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hesitating to purchase bge

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Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I'm almost ready to purchase the large bge, after looking at gas grills (even bought one but then returned it). Everything about the bge seems great except...[p]I am being scared off by the frequent posts about the gaskets melting down and even fusing the dome and the body of the egg.[p]I've been reading the forum posts for several days now and am into the Archives.[p]I understand about the breakin period and not exceding 400 degrees for 4-6 first cooks but even then, some have posted about the meltdown of the gasket.[p]Help me get over this which seems to be the one weakness of the design of the bge.[p]Thanks.[p]Shelly
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  • Richard
    Richard Posts: 698
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    shelly,
    People read about car wrecks, but statistically that does not stop them from buying a vehicle. When treated with respect and understanding, as you have gathered from this fine forum, will give you and your heirs a life time of EGGtastic food. Got any better choices? Welcome soon to the "CULT".

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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
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    shelly,[p]Gasket fusing is not the end of the world. It's fixable. Once you've had the food from your Egg any gasket problems will seem very trivial. Sounds like you're having a little problem making a decision. You'll make the decision that's right for you.
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  • Jeeves
    Jeeves Posts: 461
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    Shelly:[p]I purchase a RH Peterson (made there in CA), Firemagic Regal II a couple years ago with 2 regular gas burners and a IR (Infrared) burner. When I did, the egg was new, the web site and company was still a little teenager.[p]About a month ago, for some reason, I did some research and was amazed at how the BGE had grown and accepted by the consumers.[p]Despite the gasket problems (which is still up for debate, I mean, how many people our of x # have had problems), I would still recommend the egg.[p]Getting an egg is an investment, it's a life, it's a community. The egg is so versatile and forgiving, it's egg-mazing! (Oh, I'm still a 3-week newbie).[p]I've done nothing but brisket so far and I've been egg-mazed![p]It's an investment, try to find one used - you won't![p]Serious eggers have not one, but usually TWO eggs - one for their main dish, and one for appetizers.[p]It's EGG-mazing![p]Don't let the (very minute/little) problems shy you away. If in doubt, and able, attend one of the egg fest going around. There is one coming up in Seattle and another one in Colorado.[p]If you need any other information, please don't hesitate to email me or post any concerns as everyone here is part of the egg family and will help you with whatever concerns/questions you have.[p]-Jeeves
    (Mike/Austin, TX)
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  • GirlyEgg
    GirlyEgg Posts: 622
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    shelly,
    I'd have to say - as a new Egg owner myself - I went through the same hesitation... However, considering how many Eggs are out there, the percent of the gasket issue is probably very low... I would also contend that some of the folks who experienced this "phenomena" didn't follow the instructions or are part of the "Egg-streme" group. I have to admit, I took a chance and fired up to 600 on my second cook... nothing happened.. and I ended up with great seared steaks! Assuming you're not eating steak every night, most of your cooking will be in the 350-450 range... go ahead and splurge! Once I actually committed to it in the "mothership" store... I forgot all about the expense and began to think about accessories!
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  • Crawdaddy
    Crawdaddy Posts: 29
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    shelly,
    I've had my XLBGE for only two weeks and my only regret is waisting all those years cooking on gassers and webers when I could have been enjoying the best grilled, smoked and roasted food on the planet. Wish I had done this 20 years ago. Never understood all the anxiety over a burnt, or even a fused, gasket. Its a piece of inexpensive felt that takes about 20 minutes to replace. Its the equivalent of changing out a flat tire on a road bike. If you loved riding bikes, you certainly wouldn't hesitate to buy one because you might get a flat tire. The egg is one remarkable piece of cooking equipment and I cannot imagine life without one.
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    shelly, I've had my egg for about 2 years and have yet to burn a gasket. I TRex steaks regularly - no problem - and believe me, I am a klutz. Just watch your cooking and don't overdue the high temps for a long period of time. It really is foolproof.[p]Old Idaho

