BGE Quality

scmoose · May 2015

Probably going to get thrown out for this, but it’s been on my mind for a while. You know for as expensive as these grills are there sure is a lot of cracked fire boxes, rings, and shells. I understand the warrantee is great if you’re the original owner. I guess with all the broken parts you read about its no wonder they don’t extend the warrantee to any egg owner. I also reload my own bullets and bought a certain brand reloader that has a “lifetime no bs warrantee” period, no matter where you bought the press from. More expensive than many other presses but the quality and warrantee are outstanding.

Ozzie_Isaac · May 2015

Ceramics crack. Name of the game. Normal use is really rough. Freezing temps outside then an 800F pizza. Rain during a long smoke. No covers for rain or snow. 1000F clean burn.

Personally thats why I bought new. Also why I bought BGE. They are large and estabilished. No fear of getting parts in 20 years.

YEMTrey · May 2015

I think it has a lot to do with a product that is entirely ceramic. Eggs are used in all types of weather conditions/temps, etc. Used several times a week, which means temps up to 500+, then cooled down, then back up again.

I think the BGE company realizes all of this, and understands the investment that one makes when purchasing an Egg and offers the lifetime warranty to ease the buyers mind. It also makes me feel I have a partner in my Egging journey and that if anything does go wrong they'll be right there to replace it. I bought my XL with this in mind. Yes, it cost me about $1k, but if you keep in mind that it'll be one of the last grills I buy, then it's actually fairly cheap.

It's been one of the better investments I've made. Financially, healthwise, and family wise. All three have benefited from my owning an Egg.

Biggreenpharmacist · May 2015

Big green eggs are everywhere. For every crscked egg//parts theres probably 100 that have never had an issue.

Legume · May 2015

I think it may be one of these.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1180442/what-in-the-heck-is-this-from-this-brisket/p1

scmoose · May 2015

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Big green eggs are everywhere. For every crscked egg//parts theres probably 100 that have never had an issue.

not sure those are very good odds.

Tettletime · May 2015

The thing I've learned regarding the Egg and other ceramic cookers is that, frankly, s***t happens. Ceramic is always going to be susceptible to cracking, no matter how well it's made. The fact that BGE offers a lifetime warranty for those parts offers a tremendous amount of security when deciding on which cooker to buy, while also probably conceding that the ceramic isn't foolproof.

Biggreenpharmacist · May 2015

scmoose said:

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Big green eggs are everywhere. For every crscked egg//parts theres probably 100 that have never had an issue.

not sure those are very good odds.

Maybe not. Ive had mine 3 years. Average 4 cooks a week on it. No issues.

mjk412 · May 2015

Im a gun guy, and I think bge are the "glocks" of the ceramic grill world. Dependable, reliablle, affordable, and they just work. Just like guns there are better quality made ceramic grills with more features and look nicer. But bge just works and works well. I think bge could improve their daisy wheel, nest, and hinge for the price.

hoosieregged · May 2015

scmoose said:

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Big green eggs are everywhere. For every crscked egg//parts theres probably 100 that have never had an issue.

not sure those are very good odds.

America is great because you can choose NOT to buy one.

Smokinpig · May 2015

I have one neighbor with a grill dome and another with a kamado joe. They both have had the same issues as eggers. Fire box cracks, a base cracked. I don't think it is a egg issue, just a ceramics issue.

Legume · May 2015

Devastating.

Lit · May 2015

Never buy a used egg. The resale should literally be like 20% of the retail. They crack all the time. I used to frequent craigslist to find "deals" on used eggs but I since learned and sold all my used ones and the 3 left I bought new. I would guess I have done 10 plus warranty claims in the last 5 years and 3 were for bases. It's to the point I wouldn't give you $200 for a used large egg cause in 5 years I would be upside down in parts. My vertical smoker will never crack, I can cook 16 racks of ribs flat for $3 worth of wood or if I want easy fill it with lump it will go 15 hours without touching it. Get a weber for grilling and your set for life. I have enjoyed learning on my eggs and there probably isn't a better all in one unit out there but there are better options. I haven't lit any of my eggs in at least a month and have cooked 15 times. Hopefully pool season changes that with the mini and MM.

SGH · May 2015

BGE actually uses a very good ceramic in their cookers. The problem with any cooker no matter what the material is, that it is constantly exposed to continuous expanding and contracting. This leads to stress risers and ultimately fatigue cracking. On metal cookers, if you were willing to spend the money and stress relieve the unit by means of controlled heating you could almost prevent it. Note that I said almost. Even then with enough use and passage of time, somewhere in its life it can still crack. Don't be hesitant of the BGE, I have more than put their ceramics to the test. As have many others.

stemc33 · May 2015

Everything breaks. Pay $50,000 for a truck and it's gonna crack/break down etc. eventually. Some sooner than later. Same as us humans, we're all gonna crack at some point.

