cracked fireboxes

Welcome @Timba. Pull the trigger... you won't regret it.

The ceramic pieces of the Egg itself are covered by its limited lifetime warranty provisions.  So long as you (1) buy your Egg from an authorized dealer; and (2) promptly register the warranty (you can do it online), any damage to the ceramic pieces of the Egg resulting from normal and reasonable residential use is covered.  In other words, even if your firebox cracks during a cook, you can just get a replacement from your dealer at no cost to you.

I cracked my firebox into 4 pieces 11 years ago.  I got a replacment which is still sitting in the garage.  As long as you can put the pieces back together and they stay in place, you can still use it.  Some dealers (probably based on who their distributor is) will just give you a new one off the floor or order one for their next shipment, no questions asked.  My dealer who has a distributor who is the devil incarnate was forced to have me supply pictures before the distributor would cough up the replacement.  If you run into difficulties with an individual dealer, you can always call headquarters and they will take care of you.  Cracked fireboxes just aren't a problem.

Also, here is a source of information about it (tee hee): Cracked Firebox

About a year or two ago, they started putting a relief cut in the firebox.  That seemed to fix the problem now that it can expand and contract.

I have a cracked firebox and ring as well, but I continue to use it.  Even my metal charcoal grate is cracked.  However, it doesn't seem to have any affect on the operation of the cooker. I keep telling myself I'll go to my local dealer and get a replacement.

I encourage you to get a BGE and jump in with the rest of us.  Once you learn to cook on it (which is not hard with just a little experience and all the great help from the friendly folks on this site), you will be able to cook on anything.  It will even make you a better cook when you, from time to time, revert back to your gas grill.

I have had a little warranty glitch that worked out OK but I wanted to share it in case it will help someone else.  My fire ring cracked about 6 months ago.  As folks here have been saying, the Egg works fine with a cracked fire ring but I still wanted to get it replaced.  The dealer where I bought my BGE is not too easy to work with- for one thing they have very limited hours which are not convenient to my work schedule.  When I finally had a time to bring them my photos  when they were open and I didn't need to be at work (ie Saturdays in the summer months before 2 PM) they told me that I needed to send the photos to BGE and they would then authorize them to give me the part.  I told the guy I didn't think that is how it was supposed to work but he insisted that it was and I had no choice but to try it.  So I sent BGE an email with my photos and a copy of my original receipt (BTW, make a copy because those things fade to blank over time) and I got an email back from "Duane" saying that if I used them for warranty service I would have to pay shipping and I should instead take the photos to my dealer.  I explained to Duane what had happened when I did that and he then sent me back essentially the same instructions as he did the first time.  I then emailed him back with frustration and said basically that his repeating the same instructions did not really answer my question.  He then replied with an email that said essentially "take this email to an authorized dealer and they will give you the part".  So I forwarded that email to a different dealer (one with longer hours and email availability and who just started selling BGE so has a lot more enthusiasm for the product) and almost immediately heard back that I could come in any time to pick up the part under warranty no problem!

booksw, no you should never have to contact BGE about simple warranty claims.  The dealer should have handled it.  This is explicitly stated in the warranty on the BGE website.  Depending on how annoyed you are, you might write a letter to BGE about the dealer and copy the dealer.

Charlesmaneri, the shipping of replacement parts is not and has never been covered by the warranty.  Again, this is explicitly stated in the warranty.  This is another good reason to have the dealer handle it, since they will often not charge any shipping if you are willing to wait for them to have it shipped in their next normal shipment.   My dealer once gave me a part off the floor rather than make me wait.  Good dealers are your friend!

Lesson:  Read the warranty and give a copy to dealer if they are being difficult.