Help Needed - Seals

[PyroBoris]

Hi All,

Am hoping to pump the collective knowledge banks for some advice regarding seals (not the baby clubbing type).

I built my UDS last year and used a donated stainless steel 22" kettle BBQ lid for the...well, lid. It was ever so slightly too small, so I worked the lip of the lid in a vice the flatten it out a little. This was partially effective in that it ended up being bent out slightly, certainly not flat, but it was enough to just sit on top of the UDS. (I hope this makes sense)

I then purchased some self adhesive stove rope and stuck this to the rim of the lid. After probably another two smokes, the self adhesive tape started to fail and the rope came away from the lid. I figured this was probably due to the lid having remnants of smoke/grease on the inside. Fair enough, I hadn't cleaned it properly first time round.

After removing the first seal attempt, next up was a high temperature silicone bead all the way around the edge of the lid, into which I pressed the original stove rope. After another couple of smoking sessions, the silicone started to come away from the lid (the old stove rope remained stuck to the silicone). Grrr.

So, my most recent attempt was to use some high temp putty, the kind that sets hard + stove rope. This time I got a wire brush on a dremel and polished the inside edge of the lid super clean. This was followed by a good wipe with white spirit to really try and remove any and all contaminants/grease residues etc. With everything super clean, the HT putty was applied and the stove rope embedded and then gently placed on top of the UDS to make a nice seal. This was really effective, until it started to fall off again.

I figure that the HT putty was a bad idea, as it sets solid and the lid probably has some flex in it through expansion/contraction when heating up/cooling down, which may have introduced some stresses causing the seal to crack and come away.

I need to get this right next time, so I prostrate myself before you all and the collective greater knowledge of the forum, to seek advice and guidance as to the best way to get this fixed once and for all.

How the feck do you guys affix seals to your UDS lids and get them to stay put?

Many thanks!

[essexsmoker]

I wonder if the lid isnt too smooth and shiny? Maybe run a grinder gently over the rim to rough it up?

[JamsCowbell]

I haven't built a UDS but I applied a nomex gasket to my WSM, it came with some red high temperature goo that stuck everything down well enough. I got it from eBay, checked my history and it was this guy http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gasket-Weber- ... 27c295e513

there was plenty of gasket and goo left over so it would probably do your UDS although it's probably worth checking with the seller.

[Scantily]

I bought a gasket kit for my wsm from the US and the sealant supplied is Sil-Bond RTV 6500, rated to 500f continuous and peaks of up to 650f. Gaskets have been on my kettle and and wsm for a few weeks now and seem very secure.

For those interested, the kit is available from http://www.bbqgaskets.com

[PyroBoris]

I wonder if the lid isnt too smooth and shiny? Maybe run a grinder gently over the rim to rough it up?

I am thinking this as well, will definitely grind it up before my next attempt!

JamsCowbell & Scantily - looks like both your solutions came form the US, how much was the postage if you don't mind my asking?

[JamsCowbell]

It wasn't that much, on the eBay advert it says US $11.99 (approx. £7.22) which sounds about right. It wasn't a big package.

[Scantily]

I wonder if the lid isnt too smooth and shiny? Maybe run a grinder gently over the rim to rough it up?

I am thinking this as well, will definitely grind it up before my next attempt!

JamsCowbell & Scantily - looks like both your solutions came form the US, how much was the postage if you don't mind my asking?

The postage was $9.99 and the kit itself was $26.99, a great mod that combined with the Cajun bandit door and compression latch really seals up the wsm tight as a drum.

I'm not sure about roughing up the surface, the instructions with my kit was to make the surface as clean as possible and when applying the silicone to put some lines in it, I spread it out with a small comb which worked perfectly.