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Holy cow. Feeling very lucky today.
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The Cen-Tex Smoker
Posts: 22,970
Went out to cook out leg of lamb for dinner tonight and this what I found. My table had caught fire sometime after my pizza cook last night. We were gone to a movie and the kids were home alone. The table was so weak that it could have easily tumped over and spilled hot lump all over my deck. My sons bedroom is 10 feet away. Somehow it snuffed itself out. Not a mark on the wooden railing that was inches away. The weird part is that this happened at the felt level, not the bottom where the lump is burning. Feel very fortunate today. Never been so happy to go out to dinner in my life.
All that is left of my grill brush. It had a long plastic handle and several metal parts. Only a pile of wires left
My fire box had a small crack before.....here is the after:
Here is the wooden deck rail 6" from the fire. Not a mark:
I cooked pizza and it was humming along at 550-600 for an hour. I just left it going to burn it out after. I guess it somehow ran away and the temps got out of control. I thought it was burning down. We didn't leave for another hour or so. Have no idea when or how this happened. I was shaking when I first saw it. Still don't have a clue how, when, or why. Just feel lucky.
Careful out there boys and girls.
Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
Comments
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WOW, CT !!! Glad everything worked out OK. That is scary.I'm confused how it happened. After you do your pizzas, don 't you close the bottom vent and put the cap on the top? If you do that, how could this happen?__________________________________________Dripping Springs, Texas.Just west of Austintatious
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OMG, you were oh so lucky. Another Easter blessing!
LBGEGo Dawgs! - Marietta, GA -
Oh my. That is scary. Just went out to check the egg.......Every day is a bonus day and every meal is a banquet in Winter Springs, Fl !
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Village Idiot said:WOW, CT !!! Glad everything worked out OK. That is scary.I'm confused how it happened. After you do your pizzas, don 't you close the bottom vent and put the cap on the top? If you do that, how could this happen?Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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You are a lucky man Cen-Tex! Thank the Lord nobody got hurt! Using your warranty for another firebox? That motivates me more to get my scheme to replace mine going!Flint, Michigan
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Fred19Flintstone said:You are a lucky man Cen-Tex! Thank the Lord nobody got hurt! Using your warranty for another firebox? That motivates me more to get my scheme to replace mine going!Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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Holy crap!!! Man you are lucky... Thank god it was no worse than a table and brush.
That's the one thing that always troubles me cooking on my deck with the egg. In fact, going to go check it in a few minutes.
Glad you and the family are okay
MSV Chill Spot
Chester County, PA
http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/
http://edwardhardingphotography.zenfolio.com/ -
That was as close a call as I'd ever want. I'm glad everything turned out o.k. for you. It really does make you wonder how that happened though. That could have been a real bad deal if it would have fully ignited when you were all asleep. Yet another reason I'll stick with my stainless table.
Mike
I'm ashamed what I did for a Klondike Bar!!
Omaha, NE -
BOWHUNR said:That was as close a call as I'd ever want. I'm glad everything turned out o.k. for you. It really does make you wonder how that happened though. That could have been a real bad deal if it would have fully ignited when you were all asleep. Yet another reason I'll stick with my stainless table.
MikeKeepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
A good friend of mine burned his garage to the ground last year with a propane fired burner on Christmas day. The fire department told him that their dog or someone else knocked the burner over which melted the hose and released the contents of the tank. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. My friend was in the house getting a cup of coffee when he saw the flames and called the fire department. I bought a fire extinguisher the next day and keep on the porch with my BGE's1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas.
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
Albert Einstein -
egger ave said:A good friend of mine burned his garage to the ground last year with a propane fired burner on Christmas day. The fire department told him that their dog or someone else knocked the burner over which melted the hose and released the contents of the tank. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. My friend was in the house getting a cup of coffee when he saw the flames and called the fire department. I bought a fire extinguisher the next day and keep on the porch with my BGE'sKeepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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Jeebus. There must have been a smoldering fire that started before you shut the egg down. Fire can't squeeze between the gasket - if you had a gasket.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
nolaegghead said:Jeebus. There must have been a smoldering fire that started before you shut the egg down. Fire can't squeeze between the gasket - if you had a gasket.
I have a nomex gasket and the daisy and draft door were open so any flames were going out the top. I never shut the egg down. It looks like a runaway burnout. Still don't know how that happened since the daisy was in the same exact position I left it at 600 after i cooked pizzas. I'm still baffled.Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
Wow that is scary. Our house burned down when I was little (TV shorted out) and it is a horrible experience.LBGE & SBGE. Central Texas.