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  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
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    shelly,[p]Please don't let this gasket "issue" scare you off. I've owned a cumulative of 4 Eggs, all of which I've run up to temperatures well past what the dome thermometer could measure, and I have yet to seal any of my Eggs shut. The keys, in my humble opinion, are the following:[p]1) Before going to temps above 450, make sure that your Egg has a good seal all the way around. You can check this easily because, well, where there's smoke there's a leak.[p]2) Don't run your Egg with the dome closed at temps above 550 or so for more than, hmmm, say 10 minutes, without either opening the dome or cooling the Egg down. [p]3) If the outside of your Egg is starting to get too hot to the touch, this is a pretty good indication that you've heated the ceramic a good bit and, if you have a newer gasket, you may be in danger of melting it. There should not be a situation in which you encounter this kind of heat, however, unless you are cooking pizza at high temps. This kind of cook benefits from having the dome hot, and I would recommend reading point #4 before cooking pizza.[p]4) Some have also experienced success using a "cure period" for the gasket, as you mentioned. While I am not convinced this is necessary if you follow steps 1 - 3 above, it is for sure a good safeguard. Also, I have noticed that the glue either hardens or just otherwise deteriorates over time, and I can run my older Eggs at high temps until the cows fly home and nothing bad will happen.[p]As someone else mentioned, the Egg is not unlike a nice car. You should break it in a little, and it can on occasion be problematic if you drive 150 mph for extended periods of time.[p]If worse comes to worst and you seal your Egg shut, you will have plenty of folks here on this forum that can walk you through the process of fixing the problem, and you'll be well on your way to cooking the best food of your life again in no time.[p]I hope this helps.[p]TRex
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    Wow, I already feel welcomed into the community. I'm convinced.[p]In my heart, I know that I will get the large egg very soon. Even my wife liked it's looks and felt it was much less obtrusive (and intrusive( than the giant stainless steel grill I brought home last month (returned the all IR grill for full refund). She even offered to pay half for it for our anniversary next month. I told her that I would then get her all the accessories for her present. :)[p]And as I already own and use a Weber gas grill, trading up to a larger more modern gas grill seems like a poor investment. I do have a smoke generator to use with the Weber and to use with an offset cooker dedicated to just cold smoking salmon (lox.) Won't need it with the bge.[p]Incidentally, the end result of using 4 chunks of oak cut from my firewood for the cold smoking (6 hours) results in 4 lumps of hand made charcoal which I collect in garbage cans but have never had a use for. Now I will.[p]I've already chosen my first accessories--the plate setter for indirect cooking (still not clear as to when to put the feet up or down, epecially when using a drip pan) and the extension rack, and probably the half moon raised grid. [p]Then the turbo grate.[p]I'm getting all stoked up again about the gbe.[p]Once I get it, please bear with me as I post some newbie questions but the learning will be in the doing. Hopefully the video and manual have some paractical information as well.[p]Thanks to you all.[p]Shelly

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  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
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    shelly,[p]Skip the manual and go straight here:[p]http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm[p]Spend some time navigating around - there is more information than you can imagine.[p]Links to other Egger sites are here:[p]http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramiclinks.htm[p]and tons of cookbooks with Egger recipes are here:[p]http://www.nakedwhiz.com/cookbooks.htm.[p]That should give you plenty of quality reading and answer most of your questions.[p]Good luck and welcome,[p]TRex[p]
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    TRex,[p]Thanks for the good information. A question about your point 2--- (2) Don't run your Egg with the dome closed at temps above 550 or so for more than, hmmm, say 10 minutes, without either opening the dome or cooling the Egg down.[p]I assume that to get to this higher temperature, I would have both the lower and upper vents full open. I would then put the meat on to sear.[p]Do I do the searing with the dome open or closed? I've always seared with the lid open on my grill. And cooling he egg down would mean to close all vents, corect?[p]If the dome should be closed for searing, I assume I would open the dome at 550 (burping it first) to put on the meat and close the dome, Then after a few minutes, open the dome (with a burp) turn the meat and close the dome for a couple more minutes and then start closing the vents (even completely) to finish off the meat. A final burp and then open to remove the meat several minutes later and shut it all down with totally closed vents. Is this the procedure?[p]Maybe it's premature for me to be asking these kinds of questions now but I really like to understand how to use anything I buy before bringing it home.[p]Thanks again.[p]Shelly
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  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
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    shelly,[p]I sear with the dome open.[p]
    [ul][li]More details on steaks . . . [/ul]
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  • Pharmeggist
    Pharmeggist Posts: 1,191
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    shelly,
    As a proud owner of a Large BGE "Oscar" and a small BGE "Oliver" I haven't had any problems. I had a Weber Grill and sold it and also an X box to get the small. My wife will get the egg(s) ready before I get home from work... She never in 4 years ever touched the Weber when I had it. My retired parents own a Medium BGE, My bachelor brother has a medium BGE, & my Sister and her husband own a large BGE. The only problem I have is eating out now... nothing compares with egged food. Do yourself a favor and get the egg, otherwise be green with envy in the long run :=)
    ~Pharmeggist[p]

