Hey gang...was thinking about using some of that nomex tape....FireBlack/LavaLock, etc. First, those of you that have it installed, did it make a noticeable difference in terms of maintaining temperature for long cooks? Did you have any issues with strange smells coming off it? (A handful of the reviews mention this but not that many.) Also, they all appear to be self-adhesive, yet it's often sold with a tube of high heat silicone...is this necessary?
If properly applied, they do a good job of stopping leaks. If you don't have bad leaks, I don't think they help much, but if you do have serious leaks, (enough that you have difficulty controlling temps), then they can be a big help.
I had one on my kettle, but I didn't do a good enough job of cleaning the metal before applying, and it came loose on one area. My leakage isn't that bad, so I just removed it and kept on cookin'. I have no trouble maintaining whatever temp I want - without a gasket.
My gasket was self adhesive, so I did not bother with silicone.
If you decide to use a gasket, make sure you clean the area where the sticky side goes extremely well, and then do it again.
I have lavalock on my vertical offset - both the Cook chamber and firebox. It definitely makes a difference. It used to leak out of darn near the whole cook chamber door; now, nothing! It’s been a few years since I put it on, and don’t recall if I used any extra adhesive. Its got a couple spots that are starting to come lose now...might be time to grab that silicon and try to get another season out of it before I replace the gasket.
Works great. If using on a kettle check to make sure the lid did get out of round first. It very simple to fix just gently push the lid edge until it fits correctly on the bottom. LavaLock won’t do much if the lid is not round.
Yeah this is just for a kettle, and truth be told, leakage hasn't been a huge issue, I've been able to dial it in pretty solid but I'm always looking for ways (particularly inexpensive ones) to up my game. Cooking when it's cold out in particular is a little more challenging, and certainly in those cases, even a small amount of leakage can be a pain. I'll probably drop the 20 bucks and see how it goes. Definitely give the whole works a good solid scrubbing beforehand though. Thanks all!
Equipment
Primo Oval xl
Slow n Sear (two)
Drip n Griddle
22" Weber Kettle
26" Weber Kettle one touch
Blackstone 36†Pro Series
Sous vide machine
Kitchen Aid
Meat grinder
sausage stuffer
5 Crock Pots Akootrimonts
Two chimneys (was 3 but rivets finally popped, down to 1)
cast iron pans,
Dutch ovens
Signals 4 probe, thermapens, chef alarms, Dots, thermapop and maverick T-732, RTC-600, pro needle and various pocket instareads. The help and preferences
1 extra fridge and a deep chest freezer in the garage
KBB
FOGO
A 9 year old princess foster child
Patience and old patio furniture
"Baby Girl" The cat
That's actually a great idea... I have a pretty well equipped woodshop at the house, why not slap a couple clamps on there, never even though of that. Great idea for long cooks.
How about a welders blanket configured to your set up. Small leaks are not more than choking your fire to the desirable amount of burn and smoke. If you do try to use sealant, I would think the warm smoky air would gravitate towards the cooler outside air carrying any contaminants with it.
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