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Credits: The steps provided below are compliments of Ron Pratt (a.k.a. RRP), and are posted with his
permission. This web page was originally created by Mike Brown, (a.k.a. Charcoal Mike) and was provided to nakedwhiz.com for hosting. With Ron's steps and Mike's pictures, installation of the Rutland Gasket on your ceramic cooker should be a snap.
Disclaimer: Many people have used this product and this procedure to replace the gasket on their Big Green Egg. However, we wanted you to be aware that BGE contacted Rutland and asked about the safety of using a fiberglass product around food. Rutland said that their fiberglass gasket should not be used around food. Note, however, that the gasket is only used on the bottom shell, and therefore is never being placed above the food. Also note that Kamado uses a woven ceramic fiber for their gaskets with no problems, even though ceramic fibers can be just a big a concern as fiberglass. Use your own judgement as to how you feel about this warning from Rutland. |
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The gasket is fiberglass and can be a bear to
trim neatly but if you'll take your time with a sharp knife or razor it can be
done. Be sure to not waste any gasket at this point. Even though the
circumference of a large BGE is only 67 " versus the 84" in the kit when you get
done "bunching" it back on to itself you'll only have a couple inches of scrap.
The tape marks on the gasket and egg will be helpful as a point of reference of
just how compressed your gasket should be in relation to where you are on the
edge. Get it? 12:00 to 3:00 is one fourth etc. I even took a board and
measured off 67" and then took the time to bunch (or compress) the braid back
into itself to compress the 84" back to 67" so as to get a feel for what it
should look like. This added work could probably be skipped as long as you
know that the proper compression will mean that the 5/8" gasket will broaden
enough to cover the entire width of your BGE's edge which is about 1-1/4".
Now press the compressed gasket into the wet glue
and if it covers the whole edge press it into the glue. Using a small flat
piece of wood covered with wax paper isn't a bad idea, although I used a J
roller designed for wallpaper or pressing Formica onto counter tops. Just
keep going like this four or five inches at a time until you get to your quarter
way point with masking tape. By then you'll have the hang of what it
should be looking like for sake of consistency.
RRP has stated that in correspondence with people who have had problems the application errors most in common were:
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Questions or comments should be posted on the
Big Green Egg Forum where they will be addressed by RRP.
Ron still sells the kits pictured on this page for $11, so if you wish to
purchase a kit, please contact Ron on the Big Green Egg Forum.