My Spectacularly Bad Luck and Shocking Incompetence

jimbotron · August 2016

AAAAAAAAACK!

When last we talked, I'd shattered my fire ring into five chunks. You told me to just keep using it. But I've never egged again, going on six years now. Whenever I go near the egg, I feel just a tinge of annoyance. Nothing major, just sufficient to make me favor paninis, stir fries, and other non-egg cookery. I've been avoiding it.

Finally I figured, what the hell, this is stupid. I bought a new ring. But.....it won't fit. My egg (a medium, btw) is slightly warped.

It gets worse.

As I attempted to make it fit (yes, I tried both orientations), I kept repeating to myself: don't let it get jammed!

It got jammed. Tightly. Won't budge.

So I need to:

1. Unjam the damned ring without breaking THIS one, too (FWIW, it was a hot humid day; I'd imagine it will just contract worse from here).

2. Figure out how to un-warp my egg, or else clean the ring off, try to persuade my dealer to take it back, and reinstall my five pathetic ring chunks.

Here's a wrinkle, perhaps a ray of hope. A BGE official (from The Big Green Nest, I'd imagine) will be in my home town (Mt. Pleasant NY) on 8/22 for a demo event. Maybe I ought to get in touch with him ahead of time and beg his assistance? Maybe he'll take pity, and help me exfiltrate the damned ring, unwarp my egg (or else refund the damn ring), and reassure me that my five-chunk ring system truly is adequate.

Does anyone out there have clearer vision on any of this than I do at this point?

Many thanks,

Jimbotron

Coul · August 2016

hmm, personally havent heard of an egg warping before. that should be covered under your warranty. I would contact your dealer and explain the situation before touching it again and possibly damaging it even further.

SGH · August 2016

When I first read the title I did not have my glasses on. I thought it read: "My Spectaculary Bad Luck and Shocking Impotence". My first thought was that you were a mighty brave man to post that on the forum. I'm glad to see that the word was actually "incompetence" instead of impotent my friend.

SGH · August 2016

To the topic at hand. I did not know that ceramics could "warp". I thought it would shatter long before it yielded or warped. This is just a guess on my part, but I would say that if your BGE looks "warped", that it's from a bad pour at the factory. Not from actually warping due to use. Again that is just speculation on my part though. Maybe some of the Ceramic Gods will chime in and let me know if I'm wrong about the ceramic warping. In my mind it's just not possible once the ceramic is dry.
To be clear, I'm not doubting that your BGE looks or is warped. What I doubt is that you warped it by using it. Sounds more like a factory fukk up to me.

Ozzie_Isaac · August 2016

Take pictures, bring to the demo and ask what's up.

If you can, pack up your egg and bring it. A medium will fit in a regular car seat with a seat belt for security.

MaskedMarvel · August 2016

Yeah man drive it to the guy. He'll be interested to see the issue in person.

And dont be be so hard on yourself! We are ALL learning as we go!

as an aside, your six year old thread featured some good advice from a resident guru who still posts today - @fishlessman might want to chime in.

StillH2OEgger · August 2016

Just thinking out loud here, but is there any chance BGE has simply altered the shape or design of the mediums in the past several years? Whatever happens, good luck.

Elijah · August 2016

You sure do hold a grudge

dopey · August 2016

I'm not sure the egg is warped as much as the fire ring... I hope.. I have the same problem, but haven't gotten it fixed yet since the fire ring kinda helps by being tight so I'm able to level the grate on my uneven driveway.

However, I do need to get the ring back to the dealer to see why it's so far off from the egg

Darby_Crenshaw · August 2016

These things don't warp, but they could probably certainly be fired when they are out of round, and that would be enough to cause your problem.

They also expand when heated, although they return to shape when cooled

personally, i would light a fire in the firebox, down low (i.e. not filled) and see if you can get the lower section of the egg to expand enough so your fire ring drops in

or comes out, if you want to remove it and get a new one

there are examples of dimension changes i think, in past vs present eggs. The fire box in my small is different than the previous, for example. Smaller, though.

RedSkip · August 2016

+1 What @Darby_Crenshaw said. The thermal growth of a ring will expand when heated and shrink when cooled. (Interference fits on bolts)

By trying to heat only the egg, hopefully the egg will expand and the ring will not grow thermally. Therefore, you can hopefully remove the ring.

if you decide to let it sit on the fire bowl and remain there, just keep in mind you'll be putting extra stress on both the egg and ring when they cool. This could cause either to break.

