UDS Question - Badly fitting lid

[slemps]

Hi all,

I recently built my first UDS, seasoned it and did a test cook at the weekend.

Unfortunately my Weber lid doesn't fit very well and a lot of smoke comes out of the 'seal'.

My question is, does it matter? I'm managing to hold temperature ok, perhaps slightly on the hot side but I think that was due to my lighting technique.

Will having a bad seal at the top let in enough air to make a difference? Surely the convection current means that little if any will be entering via the top?

Any thoughts?

Sam.

[YetiDave]

I sealed the lid on mine by tweaking it out with a pair of pliers then running stove rope around the inside. I did find the leaks affected temps.

[slemps]

Good plan, I think I'll try that with mine.

[YetiDave]

It's worthwhile smearing some kind of fat or oil on the stove rope and giving it a good dummy run after you've applied the seal - it gunks it up nicely so you don't have to worry about it shedding fibreglass onto your food

[Kiska95]

Another way is heat resistant food safe silicone put a bead around the inside edge of the lid and let it cure. then when the lid goes on its like a cushion effect molding to the top of the drum

[YetiDave]

I find the silicone sets pretty damned tough, but with stove rope you've got more give to push the lid down and seal the gaps. The downside is that you may need to reapply the adhesive once every few months, YMMV!

[slemps]

Good ideas there, I shall take a look this weekend.

S.

[Kiska95]

Hi

Another tip is that I got the lid ring clamp with my drums you might want to try one as it seals pretty pretty tight and looks the business too.

Use Envirograf heat resistant silicone as its rubber and shouldn't be tough unless at extreme cold temps, I've use it and the guys in the US use it to put a seal around firebox doors.

[PyroBoris]

I like the lid ring clamp idea!

I've got a lid that I had to tweak the edge out on using a vice, and even then it only just fits. Have tried using stove sealant (the type that sets hard), and even after grinding away previous residue's and cleaning with solvents to try and get as clean a surface as possible for bonding, it all crumbled away anyway due to expansion/contraction and grease ingress.

Also tried stove rope, the sticky back stuff, that all came off after the second smoke.

I now have no seal on my lid, and it really is not a snug fit, but have found that it has started sealing better over time and the more it is used and the more smoke gunk builds up on the insides

The better the seal, the better temperature control you'll get, so try everything!

[essexsmoker]

Yes! One time where megalomania is good! Control, control, control!

if you don't control every last bit of air going in and out you struggle to get constant temps.