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Cracked already?

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Joshua Kane
Joshua Kane Posts: 31
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
On Friday afternoon I was cleaning out my egg. I took off the grate, and started to sift through the lump. I was planning on doing a low and slow on Saturday. [p]I took out all the lump and removed the metal grate at the bottom. That is when I saw it. A crack going from the bottom of the fire box, up to the top where it meets the fire ring. Now I have only had my egg a few months, and was quite discouraged by this finding. [p]I know from reading The Naked Whiz's web site, that his has been split in 2 for some time and still functions well, but still it was upsetting to see. [p]What should I do next? Is a call to the mother ship on order? How do I contact them? [p]Is this normal and should I ignore it? [p]some or any help would be appreciated.[p]-- Joshua[p]
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Comments

  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    Joshua Kane,
    welcome to the club, you are now a true eggor. .. .i'd like to know who HASN'T experienced a cracked firebox... . i actually saw one of mine crack. .. i was trexing some steaks, had the egg up to 900 degrees, opened the dome to put the steaks on and .. .POW. . .sounded like a rifle shot and i could see the new crack. . .[p]this is not a big deal. .. you can contact your dealer or the mothership directly for a new firebox. ..when you get it though, just put it on a shelf and save it for such time as your current one becomes totally unusable (which may be never. . .i know guys that travel with their eggs a lot and have fireboxes that are in multiple pieces. .. .not a problem. . .[p]just consider this a right of passage. . .
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  • jake42
    jake42 Posts: 932
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    Joshua Kane,
    Don't worry, it's not the end of the world. Mine cracked after about nine months of cooking at least three times a week. Still works great for everything. Rather than contact the mothership, I went to my distributor
    with my warranty info and they got me another one in on their shipment. This way I did not have to pay shipping coast. Now I have a brand new fire box just waiting for the old one to become totally unusable. Which could be years from now.

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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    Joshua Kane,
    This is normal. Almost all fireboxes are going to crack and break, so there's nothing to be discouraged about. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't even get a replacement. Mine has been in 3 pieces for about 4 years now. Once the initial cracking/breaking occurs and the stress in the material is relieved, it won't get any worse. If you do get a replacement and don't have to turn in the old one, continue to use the old one and put the new one away safe and sound for the day when you need it. Frankly, I never expect to use my new one.[p]TNW
    The Naked Whiz
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  • Joshua Kane
    Joshua Kane Posts: 31
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    The Naked Whiz,[p]Thanks for the sage words of advice. I am relieved to see that this is not an isolated incident. [p]-- Joshua[p]
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  • JPF
    JPF Posts: 592
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    mad max beyond eggdome,
    I was doing some pizza when mine cracked and it was loud when it cracked! It was on this eggs third or fourth cook. I have a large that will be one on the 17th of this month and has yet to crack. I wonder why some do and some don't? Oh well it has not effected the way the egg cooks one bit. So it's ok!
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  • Grillicious
    Grillicious Posts: 347
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    jake42, you have to pay for shipping for parts under warranty? That doesn't sound right.

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  • jake42
    jake42 Posts: 932
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    Grillicious,
    That's why I go through my distributor. They are kind enough to get my accessories in on their regular orders and I just pick it up from them. If you get it directly from Big Green Egg the part is free under warranty but you have to pay for the shipping

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  • jake42
    jake42 Posts: 932
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    JPF,
    Kinda' funny mine made a loud noise too. But at the time I could not find the crack. It was'nt until a couple of months later.

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  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
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    Joshua Kane,
    I'll do you one better. I've got a cracked firebox and a cracked fire Ring.[p]Best thing is, they both do their jobs just fine the way they are.
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    Joshua Kane,
    You are quite welcome!
    TNW
    The Naked Whiz
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  • Charbon
    Charbon Posts: 222
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    firebox002.jpg
    <p />Joshua Kane, Mine went from 2 to 4 peices! The initial heartbreak doesn't last that long. Concern would be about another geometric catastrophic crumbling at the next full cleaning come spring.

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  • Dos Huevos
    Dos Huevos Posts: 368
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    Bobby-Q,[p]I was cleaning my Large out last weekend and noticed a crack thru and thru on my fire ring as well, meaning the firebox and firering are cracked. Maybe I'll pick up replacements at Eggfest.[p]Hope all is well...
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    Charbon,
    I doubt you have anything to worry about. I've taken my broken pieces out several times in the last four years. What some people don't seem to realize is that these fireboxes crack and break due to stress during heating and cooling. They aren't crumbling. The material from which the boxes are made is not degrading due to heat. So there is no reason to think that over time the pieces are going to crumble or break further once the stress is relieved by the breaking. If the material that the firebox is made from were degrading, then we would expect our plate setters and pizza stones to be crumbling too.[p]Of course, if you clean your egg and the pieces crumble, I never posted this..... :-)
    TNW
    The Naked Whiz
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  • SSN686
    SSN686 Posts: 3,504
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    Morning Joshua Kane:[p]I'm not sure when mine cracked, but in March when I did a complete cleaning this is what I found:[p]P3260001.jpg[p]I don't know how long it had been that way, but at that point I had owned the Egg for over three years. I jsut put it back in carefully and it is still working fine (I do have the replacement on the shelf if necessary).[p]Have a GREAT day!
    Jay

    Have a GREAT day!

       Jay

    Brandon, FL


     

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