Exploding Big Green Egg firebox

[smokinbadger]

I'm looking for some advice from fellow eggheads here. After a few "nuclear" steak grilling events, where the dome temp hit around 700F, I noticed a couple of cracks in the firebox insert in my XL BGE. Friday night, I fired it up to grill some chicken breasts, and I noticed that I could see lots of hot coals sitting in the air inlet at the bottom of the egg. Upon further investigation, I found that the firebox had decided to "relax" a bit, breaking into four pieces:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/smokinbadger/SAKjGMVS8gI/AAAAAAAAAhI/HTWjHkJdibk/s800/DSC02529.JPG (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/%3Ca%20href=)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/smokinbadger/SAKjGcVS8hI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/Q5hFI8Sc9w8/s800/DSC02530.JPG (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/%3Ca%20href=)

Kind of a bummer. Since I bought this used, I don't have the option of requesting a free replacement from the Egg people. So I'm wondering if anybody has an idea of how to repair this. (I'm thinking about some stainless wire, looped through the holes in the pieces, since each piece has a hole.) Or, am I better off just ordering a new one? Any thoughts one whether I can do better on this replacement part than I can get from my local authorized BGE dealer?

Thanks in advance for ideas.

[thillin]

Check the dealer for cost. The wire should work. There are a few guys on the egg forum that have done it. Then I'd buy a new firebox when it wouldn't stress my budget. But I wouldn't use it until I had to.

[CMALANGA]

I would still try to get a replacement from BGE. They really believe in the product and are serious about keeping custoimers happy. You could probably bond less aerious cracks, but I would call customer support in Georgia for this one.

[Roo-B-Q'N]

If you wire this back together, will hot ash and embers fall through and cause a deck fire?
Call the egg people and find out what a replacment will cost, better safe than sorry. Also find out what the causes are for this, might help you avoid it in the future.

[CaptGrumpy]

If you wire this back together, will hot ash and embers fall through and cause a deck fire?
Call the egg people and find out what a replacment will cost, better safe than sorry. Also find out what the causes are for this, might help you avoid it in the future.

No fire hazaed there. The firebox sits inside the egg so if any embers fell through they would sit inside the egg safely until they burned out.
Call BGE and ask if they will send you a new one. If not no big deal on buying a new one. Cheaper than buying a new egg. All partof the risk of buying used but let us know on the answer from BGE's service department.

[tjv]

that looks like an old firebox. New fireboxes have little ledges around the box that support the grate so the grate doesn't wedge into the firebox. On old fireboxes the grate under its own weight would wedge tight and expand when heated, then.......bang goes the firebox. new xl firebox will be around $150.....T

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

my medium's firebox has been cracked for some time now, but it's not broken into different pieces yet. from what i've seen, the cracks usually start at the hobbit hole in the front and go thru an air hole to the top, but yours looks like the grate expanded and broke the firebox like tvj said. i think i'd just try to wire yours together or even make some rings around the out side to hold it together and keep cooking.

i got a new medium firebox from the mothership, but it's still in the box, since the original one is still performing well. all fireboxes will eventually crack.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r151/RicksTropicalDelight/biggreenegg/11mar07-002.jpg

[Smokin Gator]

My XL fire box cracked just like that. I got a masonry bit and drilled holes on each side of the crack in about an inch and a half. Then I wired it with stainless wire. I would have to tighten the wire once in a great while but other than that it was no big deal. I wouldn't bother buying a new one.

[thirdeye]

A lot of folks continue to cook with cracked fireboxes in the larg Eggs, usually the pieces will fit back together. I have seen several fixes over the years exactly as mentioned above with holes drilled across from each other following the break. I thought some used a large diameter softer wire rather than stainless.

[Double Bogey]

My large has been in multiple pieces for the past year or so. I stopped by my dealer and told him about it and he gave me a replacement from one in his showroom. Still have in in my shop waiting for the cracked one to fully give up the ghost.
Larrhy

[swamprb]

Mine is cracked and so is the pot, non nuclear proliferation treaty declared on my deck!

Eggfest is coming to the PNW in September.

