Step 4

It's time to start patching up all those holes you made when you removed the plastic clips and holders. It's important to create as airtight of an environment as possible in order to keep as much heat inside the smoker as possible. It will help to cut down on how much fuel you need to burn (if going propane or charcoal) or how much electricity you will expend (if going electric) to gain and maintain temperature.

Any high-temp resistant sealant will do the trick. I picked up a tube of FireBlock from my local Home Depot for $7.99 a tube. One tube was just enough to last me the build.

FireBlock high heat sealant

The FireBlock is a fairly viscous black sealant. For those of you who are concerned about blobs of black marring the shiny white sheen of the interior, stop worrying. After a few smokes, the interior is going to turn black from all the smoke anyway.

I used the sealant to fill in the smaller holes but had to screw metal plates in to cover the larger holes. I have used round conduit covers as that is what I had on hand but any piece of metal will do. Just make sure the metal does not have any contaminants on it that you wouldn't want to be eating - for instance paint or other types of chemical treatment. Many metals have been galvanized in order to prevent rust. I would highly suggest removing this zinc as it is poisonous. The way I did it with my conduit covers (and other galvanized metal parts) was to grind the top layer off using a wire wheel on a 5" grinder. You will know it is off because the metal will change from a shiny appearance to a dull, flat look.

The ceramic coating on the interior box is extremely tough to drill through and will dull your drill bits very quickly. I used self tapping screws for all of my installation in order to avoid this problem. Once you have attached your plates, use the sealant to seal around the edges.

Everything is sealed up nice and snug!

Sealant applied to all holes