Anyone replace their bottom gasket?

[jfmorris]

I've got leaks in my bottom sliding vent on my SNS Kamado (Gen1), due to the use of a BBQ Guru fan adapter that wedges into the track. I've kinda messed up the "felt" inside there, which is what seals against the sliding vent and door. I've had trouble shutting down fully and snuffing charcoal lately, and think this is part of the problem.

Has anyone replaced the bottom gasket? I contacted SNSGrills, and the person who responded to my email basically referred me to BBQGaskets.com, but I am not sure that the gasket material in that lower vent is the same stuff I would use elsewhere on the kamado.

I've yet to be brave enough to get my Allen wrench set out and take the bottom vent off, as once I do, not sure it will go back on properly without new gasket material and/or RTV.

Can anyone who has taken the bottom off the SNS Kamado or any kamado for that matter comment on what to expect, and what type material is in there where the sliding vent rests?

I've got some self stick lava lock I bought a few years ago to seal up my offset, and never got around to using it. Hoping something like that could work...

I also have issues with some of the other gaskets - a small gap that has opened in the body gasket at the back that lets smoke out if I close the top vent too far, and the top chimney gasket has shrunk or something, and has an almost 1" gap - plus is loose. I think high heat use for pizza has caused the adhesive to fail on that top vent gasket. But those gaskets are kinda obvious, and something like Lava lock ought to work there. Just wondering about this hidden gasket right now...

I think once I get it sealed back up, I may try and force myself away from using the PartyQ so much for controlling the fire. Heck, last time I used it I dropped the PartyQ and the screen broke, and only the bottom 1/4 of each digit is now visible! Thankfully I have a second PartyQ in my thermometer box...

[LA Pork Butt]

Jim, the BGE doesn’t have a gasket on the bottom vent and I have never had a problem shutting down. For future reference the Smobot controller doesn’t have a blower so there is nothing to put in the track of the bottom vent. It drafts air by opening and closing the exhaust vent. I like it better than my Party Q and customer service has been great.

[jfmorris]

I submitted a question to Smobot support to see if they knew if one of their adapters would work with my kamado, but not sure I can justify the price to be honest. I was thinking more along the lines of a fan like the Thermoworks Billows, which looks like it might just clip to my lower vent assembly without having to shove an adapter in there.

Surprising there is no gasket material in the BGE lower vent. I think I am going to grab my Allen wrenches and pull that bad boy off at lunch today...

[jfmorris]

Well after a week I got a question from Smobot support yesterday asking the outer diameter of the ceramic chimney on top of the SNS Kamado. I responded with 7.25 inches, 7.5 including the gasket material. We will see how long they take to reply to my reply with whether they have an adapter that will work or not. Hoping they will have a black Friday or Cyber Monday sale...

[LA Pork Butt]

jfmorris I am a little surprised because their customer services has been excellent giving a response the same day within hours.

[jfmorris]

Well, I went to take the bottom vent off at lunch, and only got as far as loosening one screw before chickening out, then tightened it back.

It looks like there is black RTV sealing a gap between the stainless slide and the ceramic across the top of the frame that the slide moves in, and that the felt like material is maybe 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch wide at most, at top and bottom of the track. I'm afraid at this point if I take it off, I won't be able to use the kamado until I find more high temp black RTV and such. Although I am sure I can probably cut some of the lava lock material down narrow as gasket material, I don't have any high temp RTV on hand.

[LA Pork Butt]

The BGE has a similar seal on the bottom vent.

[jfmorris]

What - felt? Or RTV?

[LA Pork Butt]

Jim, I think it doesn’t have to be heat resistent silicone, because the bottom of the Kamado doesn’t get near as hot as the part above the fire grate.

[jfmorris]

Ok guys and gals, I want to show you my findings from the SNS Kamado (1st generation).

First, there *IS* (or WAS) a bead of black high temp caulk along the top of the vent frame before I messed with it. You can see it here:



When I pulled it off, I had to clean this black caulk off both the body of the kamado and the back/top of the vent.

As you can see, the 3/8 inch wide felt material was stuck to the METAL, not the CERAMIC. And there were two layers of it in places. In a minute you will see why...



I cleaned the vent up, scraped the residue off with a razor blade, then applied some 1/2 wide Nomex I had bought from Lavalock years ago. A little wide, and unfortunately white. BUT, there is a problem when installed:



There is a GAP, with the screws all tight!. Basically, the curvature of the vent and the curvature of the ceramic do not quite match, leading to a gap that is widest at the middle, and I can see my finger down below. Sooo.... now I see why it had two layers before. So I put a slightly shorter second layer of Nomex on, and reinstalled:




That pretty much sealed it up, but now I see why there was a bead of caulk. Most likely to prevent rain water from running down the side and saturating the Nomex material! The caulk/RTV was only on the top side of the vent, not the bottom.

So, I'll just keep the grill covered up until I get some high temp black RTV in and seal it better. In the meantime, there is a little more of the gasket showing in the opening than before, but it doesn't bother me. It will be pretty dirty and gray before too long - so black would have been better, but white is what I already had.



And... I don't think this was in any way contributing to a leak. I was under the mistaken impression that the SLIDES went against this felt material. The felt is just there to seal between the frame of the vent and the body of the kamado, and that had not been compromised. Instead, I found I have a full ONE INCH gap in the wider gasket material around the top vent opening. So even with the top vent closed, there is a gap up there that will let some air out. Any tiny leaks anywhere else will let the fire take a lot longer to die down.

I'll be ordering a roll of the wider 7/8 or 1 inch high temp Lavalock and some RTV tonight. Sadly that top gasket area needs a LOT of cleaning before anything is gonna stick to it. Its very sooty, and the old one is just friction fitted between lid and vent at the moment.