Cracked eggs....

AUCE

I have.seen a few posts referring to cracked eggs. I'm curious..could this be a too tight band issue?
Seems to occur at higher temps.
Would the springs avoid this as it would.seem they would allow for the expansion and contraction?
My xl is registered however I'd prefer not to go through a warranty.issue.

nolaegghead

The band loosens up when it gets hotter. So, insofar as the top of the dome falls out of a loose band, hits the ground or a hungry dog and cracks, yes, it can happen at higher temps.

Putting springs on the band bolts is like chasing a rainbow - it never pays off.  There's no spring that approaches the compressive strength of a bolt that will work.  Your "spring" is a properly torqued band bolt, which will be slightly bent.

Just being aware that the band can be loose at very high temps is invaluable.  If you're rocking 900F and open the lid, don't let go if it feels loose lest it falls out.

On the flip side, I've never heard of someone breaking a dome by over-tightening a band (although I'm setting myself up for someone to contradict me).  The band will break first, unless there's a pre-existing fracture in the ceramic.  The symmetry of the round dome and strength of the ceramic makes it stronger than the band and bolt.  This is why it comes with grade 5 bolts and your run-of-the-mill Home Despot bolt is not strong enough.

AUCE

Thanks...
I get the.expansion contraction thing clearly..just wanted to avoid future issues.

nolaegghead

Yep, just check the torque after your first nuclear cook and retighten as necessary.  Some people do it when it's a little warm, but not recommended when hot or you can break the bolt/band when it cools.  Then you're fine.  Check the torque every year to play it safe.

AUCE

Much mucho....
Btw are the high temp cleans recommended?

nolaegghead

I don't know the official word from the mothership, but it's designed to be run at least to the high end of the dome thermo and I believe they say 1100 or so.  I don't see a problem with a 700F clean burn, not necessary to go any higher, fat burns off below that temp....

My opinion is: if you need to burn out the crap to make your food taste better (say because you just cooked some greasy pig), then do it.  It's a tool and tools need to be used, in this case for tasty food.  There's a warranty if you're unfortunate enough (like @DMW) to develop a crack.

Mitigate the fat contamination with a device to capture it so you don't have to do a clean burn is also a good idea.

AUCE

Witcha...thx

fishlessman

cracked eggs are usually the base and not the dome, the crack usually starts at the lower corner of the lower vent and down around the bottom. ive been there when one of mine cracked, it sounded like a shotgun blast echoeing around the lake i live on. you would think high heat causes it but mine went in the middle of a 325 degree turkey cook. ive had 2 bases crack on the large and on a small base the whole side delaminated. seems to be random, cook on it a few years then one day.................doesnt happen to everyone but im at 3 now
lucky me

Lit

I am on a large, medium, and mini all cracked. I heard the large crack and it was pretty loud like fishless said. My large dome and fire ring popped in the same cook and both were pretty loud.

AUCE

damn......sounds like a QC issue.

I owned a ceramic business for a couple years and there's a plethora of causes some preventable some not.

fishlessman

AUCE said:

damn......sounds like a QC issue.

I owned a ceramic business for a couple years and there's a plethora of causes some preventable some not.

i think its an engineering issue with stresses at the rectangular opening as the ceramics heat up.

its the main reason i dont trust the oval shape with the competition cooker and ive seen those crack as well

Raymont

I have just submitted a warranty claim for exact issue @fishlessman discribes.