Leakage and replacing gasket

[BARDSLJR]

Okay, long story short: my wife, requested to bring home a prime brisket from Costco, returns with a mammoth nearly 20-lb brisket! Wow, I've never seen brisket this big, much less cooked one. Anyway, I prepared in the usual way- trimmed the hard fat off it, slathered with French's yellow mustard, generous application of coarse salt (Maldon) and pepper. Plugged in my brand-new Fireboard 2, made sure everything was working, and preheated the 32" KK to within 10 degrees of the desired 275*. Put the brisket on about 10-11PM or so. Woke up at 3 and checked the temps- KK was about 282, quite acceptable. Went back to sleep. Got up at 8, thinking this would be about time to spritz and wrap, and checked KK temp.....335!!!! WTH???? quickly checked the meat temp and it was 202, so pulled the brisket off immediately, Wrapped it and let it rest. Tried it a few hours later and the bark was excellent, the flavor pretty good, but, unfortunately, quite dried out. There goes the return-from-holiday meal I was planning on providing for my daughter's family of five. And approximately $60 worth of really nice prime brisket. Arrrrghhhh.

So I think I have found the problem- see attached photo clearly showing air leakage, or in this case smoke, from the around the lid/body seal. I have a gasket kit that I had previously ordered from Dennis, so that is now on my project list for later this week, when the weather turns nicer again. My question is this: does anyone have any experience with replacing their main gasket, and any tips or words of wisdom I should know? (BTW, yes, I have already adjusted the clasp for the tightest seal possible.) Thanks, y'all!

[bgrant3406]

Take a look In the owners section, maintenance page

 

Gasket install

[Poochie]

It looks like it's been leaking for a while... especially around the lid clamp. And speaking of the clamp, the bottom part of it looks crooked.  Finally, the lid has an underbite with the bottom...or appears to in the photos. It may be an illusion. Before I would put the new gasket on, I'd clean that area up real good...gasket and KK and try to fix the bottom section of the latch so that it's straight.  I'm not sure how to fix the underbite if it has one, but I know someone who does. 

[BARDSLJR]

So actually, this haw been VERY helpful. I went out and checked the clasp before starting in  on a full scale gasket replacement, and to my surprise, it was a lot looser than I thought. I could almost turn the nuts by hand. So I loosened it up, reset the position of the bottom clasp, tightened it, and it looks, like from what I can test, that I have a good seal.So maybe I have put off the gasket replacement for a while?

I am going to make hash and chili out of the toasted brisket and count my blessings. Thanks, y'all. Stay tuned. Doing spare ribs, probably on Wednesday.

 

[5698k]

Based on the discoloration around the latch, it’s been this way for a while. What works for me is I adjust the latch such that there’s no movement in the lid when I try to move it in the fully latched position.


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[jonj]

You may have already done or considered these suggestions, so ignore if you have.

You might visually check the dome alignment while you are assessing / working on the issue. Several threads describe this process in the Owner's Section, Use and Maintenance. As for the gasket, I have had success using the paper test method described by @Paswesley from a conversation with Dennis. Generally, it is the following:

Dennis’ idea involves using strips of paper, perhaps 20 pound (0.004”) copy paper, about 3 inches wide by 8 inches long. Open the lid fully and lay the strips along the rim of the base, with the long axis of the paper strip straddling the rim side to side. Do this in the areas where leaks are suspected to be occurring. Close the lid to position 2 (fully latched). Then, gently attempt to pull out each strip in turn. If a strip will not move, then fine. If the strip pulls out, does it move easily or barely? If the strip pulled out easily, then use successively thicker paper strips (or add additional strips of the same paper thickness) until they remain snug when pulled. This will show how thickly the additional bead of gasket maker needs to be laid. 

Once the thickness needed has been determined, gently pry up the D ring in the area that needs adjustment. Lay down a bead of gasket maker of the same thickness as the paper strip/strips. Wait ten to 15 minutes and then put the lid in position 1 for about an hour, then lock down on position 2 overnight. Perform this procedure everywhere a leak may be occurring.

 In the past, Dennis has recommended Permatex 27037 Optimum Black gasket maker for this purpose.

 

[BARDSLJR]

So, in follow-up, I did adjust the latch again, and checked the seal by trying to raise and lower the lid while it was closed. So far, I see almost no movement, so I am optimistic that I have a good seal. We'll see tomorrow when I do a batch of spare ribs.

BTW, so far I am very impressed with the Fireboard: versus the BBQ Guru, is it maybe not as intuitive to use, but once you get the temp settings established, it is MUCH easier to monitor, as it uses WIFI instead of Bluetooth (which has limited range) and gives much more detailed temperature tracking if you are interested being really granular about tracking your cooking progress.Also, it is built like a tank- very tight construction and most impressive. It works just fine with the existing fan unit I had from the Guru.

Fingers crossed.....