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Bit by the Egg! No Response for BGE!!

Natgporter
Natgporter Posts: 10
edited September 2012 in EggHead Forum

My new (bought in July) Egg lower vent cover assembly is awfully flimsy for such a high end cooking device. It does not operate smoothly - it slides hard - and the vent cover slides so far to the right that it totally uncovers the screen portion of the vent cover assembly and then catches on the screen portion when I try to close it.

 

I was willing to live with this because functionally the egg works great in every other way, that is until last weekend.

 

I sliced open my index finger on the bottom right lip of the track while sliding the vent cover closed.

 

I have written to BGE Customer Service twice now and they refuse to respond. This is unlike my previous experiences with BGE customer service...

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Compared to older models I have seen, it appears BGE has cheapened up the vent cover assembly significantly and I am extremely dissatisfied with the quality of this part of my Big Green Egg.

 

Am I crazy or has anyone else out there had a similar problem?  Is my Egg simply defective? Please let me know what you can.

 

Thanks,

 

Hurt in MN

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Comments

  • Adamd
    Adamd Posts: 160
    My vent does the same thing. I guess it just does not bother me. I never cut my finger on it but I am sure you could considering it is stainless and that's sharp.
  • You might try calling them.....
    The Naked Whiz
  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    edited September 2012
    My Large is like that, too, though I haven't quite drawn blood. I was thinking I might try cleaning the inner and outer surfaces and the track but haven't yet gone beyond blowing the dust out. Thinking about deburring the edges. Maybe CGS will come up with something, BGE evidently thinks it is ok as is.
  • Sgt93
    Sgt93 Posts: 728

    You might try calling them.....

    This! "Old school" methods work well.
    XL BGE - Small BGE - A few Komodo Kamado Serious Big Bad 42s
    Follow me on Instagram: @SSgt93
  • My Egg, purchased in March of this year, is the same way. I don't consider it a problem though. Just need to be careful when opening the vent to not slide it past the screen portion. If you do, it is not difficult to push in on the back of the screened portion to slide the vent door over it. I think I have read somewhere that older Eggs did not have the screen, but was added on later models as a safety mod to help prevent sparks from escaping. If your Egg is in an area where fire is not a danger, you may consider removing the screen. It would probably make the vent door slide easier too since there would be less stuff in that track.

    What exactly are you wanting BGE customer service to do for you?
  • My new Large is also like this , i just try not open it too far !
    Ova B.
    Fulton MO
  • bigphil
    bigphil Posts: 1,390
    edited September 2012
    metal when hot will expand and contract when cold finding a high heat dry lube will help with sliding and keeping ash out of the track will help . never use a liquid base lubricant your only have mud in the track then 

    mine was tight but almost everyday use and keeping the track clean has made it easier to function . mine is also in a nest so sliding to far open and out of the track is prevented by the nest . you could try and carefully peen the edge closed on the track to prevent it from going to far 

    purpose of a dry lubricant - Use where a dry lubricant is essential and petroleum products must be avoided. Tracks, bearings, conveyor parts, flat springs, hinges, switches, couplings, die casting machines, lock mechanisms oven parts, automotive and industrial gaskets, cables and open gears, thread lubricant (anti-seize), all metal to metal friction, internal combustion engine components (assembly and break-in) and all pre-assembly operations where dust and dirt free lubrication is required.
    Large Big Green Egg , XL Big Green Egg . BBQ Guru, Weber Kettle, Weber Q grill for road trips.
  • My vent cover is the same as yours.  I was a little surprised when I got the egg home and noticed how flimsy the vent cover was.  That was in March.  I haven't had any problems with it though, but am careful with it because I can see how easy it would be to cut yourself on it.
    Simi Valley, California
    LBGE, PBC, Annova, SMOBot
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    Clean the tracks with an old tooth brush and hit it with a spray  cooking oil around once a month-no issues with the sliding function.  And yes you can go too far to the right and get past the screen but once you know that...
    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.
  • WickedIsland
    WickedIsland Posts: 153
    edited September 2012
    Mine is the same way. I just use an old cast iron stove lid lifter to move the door ... works great. Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
  • cep55
    cep55 Posts: 20
    Nat, I had exactly the same thing happen to me one month ago.

