Pro tip: check your gasket before a long smoke

I had a brisket going on my offset last Saturday, about 6 hours in, and suddenly I couldn't hold temp. Walked around and found the door gasket was completely shredded on one side, leaking smoke like crazy. Had to scramble and used a wet towel clamped to the door to finish the cook, which actually worked okay. Anyone else ever had a surprise gasket failure mid-cook and rigged something up on the fly?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_green581d ago

Patch it with high temp silicone gasket glue in a pinch, I've used that on a cracked gasket mid-cook and it held up way better than a towel. Just let it set for a few minutes before closing the door tight.

seth_green851d ago

Stick a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil over the leak and pinch it tight with a couple binder clips, that's what I did on my stick burner when the gasket let go on a 14 hour pork shoulder. The foil molded right to the hot metal and sealed up the gap for the rest of the cook, no smoke escaping at all. I kept an eye on it and it never even burned through. Way easier than messing with silicone or towels and no airflow issues messing up your fire.