Grillin' Canuck Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Greetings Gurus! I seem to be a Grillin' Damsel in Distress, again, this spring! *sigh* We recently replaced our stock Vision gasket with the shiny new white Nomex one! We were really excited about this, because we had done it on our previous kamado and it lasted and lasted and really improved the temperature control we were able to get. The stock one seemed to burn faster this time and pretty unevenly, but the first one we had nearly burned all up too, so we didn't really think anything of it. Unfortunately, 1 pizza cook and 2 smokes later and about 1/3 of our shiny new Nomex is burned right up!! *tear, sniff* When we had the seal off, I noticed that the lid is sitting pretty unlevel. I measured it after this catastrophe and there is about an 8mm difference from the left side that isn't burned (1cm / <1/2 inch) and the right side that is (1.8cm / ~3/4 inch). I noticed that when we're cooking there is a bit of air escaping on that side, so I'm thinking that if the lid was sitting level, then the seal would have been perfect and this probably wouldn't have happened. Obviously, I'd like to correct the unlevel lid issue, before replacing another $30 seal, so my question is has anyone seen this or have suggestions for how to fix it? I *think* it might be an issue with the hinge or lid assembly alignment (?). We don't see any pieces that look bent, but we do notice a bit of torque (1/2 inch) to the left, when lowering the lid, because it doesn't quite line up with the spring loaded catching post on the bottom. Any thoughts, suggestions, YouTube or article references would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your time and help! Grillin' Canuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoker08 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I was about ready to say do the dollar bill test. Then I saw the pictures. No need for the dollar bill test you have a major leak. Have you tried loosing the bolts on the bands and hinge yet? Since this is a Vision I would have the lid closed and in the shock absorber then loosen the bolts, that way it's alittle more secure. I'd also have another person or two to help you and be ready to catch the lid if it decides to check out the floor.Once you have no visible difference around the seal then tighten the bolts. At that time place a dollar bill in the lip between the 2 halves. Now pull the bill out. You should feel the same resistance all the way around. If you do then your unit should be good to go. GottaBeKD and Grillin' Canuck 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeperovdeflame Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Another hint is to remove the tension on the springs before trying to adjust the bands. Doing any adjustment under spring tension is going to be more difficult. When I work on my hinge or my bands I use a long needle nose pliers to pul the spring down and release one hook on each spring. With the tension off adjust your bands and the alignment of your dome and kettle. Tighten up the bolts while an assistant holds the dome and kettle alignment in place and then reattach the springs. Best of luck. smoker08 and Grillin' Canuck 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottaBeKD Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Have a look at this thread. http://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/9009-dome-alignment-problem/ Good luck with the alignment. You'll need a new gasket too [emoji22] Grillin' Canuck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 You can see in the picture the dome is tilted to one side. If you look at the top of the top band their should be the same size gap all the way around and check the bottom band the same way. With the the dome closed you will have to zip tie the hinge so it wont spring open when you loosen the bands. If your hinge is like this then you must hold it closed First I would loosen and level the bottom band(same size gap all the way around) if needed Now on to the dome and top band. With the hinge still held closed zip tied. I would loosen the top band and apply downward pressure to the dome. You can sit on it or use a ratcheting strap around dome and base and rachet tight. Now tighten band. Remove strap or get off dome remove zip ties open and close dome then with a $5 bill check the seal at 12-3-6-9 o'clock. The bill should pull out with resistance. Grillin' Canuck, smoker08 and GottaBeKD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoker08 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Excellant Tinyfish. Glad you placed that info with pics. You won't be offened if she says she only has a $100 bill or a $1 bill will you. Grillin' Canuck and tinyfish 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottaBeKD Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Excellant Tinyfish. Glad you placed that info with pics. You won't be offened if she says she only has a $100 bill or a $1 bill will you.No dollar bills in Canada [emoji6] tinyfish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Excellant Tinyfish. Glad you placed that info with pics. You won't be offened if she says she only has a $100 bill or a $1 bill will you. Wont be a dollar bill since us canucks dont have dollar bills only coins. Our first bill is a $5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottaBeKD Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Mind you a USD $1 bill is worth just as much as $5 Canadian. [emoji22] tinyfish and Grillin' Canuck 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grillin' Canuck Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thanks everyone!! I guess we'll be fiddling with the lid assembly, as I suspected. I'll let you know whether we needed to remove the shock absorber or not. Fingers crossed! Cajun Ty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajun Ty Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hope everything goes well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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