My 2nd Large has Arrived- Pix, Observations & a Question

jfm0830 · January 5

I got a call from my dealer yesterday that the second Large I ordered at Christmastime was ready for pickup. The base cabinet unit was actually the item that was backordered and was the cause for the delay. I couldn’t build the Egg without a place to set it on. I got the units home and safely offloaded as the sun was setting. This morning I got an early start before the sunrise. I assembled the metal bands and hinge, plus the Table Nest indoors in the Kitchen where it was warm. Once the sun rose I moved outdoors where moved my old CG Smokin’ Pro to dry dock. In it’s place I positioned the base cabinet for the Large & leveled it. Next I assemble the new Large and I moved my existing cabinet unit next to the new base cabinet & tied the two units together.

DIFFERNECES BETWEEN MY 08/12 VERSION OF THE EGG & THIS NEW 12/12 EGG.

Some time in September the BGE folks started releasing Eggs with some revisions. The ones I noticed were:

This Egg came with a grey gasket that is supposedly a high(er) heat gasket.
The new fire ring has a series of curved notches similar to the old fire ring, but these are found on the bottom side. The top side has 3 square notches the size of the legs of the plate setter.
The fire box mouth is wider than the older version. The old firebox opening was the same width as the opening behind the damper on the base of the Egg. This new version is far wider.
The metal bands that clamp to upper and lower halves of the Egg and attach to the hinge appear different. They didn’t seem to bends as much when I tightened the bolts as my first Egg. I used a torque wrench on both so the force was identical and these band ends didn’t deform as much.
I don’t know if they tweaked the hinge but on this Egg it was brain dead easy to get the bands just below the lower gasket and just above the upper gasket. The bands were parallel to one another. On my first Egg the band were NOT parallel to one another. They were closer together on the hinge end of the lid and farther apart on handle end. Despite many attempts when I replaced my gasket on my first Egg I could never get the bands to do what they did on the new Egg first time out. All I can think of is the tweaked the hinge to get better alignment.

QUESTION RE: NEW GASKET:

Is the new gasket really high temp? I do a lot of high temperature cooking (wok, pizzas, steaks etc.) and if this gasket isn’t really high temp I’d just as soon get a high temp gasket right away. My first Egg had the brown wool gasket and it was useless for my day to day use. I think it would have been easier to remove the gasket before it has been seared into place. So what are folks that have the grey gaskets experience with those?

PICTURES - SETUP:

The sun is rising, time to get busy. IT was a warm 20 degrees (-7 C)

My CG Smokin' Pro has been removed, dry-docked and is destined for smoker heaven (sniff). I'm better now. The base cabinet unit for the new Large has been place & leveled. The Large Table Nest is in place.

Time to get busy. I was flying solo today so I made sure to eat my Wheaties so I could lift these pieces into place solo.

The bottom of the new Large is in place on the base cabinet.

The delay in getting the base cabinet allowed me time to order a High Que fire grate and have it ready to go when the Egg arrived. This picture also shows the new fire ring with the curved notches on the bottom side and the square notches for the plate setter on top.

The bands are installed & have been tighter using a torque wrench. Time to remove the plastic safety clamps on the hinges.

The completed setup. My existing base cabinet unit has been moved & installed next to the base cabinet for the Large. My existing Large is on the right. The item under the left hand shelf is one of my two Kingsford Charcoal Kaddy.

The new base cabinet is the perfect size to hold 2 plate setters.

The only thing left is to decide what my first cook will be.

I can't wait to start taking advantage of the new opportunities I have.

Jim

SmokinDAWG82 · January 5

Wont be long before you'll have to get rid of that old gasser to make room for more Eggs

The Cen-Tex Smoker · January 5

you have the new gasket and it is high temp

FanOfFanboys · January 5

I noticed those changes when I was at local dealer compared to my Egg I bought in March 2012. They also changed the handle. The change I think would be coolest is the built in cuts for the plate setter.

jfm0830 · January 5

FanOfFanboys said:

I noticed those changes when I was at local dealer compared to my Egg I bought in March 2012. They also changed the handle. The change I think would be coolest is the built in cuts for the plate setter.