@scmoose, I read you recently got an old medium and we're looking to go to an eggfest to get a LBGE. Are you questioning the quality from the stand point of making a decision to buy another BGE? If so, is it to make a decision on a ceramic cooker in general vs going in a complete different direction.

For me, if my egg crumbled to the ground tomorrow, I'd be devastated. Even if that happened, I'd never regret buying my egg. I've owned my egg for almost 2 years, so that breaks down to less than $50 a month thus far (not including lump and food etc) and getting cheaper by the day. When it comes to @RRP and some of the others, your probably looking at fractions of pennies when they consider egg cost to use. When I look at the stupid stuff I spend $50 a month on, the BGE seems cheap in the grand scheme of things. I will admit, hanging out on this site is expensive though. Lol.

Anyway, even if you're a fair weather griller/smoker 3 months a year, your going to get your money's worth in entertainment value.

NPHuskerFL · May 2015

Ferraris break. Porsches break. Ceramics break. Where there is heat transfer there is a possibility of breakage. I don't care what the material is it is always a possibility. The biggest difference in any product is the company that stands behind the warranty.

ads75 · May 2015

Cars break (even BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Kia) , guns break, phones break (even iphones), coffee makers break, TVs break, ovens break, dish washers break, arms or legs break. Everything breaks, especially if you use it. You read about it more on the forum because of the internet. BGE has a warranty and stays by it.

SMITTYtheSMOKER · May 2015

I sort of have a frontline view of just how many warranty claims we get compared to just how many we sell. We sell 300+ a year, been in business for 10 years. We warranty about 15 fireboxes a year, which includes customers who buy from other dealers. Small percentage IMO
I think that these numbers are a testament to the quality of the product.

SloppyJoe · May 2015

I'm devastated!

beachsmoke · May 2015

I have had the same egg for 10 years not a single problem. I could take a piece of **** put it in a box and put a warranty on it it would just be a warrantied piece of ****. Not bge business plan I'm sure. If you don't like it don't buy it your call

Skiddymarker · May 2015

BGE obviously builds the cost of warranty into the cost of the units, they are expensive because the warranty on new product is pretty good, in my mind at least 50% of the initial cost. In other words, a new egg that retails for $800 has a value of about $400 if purchased from an unauthorized dealer.
There are a lot of warranty returns noted here, but then again there are a lot of folks on this forum. Other kamados have decent warranties as well. Some like the ones sold at big box stores have a 90 day warranty and sell for just 10-20% less than an egg, what idiot would buy one of those?

Biggreenpharmacist · May 2015

Skiddymarker said:

BGE obviously builds the cost of warranty into the cost of the units, they are expensive because the warranty on new product is pretty good, in my mind at least 50% of the initial cost. In other words, a new egg that retails for $800 has a value of about $400 if purchased from an unauthorized dealer.
There are a lot of warranty returns noted here, but then again there are a lot of folks on this forum. Other kamados have decent warranties as well. Some like the ones sold at big box stores have a 90 day warranty and sell for just 10-20% less than an egg, what idiot would buy one of those?

I bought a Vision for 200 bucks at Sams. Warranty is comparable to the egg. Just sayin'........

theyolksonyou · May 2015

Buy an Akorn. Metal skin, problem solved.

TnJed · May 2015

NPHuskerFL said:

Ferraris break.

LOL. That's an understatement.

I've got a 20 year egg, and one of my others has to be around 15 years old. Then I have one in FL that is maybe 8 years old. My brother has one, and my dad has two. None have had any issues, except for replacement fire grates.

My 20 year has a crack in the ring, but it doesn't seem to hinder the cooking.

4Runner · May 2015

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Skiddymarker said:

BGE obviously builds the cost of warranty into the cost of the units, they are expensive because the warranty on new product is pretty good, in my mind at least 50% of the initial cost. In other words, a new egg that retails for $800 has a value of about $400 if purchased from an unauthorized dealer.
There are a lot of warranty returns noted here, but then again there are a lot of folks on this forum. Other kamados have decent warranties as well. Some like the ones sold at big box stores have a 90 day warranty and sell for just 10-20% less than an egg, what idiot would buy one of those?

