My cracked firebox pron

are you going to repair it or just replace it?
jon

Ty- If you got the Egg used, I'd seriously consider a little preventive maintenance on the firebox now, lest you care to experience the horror of something else cracking.



Here was my cracked f/box from my CL Egg, I don't know how old it was when I got it, but I knew it was cracked and used it for 2 years before the Large bottom cracked in a V shape and continued THROUGH the vent halfway into the base.



I made a groove in the crack faultline with a Dremel and pasted both sides of the f/box with JB-Weld-the interior disintegrated but the epoxy has held up on the outside of the box.







It was a PITA and I hope I never do it again!

But hey!- Since we're on the subject! When you buy new, you get that satisfaction of knowing that BGE will replace that cracked firebox! Which they did on my Eggfest Demo-cracked after one cook!






I think I'll fire mine up and grill some wings!

an old trick to stop cracks is to drill a hole at the end of the crack. would that work on this if caught early enough ?

the fireboxes will all crack eventually. consider the extreme temperature changes the ceramic firebox goes through on every cook. the ceramic wants to expand the same amount in every direction. the expansion in the ceramic causes stresses in the material. the holes in the firebox make the ceramic want to crack there to relive its stress.

hey, swamp, are you saying the base cracked because you cooked with a cracked firebox? i think that's the first i've heard that. (not that i've heard it all)

i recommend if anyone has any questions about big green eggs and cracking fireboxes and warranties, to contact big green egg directly at the contact info on their website. any info you get from any other source is speculation and hearsay

Rick's Tropical Delight said:

the fireboxes will all crack eventually.

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My UDS charcoal basket won’t crack and I saved $1,000. Am I missing something here?? And spending that kind of kackle is not an option nor do I want to on a grill.

Teleking said:

My UDS charcoal basket won’t crack and I saved $1,000. Am I missing something here?? And spending that kind of kackle is not an option nor do I want to on a grill.

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there is a LIFETIME WARRANTY TO THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER AND THEY WILL REPLACE ANYTHING THAT CRACKS DUE TO NORMAL USE!

you did not save $1,000. i bought my large eggs at an eggfest for $600. the choice is up to you. no one is forcing you to buy an egg or any other type of grill for that matter! yes, you are missing quite a bit.

whatever, man. enjoy your UDS and your evening.

Rick's Tropical Delight said:

hey, swamp, are you saying the base cracked because you cooked with a cracked firebox? i think that's the first i've heard that. (not that i've heard it all)

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I knowingly cooked with a small crack in the base along with the cracked firebox. It is an old style Large with the scissor hinge, funky trolley cart, daisy wheel vent and rusty steel slider. I replaced them all with a DFMT, SA hinge and stainless draft door. I got the thing for FREE and was just too excited to cook on it, and in hindsight I wish I had taken the time to try to patch it a bit. It was one of those things in the back of my mind anytime I cooked on it, and never did ANY high temp T-Rexing and never really had it over 550*. But I will never forget the day I was grilling with it and that V shaped crack just opened up and the white ceramic showed through! I was afraid it was going to shatter and spill burning lump on my wood deck. I got a couple years of happy times with it and when Eggfest came around it was time for some peace of mind.

Teleking said:

My UDS charcoal basket won’t crack and I saved $1,000. Am I missing something here?? And spending that kind of kackle is not an option nor do I want to on a grill.

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Rick's Tropical Delight said:

there is a LIFETIME WARRANTY TO THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER AND THEY WILL REPLACE ANYTHING THAT CRACKS DUE TO NORMAL USE!

you did not save $1,000. i bought my large eggs at an eggfest for $600. the choice is up to you. no one is forcing you to buy an egg or any other type of grill for that matter! yes, you are missing quite a bit.

whatever, man. enjoy your UDS and your evening.

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Comparing a UDS to an Egg is apples to oranges. While the UDS is a great cooker, it has it's limitations. So what? you pay less than $100 for it.

While I love my UDS's, the Egg is much more versatile of a cooker. I say cooker because you can acheive 700*F with it to sear steaks, then drop it to 220*F to smoke a butt, then bake bread with it. However you gotta pay for the nicer stuff.

If I could drop the yen for a large, I would be a BGE owner in a heartbeat.

I would like to think I saved money by having a UDS and not spending on a BGE however when I look at it I have a gasser and three webers and the uds just trying to do what I could with just one BGE. Just not so sure I saved by not going for it...

Rick's Tropical Delight said:

there is a LIFETIME WARRANTY TO THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER AND THEY WILL REPLACE ANYTHING THAT CRACKS DUE TO NORMAL USE!

you did not save $1,000. i bought my large eggs at an eggfest for $600. the choice is up to you. no one is forcing you to buy an egg or any other type of grill for that matter! yes, you are missing quite a bit.

whatever, man. enjoy your UDS and your evening.

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My oh my, someone is a little touchy. WOW.

Teleking said:

My oh my, someone is a little touchy. WOW.

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What did you expect with that statement you made? :shock:
You made it appear as if someone is crazy to spend that kind of loot on one of those eggs!

big brother smoke said:

What did you expect with that statement you made? :shock:
You made it appear as if someone is crazy to spend that kind of loot on one of those eggs!

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No, he said it was not an option for him, this seems more like a financial constraint. Im sure everyone would love to have a yardful of FEC's and BGE's but that is not a reality for everyone....

I am hoping to get one at the end of the summer. There is an eggfest not far from where I live. Thought I would register and see what it is all about. Maybe I will get lucky.

I probably wouldn't have ever dropped the money for an egg, but I inherited it from my wife's ex-husband when we got married (she and I, not he and I). Now that I have it, I get it. I'd replace it in a second if it were destroyed or stolen.

Yes, they're that good.

jack040806 said:

I would like to think I saved money by having a UDS and not spending on a BGE however when I look at it I have a gasser and three webers and the uds just trying to do what I could with just one BGE. Just not so sure I saved by not going for it...

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Yes you saved... the headache from your wife yelling at you just sayin' :icon_clown

Man, seeing that firebox brings a tear to my eye......it was my first egg. glad it is in good hands. Some may wonder, how can I sell an egg.....i dropped thillin's cash into an XL egg. I tell my self the medium just grew up......LOL. t

big brother smoke said:

What did you expect with that statement you made? :shock:
You made it appear as if someone is crazy to spend that kind of loot on one of those eggs!

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NewEnglandQ said:

No, he said it was not an option for him, this seems more like a financial constraint. Im sure everyone would love to have a yardful of FEC's and BGE's but that is not a reality for everyone....

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I have to agree with Steph, it really did come across wrong...

I might add that if you keep your eye open on CL you can find deals out there. I found mine about 2 years ago and picked her up for roughly the cost of two UDS's... I know that it's not covered under the warranty but for $150, I'm not going to complain.

As you can see by my signature line, I have a number of cookers. The BGE is the one I use when I cook for myself and family. The others have their uses but the egg is by far the most versatile.