# chargriller seal modification



## nutt

Using my SFB on my Chargriller duo. I want to seal the lid on the main chamber on the duo so the smoke from the SFB will stay inside the main chamber.

I tried to use Rutland 5/8 wood stove seal rope with their high -temp cement. I installed the seal slowly, clamping the seal in place as I went slowly around the chamber lid. It seemed to set and I started a fire to break it in and all went well.

3 days later I went out to my grill, opened the lid, and the seal fell off!! the cement was wet like it just came out of the tube new.

I screwed up at someplace in the install, not sure what it was. So what do you guys use to seal your lid better? Should I give Rutland a second chance?


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## jak757

When I got my Char-Griller I saw a post that used aluminum foil rolled up like a rope and used to seal the lid.  Not a permanent fix, not the best looking....but it seems to work.


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## alelover

I used High Temp Red RTV. Still there after a year.


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## sqwib

ditto, I used this on the firebox as well as the chamber

order this, click on picture.







Don't use this


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## nutt

SQWIB, thanks for the warning your dont't use this picture is exactly what I did use the first time. Stuff is weird cuz it hardened and was fine then few days later it was just nasty slime.

I will use the RTV this next time. I hope it comes in black!


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## sqwib

Nutt said:


> SQWIB, thanks for the warning your dont't use this picture is exactly what I did use the first time. Stuff is weird cuz it hardened and was fine then few days later it was just nasty slime.
> 
> I will use the RTV this next time. I hope it comes in black!




Odd, the black stuff gets hard like cement.

Its ok to fill in cracks in fireboxes and stuff (where there is no movement)


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## alelover

My lid seal. Stove rope and red RTV. Bolted 2 pieces of angle iron to the side and laid the rope in the track.


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## flier

thanks guys thaat is what i bought and going to try.


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## flier

the high temp rtv is what i yoused.got it at advanced auto parts.


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## nutt

I'm having a hard time how to mount this stuff. Feel like it should have been easy. I don't want to go drilling holes into it.

I guess I will try to bond the seal onto the lid again this time using RTV.


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## alelover

What's wrong with drilling holes?


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## sqwib

I just oiled the bottom part of the chamber where the lid hits and applied the silicone to the lid closed and let sit overnight.

The firebox I just siliconed the rope in place.

I'll see if I got pics


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## nutt

Ok guys I really need help. My front of  the grill sealed beautifully using the large fiberglass rope. The side has such a huge gap, even after the rope was installed.
I installed the flat fiberglass seal on top of the rope(on the sides only) hoping it would reach farther over and finish the seal. Ya it didn't work, it's still gushing smoke out the sides. Without the seals, the gap between the grill body and hood is the size of my index finger.

HELP!! Should I really mount angle iron on the sides??? What are most people doing???


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## nutt

I added angle iron on the right side to get a good seal. The left side is left with just the gasket because it harder to get to.

I may take the lids off to paint, then may add angle iron to the left.

anyone ever re-engineer the lid? it leaks so bad I may take to a local welder and see if I can put a lip on the sides. if nothing else, something the gasket can stick to and seal better with.

Just my thought


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## alelover

Mine doesn't leak at all. When I bolted the angle iron on it straightened out the tub. The lid I didn't do anything to except add the rope on the front and back.

I'll post a better pic tomorrow.


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## nutt

Alelover, yes please put up a pic for me to compare to.

Appreciate it!


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## alelover

Here ya go Nutt.







I RTVd the fire rope to the back of the tub right at the top then shut the lid to let the RTV set up. It also flattened out the rope  to attain a perfect seal.







Bolted two 1/2 x 1/2 angle iron together and bolted it to the side of the tub. It really helped straighten the side of the tub.







Then RTVd the rope in the track.













See how it's dark on the inside and not dark on the outside of the rope. Good seal.







Hope this helps.


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## flier

good looking pics. the red rtv silicone sealant is what i used. did a smoke yesterday and the sealant work great. also used my maverick remote therm for a great smoke.


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## nutt

Alelover, I went ahead and drilled some holes and put on angle iron on outside of tub where lid closes. It should work good now! I should have followed your instructions earlier!!

just curious why you have the screw philips head on the left of your gauge?


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## alelover

It holds the tube in place that extends the smokestack to the grill surface.