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  • Peggy
    Peggy Posts: 122
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    shelly, don't hesitate one bit. Look at my outdoor kitchen on the forum users!!! I have a wonderful outdoor kitchen with a stainless grill, side burner etc. My two green eggs is all I use for real cooking. The stainless grill is a quick fix for vegetables, breads, etc. I love my eggs. In fact, right now I am cooking 30 pounds of pork for pulled pork tomorrow. The temp is 250 and it will go all night. Make no mistake, the BGE is the best. You will NOT go wrong.

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    shelly,[p]Well, here is a response from a person who HAS had a gasket problem.[p]I have been buying smokers & barbeque’s for many, many years. I have 3 good working gassers, 2 wood burners/charcoal (bricket) 2 barbeque’s, an empty spot for an $1,400 costco ss bbq which was returned last year after 3 uses and I have 4 or 5 more bbq’s , which are going to the bone yard this weekend.[p]All those non GBE’s cost much more than 1 possibly 3 GBE’s.[p]As one might guess, I have been wanting a good smoker for a long time, obviously, I never found what I thought was acceptable. I have gotten some pretty good cooks off of those other smokers, but…[p]A very short ago I by change heard someone just mention something about a Big Green Egg, the comment was second hand. The comment was actually from a person who is a consultant from the southeast who was hired to some rubs & consulting on quality cooking for a local grocery chain. My daughter has always known for my yearning for a ‘good’ cooker/smoker. She told me she talked to this gentleman and he said ‘if you want some good cookin you should see the Big Green Egg’, ‘there is a group of people who are nuts (he is one of then) and this is like a cult’.[p]Normally I wouldn’t pay attention to something like that, however, this consultant as I understand it will take a food, or better stated, a taste, and come up with the ingredients. I have wanted to hire him to create a taste which got from Hunts chili beans which Contessa Foods no longer makes.[p]Anyway, back on track… The comment coming from this gentleman got me thinking. If he is commenting on the BGE and even better if he owns one, I should at least take a look.[p]I got on the net and finally saw what a Big Green Egg was. I was about to order then saw we had a local dealer. I then clicked on this forum and spend two days reading the comments. Well you read the comments too so I don’t need to say any more about that.[p]You folks on this forum sold me on the GBE, my dilemma was lg or xl, well ,the price and there is my wife and I and some kids/grandkids. Decided LG and wondered if I should have got the sm or med.[p]I had some buyers remorse, but I sure wanted to find a good smoker and all the comments on the forum, there just had to be something about these eggheads.[p]Last Friday I took the bge out of my car, I took the preburnt wood (lump) and put in 3 starters. The smell reminded me of when I was a kid stoking the fires in the cabooses for the D&RG RR. Coal smell, um ok but not great. Still optimistic throught in some apple wood and some salt/peppered chicken thighs.[p]The result, to me a little coal taste but not much at all, however, the taste oh, my heck and I didn’t do anything. 350 dome 15 min per side.