    I wasn't going to post here until I heard back from BGE (I sent them an email on 8/5), but they haven't bothered to respond, so seeing your message I am going to respond. I nearly severed the tip of my right index finger (not down to the bone, but quite a serious injury that impacted my work and virtually all everyday activities (writing, cooking, typing, etc.), and at the ER it was unable to be saved to they removed it the rest of the way. I just had my fourth and final wound care center appointment on Thursday. My finger is finally about 80% functionality and will return to more or less normal. There were questions and a lot of concern on the part of ER staff about the product that did this to me, and it certainly isn't right. The vent is cheaply and unsafely constructed, and unacceptable on any level of product, but especially egregious on a $900+ product.

    Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my egg. I am not the litigious type, so although this has resulted in some out-of-pocket expense to me (mostly covered by insurance, thankfully), and less-direct costs in terms of limiting my productivity at work significantly for about two weeks, I have no intention of pursuing any sort of damages. What I DO want, and the reason I sent the email to BGE, is that I want them to address this, or at least to warn people to be very careful with it, because this has been a very unpleasant and inconvenient ordeal and I don't want to see anyone else go through it.

    I lost the tip of my right index finger, for heaven's sake, went to the ER gushing blood, and was significantly impacted for a month. I wrote a rather constructive email to BGE to make them aware, and almost a month later they don't bother to respond? I have to say I'm really disappointed. When I love a product as much as I love the Egg, I am an absolute brand loyalist and I want to be able to sing the praises of the company to everyone I know. I'm pretty bummed that they didn't respond in a way I want to share with others. In fact, several of my friends, after my injury, have asked whether I notified the company of this and how they responded, and I'm embarrassed to have to admit that they couldn't even be bothered to respond. (I would have been very happy with a simple "thank you for bringing this to our attention, we will definitely look into it.")

    Here's a copy of the email I sent:

    Hello, BGE -

    I bought my new LGBE about two weeks ago, and I absolutely love it. (I use it for everything and I'm already considering a small egg to complement it!) 

    Unfortunately, on Friday evening as I was preparing to fire up the egg, I slid open the ash door/screen (which is quite halting and does not open or close smoothly) and it snapped open and in the process almost completely severed the tip of my right index finger. Needless to say, it bled profusely and could not be stopped. So I spent Friday night in the ER, where it was determined that my fingertip could not be saved and it was removed and my finger required cautery, human growth factor and will require follow-up treatments, and I will be limited as far as tasks I can do at work and at home for the next two to three weeks, but I'm told the fingertip will grow back more or less as normal.

    I have insurance and the bulk of this will be covered, and I still love my egg. I wanted to make you aware because I don't want this to happen to anyone else. (Frankly, the way that ash door is designed, with very sharp edges and rough movements, it is rather crude and snaps open and shut and could be safer and of better quality.) At the least, it might be helpful to add to the user instructions to use caution with the ash door/screen. I have seen several posts on the Egghead forum with others observing that their ash doors are very hard to slide.

    Thank you,
    Christina


  • I've emailed them twice about a gasket and have heard nothing.
  • I emailed them a few weeks ago about my gasket, got a response within 24 hours, and had the gasket a few days later. Try giving them a call. They are a great company, Im sure they aren't doing it intentionally.
  • cep55
    cep55 Posts: 20
    MDB, I'm not sure where your hostility comes from, but I think it's unnecessary. Expecting a vent door to slide smoothly and not avulse one's fingertip with a guillotine-like motion hardly seems a foolhardy or unreasonable expectation. If Nat or I stuck our hands in the fire or even touched a metal part of the egg while heated and cooking, then your statement wold be accurate. In this case, it's not really a valid correlation, IMHO.
  • chrisnjenn
    chrisnjenn Posts: 534
    edited September 2012
    I got 2 Eggs and both of their vent cover assemblies are built with quality and work well.  No problems at all.

