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Cleaning the fire pit

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burr_baby33
burr_baby33 Posts: 503
edited May 2012 in EggHead Forum
I regularly clean the ash from the trap door. This morning I decided to pull the guts out and do a thorough cleaning with the shop vac. There was a build up below the fire ring holes but not too bad considering I cook at least 6 X per week and have never had a temp problem. How often is the big cleaning recommended. It is much quicker and easier than I thought.
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Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,349
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    You will get varied opinions-for me I do the deep clean before any long duration (> 6-8 hr) low& slow-that works out to about once/month.  That interval is excessive based on the ash I find outside the fire box but like you note, it's not difficult.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
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    BGE told me once a month is suggested. I cook on it until I have temp issues and do a deep clean and then deep clean anytime I do a long or overnight cook.
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,967
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    9:56AM Posts: 603
    BGE told me once a month is suggested. I cook on it until I have temp issues and do a deep clean and then deep clean anytime I do a long or overnight cook.

    And now they say never take your firebox out which is assinine. I do the same as Cap but with higher frequency. Any long cook or any high heat cook (pizza) I clean it out.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,967
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    I probably do it once a week and definite every 10 days.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Eggbertsdad
    Eggbertsdad Posts: 804
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    I take mine apart and clean it out every 2-3 weeks. I just did it today.
    Sarasota, FL via Boynton Beach, FL, via Sarasota, FL, via Charleston, SC, via The Outer Banks, via God's Country (East TN on Ft. Loudon Lake)
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  • MikeG
    MikeG Posts: 174
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    I've no reason to pull the fire box - that I'm aware of. 

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,967
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    I've no reason to pull the fire box - that I'm aware of. 

    look behind it and you'll see. Ash piles up behind it and hinders airflow if you let it go too long.


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • burr_baby33
    burr_baby33 Posts: 503
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    Cen Tex, who told you to never take the firebox out? BGE? It does seem like nonsense since ash definitely does build up below the holes. The whole process takes only 5-10 minutes so I plan to up the frequency. Did I read on another post about shop vac having enough suction without removing fire box?
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  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
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    I can shop vac most of mine clean, take it apart every 5-6 cooks or if I'm loading up for a special cook.

    Very curious as to if BGE really don't want us to take it out. Done understand why since I put it together in the first place.


    _______________________________________________

    XLBGE 
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,967
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    Somebody posted it from the new BGE warranty and one guy posted this week that he asked for a new firebox under warranty and BGE asked him if he had ever removed it. Not sure what the outcome was.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Ragtop99
    Ragtop99 Posts: 1,570
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    I have yet to take mine apart, but the XL grate provides a lot of airflow so I haven't noticed a problem get the grill to temp.  Maybe on next clean I'll give it a try.  
    Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    the warranty doesn't state that the firebox can never be removed.  it says that damage caused by removing the firebox is not covered.  it's a fine line, but what it means is (if you really want to) you can take the guts out to your heart's delight, but if you break it because you took it out (dropped it, clunked it against something, etc.) and it broke, that breakage is not covered by the warranty.

    not sure how they could tell definitively, and it would require a moral decision to fess up (or not).

    basicall, if the fire box cracks due to normal use, it's covered.  if it cracks due to damage from your removing it and mishandling it, it's not covered.



    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,967
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    That's the way in understood it as well but it now specifically states that the fire box never needs to be removed once installed which I find to be untrue. My dealer showed me how to take it all apart and clean it out when I bough it. Apparently they have change course on this.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,349
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    None of the above parsing on the warranty surprises me given the apparent direction the BGE HQ is going either internally or externally driven or some combination.  Trying to hold down costs in the face of competition...just trying to turn the claims operation into a profit center.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    well, lou.  look at is this way.  did anyone here ever think their firbox WAS covered if they took it out and dropped it and it samshed?

    not me.

    BGE is just being clear.

    and still, there is a major difference between saying "it does not need to be removed", and "removing it voids the warranty"

    removing it does not void the warranty.  dropping it does.  remove it, put it back, and i the thing breaks due to high heat, then it should ('should') still be covreed.  if they asked whether you ever removed it, it's none of their business.  if i can't remove my guts, then how am i going to take it out of my table and move to my new house? 

    asking you if you removed it is a probing question, and if it ends with, 'yeah i dropped it', then you're screwed.  i frankly think whoever asked that question (i hope not corporate, but likely a dealer) should have asked 'did you drop it or break it outside the egg?'.  tha'ts where the difference is.  not whether it was taken out.

    if you can't take out the guts, then you can't inspect the bottom of the egg itself for cracks, can't easily move the egg, and can't even replace the broken firebox under warranty if the ring is still unbroken...

    gee, fire ring is ok, and i can't take it out of the grill.  so i need to keep using the broken firebox until the firering also cracks.

    makes no sense, and is not enforceable.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
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    Well put stike


    _______________________________________________

    XLBGE 
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  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
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    My Xl firebox was cracked. Took a picture and got a new one. It has a crack machined or molded into it. I put it in today. Any ideas on what to do with the cracked one I took out?
    XL   Walled Lake, MI

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  • Brownie
    Brownie Posts: 1,023
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    stevesails  many have fireboxes with cracks they still use, maybe you should keep it in case your new one has an accident.
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  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
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    My thought exactly. I put it under deck. It will out live me
    XL   Walled Lake, MI

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  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
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    I pull the box out every bag (20 lb.) or so of lump. I just like to play with fireboxes. And, I dump all the remaining lump that hasn't been burnt since the last clean out into the chimney and burn it to start the next cycle that starts with all new lump in it.
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