Change in grill cool down time with new top vent

[news330]

Good morning.  I have a Vision B.  Recently purchased the Vision Grills Cast Iron Top Vent.  Since I installed the new top vent my cool down time after cooks is significantly longer.  Used to take 3-4 hours to cool down enough to safely put the grill cover on it.  Now it takes the whole night.  Anyone else run into this?  Trying to figure out if I have an air leak letting the fire run longer than normal or if the new top vent is somehow making my grill more heat efficient.

 

I Installed the nomex gasket that came with the vent and tightened the screw in the center of the vent cap to ensure it's about as air tight as it can be.  On one hand I still have lump left over in the fire bowl when I re-open the grill for the next cook so it's clearly not burning full blast when the vents are closed up.  On the other hand I've also noticed that my low and slow temp is up about 25 degrees from where it was with the old aluminum vent cap.  May be that I have a small air leak with the new cap.  Anyway, not sure so I would like to hear from others who purchased a replacement top vent and see if they encountered something similar.

 

Before anyone says "who cares if it takes longer," I have to worry about this b/c I have a hand made grill cart (see my other posts) that I would prefer not sit out in the rain after I go to bed so being able to put the cover on before midnight after a dinner cook is kind of important.

 

 

[robertyb]

My guess would be that you have an air leak in the new top if that was the only change you made on the grill. Light a fire and throw some smoking wood on it and shut it down and look for leaking smoke.

[news330]

excellent idea, thank you

 

[flyingscot64]

I think it will get better as you use it , really you will have some smoke coming out of the bottom and the top ,they are not airtight. I took my stainless steel top apart and cleaned it. And it did exactly what you are experiencing .