Although I haven't tried it yet, the notches for the plate setter sound good. After replacing my gasket on my first Egg, my vote for coolest goes for the high temp. gasket. The reason I was unsure about the gasket is some folks at my old BGE dealer tried to tell me the grey gasket was NOT high strength. But that is one of the reasons they are my old dealer-all new folks took over the business and no hands on Eggsperience for any of them.

As for the handle, my Egg has the wider handle. This probably means the same bands as the new Egg too. I am guessing there was a tweak to the hinge.

Mighty_Quinn · January 5

My new small was 600* for over an hour tonight and the gasket (same new one as yours)looks brand new still...I'm impressed so far.

jfm0830 · January 5

Mighty_Quinn said:

My new small was 600* for over an hour tonight and the gasket (same new one as yours)looks brand new still...I'm impressed so far.

VERY GLAD to hear that. I replaced my burned out wool gasket on my first Egg within a month of getting it. The new High Que high heat gasket I used looks like the day I put it in except for where I got some charcoal dust on it. I never understood why BGE made a grill capable of getting up to 700 degrees and equipped it with a gasket capable of handling about half of that temp.

Another reason I am glad is there is no break in period like they tried to tell you with the wool gasket. I may break this one in with a steak or pizza. That was a crock. All the low heat break in did was delay the inevitable.

BTW loved your idea for Dijon mustard as a sauce on those za's.

Austin Egghead · January 5

The eggs at the Texarkana fest had the new gaskets. I didn't have any problem with the one I cooked on but I never got temps higher than 500. The people next to us were making pizza all day and they didn't have any complaints or problems. Usually at a fest several gaskets are fried before the day is over. Never smelled any melted gaskets near us.

I am with Mickey, when my gasket finally goes the egg will run au natural.

Congrats on the new large.

jfm0830 · January 5

hapster said:

I am currently gasketless (for months) now and waiting till Spring to install the new one. I have the new BGE grey/white hi heat version as well as the HiQue Nomex that I ordered with the new grate a while ago. Not sure which one I should install. Leaning toward the BGE one since it was free so if it bites it I can always put the HiQue one.

I don't know if the new grey gaskets from BGE come with a double sided tape backer or you still have to use spray adhesive like their old gaskets. The High Que gaskets have a tape backer and are ready to go once you are done getting the old gasket material scraped off. This might help you make your decision between the two.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · January 5

jfm0830 said:

hapster said:

I am currently gasketless (for months) now and waiting till Spring to install the new one. I have the new BGE grey/white hi heat version as well as the HiQue Nomex that I ordered with the new grate a while ago. Not sure which one I should install. Leaning toward the BGE one since it was free so if it bites it I can always put the HiQue one.

I don't know if the new grey gaskets from BGE come with a double sided tape backer or you still have to use spray adhesive like their old gaskets. The High Que gaskets have a tape backer and are ready to go once you are done getting the old gasket material scraped off. This might help you make your decision between the two.

The BGE gaskets are not self-adhiesive.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · January 5

hapster said:

I am currently gasketless (for months) now and waiting till Spring to install the new one. I have the new BGE grey/white hi heat version as well as the HiQue Nomex that I ordered with the new grate a while ago. Not sure which one I should install. Leaning toward the BGE one since it was free so if it bites it I can always put the HiQue one.

I don't know if the new grey gaskets from BGE come with a double sided tape backer or you still have to use spray adhesive like their old gaskets. The High Que gaskets have a tape backer and are ready to go once you are done getting the old gasket material scraped off. This might help you make your decision between the two.
The BGE gasket also has the tape backing so probably the same for install purposes.

mine didn't

Dyal_SC · January 5

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

hapster said:

jfm0830 said:

hapster said:

I am currently gasketless (for months) now and waiting till Spring to install the new one. I have the new BGE grey/white hi heat version as well as the HiQue Nomex that I ordered with the new grate a while ago.

Not sure which one I should install. Leaning toward the BGE one since it was free so if it bites it I can always put the HiQue one.

