Reliability

jllbms · June 2014

I just revisited @DMW thread about a cracked Egg. I too just replaced a base due to a crack. When my friend was convincing me, a few years ago, to abandon my gasser, he argued that you have to replace gassers every couple of years (true) but an Egg will last a lifetime. "You'll never have to replace anything." To that I issue a resounding BS! If it weren't for the warranty, I'd probably be reconsidering a long term relationship with BGE. I'm still a huge fan, but I have to say that the claims of reliability are somewhat exaggerated. (I also just replaced a set of rings to get rid of underbite, after fighting with the old set for way past my endurance point. The new set worked, with a bonus of a huge wooden handle.) (I also have a cracked fire ring; that appears to be nearly universal.)

ATB,

John

grege345 · June 2014

I agree. Seems to be a lot of cracked bases in the last few months. Maybe it has something to do with the harsh winter? Maybe the company is cutting corners? Operator error? I've been fortunate so far. Lifetime warranty is great but having to replace pieces every year would be a pain in the ass

gdenby · June 2014

Cracked fire rings are just about standard, but have negligible impact. Fire boxes have been redesigned so that cracking is lessened. Once in a great while, people report that the grate cracks after a number of really high heat cooks.

But following the Egghead forum(s) since I got my first, I'd have to say that the number of cracked bases for the first few years was maybe 1. Then fishlessman lost an Egg to ice build up in the base, which was sufficient to split it. Super hard winters may be a prob.

lkapigian · June 2014

If mine exploded every couple of years I'd still say it is worth it.

SmokeyPitt · June 2014

Yeah, that's what I was asking in the other thread. I've only been on the forums since 2010 but I don't recall seeing posts about the base cracking before. Now we see them more frequently.

http://www.biggreenegg.com/press1/Going_Green_is_Natural_for_the_Big_Green_Egg.pdf

"The space-age ceramics that are used in manufacturing the EGG® are so durable that the cooker practically becomes a once-in-a-lifetime purchase"

It's great that they have the warranty, but it is still a PITA if you have to deal with getting a replacement base- especially if it is bad enough that your egg is out of commission for a while.

Maybe it's the high temps? If the egg can't withstand 700+ reliably then they need to tell us that!

nolan8v · June 2014

Maybe there have been changes made to the "ingredients" of the egg manufacturing.

gdenby · June 2014

I saw a mention once about how high the Egg ceramics were fired. I don't recall exactly, but it was several hundred degrees above 2000F. And the base is not in direct contact w. the lump, unlike the fire box. I don't think heat expansion could be the problem.

Frost heaves seem a more likely culprit, because the ceramics will absorb some water. With repeated freezes, cracks could open up.

SmokyBear · June 2014

Seems like BGE is doing what a lot of big companies have done the last 5 or so years - cutting corners wherever possible to maximize profit. NO IDEA if this applies to the ceramics or not, but..

The plastic handle and plastic side tables were the first thing that made me think that maybe corner cutting had come to the Mothership..and it really turned me off of adding to my the family (Mini BGE) and going with the "dark side" (Black KJ Classic) instead of a LBGE..

Will see if the KJ holds up any better. Am still on year one but time will tell..I do know I've been pretty happy with it so far..

jllbms · June 2014

@gdenby You may be on to something there. Here in South MS, we had a brutal (for us) winter with frost and ice so bad that we missed work for a few days. Perhaps that started me on the path to a cracked base.

jllbms · June 2014

In the parlance of industry: Ao, Operational Availability is on the down. Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) greatly decreasing (observed numbers of cracks), while Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) negatively affected by the massive delays in getting replacements from the distributors.

Jeremiah · June 2014

I guess I'll chime in. 10 months along and no breakage (YET) but the crazing and subsequent oozing of snot colored crap is pretty disconcerting. Honestly kinda wish I'd went with a lang hybrid. X_X X_X

BYS1981 · June 2014

I don't care if it breaks as long as it is replaced. I didn't read lifetime warranty and think it was invincible. Throttle back your impossible expectations.

jllbms · June 2014

You might care if you're out of service for 1-3 months while waiting for your dealer to "service" you. Fortunately, mine was still usable during the wait, but others have not been so fortunate. I don't see how expecting a high dollar ceramic grill to stand up to normal use for more than a couple of years constitutes an impossible expectation.

sodigthisbigcrux · June 2014

My egg is one year old and I've had to submit warranty claims for the firebox and the bottom vent screen. Both processes were pretty painless, as the dealer I use in Portland is easy to work with and pretty accommodating. They are only 20 minutes away, which isn't too bad. If I lived in a very rural parts, I could see where it would be a big hassle.

FanOfFanboys · June 2014

Jeremiah said:

I guess I'll chime in. 10 months along and no breakage (YET) but the crazing and subsequent oozing of snot colored crap is pretty disconcerting. Honestly kinda wish I'd went with a lang hybrid. X_X X_X

I had that in the beginning but not since. I think happens if do a lot of fatty meat, like pork butts, without anything between.

