Bull Sealing the lid.... what does it take?

[Lager1829]

Sealing the lid.... Just say no

Change my mind

 

[Mastertech59]

It might be helpful for you to say why you believe that is. I’ve sealed the hopper lid on both my RT-700 and my RT-340 with no regrets.

Condensation

 

[Greg Jones]

Condensation

So you sealed your hopper, experienced condensation, and then removed the seal, and that fixed the condensation?

 

[Mastertech59]

So you sealed your lid, experienced condensation, and then removed the seal, and that fixed the condensation?

No I never sealed my Bulls lid but I've seen condensation on my Bull on the under side of my unsealed lid probably due to I don't use it every day. It may sit for a couple of few of weeks between cooks and more than likely caused by my CT weather spikes. IMHO sealing the lid is only going to make it worse due to lack of air flow and venting the condensation. If recteq thought the lid needed to be sealed it would have been included on the grill. All the other pellet smokers/grills I looked at in the past before purchasing my Bull didn't have hopper seals.

 

[Greg Jones]

No I never sealed my Bulls lid but I've seen condensation…

So, you’ve never sealed your Bull’s lid and you have condensation and I’ve sealed the lid on my Bull and on the wife‘s RT-340 and have never seen any condensation in the pellet hopper of either grill… I’m not understanding why I shouldn’t have sealed my hoppers?

 

[Greg Jones]

If recteq thought the lid needed to be sealed it would have been included on the grill. All the other pellet smokers/grills I looked at in the past before purchasing my Bull didn't have hopper seals.

I forgot to address this. recteq says nothing on the grill needs to be sealed, that unsealed grills are desirable for ‘optimal airflow’. Which is BS, because there is no way recteq builds grills with a +/- gap tolerance to allow for optimal airflow, as the alternative is to say ‘Your grill doesn’t cook well because your unsealed lid fits too tightly.‘ The grills that are considered to be top of the line competitors to the recteq (Memphis, Pits and Spits, Traeger Timberline, etc.) all come with sealed lids for the grill. I don’t know if any of them have sealed hoppers or not. I still say sealing anything on these grills is optional, but there is no downside I can see to sealing everything.

 

[Mastertech59]

I forgot to address this. recteq says nothing on the grill needs to be sealed, that unsealed grills are desirable for ‘optimal airflow’. Which is BS, because there is no way recteq builds grills with a +/- gap tolerance to allow for optimal airflow, as the alternative is to say ‘Your grill doesn’t cook well because your unsealed lid fits too tightly.‘ The grills that are considered to be top of the line competitors to the recteq (Memphis, Pits and Spits, Traeger Timberline, etc.) all come with sealed lids for the grill. I don’t know if any of them have sealed hoppers or not. I still say sealing anything on these grills is optional, but there is no downside I can see to sealing everything.

Agree with you, recteq in their optimal airflow theory is BS.
I need to explain my Bulls seals I applied. I only sealed the barrels upper and lower areas on the lid mainly to prevent the smoke stains on the outsides of the grill surfaces. I didn't seal my hoppers lid mainly due to laziness and to let it breathe after seeing slight condensation under the hoppers lid. I will say everything had condensation on it the times I found it under the hoppers lid so maybe sealing the hopper lid would have prevented it but now I have to get back to that laziness issue I have and the reason I sealed the barrels lid because I hated cleaning the outsides of the grill.

 

[Greg Jones]

Should you want to try sealing the hopper, I’ll add that it’s far easier to seal than what the lid is due to all flat surface. I also want to apologize for my snarky reply last night-we had received some family news that put us in a foul mood, and I need to realize when it’s not a good time for me to post something online or respond to emails!

 

[Mastertech59]

Should you want to try sealing the hopper, I’ll add that it’s far easier to seal than what the lid is due to all flat surface. I also want to apologize for my snarky reply last night-we had received some family news that put us in a foul mood, and I need to realize when it’s not a good time for me to post something online or respond to emails!

Funny you say that I got my second Pfizer COVID-19 shot yesterday and wasn't liking life at the moment either, feeling much better today.

 

[fullhouse32]

I am a firm believer in sealing the land.
I still may Traeger,
CampChef, and I sealed my BULL
Like @Greg Jones said “The grills that are considered to be top of the line competitors to the recteq (Memphis, Pits and Spits, Traeger Timberline, etc.) all come with sealed lids for the grill”

I used FireBlack
1”x1/4” on the sides
1”x1/2” on top & bottom. Works great.
Fireblack 220
Fireblack 125

 

[fullhouse32]

I stand corrected I was wrong. My memory isn’t what it used to be. So I went and checked the package. My links are correct.
It should have typed
I used FireBlack
1”x1/8” on the sides
1”x1/4” on top & bottom. Works great.
Fireblack 220
Fireblack 125

sorry for the bad post.

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Just sealed my grill lid and was wondering about the hopper lid and have a few questions if you don’t mind. Did you use Lava Lock? Did you seal all the way around the lid? Did Does the hopper lid close flush?

I’m assuming you applied it to the inside of the stainless lid as there’s no good place to put it on the lip of the hopper.

Thanks!

Sorry just seen this...
Yes There was enough Lavalock left over to do the hopper lid... And yes on the inside of the lid also