Small fire to only heat the egg would be my approach, or try and heat the egg externally. This may take some time, but you could control the heating (hair dryer, heat gun, weed burner) location. Go slow though.

Best of luck! Take pictures too, we like to see this sort of experiment in practice.

fishlessman · August 2016

if something angered and annoyed me for 6 years i would get rid of it. its a bbq pit, you didnt marry it, theres no kids involved

by they way, im still using the firebox that i posted in your other post in 2010.

jtcBoynton · August 2016

StillH2OEgger said:

Just thinking out loud here, but is there any chance BGE has simply altered the shape or design of the mediums in the past several years? Whatever happens, good luck.

Good chance. I have an old large. The dimensions of the base are not the same as the newer ones. That said, I doubt they changed the diameter so that the firebox and fire ring would not fit - inventory and warranty replacement issues would be a headache for them if they did that. I am guessing that one of the pieces had an issue during manufacturing that caused it to go out of round.

HoustonEgger · August 2016

Two thoughts:

Do you have the firebox in the egg as well? The fire ring is supposed to sit on top of that? (Just came to mind since it's been 6 years for you)
Is the egg all gunked up? Long shot here, but it may need to be cleaned before everything fits

These suckers don't warp but there are small variations in the production over the years. Do you have a picture to show how bad the fit is?

jimbotron · August 2016

SGH said:

When I first read the title I did not have my glasses on. I thought it read: "My Spectaculary Bad Luck and Shocking Impotence". My first thought was that you were a mighty brave man to post that on the forum. I'm glad to see that the word was actually "incompetence" instead of impotent my friend.

Impotence can be fixed by drugs. My BGE situation, not so easy.

jimbotron · August 2016

Thanks all. A few follow-ups:

1. I doubt the dealer would give warranty help re: egg warping, because when I bought the replacement ring, dealer asked what happened, and I told him how my egg had been knocked over, and ring had fallen out and shattered. So he knows the egg was mistreated. I seriously doubt that could have knocked a ceramic object out of round, but still....it's an excuse to deny me.

2. good point, Houston: yes, the firebox is definitely in there. No gunk, either.

3. the ring is pretty far from fitting. One side is a few inches above fire box, the other is four or five inches above, and it's really stuck. I'm really not hoping to fit this ring, I just need to get it out, hopefully in a condition (snowy white) that will allow me to return it for the $80.

4. Not sure how a fire in the firebox would heat the egg without heating the ring. Also, concerned it might blacken the ring a bit, and return is on my mind.

5. agreed with jtcBoynton that there's no way they've changed dimensions. These parts need to be replaceable for older customers, and if they weren't, dealers would know or be advised.

I guess I need to talk to the dealer, perhaps bring it in.

jimbotron · August 2016

fishlessman said:

if something angered and annoyed me for 6 years i would get rid of it. its a bbq pit, you didnt marry it, theres no kids involved by they way, im still using the firebox that i posted in your other post in 2010.

Hey, fishlessman, good to hear from you, and glad the firebox is working for you!

The annoyance has been light (at least until yesterday). I really do want to barbecue, just been putting it off. Any ideas for me? Getting it out in condition where I can get a refund?

Should I just bring the whole damn thing back to the dealer? It's a hardware store, so there'd be enough people with a "get her fixed" orientation that at the end of the un-sticking, they MAY take the ring back, get BEG to fix/replace the egg, etc.

GoooDawgs · August 2016

I'd just call a different dealer in your area. It should all be under warranty

Darby_Crenshaw · August 2016

jimbotron said:

fishlessman said:

if something angered and annoyed me for 6 years i would get rid of it. its a bbq pit, you didnt marry it, theres no kids involved by they way, im still using the firebox that i posted in your other post in 2010.

Hey, fishlessman, good to hear from you, and glad the firebox is working for you!

The annoyance has been light (at least until yesterday). I really do want to barbecue, just been putting it off. Any ideas for me? Getting it out in condition where I can get a refund?