    Keep up the good work BGE.
  • @Natgporter and @cep55 I sorry about you finger and am disappointed that BGE did nothing to contact you.  I would think for a product that has a relatively large price point that they would want their customers to be happy.  I would also like to believe they would want to know how they could improve their product.  Let us know what happens.
  • twlangan said:
    My Egg, purchased in March of this year, is the same way. I don't consider it a problem though. Just need to be careful when opening the vent to not slide it past the screen portion. If you do, it is not difficult to push in on the back of the screened portion to slide the vent door over it. I think I have read somewhere that older Eggs did not have the screen, but was added on later models as a safety mod to help prevent sparks from escaping. If your Egg is in an area where fire is not a danger, you may consider removing the screen. It would probably make the vent door slide easier too since there would be less stuff in that track.

    What exactly are you wanting BGE customer service to do for you?
    You are right, this was added several years ago after Nature Boy's house was destroyed when a few sparks were blown from an Egg in the driveway into the garage and started a fire.  Hard to say where fire is not a danger.
    The Naked Whiz
  • cep55
    cep55 Posts: 20
    Well thanks, MDB, I guess I know that now! :)  All I was suggesting is that perhaps a word of caution be passed along in the product documentation. I'm not sure everyone who buys a premium-priced product (unless it's a knife) is on the lookout for extremely sharp edges like that.
  • Hey, thanks for your note cep55. I would like BGE to acknowledge they have a problem (which they obviously do bast upon all of these posts sharing similar complaints about the cheapness of the vent), maybe suggest a fix, or better yet, hunker down and replace the inferior component. They obviously made it better in the past (I saw a 7 year old BGE with a much more solid vent assembly) and should consider going back to that component. Sorry to hear about your finger. You got it much worse than I did.
  • MDB, wouldn't you expect not to slice your finger open on a part that is designed to slide back and forth using said finger? The radiator cap on my car has a warning not to touch it because it is hot. Using your logic, all BGE should do is put a warning that one should be careful while sliding the vent open. Or, maybe they could design a vent that wouldn't slice a finger.
  • MDB, wouldn't you expect not to slice your finger open on a part that is designed to slide back and forth using said finger? The radiator cap on my car has a warning not to touch it because it is hot. Using your logic, all BGE should do is put a warning that one should be careful while sliding the vent open. Or, maybe they could design a vent that wouldn't slice a finger.

  • @Natgporter and @cep55 I sorry about you finger and am disappointed that BGE did nothing to contact you.  I would think for a product that has a relativelJy large price point that they would want their customers to be happy.  I would also like to believe they would want to know how they could improve their product.  Let us know what happens.
    I will post any response I get.
    Sgt93 said:
    You might try calling them.....
    This! "Old school" methods work well.

  • @Natgporter and @cep55 I sorry about you finger and am disappointed that BGE did nothing to contact you.  I would think for a product that has a relativelJy large price point that they would want their customers to be happy.  I would also like to believe they would want to know how they could improve their product.  Let us know what happens.
    I will post any response I get.
    Sgt93 said:
    You might try calling them.....
    This! "Old school" methods work well.


    @Natgporter and @cep55 I sorry about you finger and am disappointed that BGE did nothing to contact you.  I would think for a product that has a relativelJy large price point that they would want their customers to be happy.  I would also like to believe they would want to know how they could improve their product.  Let us know what happens.
    I will post any response I get.
    Sgt93 said:
    You might try calling them.....
    This! "Old school" methods work well.


    twlangan said:
    My Egg, purchased in March of this year, is the same way. I don't consider it a problem though. Just need to be careful when opening the vent to not slide it past the screen portion. If you do, it is not difficult to push in on the back of the screened portion to slide the vent door over it. I think I have read somewhere that older Eggs did not have the screen, but was added on later models as a safety mod to help prevent sparks from escaping. If your Egg is in an area where fire is not a danger, you may consider removing the screen. It would probably make the vent door slide easier too since there would be less stuff in that track.

