Air leaks

[DarrenC]

I have made a few changes to my el-cheapo sunbeam smoker to make it perform better and coupled with the Minion method I learned here it had produced some very good Q. I believe that the one thing that really makes the difference beween my smoker and a real WSM is that air leaks in all over, making it very hard to keep the temperature even, making it difficult to cross the line from good to outstanding barbeque. The circular vent in the firebox lets in air even when completely closed, the body is most definitely out-of-round, the feeder door is a joke, and the lid does not fit as tightly as I would like. Is there some type of heat-resistant caulking or sealant I can use to help my little Sunbeam perform a little more WSM-like?

 

[Jim Minion]

I know of others that have had your problem and the easy fix was to loosely roll foil to make a gasket. Most other fixes have a mess that goes with them.
Jim

 

[Guest]

There is a high-temp RTV silicone caulk available at auto supply stores. This is typically rated up to about 500 degrees, so it's marginal when used near the fire. For cooker use, I suspect it's good for about a year, at which point it will start to crumble and need to be replaced.

There is also a fiberglass woven gasket "rope" intended for sealing wood stove doors and ovens. You use a high-tempt stove cement to bond it to the metal. It's probably a neat solution for some applications and wouldn't work worth a darn for others. It, too, will eventually burn up and need to be replaced.

In addition to the foil solution, you can buy aluminum tape, intended for sealing heating ducts. This would be great for permanently sealing up actual holes and seams.