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## nutt

roger that, thanks


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## nutt

Ale, also how did you mount the left side of your channel?(the one nearest the gas side) Or did you do it while it was apart?


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## alexhortdog95

I've got tube sealant that was recommended on this site as well.  How do you apply that - pics would be nice!

Namely, it's Silicones Unlimited silicone adhesive sealant 5005 (two black tubes).

How can I apply that to seal the smoke and holes in my char griller?


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## alelover

I drilled it from the inside and used a right angle screwdriver to hold the screws while I tightened the nuts. I vise gripped the angle iron to the tub to drill through both the tub and the angle at the same time. To apply the silicone I just laid down a bead and laid the rope on it. Any excess that squirted out I just wiped off. For some of the holes I used a short nut and bolt to seal the hole.


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## daveinflorida

I used this and it smells like chemicals. how long and what should I use to get the sealant to turn a dark color and stop smelling?


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## alelover

It will go away. It's just acetic acid fumes. Which is the active ingredient in vinegar. Once it is fully dry it will be safe.


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## daveinflorida

I did two burns and cooked a whole chicken, sprayed a full can of pam on the inside of the cooking chamber and it still smells like serious chemicals. I wonder should I remove it and apply another type of rtv?


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## htrisna

Alelover,
Any pictures on how you gasket the backside (underneath the lid)? Is it the same way as the front and 2 sides? I can't imagine it would be.

Also, did you find it best to mount the angle iron channels and gaskets with the lid mounted or taken off?


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## smokingunny

What's the purpose behind extending the smoke stack down to the cooking grate?


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## sparxxbq

SmokinGunny said:


> What's the purpose behind extending the smoke stack down to the cooking grate?


Lets the smoke stay in the chamber longer = more smoke and stable heat.


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## htrisna

I have finally completed the mods on my new Chargriller Outlaw and thought I'd share with you guys. Most of these are gathered from numerous mods from this thread with a couple of tweaks of my own.

Here's how the cooker started. Found this brand new on craigslist for $95.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014






So loving the fact that I'm a 5 minute drive away from Vasbinder's pit maker and 20 minute drive away from Pits by JJ.
Had David Vasbinder make me a new framed out charcoal grate and Jose make me a charcoal basket. Here's David's shop:












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







Added the aluminum baffle, a 12x12x6 charcoal basket, and a new 1" framed out 3/4" expanded metal charcoal grate 17" deep and the length of the internal cooking chamber cause the one it comes with is too close to the bottom plate and has no ash clearance. The new charcoal grate also doubles as a bottom deck food grate on the side that has no live charcoals on (I figure I'll always put charcoals only on one side to have hot cold zones)












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014


















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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014






The baffle is folded to come up just to the bottom of the grate, and with a half sheet aluminum pan, I made myself a tuning plate. Which I can put a water pan for heat sink if need be.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014


















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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014


















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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







I attached a 5/8" Rutland gasket rope with Red Permatex Gasket Maker silicone to the back side to close up the gap between the bottom and lid.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







Then I made a half inch angle iron channel around the front and sides and fill with Red Permatex silicone to seal those up. Tried to put the rope but 5/8" is too big and prevented the lid from closing properly. Needed the 1/4" size but for now this will do. You can also see how the triple decker set up now with the new bottom grate, the factory cast iron grate, and the warming rack.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







I did a cook with this set up and while it was fine, I want to mazimize my cooking chamber space, so I decided to add the SFB and added a toggle latch secured by pop rivets.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014
__ 4






Then I sealed the lid edges with red permatex. This worked well to seal the sfb from losing heat, although I'm not sure how long the red permatex will last on there being that it's so hot. I did 2 cooks with it and it has held up with minor needs for touchups.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014






This nex job is sealing the bottom edges of the sfb tray. After first cook I had to trim a lot of it back out cause it was not allowing the tray to close properly. The upper edges seal job was necessary though. Cause I found that openings on these will allow heat to escape there instead of going to the cooking chamber because of path of least resistance. 