I don't know if the new grey gaskets from BGE come with a double sided tape backer or you still have to use spray adhesive like their old gaskets. The High Que gaskets have a tape backer and are ready to go once you are done getting the old gasket material scraped off. This might help you make your decision between the two.
The BGE gasket also has the tape backing so probably the same for install purposes.

mine didn't Very nice score, Jim!! Can't wait to see your future cooks!!!

FYI and FWIW, picked up a new BGE high temp Gasket at the eggtoberfest. Mine came with the self adhesive side as well.

jfm0830 · January 5

Well the High Que gasket does have tape. Also you don't have to pre-stretch them in a dryer like I've seen in the videos for some replacement gaskets. Just don't buy into the idea that having the tape saves you from removing the lid. Unless you are a bat and can hang upside down from a tree branch, your probably going to want to remove the top lid for removing the old and installing the new one.

Dyal_SC · January 5

Not sure what just happened with my last post, but my BGE high temp gasket DID come with the self adhesive side. Still not used to posting with my phone, so my apologies.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · January 5

Dyal_SC said:

hapster said:

I am currently gasketless (for months) now and waiting till Spring to install the new one. I have the new BGE grey/white hi heat version as well as the HiQue Nomex that I ordered with the new grate a while ago. Not sure which one I should install. Leaning toward the BGE one since it was free so if it bites it I can always put the HiQue one.

I don't know if the new grey gaskets from BGE come with a double sided tape backer or you still have to use spray adhesive like their old gaskets. The High Que gaskets have a tape backer and are ready to go once you are done getting the old gasket material scraped off. This might help you make your decision between the two.
The BGE gasket also has the tape backing so probably the same for install purposes.

mine didn't
Very nice score, Jim!! Can't wait to see your future cooks!!! FYI and FWIW, picked up a new BGE high temp Gasket at the eggtoberfest. Mine came with the self adhesive side as well.

Just realized that i got a new base recently and the new BGE gasket for that did have the adhesive back. Before my base cracked, i had just installed the white nomex gasket on the base and dome and had to do the 3M "77" spray for that. the BGE gasket does have the adhesive back. my bad.

jfm0830 · January 5

Dyal_SC said:

Not sure what just happened with my last post, but my BGE high temp gasket DID come with the self adhesive side. Still not used to posting with my phone, so my apologies.

Well I saw the post you disappeared and The Cen-Tex Smoker captured it in a quote. Only thing that ticks me off is I've been trying to find out how to delete a post and now you did it and don't know what you did. Sigh.

Dyal_SC · January 5

Well the High Que gasket does have tape. Also you don't have to pre-stretch them in a dryer like I've seen in the videos for some replacement gaskets. Just don't buy into the idea that having the tape saves you from removing the lid. Unless you are a bat and can hang upside down from a tree branch, your probably going to want to remove the top lid for removing the old and installing the new one.

I replaced mine without removing the lid, but it did take some finesse. If you guide the gasket with your opposite hand/thumb, it is possible. Tricky, but possible...:)

FanOfFanboys · January 5

I've been without a gasket since my 3rd cook or so. Have a replacement from BGE but dunno if will ever install. Issue free without the gasket. Just what works for me.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · January 5

hapster said:

I'm going to attempt it without taking the top off... Those should be some interesting posts once I get around to doing it ;)

I never remove on my large. If you have an XL, you need to remove

R2Egg2Q · January 5

Congrats on the 2nd large Jim! I recently saw a new Large with a rubber coating on the draft door "handles" to cover the sharp edges (likely in response to some folks getting cut by them). Interesting how these little changes just appear gradually over time.

I've managed to change gaskets on my XL & Small without removing the lid and didn't have to hang upside down to do it ;). My experience was as Dyal_SC said "Tricky but possible". Now for my Mini I removed the lid as it was just easier and not worth trying to do it without removing the lid.

k_ob1991 · January 5

I love the cabinet, would love to have the plans to build one for myself. Nice job!

jfm0830 · January 5

Thanks guys for the kind words. I forgot to ask, what do you pass out when you have a new Egg in lieu of cigars?

