Bull To seal or not to seal

[MNNORTHERGRILLER]

I just purchased a RT-700 what are the pros and cons of weather stripping the lid, will I get more wood flavor?

 

[Mastertech59]

I just purchased a RT-700 what are the pros and cons of weather stripping the lid, will I get more wood flavor?

No more wood flavor from sealing the lid, it will only help to keep the outside surfaces of the grill cleaner.

 

[Greg Jones]

Sealing the box and setting the minimum feed rate are perhaps the most often discussed topics here. Searching the forum will give you more threads on the topic than you can ever read.

 

[jfrosty27]

This is another thing, like adjusting the feed rate, that I never considered doing. I figured if Recteq felt it needed a seal, they would have put one on. Now I will admit the the outside face, below the lid, gets pretty messy.

 

[Greg Jones]

I figured if Recteq felt it needed a seal, they would have put one on...

There is a difference between needing a seal and benefiting from a seal. There is also a reason why other grill manufacturers put seals on their higher-end models, while recteq does not. Adding a seal also adds cost, and just like recteq’s choice of steel thickness and design for a deflector shield, there are obvious areas where they make compromises on the quality of the grills.

 

[BretM]

I haven't sealed mine, but have often wondered why RT hasn't improved the lid with a drip tray on the inside

 

[C. Keeper]

Those who don't seal will suffer the wrath of the angry bull!

You have been warned​

 

[MNNORTHERGRILLER]

No more wood flavor from sealing the lid, it will only help to keep the outside surfaces of the grill cleaner.

Thanks for your response

 

[breadman624]

I just purchased a RT-700 what are the pros and cons of weather stripping the lid, will I get more wood flavor?

search it...its been covered a 10000 times on here

 

[Maule Guy]

Bottom line is there is probably no downside to sealing the lid and the primary upside is keeping the outside cleaner.

As has been said before, there is far more smoke lost out of the chimney (Bull) or holes in the barrel (Stampede) than ever will be lost around the door.

 

[sdynak]

Ah yes.. the debate. I think many here defer to comment on this anymore. To each his own I say myself.

SEAL SEARCH

 

[C. Keeper]

Ah yes.. the debate. I think many here defer to comment on this anymore. To each his own I say myself.

SEAL SEARCH

 

[C. Keeper]

So a penguin is driving his car in the desert. All of sudden his car breaks down. Luckily, he's pretty close to gas station. So he waddles behind his car and pushes it to the gas station. He asks the mechanic to take a look and find the problem. Mechanic tells him to come back in 30 minutes. So the penguin is getting hot being in the desert and all, and decides to find something to cool him off. He goes in the convenience store and buys some vanilla ice cream. He eats the ice cream and makes a big mess on his face. Finally he goes back to the mechanic to find out the problem. Mechanic says," Looks like you blew a seal." To which the penguin replies, "No, no. It's just a little ice cream."

 

[TXGunLover]

I just purchased a RT-700 what are the pros and cons of weather stripping the lid, will I get more wood flavor?

Don't seal... RecTec used to in fact say NOT to seal. It will definitely decrease your smoke flavor and disrupt airflow.

 

[Greg Jones]

It will definitely decrease your smoke flavor and disrupt airflow.

It might be helpful to include what you base such a definitive statement on.

 

[mooncusser2k]

 

[jfjohn77]

Can I jump in here with a question? And, for full disclosure... I just sealed my lid and hopper on my new 700 before I even heated it up, also sealed the smoke stack and ordered a second smoke stack to install on the right hand side. If she needs "to breath", she can do it through that. I read somewhere, in one of the many threads on this subject (and spent all last night searching and looking for it) about someone adding a drip bar on the lid just above the seal tape. It is also pictured it the thread Collection of Mods. Trying to get more info on this, as in was this something that was acquired and modified to work (MacGyvered), or readily available. I was thinking maybe an exterior door sweep??? Not sure what member posted that.

 

[C. Keeper]

 

[Simarti28]

I just purchased a RT-700 what are the pros and cons of weather stripping the lid, will I get more wood flavor?

I sealed the lid on my Bull before my first cook. My main goal was to keep the exterior clean and it has worked so far, been almost 3 months of cooking in it weekly. I will say though that the adhesive that holds the seal to the lid surface did not hold up against the HI setting when searing steaks on the Bull (560F) so I had to replace a portion. The fabric of the lava lock was not damaged, but the glue melted and a part of the seal shifted.

 

[eldoradocaddy]

I purchased my Bull recently and asked tech support about sealing the lid. This is their response email.

"We want that gap to be there! It is allowing proper airflow in the grill so that it maintains proper temps. If it does seal up we ask that you wipe it down so that again, the grill can "breath" properly! Installing a gasket will cause slower temp times and cause the grill to not get to higher temps."

So I decided to defer to the experts.