[p]Next day, feeling pretty smug, a few of the family over, I again cooked some chicken. All the cooking was done and over. [p]I then decided to toss on a steak – TREX style, of course the only thing read about the TREX style was 700 dome for 2 min per side. I didn’t actually read the instructions because I thought 700 degrees on anything other than asbestos is going to result in my own charcoal factory. [p]I thought what the heck if he can, then I can. I decided to go nuclear. I did read and watch The Naked Wiz flash back video/testing and was very careful about burping the bge. [p]Flashback on the forefront of my mind, the egg up to 700 degrees and holding (I think) I burped the egg 3 times and threw the meat to the monster. 2 minutes, I burped or better said tried to burp the egg…[p]What happened here was I opened the dome 2 inches or so, lowered not to complete close and re opened 2 or 3 inches, almost closed then tried to open the dome all the way. Way, way, way too hot. I couldn’t open the dome due to the heat. So I waited for my arm to cool off a little, 30 or 40 seconds because a had a stake under that dome about ¾ of an inch thick. I didn’t have much hope for the steak but I knew I had to get the gbe under control. I burped again, only opening the dome several inches for a few seconds, then fully opened the dome.[p]On this opening I saw I had a problem with the gasket bottom stuck to the top on the right side, about 10 inches of gasket removal.[p]I got the steak off, closed the bottom vent, closed dome and shut down the daisy (top vent). I looked at the steak and thinking less than ¾ inch 700 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes one side and less than 2 minutes the other side – burnt city.[p]Well, the steak was great tasting and moist with that 3 or 4 minute cook, the only problem it was more medium than medium rare.[p]Now, the bge cooled down to dome 250 or so. I decided to open and get the gasket looked at before the bge cooled. The dome almost didn’t open.[p]What I saw of the gasket failure was a pretty short time. As I recall it did not look like the gasket melted, it looked more like the glue released and the gasket twisted or bunched together to look thinner. I do not remember seeing an actual burn of the material. I wish I would have re-examined the gasket before tossing it away.[p]My dealer was closed, but gave me his card and told me to call anytime. Saturday evening was anytime by definition. Told him what happened. He said he was going out of town and couldn’t come over and fix it until Monday. I said it didn’t look like it took a rocket scientist to replace the gasket. He said ok, and he would go to the shop and bring a new gasket over to my house.[p]45 minutes later the GBE dealer was here with gasket in hand. I couldn’t believe him even coming over… the dealer said he had another new customer, the day before, ruin his xl gasket due to high temp.[p]Anyway, I removed and replaced the gasket, top and bottom. 2:30 am I finished as I had all the kids/grandkids coming over for a bbq. Nothing fancy just a good smoke chicken, hot dogs & fresh made bratwurst (corn turned out crapy). Chicken and brats, were gone, I didn’t even get to tast one. I did get ½ of a hotdog – the dog was good.[p]From another newbee (6 days of owning a bge and 8 cooks, 9 if I can count my nuclear steak) who has been through the gasket burn out experience. [p]The gasket problem, in my humble opinion is that the adhesive got hot and released because of the amount of extremely hot air moving out of the egg when I was burping it.[p]Since the gasket burn out, more brats, to season, a low and slow, combo, brisket and port tip roast and some chicken. Both good. I think can be done better (cook problem not egg problem). [p]My (not so) eggspert advice, don’t cheat yourself out of the opportunity, get yourself a BIG GREEN EGG! As you have read from many people, not one person, has complained about the good eats.