    What exactly are you wanting BGE customer service to do for you?

    twlangan said:
    My Egg, purchased in March of this year, is the same way. I don't consider it a problem though. Just need to be careful when opening the vent to not slide it past the screen portion. If you do, it is not difficult to push in on the back of the screened portion to slide the vent door over it. I think I have read somewhere that older Eggs did not have the screen, but was added on later models as a safety mod to help prevent sparks from escaping. If your Egg is in an area where fire is not a danger, you may consider removing the screen. It would probably make the vent door slide easier too since there would be less stuff in that track.

    What exactly are you wanting BGE customer service to do for you?

  • The owner must take some responsibility in this matter.  There are certain manufacturing processes that can only be taken to a level of fit and function that does not cost an arm and a leg.  I made the mistake of sliding my bottom vent cover beyond the screen.  Fortunately because of my background I immediately stopped when I met with some resistance.  I saw the problem and then tested it out several more times to see where the limits were to stay safe.  No problems since.  That gauge of stainless steel used for the vent parts will always be very sharp.  They should put a disclaimer in their instructions.  I have seen a lot of people severely cut themselves on sheet metal and duct work.  Those edges are razor sharp.  Most of the time I use my extra long tongs to make my vent adjustments.  I tweaked the vent tracks and the slider moves easily now, however, at very high temps everything grows and it will get sticky.

    Simple ingredients, amazing results!
  • bigphil
    bigphil Posts: 1,390
    theres a very easy solution to this problem but like all things adds cost , the door being what it is most likely is a stamped out part . better quality control at the machine shop level (I.E. better deburring of the door would solve this) 
    Large Big Green Egg , XL Big Green Egg . BBQ Guru, Weber Kettle, Weber Q grill for road trips.
  • My vent sticks like that too. I was kind of hoping that it would slide smoother once I broke it it. Glad to know I am not the only one.
  • Take a flathead screwdriver and GENTLY bend out the track a little bit. Problem solved. My dealer told me to do that when assembling the Egg, and I've never had a problem. As for catching on the screen, that means that you have the door behind the screen and not in front of it. That's the only way it can catch. I made the same mistake to begin with. Put the solid sliding door on top and it will never catch again.
    Athens, GA
    XL BGE, Large BGE and RecTec590
  • It is user error. Too many people want to blame everyone else for their own incompetence instead of taking personality responsibility for the mistakes they make. Be more careful and use more common sense next time. Or maybe some aren't responsible enough to play with big boy toys yet.
  • cep55
    cep55 Posts: 20
    Well, Salty Hogs, you're onto me. I'm an idiot with no common sense who blames everyone else for my irresponsibility.

    I'm a little disappointed that folks feel the need to be so condescending and mean-spirited; I think Nat and I both were simply sharing a valid safety issue we've run across, and expressing a little disappointment in BGE's non-response. I'm really not sure where the call for you to attack our characters and imply the Egg is beyond our intellect, but it's a shame and it's a detriment to this forum. Must provide some sort of self-validation for you, and I hope you feel better.

    Cheers and out,
    Christina
  • BGE customer service is beyond reproach especially when they are being attacked because of nothing of their own doing, but the incompetence of the end user. A little common sense will go a long way in life. Your post about not filing suit and expecting a pat on the back because of it? Please. File suit and see how fast a lawyer would make you look like a complete imbecile. No lawyer would take the case anyway without a lot of money up front which in a winning civil suit wouldn't be needed. They would just take a % of the winnings which in this case would be a zero. You would be paying a ton in your attorney fees as well as BGE's attorney fees. BGE did nothing wrong and their vent assembly is made well.