Still Having Hinge Troubles

Knauf · June 2011

Had a 1/8" gap from 10 O'clock to 2 O'clock along the back edge between top and bottom of my large. I followed several people's advice and removed the hinge springs and loosened and adjusted bands while top was down. Retightened bands with bend in the carriage bolts and reinstalled the springs. I did a 6 pizza cook last night for some neighbors and had to open and close the lid numerous times. The gap opened up again half way through and my temp was almost impossible to control. Anything else I could try?

Richard Fl · June 2011

That is the way I replace the gaskets on spring hinged ones. Is it possible that you have a high spot of low on one of the edges? Kinda PITA, but remove the top and take a level to the bottom.

Grandpas Grub · June 2011

Is it possible your bands are slipping, not tight enough. I did read the bolts were tightened to bend.

After the gap appears is there any additional resistance to opening or closing the dome?

There is a possibility the molding of the egg dome and or base is beveled and not perpendicular. Thus the bands, may, slip even when tightened. This can be checked with a carpenters square.

I posted a tip about resetting the timing a while back. Not sure if you saw it or not but I will put it below.

GG

Dome / Band instructions as per John Creed @ bge and I paraphrase…

At times the bands need a little adjustment.

Carriage bolts that tighten the bands down onto the grill at times not tight enough, this will cause a little slack in the bands which give the spring assembly a little play. What happens is the springs try to open the dome but they are not strong enough to do it.....they can pull the dome up in the back area. If the spring assembly opens a little it will cause the dome to pull in the back and the only place the dome will actually touch is the front. This is the most common problem the eggs have.

To reset:
1.) Have someone hold the dome open for you
2.) With a set of locking pliers clamp on the top of the spring and pull the spring up and off the assembly.
3.) Once both springs are off (large egg) carefully close the dome
4.) Loosen the carriage bolt on the dome band and remove the dome
5.) If replacing the gaskets, remove and replace the gasket as per instructions.
6.) Now the important part....when you put the dome back on tighten the carriage bolts until the bend away from the grill. Don't worry you will not break the ceramics.
7.) Have someone open the dome while you put the springs back on.

What you just did is reset the timing on the spring assembly.

Knauf · June 2011

I haven't had trouble in the past. Alway had a good seal. I just noticed this gap about a month or so ago BEFORE I changed to a Rutland Gasket. Now I only have the rutland on the bottom but the gap was there before.

Grandpas Grub · June 2011

Also, check the base while you are at it. This is best done when there is no gasket.

When instructed to check my dome and base by BGE I was told to use a piece of glass to look for high/low spots.

GG

Knauf · June 2011

That's what I did the first time. I'll try again and give the bolts hell on the retighten! Thanks.

Grandpas Grub · June 2011

If you are at a good bolt bend I wouldn't go much further. Those bolts will snap.

What about any additional resistance when opening or closing the dome?

If top gasket will seal that gap you might want to add another Rutland to the top. Or you may want to use a Silicone bead on the dome.

Hing adjustment resolved my continuing gap, after the dome/base was replaced. I had a bevel on the band surface of the egg.

GG

gdenby · June 2011

I've been working on a similar problem for some time, and think I've found the solution.

There are four small nuts that hold the hinge assembly to the dome band. If those are loose, you can re-seat the dome in the band any number of times, and after 1 or 2 openings, the dome will slip, and give a poor seal.

My fix, working for the past week, fingers crossed, was to loosen the band. Push down, and maneuver the band so it is up against the top limit.

Then screw the 4 smaller nuts that attach the hinge to the band tight.

Then, tighten the upper band bolt.

Worked for me (try number 5), hope it works for you.

Hungry Joe · June 2011

My first egg had this problem. After talking to someone in Atlanta we determined that the lip the band was trying to clamp down on had a bevel that raised the dome as I was trying to tighten the bands. My bottom had the same problem. Take the band off and see if you notice something that looks like a slight bevel on the back of the dome. In the end they had me take it back to my dealer and replaced my entire egg. That next gasket lasted 3 years.

Dave Shady · June 2011

Did you put the white plastic spacer things back on the bolts on the hinge before you loosened the band back up? that really needs to be on there as it controls the spacing on the hinge from upper to lower.

When I test the gap I make sure that they are on before I loosen the band.

make certain the distance from the bottom of the lower band to the top of the upper band is VERY CLOSE all the way around. Check at several places and slide it up or down with the band SNUG to get the same all the way around that egg. I like to eyeball the lower and snug it more and once its level to the gasket adjust the upper on the spacing.

I did have one Hinge assym on a large once that would never ALIGN! I ended up trashing it for a new one. Never did quite figure it out. But one out of 140 in 3 years did I ever see that.

Take you time but make sure that the spacers are on the bolts before you start to mess to much.

Still Having Hinge Troubles

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