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







So here's the cooker after those mods, and I couldn't for the life of me get it to go past 180F on the middle grate (measured by a calibrated stoker probe), even with the vents wide open. My baffle was only covering the right third of the CC, so the smoke couldn't have drafted straight out of the chimney. I guess with all the sealing that I did, there's not enough air flow going into the sfb












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014






So I took the Stoker fan out of my Lonestar Grillz, drill a hole with a hole saw bit in a wal mart 3.5" metal dog food bowl, and mounted the fan on the bowl and the bowl on to the sfb












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







Voila... (In Borat's voice) Great Success!! The Grate probe (Labeled 2 - Grate) is placed on the Cast Iron grate level, the mid length probe (Labeled Mid) is placed on the warming rack (which should be called the scorching rack cause the hottest point of the pit is at the top of the dome where the heat pools before it makes it's way out close to grate level through the 3" drier vent extension. The Short length probe (Labeled 2 - Short) is placed on the bottom deck (the framed out charcoal grate I added) and is the least hot part of the pit. I found that by targeting 240F on the middle grate, I can get 300-325 on the warming shelf for poultry, put briskets on the middle grate, and put ribs on the bottom deck at 225. Perfection!!












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014







So in the middle of this test run, I got hungry, so I pulled out a frozen prime NY strip and placed it on the bottom deck (coldest grate) for slow thaw and reverse sear. I want to maximize the time it sits there for flavor and not have it heat up too fast. Threw a mesquite chunk on top of the charcoal basket in the sfb and let it ride. 30 minutes later, I can now insert the probe in it, spray canola oil on it and sprinkle my steak seasonings on it.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014


















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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014






Meanwhile, I placed one of my cast iron sfb grate on top of the charcoal basket to let it scorch, and when the steak hits 100F, it's time to sear it. The aroma of searing steak is now intoxicating. I still place it a little to the side to prevent flareups.












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__ htrisna
__ Jan 15, 2014






I am one happy camper tonight that I now have two excellent cookers, and this new one turns to be the one that'll give me 4 hours of sleep run on an overnight cook. I tested each full load of charcoal basket to easily give me 4-5 hours of consistent 240F middle grate temp with stoker.


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## alelover

htrisna said:


> Alelover,
> Any pictures on how you gasket the backside (underneath the lid)? Is it the same way as the front and 2 sides? I can't imagine it would be.
> 
> Also, did you find it best to mount the angle iron channels and gaskets with the lid mounted or taken off?


These are the only pix I got of the back. I just laid a bead of RTV along the back of the tub and laid wax paper over it and closed the lid. Remove the wax paper after it dries.













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__ alelover
__ Jan 19, 2014


















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__ alelover
__ Jan 19, 2014






I put the rails and rope in with the lid on so I could get them positioned correctly.













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__ alelover
__ Jan 19, 2014


















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__ alelover
__ Jan 19, 2014


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## feliponcho

What you have done is fantastic! You came with great but simple ideas. I think that you can add extra insulation if you add an insulation blanket for the lid cover.  I'm looking for some at internet but most are 1 inch short for the char-griller (29" and the char-griller is around 30"), so I'm thinking in buying the raw blanket materials and stitch one by myself.

I covered the bottom of the main chamber of my char-griller with oven fire bricks (8" x 1"x 4") and that helped a lot to reduce the fuel (like 15%). A con with the bricks is that they reduce the space inside the chamber. I was thinking in covering the inside (or the outside) of the lid with more bricks, but the grill is already too heavy as it is now and I don't want to use any plaster (for that end I better start building a pizza oven 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





), so instead of that I will try to use the insulation blanket and see how much extra fuel I can save.

Could you please comment in what was the difference in fuel consumption before/after you did the seal modifications on your char-grillers?

Thanks and again, congrats for your ingenuity and great ideas.

Feliponcho


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## htrisna

I have never cooked without the mods. All I know is now I can have 4-5 hours of 240F on middle grate with a basket full of charcoal with stoker managing temp.




feliponcho said:


> :Looks-Great:
> 
> Could you please comment in what was the difference in fuel consumption before/after you did the seal modifications on your char-grillers?
> 
> Thanks and again, congrats for your ingenuity and great ideas.
> 
> Feliponcho


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## alelover

I know I used way less charcoal after doing my mods. Never kept nice data like you did though. More seat of the pants engineering.


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## smoker71

What size rope gasket did you use?  Does the 5/8 compress into the 1/2" angle?


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