Door seal and door alignment question.

[Perly58]

Anyone have issues with the bottom part of the seal on the door not sealing tight, also I noticed when looking at the botton part of the door it is not aligned even.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Perly;

Welcome to the forum.

The alignment doesn't sound right. I generally do not ask for pictures, but a picture of the door closed; showing the misalignment, and a picture of the door opened showing the hinges will be helpful. During shipment your door may have come off the hing brackets.

The misalignment may be the cause of the gasket not fitting right, but there are other reasons. Have you used it yet? The door gasket is stiff, but after a few uses, the heat from the cabinet will allow the door gasket to form to the shape of the cabinet and you will get a better seal. Though after many uses you may find that it will not fit tightly to the cabinet. Mine doesn't fit tightly at the bottom left corner. This will not impede on the smoke, and I find it has little effect on temperature loss.

[Perly58]

I will send pictures tonight and thanks for the reply, I have had the OBS for 3 months with about 8 smokes with it, when I first got the Bradley I noticed that the bottom of the door was not aligned and it had a large gap in the bottom left corner so I sent it back thinking that is was bad, well my second one arrived and it had the same issue so I did some research and I was told to run the smoker and heat it up and the seal will form to the smoker and it did but not all the way so I figured that was the best it would get so I used it. But after looking at some in stores they all seal tight and the bottom was aligned nice. I don't loose any smoke or think it is effecting temp I just don't think it is right. Should the seal be hard when it is not hot or should it always remain soft? When I mean bottom of door not aligned I mean at the bottom right corner where the hinge is it is higher then where the bottom left side is, and that is where my slight gap is where the seal meets the smoker. Any insight on how to check the hinge to make sure it is seated correct?

[Habanero Smoker]

On mind, the sides of the gasket is kind of stiff, but I've been using it for 8 years. The gasket may be a little stiff, but it should not be hard, except the face of the gasket; which is the magnet.

It's hard to describe. I can't recall who, but someone posted some good pictures of the hing, and how to detach and attach the door.

[TedEbear]

It's hard to describe. I can't recall who, but someone posted some good pictures of the hing, and how to detach and attach the door.

This?  How to remove the door on OBS

[Habanero Smoker]

Yes that's it. Thanks!

Perly58;

That is the top hing. When you open the door that should be seated in the hole of the hing bracket. The bottom hing looks a little different, but should also be seated in the hole of the bottom hing bracket. If the door is seated correctly, the door should be parallel with the cabinet from top to bottom.

If the door is not parallel from top to bottom, then either the hing bracket is bent, or the door is not seated properly.

[Perly58]

Ok I checked it out and it appears the pins are both seated correct into the top and bottom hinges, I may be looking at a bent hinge but they appear to be level looking so I'm not sure what else to do other then call Bradley and see if they will offer me a new door as a fix. Do you think it's worth a try? On your OSB is the gap between the door and plastic strip even on the bottom? Sorry I did not send pics last night I will send today.

[KyNola]

If the misalignment is merely a cosmetic issue and it is not leaking a significent amount of smoke, I wouldn't worry about it.  Go smoke something! ;)

[Habanero Smoker]

You may want to call Bradley, for follow up. When it comes to the doors you don't want to take a chance that the molding will crack, causing the door to fall off after your warranty has expired.