I bought a Vision for 200 bucks at Sams. Warranty is comparable to the egg. Just sayin'........

meaning lifetime? that is the only way it would be comparable in my eyes. If so, that is a nice deal.

fishlessman · May 2015

ceramics crack, metal rusts and burns out, old eggs are found in back yards, relatively new metal cooks are found curbside

aukerns08 · May 2015

scmoose said:

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Big green eggs are everywhere. For every crscked egg//parts theres probably 100 that have never had an issue.

not sure those are very good odds.

According to @SMITTYtheSMOKER who is in the game and has the best knowledge of this it looks like you have a about 5% chance, 1 out 20, of buying an Egg this year that will need a warranty claim for a firebox... I think those are pretty good odds. We have over a 43% chance of getting some form of cancer at least once over our life time, basically a coin flip, and over a 22% chance of dying from it, basically 1 out of 4 us. We're all more likely to get cancer and possibly die from it than having to warranty our Eggs. Just a little perspective for us all.

Maybe we shouldn't be too worried about our Egg warranties when we start seeing the true numbers. BGE has been around for a long time, doesn't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon. If something breaks they'll fix it free for the original owner. At worst it's a slight inconvenience for the original owner to make the claim and/or wait on the replacement part.

SmokeyPitt · May 2015

@Biggreenpharmacist - how do you like the vision? My sister is thinking about getting an egg and saw one at BJs and asked me about it. I don't really know anything about them. According to the web site they offer a limited lifetime warranty.

You got one for $200??? It was $600 at BJs. Do they close them out at the end of the summer?

scmoose · May 2015

USMITTYtheSMOKER said:

I sort of have a frontline view of just how many warranty claims we get compared to just how many we sell. We sell 300+ a year, been in business for 10 years. We warranty about 15 fireboxes a year, which includes customers who buy from other dealers. Small percentage IMO
I think that these numbers are a testament to the quality of the product.

Good data, thanks.

scmoose · May 2015

stemc33 said:

Everything breaks. Pay $50,000 for a truck and it's gonna crack/break down etc. eventually. Some sooner than later. Same as us humans, we're all gonna crack at some point.

@scmoose, I read you recently got an old medium and we're looking to go to an eggfest to get a LBGE. Are you questioning the quality from the stand point of making a decision to buy another BGE? If so, is it to make a decision on a ceramic cooker in general vs going in a complete different direction.

For me, if my egg crumbled to the ground tomorrow, I'd be devastated. Even if that happened, I'd never regret buying my egg. I've owned my egg for almost 2 years, so that breaks down to less than $50 a month thus far (not including lump and food etc) and getting cheaper by the day. When it comes to @RRP and some of the others, your probably looking at fractions of pennies when they consider egg cost to use. When I look at the stupid stuff I spend $50 a month on, the BGE seems cheap in the grand scheme of things. I will admit, hanging out on this site is expensive though. Lol.

Anyway, even if you're a fair weather griller/smoker 3 months a year, your going to get your money's worth in entertainment value.

stemc33 said:

Everything breaks. Pay $50,000 for a truck and it's gonna crack/break down etc. eventually. Some sooner than later. Same as us humans, we're all gonna crack at some point.

@scmoose, I read you recently got an old medium and we're looking to go to an eggfest to get a LBGE. Are you questioning the quality from the stand point of making a decision to buy another BGE? If so, is it to make a decision on a ceramic cooker in general vs going in a complete different direction.

For me, if my egg crumbled to the ground tomorrow, I'd be devastated. Even if that happened, I'd never regret buying my egg. I've owned my egg for almost 2 years, so that breaks down to less than $50 a month thus far (not including lump and food etc) and getting cheaper by the day. When it comes to @RRP and some of the others, your probably looking at fractions of pennies when they consider egg cost to use. When I look at the stupid stuff I spend $50 a month on, the BGE seems cheap in the grand scheme of things. I will admit, hanging out on this site is expensive though. Lol.

Anyway, even if you're a fair weather griller/smoker 3 months a year, your going to get your money's worth in entertainment value.

I love the old egg that I have, I got it for next to nothing. I figured I would learn on it then decide that if I need a bigger one I would buy new. I didnt realise there were so many broken eggs out there. Just in the last two days on this forum ive seen two different post with issues on the shells of brand new eggs. So if I do upgrade it will be new with the expectation thats its going to break. For the guy who made the Glock comment, I can totaly relate as I shoot Glocks in compitition. There was alot of buzz about glocks " blowing up". Well come to find out the majority of the issues were do to poorly reloaded ammo. Not to mention the small percentage of issues compaired to the total number of Glocks sold world wide.

Lit · May 2015

Man I just realized I have the crappiest luck ever based off this post. In 5 years I have had just about everything crack including 3 bases. I drive down to the mothership atleast once a year to swap out parts that have cracked over the year.

BGE Quality

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