Project "HUMPTY" — Kamado/BGE Restoration, Vancouver, Canada

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by swamprb

I just bought another quart of furnace cement, and think I'll be very liberal with it on the BGE firebox. One thing that I did on the firebox of the Medium IK was to set it in my stove and gradually raise the temp for a couple hours to cure the furnace cement. It was in at 500* for at least an hour with no damage(my wife wasn't thrilled) I don't think the firebox from the Egg will fit. I was looking at the temp rating for the Rutland gasket sealant and was thinking it might work on the joints. Does it dry hard or flexible with the rope gasket?

An old carpenter told me to drill a small hole at the end of the cracks to keep them from spreading. Worth a try?

For the Ceramic Repairs — I found 2 products to use. A 3000F rating Stove and Gasket Cement which I used to repair broken seams in the cracked firebox. Also a 2100F rating High Temperature Stove & Furnace Cement that I will use for surface bonding and as an extra sealant on top of the JB and S&GC.


Fiberglass Gasket Cement — I used Imperial KK0149 Cement Gasket to attach the fiberglass braid onto the Kamado. This was a clear viscous glue. Water-clean-up. Dried up brittle and porous, but the gasket is holding fine. I would not use it on the joints.


The Imperial Cement Gasket is probably is NOT the same stuff as the Rutland product, which looks black on the Naked Whiz's Gasket Installation Instructions.

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Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM

[Jim_Beam]

If those don't work, you can give this a try: http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/ca_putties.htm but it's $35 a tube.

However, it may be cheaper (read easier) to buy a new firebox. I'm told that the one from http://www.kamadoking.s5.com/whats_new.html will fit these eggs. I know it defeats the point of trying to do a refurb, but these are replaceable parts. At some point you have to cut bait.

Then again I've been too cheap to order a daisy wheel top, so feel free to sprinkle a few grains of salt on this post.

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by Jim_Beam

If those don't work, you can give this a try: http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/ca_putties.htm but it's $35 a tube.

However, it may be cheaper (read easier) to buy a new firebox. I'm told that the one from http://www.kamadoking.s5.com/whats_new.html will fit these eggs. I know it defeats the point of trying to do a refurb, but these are replaceable parts. At some point you have to cut bait.

Then again I've been too cheap to order a daisy wheel top, so feel free to sprinkle a few grains of salt on this post.

Thanks Jim. Those ceramic putties look pretty high-tech.

As for spending more money, I'm kind of running out of steam on Humpty. So if the stove/furnace/gasket cements don't work out, I'll just cook on a cracked claypot. C'est la vie....

[swamprb]

I added a Rutland gasket to the BGE this afternoon and found you have to work fast with the gasket cement! It also seems to adhere to the ceramic better than the Hercules furnace cement, so I slathered some on the flaking areas.

[MayDay]

Today was supposed to be an easy day. Not so! Whenever I look at Humpty in the light of day (the SUN), I see things that I don't want to see.

Humpty has a new sidewall crack. It propagated from an old crack that was JB'd at the bottom of the clay pot. Sigghhh....

Here's the crack with the copper paint scrubbed away.


The bottom of the pot showed 2 new cracks. To try to stop further crack growth, holes were drilled at the end of each incomplete crack (see previous post explaining Griffith's Theory). Holes are located at 3:00 and 7:30.


Another hole was drilled on the side wall where a crack terminated.


In hindsight, I wish I heard of this old trick earlier (drill a hole at the end of a crack to stop further crack growth). If so, I would have drilled holes at the end of ALL unterminated cracks. Now I can't find them because all the cracks have been covered up with JB and furnace cement.

After drilling the holes in the clay pot, Stove and Gasket Cement (3000F rating) was applied over the new cracks and in the 3 drill holes.


The firebox got mortared with High-Temperature Stove & Furnace Cement, which is rated to 2100F.


The dome also got mortared with High Temperature Stove & Furnace Cement. The dome cracks are now covered with 2 layers of JB and 3 coatings of High Temperature Stove & Furnace Cement (2100F rating). I think that should hold it!


I sure hope there are no more surprises. This restore is taking WAY too much time and energy. I really want to wrap this up and start cooking!!!
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Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM

[swamprb]

Its gotta be frustrating, but you are doing a fantastic job on it!

[MayDay]

Here's a link to the weekend cookouts (#2 & #3) just before Humpty was disassembled for Phase 2 repairs: Kamado Quail, Snapper, Tenderloin, Peppers & Zukes.

The good news is that Humpty still cooks great EVEN when cracked!

If Humpty cracks further after this current round of repairs, I'm going to let things be and just USE the darned thing, cracks and all. The project has reached the point of diminishing returns, and Humpty has to start earning his keep!!!
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Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM

[MayDay]

Just bought another tub of High Temperature Furnace and Stove Cement and re-mortared the dome. I ran out with the first tub and the dome had some thin spots.

This time I used a rubber spatula as my spreading tool and it was way easier and faster than using a drywall tool or a spoon. The spatula was also much better than using my hands for smoothing out the cement. Didn't even have to wear gloves!

