Gasket Maker for better door seal?


 
J

John_S

New member
I know there have been lots of threads on how to get a better seal on the WSM door. For awhile now I've thought about running a bead of something around the door opening. At the hardware store yesterday I picked up a tube of Permatex "Ultra Copper High-Temp RTV Silicone Gasket Maker" for $6. Two questions: 1) does anybody know if this stuff is still flexible after it cures?, and 2) again, after fully-cured, does it emit any fumes when heated up? Although it will be on the outside of the opening, once the door is on the material will essentially be inside the cooker. If I need to take this stuff back and get something else, no sweat--they had lots of options but I just took a stab based on the 700 degree temp max and the fact that the package implied that this product retains some flexibilty.
 
are you permanently sealing the door shut?

if not a firm bead might not be any better than the door at present, it could be uneven then wouldn't compress enough to make a tight even seal

I don't think I'd use that stuff for this, if it were me I'd try to get some of the stuff like they use on the Bubbakeg Convection Grill or around the door on a self clean oven then extend the tab from the handle with a longer bolt.
 
it was hell trying to find a MSDS (material safety data sheet) for this product but i would not use it on a bbq after reading taht it generates formaldahyde fumes when heated to 300F.

http://www.mightyautoparts.com...s/permatex/101br.pdf

relative paragraph:

Toxicity: Eye and skin irritant. May be irritating by
inhalation. Moderately toxic by ingestion. When
heated to temperatures above 300°F (150°F) in the
presence of air, this product can form
formaldehyde vapors. Formaldehyde is a potential
cancer hazard and a known skin and respiratory
sensitizer. Vapors irritate eyes, nose and throat.
Safe handling conditions may be maintained by
keeping vapor concentrations below the OSHA
permissible limit for formaldehyde.

Evidently this matierial is designed to be sandwiched tightly between two pieces of metal so that exposure to air is non-existant.
 
one last point which is a good tip for such things. anytime you are interested in a product such as cleaners sealers glues paints or just about any material that comes in a liquid, paste, powder, or solid that acts as a cleaner, lubricant, sealer, glue, or some such thing the store selling those products is required by federal law to keep MSDS sheets on hand and make copy for you on request. there are also product data sheets which do not list the hazrds for such materials and technical data sheets as well the PDS and TDS sheets altho the sellers are required to provide those.

even simple ivory soap has a MSDS
 
Yeah, they conveniently leave that safety info out of their flowery product info, and off the package as well. Based on a couple of other conversations, I'm now heading in the direction of furnace and/or wood stove sealers/gaskets. I'm guessing that they'll have to be safer than the automotive stuff. Really wanted to have this door thing fixed before I fire up for the 4th, but it's looking unlikely with normally 24 hour required cure times for this stuff and I haven't found the magic product yet.
 
you can hand bend it into pretty fair shape if you spend some time at it. thats what i did with mine. cooking over time will seal it forther as it builds up a nice coat of grease. you can speed that up a bit by rubbing a light coat of cooking oil on the edges of the door.
 
Just ended up sealing the door shut altogether with aluminum flue tape. I do still plan to track down some appropriate sealant however to run a bead around the rim of my center section to give the lid something with a slight flex to seat into. I'm gonna make this sucker airtight eventually....
 
Originally posted by Jon Merka:
http://www.mightyautoparts.com...s/permatex/101br.pdf

relative paragraph:

Toxicity: Eye and skin irritant. May be irritating by
inhalation. Moderately toxic by ingestion. When
heated to temperatures above 300°F (150°F) in the
presence of air, this product can form
formaldehyde vapors. Formaldehyde is a potential
cancer hazard and a known skin and respiratory
sensitizer. Vapors irritate eyes, nose and throat.
Safe handling conditions may be maintained by
keeping vapor concentrations below the OSHA
permissible limit for formaldehyde.

Evidently this matierial is designed to be sandwiched tightly between two pieces of metal so that exposure to air is non-existant.
Click to expand...

So if it is sandwiched between the door and wsm is that ok? I'm thinking so, I've had my door siliconed with permatex ultra black for over a year now. I'm not going to worry about it.
 
You can try the following:
Rutland High Temp Silicone Sealant. This is a caulk, and you can make a really thin bead around the door rim or the smoker body where the door contacts it. Lay a thin strip of kitchen wax paper or kitchen parchment paper (which is actually silicon impregnated) on top of the bead. Gently close the door until the goo spreads out and the paper makes contact with the opposite surface all around. Lift the door and let it set. Peel off the paper. The sealant can be trimmed with a knife. Rutland Products are in hardware stores, furnace and wood stove stores, and online.

This is actually a mod for an offset smoker that I found, but it should work for the WSM as well.
 
Here is another option you may want to consider, I refurbished a New Braunfels Bandera and used a Big Green Egg felt gasket to make a seal on the smoke chamber door. It has an adhesive backing (prone to failure on some BGE's) so I used a bead of Red Permatex High-Temp silicone as an extra dose of adhesive.

http://i163.photobucket.com/al...Bandera/IMG_0404.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/al...Bandera/IMG_0398.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/al...Bandera/IMG_0399.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/al...Bandera/IMG_0401.jpg

I haven't had time to fire it up because it needed grates, but a friend offered to make some for me if he could use it for a large party he's cooking for. He did a test cook with it and was very impressed with the seal and how smoke tight the cooker is and intends to mod his NBB the same way.
 
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