Cajun Bandit Door


 
J

Joe Tacoma

TVWBB Member
Does anyone else use a CB Door. I ordered one for my 18.5" and have only used it twice. It leaks smoke, a little less than the original door but still leaks from the top of both left and right sides. I feel ripped off considering the door cost $38 with shipping and handling included and CB has not returned any of my emails. Is this normal or does anyone have CB door that leaks no smoke at all?
 
It's probably normal but like the original door you can bend it and make it better. It's probably slightly too flat. You need to grab it by the sides and squeeze it to make it more round if that makes any sense.
 
Thanks Dustin, ill try it, this door feel solid hopefully I have enough elbow grease to slightly bend it, I put towel on one side and tried hammering, that didn't do me any good.
 
I have th CB door and did have to mold it a bit as Dustin said. But it works like a charm for me.
 
Joe is the compression latch installed ?
My CB doors work perfectly but needed a little gunk to form before stopped leaking.
 
I've stuck with the original door. While it's true it leaks a little, it's easy to reform to minimize it. As for the CB door I'll speculate and guess the issue isn't only the door but the kettle itself which has a history of being slightly out of round and I suspect this is why Weber makes their door so easy to bend. All that being said I've honestly seen no difficultly in maintaining rock solid temperatures with the original door. I believe other issues are more important such as charcoal placement and vents. Good Luck
 
Enrico, I took the handle off the original door and installed in on the Cajun Bandit door. I wish I could post a picture, because the bottom part of the door where no smoke escapes is spotless, but the upper part of both sides is brownish because of the smoke that leaks out of the sides. Thanks.
 
Hi John. The original door held the temps fine on my first and only cook I used it. I purchased the CB door because most people said it fit snug and had no leaks. The weber door definitely feels like its a lot easier to bend so I will try molding it to fit better and if it does not leak I will use it instead. I like that the CB door is sturdy and seems a lot more durable. Thank you for the info.
 
Joe... I have the CB door on my 22 and I'm completely satisfied with it. I won't go so far as to say there are "no" leaks but it is 100% improvement over the door that came with the smoker. The stock door on my 18" WSM works fine. Could your smoker barrel section be out of round?
 
Cliff, it looks as close to round as can be, the part where the door is looks perfectly round, it would be too hard for me to tell with the naked eye to know if it is out of round. I am going to try and mold the original door to fit the door tighter and if this works ill just throw the CB door somewhere and forget about it.
 
I put a gasket around my CB door. Sometimes will still leak if I dont position it 'just so', but otherwise pretty air tight. My only concern is that the square nut on the CB spins when I open the handle--so it sometimes becomes tricky to latch the door back on. I need to find a way to tighten it down, I just keep 'forgetting' to do it :rolleyes:
 
I put the gasket on my CB door too, but I'll be honest, If I didn't bend it some it still would have leaked. I got one without the handle installed. When I went to install the new handle I used a cheap drill bit and I think I may have flattened the door when I was try to make the handle hole bigger. To clarify what I said earlier you want to grab the the left and right side of the door and essentially do a butterfly press. It takes a lot more force because it's a steel door. Don't use anything to pivot on the door. Push slightly beyond where you think you need to go and it should flex back into the proper shape. After I did that I probably didn't need the gasket but I use it anyway.
 
Joe Tacoma said:
Enrico, I took the handle off the original door and installed in on the Cajun Bandit door. I wish I could post a picture, because the bottom part of the door where no smoke escapes is spotless, but the upper part of both sides is brownish because of the smoke that leaks out of the sides. Thanks.
Click to expand...

That's it!
Remove origina one and install compression latch. You will resolve any leal question
 
Joe Tacoma said:
Does anyone else use a CB Door. I ordered one for my 18.5" and have only used it twice. It leaks smoke, a little less than the original door but still leaks from the top of both left and right sides. I feel ripped off considering the door cost $38 with shipping and handling included and CB has not returned any of my emails. Is this normal or does anyone have CB door that leaks no smoke at all?
Click to expand...

I get a puff from those side on my CB 22 door, but it's a helluva lot better than the OEM door.

Strange as I've been trading emails with Chris this a.m., no problem.

Cliff Bartlett said:
Joe... I have the CB door on my 22 and I'm completely satisfied with it. I won't go so far as to say there are "no" leaks but it is 100% improvement over the door that came with the smoker. The stock door on my 18" WSM works fine. Could your smoker barrel section be out of round?
Click to expand...

This!

Enrico Brandizzi said:
That's it!
Remove origina one and install compression latch. You will resolve any leal question
Click to expand...

This too.

Just be careful to leave a ever so small gap when you install so it doesn't pinch the barrel so much and squeeze the sides out more; you'll see when you install the latch.
 
I bought the kit from Cajun Bandit which included the stainless steel door. I am totally satisfied with it. It is quality and is better than the door that came with my WSM. But, having said that, both the WSM body and the door are metal. Metal on metal will never make an air tight seal. In my opinion it isn't that big of a deal.

I had an issue with my order when I purchased the kit and I was simply amazed at the great level of service I was given by CB. Immediately shipped out a replacement and was very responsive to my emails. You might want to check your email address for CB as that is not consistent with the service I received or with the level of service I have read about on the forum.
 
Jon. I have emailed them numerous times and have not received a single reply. They are consistent about not providing any service to me. The leak isn't that big of a deal. Even if they didn't replace the door a reply or some advice would have been good. I have reservations about ordering anything from them again.
 
I have never understood all of the fret and worry about air leakage around the original or CB door.
Can someone please explain to me why this is so important?
Do you not use the vents to let in/out air/smoke??
 
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