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This should be a shocking view to anyone cooking over a flamable material. "I just left it going to burn it out after. I guess it somehow ran away and the temps got out of control. I thought it was burning down." Any "open" area in the gasket area can produce high temperatures -- how high?? As high as the egg can produce. Also, wood that is subjected to heat over and over begins to dry out and it's flame point reduces with time. I have never, nor would i ever, allow my egg to "burn down" without watching it. Thanks Cen-Tex for posting this, and i hope the cause is pinpointed and communicated to every egg owner. Agreed "this is scary"!!
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Charlie tuna said:This should be a shocking view to anyone cooking over a flamable material. "I just left it going to burn it out after. I guess it somehow ran away and the temps got out of control. I thought it was burning down." Any "open" area in the gasket area can produce high temperatures -- how high?? As high as the egg can produce. Also, wood that is subjected to heat over and over begins to dry out and it's flame point reduces with time. I have never, nor would i ever, allow my egg to "burn down" without watching it. Thanks Cen-Tex for posting this, and i hope the cause is pinpointed and communicated to every egg owner. Agreed "this is scary"!!
The gasket is perfect. Flames were not coming out the gasket for sure. I still can't piece it all together.Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
Holy cow indeed! Scary stuff. Glad no more damage was done CT. You were incredibly lucky it wasn't a lot worse.
All of a sudden I'm appreciating my metal table & concrete patio a lot more.XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG
Bay Area, CA -
What about the possibility of the brush being up against the side of the egg?? Something had to conduct the heat to that 2 X 4 on the right hand side of the table??
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You guys dodged a bullet there, I am glad everyone is safe. That could have been real bad._________________________________________________Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
Green Man GroupJohns Creek, Georgia -
Wowsers, scary. I am glad everyone is okay man.Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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Wow, thanks for sharing. We all can learn a lesson from this. God was smile down on you and your familyPROUD MEMBER OF THE WHO DAT NATION!!!!! Stuck in Dallas.......
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Charlie tuna said:
What about the possibility of the brush being up against the side of the egg?? Something had to conduct the heat to that 2 X 4 on the right hand side of the table??
That's what I'm thinking. Have no idea where the rest of the brush is. it may have melted the plastic and started that way.Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
Glad all is well. Any lightning in your area last night?
we had a hell of a storm this morning... just a random thought.
(it would have had to be a "smart" lightning strike to miss the deck and the egg...)BOOMER! -
You are one lucky family. Other half thinks I worry too much while the egg is cooling down....After he see these pictures i believe his tune will change.Your family had a blessed EasterLarge, small and mini now Egging in Rowlett Tx
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Thank you for posting the picture. It is worth a thousand words. Glad you were lucky and perhaps your posting will make other more careful and even save some lives.Gulf Coast FL
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I figured it out- Somehow the brush caught on fire and caught the table on fire. The brush is the only thing that burned completely. There is no sign of it anywhere other than the pile of wire. I still have no idea how this could have happened- the egg was 600 and had been for an hour. It was starting to go down when we ate dinner so I just let if burn all the way down. My guess is that the brush had been in contact with the egg for the whole cook and somehow got so hot it combusted. It's the only thing that is a pile of ash. had to be the brush. Sketchy.Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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Thanks for posting, this will be a lesson for all egg owners to consider and remember, and it can happen, when i am egging i always have a damp towel near the egg!!! Just glad you and your family are safe!!!
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So glad to hear that everyone is safe and that the house did not suffer any damage.I'm with nola - I think a spark or ember escape unnoticed and set the wood smoldering. May have gone unnoticed since you were smelling burning charcoal from the cook. Smoldering wood fires can burn very long and its real burning even if it doesn't look like it.Man you dodged a big bullet. Go buy lottery tix or something.#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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Charlie tuna said:Thanks for posting, this will be a lesson for all egg owners to consider and remember, and it can happen, when i am egging i always have a damp towel near the egg!!! Just glad you and your family are safe!!!
Thanks. We are all pretty stunned but happy to be eating spaghettiKeepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
I have a small plastic shovel that I stole from the kids sand and water table that I've been using as an ash scoop when cleaning the egg. I keep it on the lower shelf next to the egg. One time, I was cooking, and didn't realize the shovel was in contact with the egg. Where they were in contact, the shovel melted. I guess I'm lucky it melted and did not ignite.
BTW, I also keep a fire extinguisher on the patio not far from the egg.
Another possibility worth mentioning...my table (came from an egg dealer) has wheels, and I've noticed when I roll it around, the whole thing flexes a bit and the egg can end up in contact with the upper deck boards. When this happens, I shift the egg or table to get them out of contact before lighting. I don't know if the egg can ignite wood in contact with the upper portion of the lower half...but I sure don't want to find out first hand.
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