# Sealing up the GMG Davy Crockett



## recondoc (Apr 6, 2019)

So I finally joined the world of pellet heads with a Davy Crockett.  So far, I've only test fired it twice.  It took me a little bit to get the wifi hooked up and rolling right but love the app now that I figured that out.
The one thing I noticed is that it really seems to be leaking a lot of smoke around the lid.  Has anyone done a seal up job on one of these?  If so, what method works best?  RTV or Nomex Felt tape?
I travel a lot for my work and love having a smoker that is portable and seems like it is well built.
Thanks,
Doc


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## SlowmotionQue (Apr 6, 2019)

I don’t have that grill but I do have a Rec Tec Stampede. 

Whatever you do, don’t use RTV on it. 

You’ll be crying if you should ever need to remove it. 

If you just want to get a better seal then go with a good felt seal material on the edges of the lid only. 

Some Rec Tec owners , myself included have used the Fireblack sealing material from Amazon. 

I also had some Kamado Joe felt sealing material in the house too So I gad a couple of options. 

The cheaper FireBlack let go in some areas and I had to redo it.


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## skidog (Apr 6, 2019)

I'm not trying to sound flippant, but, why do people care if some smoke leaks around the lid? I have a DC and it leaks around the lid but it leaks more out the stack. lol. I'll tell you what, after a while the leaky areas build up and it seals the leaks. It's not like the leaked smoke would sit in the chamber longer if it didn't leak, the fan blows the smoke out pretty fast. By the way congrats on the new pellet unit. I think it's a great little cooker, I did a 12 pound packer in mine, had to put a bowl under the middle till it shrunk a little then removed the bowl, turned out great.
I'm probably in the minority when it comes to not caring about leaks though.


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## SlowmotionQue (Apr 6, 2019)

skidog said:


> I'm not trying to sound flippant, but, why do people care if some smoke leaks around the lid? I have a DC and it leaks around the lid but it leaks more out the stack. lol. I'll tell you what, after a while the leaky areas build up and it seals the leaks. It's not like the leaked smoke would sit in the chamber longer if it didn't leak, the fan blows the smoke out pretty fast. By the way congrats on the new pellet unit. I think it's a great little cooker, I did a 12 pound packer in mine, had to put a bowl under the middle till it shrunk a little then removed the bowl, turned out great.
> I'm probably in the minority when it comes to not caring about leaks though.



You got it.

What difference does it make?  Some say that it helps with temperature control, but I don't know. 

Think about it.  the smoke that escaped from around the lid, was eventually going to have to go somewhere.  And that somewhere was out of the smokestack.

I think that the idea comes primarily from the Kamado camp.  A good Kamado, does not leak smoke from around it's lid.  A good one, you won't see even a wisp of smoke from anywhere except out of it's top smoke vent.

This no doubt carried over into other cookers.  WSM folks are using gaskets.  You name it, a lot of folk are using gaskets.  I wonder if it's necessary.


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## Shootr (Apr 6, 2019)

I sealed up the lid on my Camp Chef DLX with the Fireblack felt. Since I feel the need for a smoke tube to get the flavor I want - I figured that smoke leaking around the lid was better used by being contained to exit the stack instead.

I also noted it keeps the area around the lid a little cleaner.


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## Renies (Jun 24, 2019)

I have a related question. My Camp Chef DLX smokes like crazy around my door and out there Grease drain but doesn't seem to smoke much out the stack. I know the stack is clean - I've taken it off and checked. I do wonder why there are grates blocking the airflow up the stack though instead of a hole. Any advice on that or thoughts of drilling those grades out so it's one airflow all the way up from the smoke chamber?


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## Shootr (Jun 24, 2019)

Renies said:


> I have a related question. My Camp Chef DLX smokes like crazy around my door and out there Grease drain but doesn't seem to smoke much out the stack. I know the stack is clean - I've taken it off and checked. I do wonder why there are grates blocking the airflow up the stack though instead of a hole. Any advice on that or thoughts of drilling those grades out so it's one airflow all the way up from the smoke chamber?



Is it smoking like you say during cooking, or more so when you first start it up? (You leave the lid up until it's well lit, yeah?) 

I've heard the slots in the stack opening were to keep out rodents, but I'm assuming that's just somebody's theory. My opinion (and we all know what those are worth lol) is cutting out the slots shouldn't make that big of a difference, it is just smoke after all.


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