Also touched up the firebox. Now, I'm debating whether or not to also completely mortar inside the bottom. Right now, there's some JB on the original cracks and Stove and Gasket Cement (3000F) on the new cracks. If so, I will need to buy a 3rd tub of furnace cement. Feedback please.

Thanks everyone!
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Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by swamprb

Its gotta be frustrating, but you are doing a fantastic job on it!

Thanks Brian... I've been feeling kind of down about Humpty's never-ending saga.

[Jim_Beam]

I mortared the bottom of mine inside and out. If you do it, make sure your coat is even or you firebox will rock a bit.

Don't ask me why I know that.

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by Jim_Beam

I mortared the bottom of mine inside and out. If you do it, make sure your coat is even or you firebox will rock a bit.

Don't ask me why I know that.

Thanks Jim, Am I reading you right? You uunevenly mortared the BOTTOM inside and outside and it made your firebox ROCK? You ROCK!

How's the mortar surviving? Is it still adhering nicely to the walls or is it cracking and flaking off?

I'm dragging my feet on mortaring the bottom because it involves more work and I'm sort of getting tired of tending to Humpty. I guess I should do it NOW as extra insurance. It'd be easier than doing it 10 cooks later after it's cracked again and all dirty and sooty.

I'm just needing a strong PUSH from you guys to get the energy to mortar the bottom. Push/Pull? Yay/Nay? What do ya'all say?

MayDay

[Jim_Beam]

You read correctly. I just smeared it around with my hand and tried to get it even, but didn't. I don't know if I'll bother to fix it, as it isn't that bad. It just wobbles a bit. I'm just going to call it a gangster lean, and move on.

I was so eager to get cooking that I cut corners which is causing even more work now. Today I took the bands back off. They'll get a good scrubbing tomorrow and a fresh coat of paint. I also painted the bottom of the egg with the same paint that I painted the top. I scrubbed and repainted the bottom damper and installed it and caulked it with a high temp copper core silicone. Finally, I put a BGE gasket on it. If I buy new casters for the dolly then I'll paint that too. I even broke down and bought a metal top.

Basically, today I did most of the work I should have done the first time around. Don't make my mistake. Doing it right the first time is easier than undoing your work and doing it right later. The question is, what is right?

As you noted, the JB Weld doesn't work at all. It cannot take the heat. The firebox repairs I made are all coming apart. The thing that concerns me is that the furnace cement is bubbling in areas where I didn't apply JB Weld. The bubbles don't crack when pressed though. My guess is that the egg was exposed to the elements and absorbed water which couldn't escape. I let you know if the same thing happened to the base tomorrow.

[MayDay]

Ok, I figured I better do the work NOW than later. Better safe than sorry. After all, I don't want to do another major overhaul like this for at least 10-20 years!!! Too hopeful?

Went ahead and mortared the base. Low-tack Painter's Tape over the gasket.


Mortared the dome and firebox once more.


Have now applied 9 lbs (3 quarts) of furnace cement on Humpty. In terms of the number of coatings, the firebox was fully mortared 2X inside and out, the dome 2X on the inside, the dome JB welds 4X, and the base 1X on the inside.

I agree with Jim that the bubbling on his mortar (w/o JB) is probably due to trapped moisture. Which is why I'm not going to rush the drying process. Will let things air dry for about a week before firing up.

In fact, I will go the extra step of putting a kerosene or propane heater in the Kamado for 8-12 hours before doing the charcoal bakeout. The idea is to first drive off any residual moisture in a controlled low-heat environment before going to charcoal. This should help to minimize breakup, flaking or bubbling of the furnace cement.

I know I have to drive off added moisture as I actually wetted down the surface of the claypot and the cement during the mortaring process. Oops!

JIM: I hope your base survives!

MayDay
Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM

[MayDay]

One of the neighbours came back from a 2-month holiday and I showed him Project Humpty. Tells me that he has a dolly that should fit Humpty. He'd been trying to throw it away for a couple of months, but the garbage boys kept on leaving it behind every week. "Do you want it?" he says.

Turns out to be an original EGG NEST!!! It fits perfectly!!! Even has 2 locking wheels.


The neighbour's a retired carpenter. He built an Egg table for one of his clients a while back. The cradle came with side tables which he took apart and may have thrown away. If so, it should be pretty easy to make up a couple of new side tables.

The Egg Nest raises the Kamado higher than the original dolly. I can see it'll be easier to use the wiggle rod or clean out ash.


What amazing synchronicity! I'm one happy grateful camper!!!
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Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM

[swamprb]

My Sakura and Hibachi Pot had clay fired wedges that were placed between the wall of the pot and lip of the firebox, presumably to keep it steady.
I was taking a look through the Naked Whiz site showing Eggs that have cracked and had enough heat transferred through the bottom to crack concrete stepping stones,tiles or even burn up a table frame! Its got me convinced enough to use the cement on the bottom of mne just for insurance.