I've seen a lot of people ask whether or not they should seal their Rec Tec grills and I wanted to share with you the answer to that question.
First, what do I mean by sealing your grill? I'm referring to the felt or rope material some people have installed on their Rec Tec lids.
The idea is to prevent smoke of "leaking" out the edges of the lid. It's also said that sealing the lid helps retain some heat and thus decreasing your pellet usage. Another benefit of sealing the lid is that it keeps the surrounding areas around the lid cleaner and clear of the patina that comes with cooking on the grill.
All the benefits sounded pretty good and really the idea of keeping the outside cleaner really sounded good to me as I'd prefer to keep the grill looking as good (new) as possible. So I ordered me a roll of the Fireblack 3/4"x15' gasket.
The Fireblack arrived today, and right before I went to install it I gave Rec Tec Support a call. I told the support rep what I had and was planning on doing and that I my mean reasoning in doing it was to keep my Rec Tec Bull cleaner.
He response was that of course the grill was mine and I could do what I wanted to do to it. He also said that it would NOT void my warranty, but then he told me their recommendation. The Rec Tec support rep said they suggest not sealing the lids.
The reasoning being that the lids where actually designed to breath a bit.
Lastly he did say, that since I was wanting to keep the grill cleaner that I could install the seal on the top part of the lid to help reduce the leaking from there which would in turn keep that area cleaner. But again they do not recommend sealing all the way around.
Notice they didn't mention that your Rec Tec grill would blow up into a million pieces if I sealed it. Nor did they even deny any of the said benefits from above. Just that they don't recommend it and that the lid was designed to help the grill breath.
So really the answer is up to you. If you do seal it, then you're still going to be covered under warranty and maybe you will enjoy some of the benefits above.
For me, I haven't sealed the door yet. In fact I've only used two tiny pieces of the gasket on my lid stops to help protect the lid when I'm opening it.
I'm still debating on sealing the top of my lid, but for now I don't foresee myself sealing the entire door as I've seen other do. I'm already several cooks into my new Rec Tec Bull without a seal and I'll admit - the grill is working perfectly fine for me.
So are you running your Rec Tec with or without a seal?
First, what do I mean by sealing your grill? I'm referring to the felt or rope material some people have installed on their Rec Tec lids.
The idea is to prevent smoke of "leaking" out the edges of the lid. It's also said that sealing the lid helps retain some heat and thus decreasing your pellet usage. Another benefit of sealing the lid is that it keeps the surrounding areas around the lid cleaner and clear of the patina that comes with cooking on the grill.
All the benefits sounded pretty good and really the idea of keeping the outside cleaner really sounded good to me as I'd prefer to keep the grill looking as good (new) as possible. So I ordered me a roll of the Fireblack 3/4"x15' gasket.
Should I seal the Rec Tec lid?
The Fireblack arrived today, and right before I went to install it I gave Rec Tec Support a call. I told the support rep what I had and was planning on doing and that I my mean reasoning in doing it was to keep my Rec Tec Bull cleaner.
He response was that of course the grill was mine and I could do what I wanted to do to it. He also said that it would NOT void my warranty, but then he told me their recommendation. The Rec Tec support rep said they suggest not sealing the lids.
The reasoning being that the lids where actually designed to breath a bit.
Lastly he did say, that since I was wanting to keep the grill cleaner that I could install the seal on the top part of the lid to help reduce the leaking from there which would in turn keep that area cleaner. But again they do not recommend sealing all the way around.
Notice they didn't mention that your Rec Tec grill would blow up into a million pieces if I sealed it. Nor did they even deny any of the said benefits from above. Just that they don't recommend it and that the lid was designed to help the grill breath.
So really the answer is up to you. If you do seal it, then you're still going to be covered under warranty and maybe you will enjoy some of the benefits above.
For me, I haven't sealed the door yet. In fact I've only used two tiny pieces of the gasket on my lid stops to help protect the lid when I'm opening it.
I'm still debating on sealing the top of my lid, but for now I don't foresee myself sealing the entire door as I've seen other do. I'm already several cooks into my new Rec Tec Bull without a seal and I'll admit - the grill is working perfectly fine for me.
So are you running your Rec Tec with or without a seal?