Elde · June 2014

jllbms said:

You might care if you're out of service for 1-3 months while waiting for your dealer to "service" you. Fortunately, mine was still usable during the wait, but others have not been so fortunate. I don't see how expecting a high dollar ceramic grill to stand up to normal use for more than a couple of years constitutes an impossible expectation.

If your dealer is taking 1-3 months to service you, that's very likely on the dealer - not the Mothership. The one warranty call I've needed to make was resolved in about two weeks. (From discovery of the problem to me at my dealers picking up the replacement.)

SmokeyPitt · June 2014

jllbms said:

You might care if you're out of service for 1-3 months while waiting for your dealer to "service" you. Fortunately, mine was still usable during the wait, but others have not been so fortunate. I don't see how expecting a high dollar ceramic grill to stand up to normal use for more than a couple of years constitutes an impossible expectation.

To add to that, I also don't think it is unreasonable to expect a cooker to maintain structural integrity. I somewhat prefer the 1600 degree burning charcoal to remain in the cooker.

jllbms · June 2014

@Elde - Make no mistake. It's all on the dealer/distributor. I will be the first to laud the Mother Ship for their immediate and superior service!!!

Skiddymarker · June 2014

jllbms said:

@Elde - Make no mistake. It's all on the dealer/distributor. I will be the first to laud the Mother Ship for their immediate and superior service!!!

Understand what you are saying, but - to the customer the dealer and distributor not only represent, they are the Mothership. There is not a single distributor that was not approved of by the Mothership. There is not a single dealer that was not approved by the Mothership approved distributor. For such a great product it is unnerving to hear of so many dealers who do not appear to be knowledgable, helpful or competent. There are some really great dealers out there, there also appears to be some duds.

Like many others, I seem to be noting a lot more cracked ceramics. Wonder if the percentage of egg bases replaced is rising or as more and more eggs are sold, we just hear about it more often?

AmericanFlannel · June 2014

Funny this thread had me out looking at mine after a year of ownership. Cracked fire ring clean through. Do you call the dealer you bought it from to start a warranty claim?

SmokeyPitt · June 2014

AmericanFlannel said:

Funny this thread had me out looking at mine after a year of ownership. Cracked fire ring clean through. Do you call the dealer you bought it from to start a warranty claim?

You can go to any dealer for a warranty claim, so just contact the one that is most convenient for you.

jllbms · June 2014

Agree that the dealer is the face of BGE. I made sure to tell corporate how poorly that this dealership was representing them.

NPHuskerFL · June 2014

@jllbms‌ Unfortunately not all dealers have the volume to do quick warranty replacements. My LBGE just broke the fire box, fire ring and CI lump grate. I was issued replacement parts the same day I made the warranty claim. But, to be fair my dealer does do quite a bit of volume. Either way even with a low volume dealer if you don't want to wait for the warranty parts to be shipped with their regular order you can pay the shipping and have it expedited. But, I can understand not wanting to have to pay for the shipping.

jllbms · June 2014

Roger that, but it's $120 to ship a base.

NPHuskerFL · June 2014

Yes Sir that's the shipping cost. And like I said I wouldn't want to pay it either. I get it trust me. Do you have a larger volume dealer nearby? That or paying for shipping are going to be the fastest methods.

Mattman3969 · June 2014

The distributor for my dealer is 5mins down the road from the dealer. I have never had warranty parts (knock on wood) but I would imagine that would be a benefit. I can understand the dealers trying to recoup shipping cost if a "rush" order has to be made and they don't already have a shipment coming in. Every penny counts now days and if the Mothership doesn't cover shipping then the little guys have to pass it along as well or lose money.

jllbms · June 2014

What happened with me is that I got in touch with the distributor, after contacting corporate. It suffered a few hiccups but the distributor brought it to me personally, after a few weeks. I'd go to the distributor for any successive claims.

Cowdogs · June 2014

Lots of eggs out there, and I doubt anything has changed in terms of quality. It's not like people will come on here and post every few months about their egg not cracking. These forums concentrate the bad stories all in one place. More people = more bad stories.

KenfromMI · June 2014

I was shocked to hear stories on here as well. I purchased mine and bragged to my buddies how indestructible they were even high heat in cold winters when they said I was nuts for spending $1200 for my set up. I also disagree about gassers needing to be replaced every few years, maybe the junk ones. I have a 21yr old Weber Gasser that sits outside during Michigan Winters and the only thing I've replaced is the flavorer bars and grates once and that was about after 17 years of use.

Eggbertsdad · June 2014

So it doesn't matter if you move or the dealer the BGE came from went out of business? How do you file a claim? My dad got my BGE for me and I have no idea if it's registered anywhere and the dealer is out of business. Am I screwed if I have a warranty claim if it wasn't registered properly?

jllbms · June 2014

It doesn't matter at all. All you need is your original receipt. If you don't have that, I think BGE HQ will try to research those from a defunct dealer. You can file a claim through any dealer. Some are more responsive than others, but HQ is always willing to help.

Reliability

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