Should I just bring the whole damn thing back to the dealer? It's a hardware store, so there'd be enough people with a "get her fixed" orientation that at the end of the un-sticking, they MAY take the ring back, get BEG to fix/replace the egg, etc.

this is pretty easy it seems.

do you want to cook on a charcoal grill? no? sell it.

yes? fire it up and see if you can get the fire ring to settle in. if not, call the dealer and tell them something's up.

jtcBoynton · August 2016

I am thinking they sold you a large fire ring instead of a medium. "One side is a few inches above fire box, the other is four or five inches above, and it's really stuck." That is a long way off from fitting. My fire ring, a large, has a 16" inside diameter. I am guessing that a medium fire ring should have an inside diameter of about 12.5".

fishlessman · August 2016

jimbotron said:

fishlessman said:

if something angered and annoyed me for 6 years i would get rid of it. its a bbq pit, you didnt marry it, theres no kids involved by they way, im still using the firebox that i posted in your other post in 2010.

Hey, fishlessman, good to hear from you, and glad the firebox is working for you!

The annoyance has been light (at least until yesterday). I really do want to barbecue, just been putting it off. Any ideas for me? Getting it out in condition where I can get a refund?

Should I just bring the whole damn thing back to the dealer? It's a hardware store, so there'd be enough people with a "get her fixed" orientation that at the end of the un-sticking, they MAY take the ring back, get BEG to fix/replace the egg, etc.

the guy that gets things done at bge is bruce bohanon, call him. mediums used to have the problem of the ring being too small, not too big, maybe they have a smaller one laying around. i would get a grinder out and slice the one you have into 3 pieces and use it, it might come out with just one slice though. again, call bruce, call him first

SmokeyPitt · August 2016

Silly question but are you sure you have the right ring? If it is that far from fitting then one of the pieces would have to be pretty warped. In my large and small eggs the fire ring is not tight at all. Can you post some pics?

I don't have any great ideas on getting it out. Maybe spray something like pam around the edges hoping some seeps in to lube things up. Have someone hold the base while you pull straight up on the ring. Maybe focus most of your energy on the high side.

DaveRichardson · August 2016

I'm in the boat that they gave you the wrong ring. Measure that thing for us.....

fishlessman · August 2016

i think it would be difficult to get an 18 inch ring into a 15 inch base

Photo Egg · August 2016

Do not do anything that could further damage your Egg. Don't light it, bang on it or try to pull it out.
As others have said, Kiln dried ceramics do not warp. This is an issue with your new fire ring. No ceramic Egg part will be 100% true and round but this issue happened before the part came out of the Kiln.
Carefully, with help from a friend, take the entire Egg back to your dealer.
Leave it there until THEY figure it out.
Go home and have a drink...

DoubleEgger · August 2016

The medium has changed sizes over the years. This is likely the issue. I'm sure BGE will make it right for you.

jimbotron · August 2016

Definitely not a large. The ring is catching on two sides, and overly-gapped on the other two. Like my egg is just a bit oval. Hard to capture on camera.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/vs/5va2mfgjhyfw.jpg

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Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/s1/jvx1d01k273h.jpg

jimbotron · August 2016

fishlessman said:
the guy that gets things done at bge is bruce bohanon, call him. mediums used to have the problem of the ring being too small, not too big, maybe they have a smaller one laying around. i would get a grinder out and slice the one you have into 3 pieces and use it, it might come out with just one slice though. again, call bruce, call him first

Bohanon is on it! I'll report his advice/findings. Thanks, Fishlessman!

OTOH, crazy to split into three pieces. I already have a ring cut into five pieces!!

How did my life devolve into this?

SGH · August 2016

fishlessman said:

i think it would be difficult to get an 18 inch ring into a 15 inch base

I'm glad to see that you caught that brother fish.

SmokeyPitt · August 2016

@Fishlessman makes a great point that the large ring wouldn't even start to go in. It has to be the medium ring but as suggested either the egg or the ring is off.

I think @Photo Egg also gives good advice that it might be better to leave it as is until you can talk to your dealer. In addition I would call BGE customer service and ask for suggestions on how to correct it.

jimbotron · August 2016

Photo Egg said:

This is an issue with your new fire ring.

The new ring came straight out of the dealer's floor/demo egg (they were kind enough to sell me that so I wouldn't have to wait two weeks for BGE to ship it out; they've ordered a replacement for themselves). It fit perfectly well in their egg.

My Spectacularly Bad Luck and Shocking Incompetence

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