foil for air leaks

[D German]

How many out there foil the seams for every smoke? Any alternatives?

 

[K Kruger]

Never. It is not at all necessary. One does not need an airtight cooker to cook.

 

[Dave from Denver]

If I was worried about air leaks I'd close all the vents. Maybe that wouldn't work too well!

 

[j. pavone]

If your smoker looks more oval than round and leaks badly then maybe you need some replacement parts but i wouldn't bother at all.

 

[D German]

I guess i am a perfectionist. I do not want to see even a hint of smoke from a seam. Run lean and mean with the fuel. Have been foiling the lid center piece replacement since i got the WSM. Maybe with a lot of builup smoke would not escape from the seam.

 

[David Lohrentz]

My cooker is rather leaky and I do it if I am cold smoking or milking a sub-200 degree temp for things like jerky or bacon. Otherwise, no.

 

[Dave Brewer]

 

[j biesinger]

One time I had an anomalous cook with high temps that wouldn't come down even with all vents closed. I figured I was drawing air through a seam. I make sure there are no visible gaps by spinning the sections until they fit and never had a problem since.

I don't think I've seen smoke leak from the lower seam, I assume air would be drawing in there.

IMO you want some air flow to keep proper combustion and to dry the bark. I think offsets need to be air tight because they are tough to keep up to temp.

 

[Dave Brewer]

Big bullet mods
Lets see if I can figure out how to do this linking thing.