SmokinDAWG82 said:

Wont be long before you'll have to get rid of that old gasser to make room for more Eggs

You sir are trouble ;) When you first said that I didn't know how to react. But in the hours since then, the concept of a "For Baking Egg" (which I know others around here do) has been forming in my mind.

R2Egg2Q said:
snip...I've managed to change gaskets on my XL & Small without removing the lid and didn't have to hang upside down to do it ;). My experience was as Dyal_SC said "Tricky but possible". Now for my Mini I removed the lid as it was just easier and not worth trying to do it without removing the lid.

I actually mis spoke there. For me it wasn't putting the new one on that was the thing I wouldn't want to do with the lid on. It was getting the remnants of the old one off. It was stuck on good and proper like someone had used Superglue.

k_ob1991 said:

I love the cabinet, would love to have the plans to build one for myself. Nice job!

Actually that isn't anything I built. It is from a line of outdoor cabinets my BGE dealer carried. It is made of a man made material that has the wood grain cast into it and from a slight distance looks real. The top is granite which was sealed with a resin to protect it from the weather. Let me say they are rather pricy. There was a guy on another thread who thought the Adjustable Rig from CGW was way too pricy (I disagree). Lets just say he would have a heart attack or two with these. I plan to have my Egg for years to come and wanted a low maintenance cabinet.

lousubcap · January 5

Great score and BGE setup. Thanks for the summary. With the notches in the fire ring for the PS it looks like the Mothership acknowledges that some will use the PS legs down for pizza and the notches will drop the level of the surface below the gasket-line, helping the gasket life. Just an opinion...

Ragtop99 · January 5

"The new fire ring has a series of curved notches similar to the old fire ring, but these are found on the bottom side. The top side has 3 square notches the size of the legs of the plate setter."

Are the platesetter notches on your new egg deeper than your older egg? They look deeper than mine, but it could be a square edge looks like a bigger drop than a rounded edge.

jfm0830 · January 5

They are definitely a little deeper. I haven't measured them but they're noticeably deeper.

Jim

R2Egg2Q · January 5

Are you planning on wokking in the new Egg Jim? If so, it looks like you'd need the new 3 legged spider for it.

BENTE · January 5

congrats on your second egg!!! are those rosemary bushes lining your cook area? if so i would move them i have two infront of my house that will eventually have to be trimmed heavily. i dont use rosemary as much as i could. but those things grow like wild around here and you can't kill them (unless you try) but one of mine measures about 8ft around and one side is against the house! but with snow on the ground for you and maybe 3 snowy days a year for me may make yours not grow as fast but i'm thinking one day...... (edit) nevermind i looked through again and they are not rosemary. sorry

congrats again on the new egg i like all the improvements that big green egg has implemented. even though i still love the little green feet

Skiddymarker · January 5

Interesting to note that on the LBGE the fire ring has rounded notches (5 of them) on the bottom (next to the fire box) with plate setter notches (3 of them) on the top. My MBGE has the rounded notches only and they must go up, the fire ring taper will not let you install it rounded notches down. I wonder why the Large seems to need the ventilation while the medium does not?

Sorry - congrats on the new egg, like the table and table nest, makes for easy ash removal.....

Plano_JJ · January 5

Looks awesome. I am in the process of adding a gazebo similar to yours in my backyard. Still in planning stages.

SmokinDAWG82 · January 5

hapster said:

I'll have to check again; but I'm pretty sure it came with an adhesive backing like the HiQue...

I just got my BGE Nomex replacement gasket and it is Self adhesive backed

miscjames · January 5

Skiddymarker said: ...

My MBGE has the rounded notches only and they must go up, ...

My LBGE and my MBGE are the same way. Also the assembly video states the rounded notches go up. I wonder why they changed it ...

http://video.realviewtv.com/bge/smallmediumandlarge/

Jim can that fire ring be flipped over ? (it doesnt appear to be but just asking). Maybe the curved notches are for easier removal of the fire ring ? :-?

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