A Near Disaster w/the EGG

Anthony Up North

A time back someone had won a BGE. On his first attempt to open it, the holding ring slipped off the dome, and the dome came crashing down breaking into many pieces.[p]I have never forgotten that post. [p]I have owned my Egg for three months now. Since reading that post I have always opened the Egg rather gingerly. Today that caution paid off. I was just finishing a beautiful rack of spare ribs, lifted the dome, and the ring slipped off the dome. The dome was only open at about a 25 degree angle when it happened so it did not fall to the ground. Needless to say however; I had a hard time, hot as it was, to get the ribs out.[p]So, contrary to what I wanted to believe before, that the ring must have been warped or bent, now I know it is definitly a defect in the design of the new locking ring. I know my ring was not bent or warped. I know it was as tight as I dared go without fear of cracking the dome by tightening too much. And yet it easily slid off.[p]
So beware to all who have the New Locking ring. It can, and could eventually, slip off.[p]I am thinking about alternatives to the glue recommended by the company. I hate to glue that ring onto the dome. What if I want to change rings at some point in the future because it becomes damaged? How do I get the ring off the dome?[p]An Idea I have is to take very course sandpaper. Cut a strip about an two inches wide and six inches long. Fold the strip length ways so that it is one inch wide with the sandpaper on both sides Then take two such six strips and put the between the ring and the dome, one on each side. Then tighten as much as is prudent. [p]Don't know if that will work or if it is smart to do. I plan to call the company and talk with them tomorrow. Will mention this idea to them. In the mean time what do you all think about this solution, or other possible solutions? [p]Anthony

Tim M

Anthony Up North,[p]Curious - did your bolts look like they were bent? There should be two SS bolts holding the dome. When tightened (torqued) to spec - they actually bend. I have never removed one where the bolt did not shear in two. I wonder if some come out less torqued than others. There should also be a rough sand paper type strip back near the hinge. This holds the band. Glad it was OK. [p]Tim

tims

Anthony Up North, My top fell off and broke a month ago, My dealer replaced it at cost. I now use a 500 degree silicone from Rutland. I think that it will come off if I ever need to replace the bands.

Gfw

<p />Anthony Up North, careful... these posts will probably end up in never/never land like the last set of posts on the new locking bands. You may just want to try and trade them in for the old style bands if still available - that (the old bands) is what I have and I have never experienced a problem!

Anthony Up North

Tim M,[p]Maybe you are on to something that can help me. [p]First: The sand paper you refer to in the back is there, is slipped out. I will examine it when the Egg cools and I take off the ring. Then I will know how it slipped out. Should that sandpaper be glued (stuck) to the band? I notice it is rough on one side, and sticky on the other. Could it have gradually worked loose if the band was not tight enough? [p]Second: And most interesting, there are two bolts, one that holds the bottom band on the Egg, and the other band right above it, that holds the dome. Now the bottom bolt is bent somewhat (meaning it is very tight). However, the top bolt, the one holding the dome bank IS NOT BENT. Doe this mean that is did not tighten it sufficiently? Must the band be screwed so tight that it will bend at the point of tightening? Please let me know, because this might be the source of the problem.[p]Thanks for your help![p]Anthony

Anthony Up North

Gfw,[p]Not ever seeing the old bands, I have no idea how they work. Can you explain why they stay on better than the old, even though the dome and bottom of the EGG are identical?[p]Thanks.[p]Anthony

Gfw

Anthony Up North, I would love to telll you why (and maybe they don't) - the 2 hinges are on the side and the bands don't appear to have any glue or sandpaper - tomorrow (at least sometime in the afternoon) I'll snap a picture of the old and send it to you. Best of luck!

Unknown

Anthony Up North,[p]Hi, the dealer that you purchased the Egg from buys the Eggs without the bands installed and they install the bands prior to selling them. I found a medium on their sales floor that had very loose bands. I don't know how tight to make them, but it would be worth a call to BGE to find out. I have a set of the autolock bands sitting in a box that I have yet to put on my Egg (I like the old style because they do not lift the top as high as the new auto-lock bands) so I can't help you on how tight to make them. I have two friends who purchased Eggs from the same dealer and we had to put our own bands on and neither came with the sandpaper that people reference....[p]Larry

Unknown

Larry Jenkins, I agree with you. I installed my own bands and tightened them to the extent I felt comfortable (Install a toilet a time or two and you get a feeling for when enough is enough). Now I've seen posts saying if the bolt is torqued to specs it will bend. Well, I can tell you I did not torque it and upon examination now I see the bolts are indeed bent, so my guest is the stress on the hinge does the bending and not so many "footpounds" of torque.

Gfw

<p />Anthony Up North, as promised, the picture is of the old bands - there are two bolts on each side and the hinges balance from the sides, not the back - it is very stable and I have never had a problem using only one had to either open or close the top. [p]In the open position it is also extremely stable and can't be screwed up by someone (who doesn't know what they are doing) attempting to close the top.[p]It works for me, aybe not for everyone and possibly I'm over looking some of the advantages of the new bands.[p]

[ul][li]Gfw's BBQ [/ul]

Anthony Up North

Larry Jenkins,[p]Larry: Mine came with the bands in the box (uninstalled). I put them on correctly, but the problem was the hole. My BGE did have the paper band stuck to the dome. I didn't see it when I put the band on, but noticed it had worked loose when the band came off.[p]Also I may have not tightened it quite enough, but I is correct now.[p]See my post above about the details of my solution .[p]Thanks for your concern. I appreciate that.[p]Anthony[p]