Smoke coming out of the cracks

[beerent]

All, tomorrow morning is the big day!! Smoking my first ever brisket. Tonight i lit a fire just to become familiar with the smoker before starting tomorrow. I am noticing my grill does not have a perfect seal. Smoke is coming out of the cracks of the unit. Is this typical? Is it bad? If it is bad, any quick fixes for tomorrow? Thanks! Take a look at the photo for an idea of the smoke coming out of the cracks.



Brent

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[Papa Tom]

It was pretty typical of my NB vertical.
The door does not seal tight. There was some other leaks as well.
As I remember I put some bricks in the bottom of the cooker side and that was about it.

[GRailsback]

Once you get your coal base in there it won't look nearly as bad as it does in the photo. You will have to cook on it a few times to learn how it cooks then you will be good to go. Keep the expectations reasonable.

[beerent]

Great points, thanks guys. Were up and away! Putting meat in shortly.



And were off!




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[Finatic]

You can order gaskets from bbqgaskets.com or you can use some high temperature RTV gasket maker to solve this. I used the Permatex Ultra black and it works great. Just run a 1/4" bead around the door or on the smoker (whatever works best for your smoker), put some blue painters tape on the opposite side of the smoker (opposite of where you put the RTV, gently close the door then open it. This will form the RTV and the excess RTV will be on the blue tape. Peel off the tape and leave the door open for 24 hours.

[beerent]

Awesome, thats a great idea. I definately need some gaskets. In the mean time i shoved tin foil in the cracks and its working haha.

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