How to trim your Smokin' Seal

The Smokin seal is designed to fit over the ceramic rim and the steel band that holds the hinge assembly. The gasket needs to be trimmed in the areas of the band where the hinges attach to the band, any capnuts that may be attached to the band, and also at the ends of the bands where the bands bolt together.

The Smokin' Seal has an outside "leg" and an inside "leg". Be sure to trim the (longer) outside "leg", as shown in this photo:

When trimming the material, use care not to cut too much material out. For for the Smokin' Seal™ designed for Primo Grill applications, this is about 3/4". For simple reference, this is just above the 4th rib on the inside of the leg.

1. Make sure you have removed any old gasket material from the lower rim of your grill. The Smokin' Seal is not designed to fit properly over any existing gasket material (you may be able to get away with leaving the upper gasket in place, on your lid, but we'll get to that later)
2. Start by finding the center of the front of your grill, and mark it with some masking tape or something that can be easily removed later. It doesn't have to be EXACTLY in the center but we like symmetry so we always try to line up the seam as close to the center as possible. Don't worry if you end up being 1/2" off - the key is to make sure the finished seam is on the straight portion of your Oval Primo.
3. Pry the legs of the Smokin' Seal apart and put it on the rim of your grill, aligning the edge of the gasket with the midpoint you marked with tape. You will be working your way clockwise around the grill towards the first obstacle. 
4. NOTCHING THE GASKET 
   First, have a look at this photo to get an idea of where you will need to be making cuts on your Smokin' Seal ™ gasket. Depending upon your grill configuration, your first obstacle may be a small capnut, or it could be the ends of your bands. Either way you will need to trim around the obstacle and make sure the gasket sits nicely around it.
   

   

   Capnut Notch

   Trimming around the band ends
   For this notch, you can either cut a single large notch to fit around both ends of the bands, or you can cut two smaller notches leaving a small tab in between them. The photos below show the latter approach with two notches.