[Nitrofly]

and I need an Egg why :icon_blush:
haven't cracked a WSM yet..
I did crack a pizza stone sunday :mad:
I do have a bent WSM looks at the
world a lot like me twisted but still
works fine :rolleyes:


But i still want an Egg just because :redface:

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

and I need an Egg why :icon_blush:
haven't cracked a WSM yet..
I did crack a pizza stone sunday :mad:
I do have a bent WSM looks at the
world a lot like me twisted but still
works fine :rolleyes:


But i still want an Egg just because :redface:

what brand of pizza stone cracked?

[vr6Cop]

Send the pics to BGE HQ and they'll send you a new one free - you may have to pay shipping, but maybe not.

I went to their hq while on a business trip, and mentioned my cracked firebox. The guy said, "Hang on," and went and got me a brand new one. Free. The new free one is still sitting in my garage 6mos later. I've been cooking with the cracked firebox for over a year with no problems. :cool:

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

Send the pics to BGE HQ and they'll send you a new one free - you may have to pay shipping, but maybe not.

I went to their hq while on a business trip, and mentioned my cracked firebox. The guy said, "Hang on," and went and got me a brand new one. Free. The new free one is still sitting in my garage 6mos later. I've been cooking with the cracked firebox for over a year with no problems. :cool:

i thought he said he didn't buy the egg new. the warranty is not transferable. you can try to epoxy it back together with jb weld, but i'd leave one of the cracks there for expansion relief.

[Tarpon65]

You may want to go to your local brick company and buy a container of refractory cement. Just mix with water and put the pieces back together. After drying the cement will not be affected by the heat.

[Greendriver]

Lemme tell ye sumpin - the BGE is a great product and if it burst on ya, you just got a bad one which you can do with any ceramic (trust me I know first hand from owning or selling the 3 most popular brands) but you can't beat the price or the cooking results from either one of them for the home cooker they are designed for.

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

i thought he said he didn't buy the egg new. the warranty is not transferable. you can try to epoxy it back together with jb weld, but i'd leave one of the cracks there for expansion relief.

on second thought, jb weld may not be the right product to repair a firebox, but the refractory cement as suggested above might work better.

here's the naked whiz's page on jb weld: click here (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicrepair/ceramicrepair.htm)

[smokinbadger]

Well, I sent the pictures to the BGE people today--I will let you know what they say. In the meantime, I am going to try and find some refractory cement. I need to do something because with the way the pieces are cracked, the fire grate just falls to the bottom of the egg.

I need to get this fixed soon, as I really like cooking on this thing!

[thirdeye]

Well, I sent the pictures to the BGE people today--I will let you know what they say. In the meantime, I am going to try and find some refractory cement. I need to do something because with the way the pieces are cracked, the fire grate just falls to the bottom of the egg.

I need to get this fixed soon, as I really like cooking on this thing!

I would call Bobby Cresap (BobbyQ on the circut and BGE forum)
770-938-9394 ext 3010. He will be able to give you all the help possible to get you cooking again.

[smokinbadger]

I just got this feedback from the BGE folks:

I am happy to hear that you enjoy the BGE and thank you for spreading the word. Also, I would like to thank you for your honesty concerning the fact that you purchased the egg used, which as you stated, does in fact void the warranty. With that said, you should be able to go your local BGE dealer and have them order you a new firebox. Concerning preventative maintenance, I wish I could give you exact information, however, the nature of ceramics and how they react to different environments, for example the extreme cold you experience in MI as compared to the relatively mild weather we have here in the south, is almost impossible to explain. I hope this information has been helpful. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Not quite the response I was hoping for, but certainly well within their rights. I did call my local dealer and ask whether the replacement firebox would be covered by a warranty, and was told that it would not. I was a little more surprised by this. This is something to keep in mind before buying a used egg.

[Yakfishingfool]

Can you put the pieces into a ring and wrap wire around the bundle? I agree, within BGE rights, but probably not how I would have handled it. temple forks rods will gaurentee a rod not to break, for 25 bucks I can replace it, as often as needed, used, new or warranty card in or not. Scott