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  • galoot
    galoot Posts: 69
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    shelly,
    I looked at the egg a year ago, and ended up with a WSM due to $$. But we couldn't grill so I got an XL, My wife liked the food so much, she wanted to get a small egg to take camping so we wouldn't have "egg" withdrawal symptoms. I couldn't imagine cooking on anything else now. It seem we use our indoor convection oven mainly as a plate warmer now. Today we made blueberry pancakes on it for breakfast and grilled tenderloins on it for dinner.
    The only problem; it's hard to stop at one egg!
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  • dhuffjr
    dhuffjr Posts: 3,182
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    kent,
    Sounds like you've got a GREAT Dealer.....maybe AWESOME is a better word.
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  • dhuffjr
    dhuffjr Posts: 3,182
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    shelly,
    The gasket it not needed for the Egg to cook. I think it is there to keep folks from banging it shut and hurting it personally. My large Egg is 9 years old and this is the original gasket. It cooks just fine all crusty and nearly burnt off. You could melt your gasket on a new Egg and scrap it off and it is going to cook just fine. [p]chickenparts.jpg
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  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
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    shelly,
    I have had my large for 3 or 4 years, I dont remember, I have fried my gasket twice, replaced it twice, and now I pretty much dont have one left, but my Egg runs great not a leak to speak of. So dont worry about the gasket. I fried my gaskets by not remembering to close down the egg, I left the Egg going on fully loaded for many hours at max temp. Much of the yahoo is user mistake not the Eggs fault
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    Peggy,
    bread in the stainless gasser?!?!!?[p]try it in the egg... brick oven, essentially
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • EddieMac
    EddieMac Posts: 423
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    Buy the Egg and start cooking the best grilled and smoked food ever! Sure, gaskets do occasionally met but that's pretty rare and it usually happens when folks aren't paying attention and running exceptionally high temps. I've been Egging for two years and haven't come close to frying a gasket. As for fusing shut, that's also a very, very rare occurrence. When used correctly and with proper attention paid, the Egg is an incredible device![p]Keep in mind that there are a lot of men on here (myself included) with unusually high levels of testosterone and that have watched way too many episodes of "Tool Time" and push these Eggs to eggstremes.[p]Don't worry, start Egging. And if you have a reputable local dealer you'll even have less to worry about![p]Take the leap and join "The Cult"[p]Ed McLean
    Ft. Pierce, FL

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    24jun07-007.jpg
    <p />eddiemac,
    be nice to your gasket, and your gasket will be nice to you![p]michigan2007-025.jpg[p]michigan2007-027.jpg[p]bignakedbuffalobutt-020.jpg[p]my gasket is fine![p]just do it mon! [p]it costs more than it should, but it's worth more than it costs.
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    Ok, I'm in. There is no way that anyone can come to this forum and not be persuaded, encouraged, tempted and engulfed with all of your enthusiasm.[p]And thanks for the referral to all the related web sites, especially The Naked Whiz, where I got a great tutorial on using the bge and had lots of my questions answered.[p]We're going out today to visit the dealer and take it from there. He'll also assemble and deliver for $50, which should assure that all is done correctly.[p]Thanks again.[p]Shelly

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  • Peggy
    Peggy Posts: 122
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    shelly, don't hesitate one bit. Look at my outdoor kitchen on the forum users!!! I have a wonderful outdoor kitchen with a stainless grill, side burner etc. My two green eggs is all I use for real cooking. The stainless grill is a quick fix for vegetables, breads, etc. I love my eggs. In fact, right now I am cooking 30 pounds of pork for pulled pork tomorrow. The temp is 250 and it will go all night. Make no mistake, the BGE is the best. You will NOT go wrong.

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  • Peggy
    Peggy Posts: 122
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    Stike, Fair enough! :) All I do is warm it. You are righ...if I baked, the egg is perfect!

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  • TomCPA
    TomCPA Posts: 82
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    shelly,[p]I've had my BGE about 3 years and I've yet to replace the gasket. And, believe me, I sometimes forget the BGE is fired up and wind up with it at about 700+ degrees on several occasions.[p]Tom
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  • Pharmeggist
    Pharmeggist Posts: 1,191
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    shelly,
    Give us an update when you can. I am cheering for you!
    Happy Egging, Pharmeggist

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    shelly, If you buy from a local dealer have them put the bands on for you. We bought our large BGE in Tampa,Fl and have not had any problems at all.

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    My wif and I went to purchase today and the owner was not there, just his son who very little about the egg. He mainly was selling parts for other appliances and helping people picking up their c=vacuums from repair service.[p]So it will happen on Monday and will probably take a week or so to arrive and for them to put it together.[p]Shelly

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    Smokey5760,[p]I agree. I'll be paying them $50 for assembly and delivery, which should guarantee that it is put together the right way.[p]Hope to soon post some pics of my foods.[p]Shelly
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