that I am assured that the ‘rings’ will self seal as the cooker gets coated in various cooking gunk, I now only plan to sealing the door.
I also have a Weber replacement door due to arrive in a month or so and have bought some Vital Red RTV Silicone Gasket Maker (650f) in preparation for that one assuming it will also have gaps that I would want to reduce. If the gaps are small, but still warrant your attention, here is another solution you might consider. Check this link for a tube of liquid paste that can be used to seal between two surfaces normally to stop oils or water leaks. In my case I plan to use it as an air tight seal. See it here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00442KUDC/ I read somewhere on this forum that it works to seal the door gaps. I guess it can be applied either on the door or on the body of the cooker. I will apply it to the door as it will be less unsightly.
The trick, it said, is to squeeze a bead of it thick enough to deal with whatever gap you are trying to get rid of, but then to take strips of greaseproof paper and lay them onto the bead of the RTV until it is fully covered (also allowing for the spread that will happen when squeezed between surfaces). Then you push the door into place. The theory being that the paste will then spread and shape itself to whatever gap your door has but the greaseproof paper prevents it sticking the door and cooker together.
A Youtube video I watched (sealing the read differential on a vehicle) said the RTV fully cures in about 24 hours. At this point, you peel the greaseproof paper off and in theory, have a purpose made gasket exactly matching you air gap sealing needs.
So three things to share
- if like me you want to try a tighter door and remove/reduce the variable airflow into your WSM 47/57cm, then the above options might be useful links for you, if only to compare with other stuff you find
- As a result of changing my plans, I will have most of the gasket tape I bought from the U.S. available for others to use on their doors if they want to split the cost. I would sell it by the inch, i.e., total length divided into the total cost, less whatever I use for my door seal (about 20% I suspect) plus post and packing at cost. Therefore you could get a door seal at about 20% of the cost of going through the same process I did.
- And finally, for a really cheap and cheerful alternative, the RTV gasket maker might be just what you need.
My cooker is just for cooking, not a fashion statement or garden ornament so a bit of tape or gasket glue showing doesn’t bother me but these three options should provide a solution for whatever you might be trying to achieve.
If you are interested just PM me via this forum. Cheers!
Edit : a couple of pictures here https://www.flickr.com/photos/140157926@N03/albums/72157664593432711
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but seriously I have learned quite a lot pretty quickly. I do my third cook tomorrow (two pork shoulders and 4 monkfish loins wrapped in bacon). My silicon gasket is drying/curing as I type this and should be set by the morning. I'll let you know how it turns out. Good luck with yours, shout if I can be of any help.