Align Your BGE Cover in 10 Easy Steps! (w/ Pics)

jollygreenegg

My XL developed an underbite so this morning I went ahead and did an alignment.  I wanted to document the steps I took to help prevent any headaches for anyone needing to do this on their egg.

Side Note - I performed all this while the egg was still warm (<200) from an earlier cook.  My thought was that the bands would be a little more snug while cooking and reduce the chance of the underbite/mis-alignment occurring.  At the same time I didn't want the egg too hot risking the possibility of the bands shrinking too much and cracking the egg.

Here are step-by-step instructions:

#1)  Place the cover in the open position to so that both springs are in the relaxed state.  Remove both springs.  Carefully lower cover to closed position.

It is important you take off the springs,  otherwise you'll never be able to align the cover and base in the next steps with springs on (I learned the hard way!).  

Remove side tables if installed.



#2). Loosen both nuts on the bands.  Loosen all the acorn nuts on the hinges and the spring brackets (16 nuts total) that connect to the bands.  Do not loosen too much, just about a quarter turn after breaking the torque (You'll need to slightly open the egg in the next step).

Align the  cover to base as best as possible.

#3)  Slightly open the egg and place the four blue spacers in 2, 4, 8 and 10 o'clock positions.  Loosen the all the hinge and spring bracket acorn nuts some more.  Align the cover to the base.  Make sure the spacers are still in place.

Note - if you don't have the spacers you'll need to get some from your dealer.

#4)  Now the bands need to be the same distance apart as the spacers all around.



I was a one man crew, so I used some rubber bands to help hold the bands in place.



#5)  Tighten the two band nuts.  I didn't tighten to a specific torque, but ended up with an 1/8" gap between the ends of the band.




#6)  Horizontally align the spring brackets to the bands and tighten the acorn nuts (8 total).

#7)  Square up one hinge to the band and tighten the acorn nuts.  Make sure the second hinge is parallel to the first and tighten the acorn nuts.



#8)  Tighten (but not too tight) the 1/2" nuts on both spring bracket assemblies.



#9)  Tighten (but not too tight) the 1/2" nuts (4 total) on the bracket assemblies.  

Steps #8 and #9 will help with the side-to-side slop when opening and closing the egg.  This should be done periodically as they tend to loosen over time.


#10)  Lift cover to the open position and re-install springs.  Re-install the side tables if needed.  

Now you should be good to go!   Happy Egg'n!!!

Mike_the_BBQ_Fanatic

Thanks...I will need this soon

Jebpot

Thanks for the effort in making the post!!

DMW

I need to pickup a set of spacers from my dealer. I've tried to correct a gap on my XL several times now without the spacers and it's a waste of time. Thanks for posting.

smbishop

How do you remove and put the springs back on?   Any suggestions?  Thanks

jollygreenegg

smbishop said:

How do you remove and put the springs back on?   Any suggestions?  Thanks

Lift the lid all the way up so that the it stays in the open position.  The springs will be in the relaxed state and then you can easily take them off.  Be careful to not drop the lid closed without the springs.  Without them there is no tension helping to hold the lid up. To reinstall the springs do the same as taking them off.  Lift the lid all the way up until it stays in the open position and then you can easily re-install the springs.

smbishop

Thank you!

jollygreenegg

DMW said:

I need to pickup a set of spacers from my dealer. I've tried to correct a gap on my XL several times now without the spacers and it's a waste of time. Thanks for posting.

I almost threw them away after getting my egg.  I thought I would never use them again.  Good thing I didn't.  

Underbite occurs when the gap between the bands go out of whack, usually during hot cooks because the bands will expand and the ceramic doesn't.  It is also probably more likely/frequent as you go up in egg size since the bands are longer and therefore more steel is expanding, plus the heavier lid.

MotownVol

Thanks.   I need to align mine as well.

Trixie_Belle

Mine needs an alignment too.  Thank you!

stlcharcoal

Ha!  I was wondering what those blue plastic things were for.  A friend had a new XL delivered the other day and those were in with the accessories.  It was already assembled.  I figured they were for something important!

Bentgrass

Just an addition to comments above... Saturday night we did an impromptu change in dinner plans and after dialing up some NY Strips, I decided to do a clean burn.  All went well except that I discovered that I had an underbite after it cooled down ( the next afternoon is when I noticed.   I had previously adjusted the lid a month ago and actually admired my work daily when cooking.  Could it be that the intense heat messes with the bands and ceramic and can help cause this issue?  Anyway, the other thing it did was whack out my thermometer.  Re-calibrated it this morning and it was off about 100 degrees.
 
Just food for thought.

jollygreenegg

Bentgrass said:

Just an addition to comments above... Saturday night we did an impromptu change in dinner plans and after dialing up some NY Strips, I decided to do a clean burn.  All went well except that I discovered that I had an underbite after it cooled down ( the next afternoon is when I noticed.   I had previously adjusted the lid a month ago and actually admired my work daily when cooking.  Could it be that the intense heat messes with the bands and ceramic and can help cause this issue?  Anyway, the other thing it did was whack out my thermometer.  Re-calibrated it this morning and it was off about 100 degrees.
 
Just food for thought.

The steel bands will expand more than the ceramic when cooking.  As you go up in egg size the band expansion will increase b/c longer bands=more steel being expanded.  Also, as you go up in egg size the lid becomes heavier as well.  All these things cause will cause the bands to "move" and contribute to the alignment going off.

If this theory is accurate misalignment would occur more frequently on the larger sizes vs the smaller sizes.  

DMW

jollygreenegg said:

Bentgrass said:

Just an addition to comments above... Saturday night we did an impromptu change in dinner plans and after dialing up some NY Strips, I decided to do a clean burn.  All went well except that I discovered that I had an underbite after it cooled down ( the next afternoon is when I noticed.   I had previously adjusted the lid a month ago and actually admired my work daily when cooking.  Could it be that the intense heat messes with the bands and ceramic and can help cause this issue?  Anyway, the other thing it did was whack out my thermometer.  Re-calibrated it this morning and it was off about 100 degrees.
 
Just food for thought.

The steel bands will expand more than the ceramic when cooking.  As you go up in egg size the band expansion will increase b/c longer bands=more steel being expanded.  Also, as you go up in egg size the lid becomes heavier as well.  All these things cause will cause the bands to "move" and contribute to the alignment going off.

If this theory is accurate misalignment would occur more frequently on the larger sizes vs the smaller sizes.  

I agree there. My Small gets more use than my XL now and have never had an alignment issue on my Small.

tamu2009

marked for when i get around to realigning mine. its all out of whack after putting my rutland on .

Rzeancak

god bless thank you so much.

pasoegg

@jollygreenegg - this story should of of started out "once upon a time" or "this ain't no sh-t"...fine explaination of the process...great job!!

DoofusOfTheDay

Great instructions.  I'd add to grab one of these if you don't have one already for spring removal and installation.


Also, if you have an gap issues, now is the time to fix, so do something like this as @RRP advised us all at one point.

mattvandyk

Did this on my LBGE to try to fix a fairly bad misalignment (both an underbite and shifted to the left such that I could plainly see 1/3-1/2 of the bottom gasket at the 4 o'clock position with the dome closed).  It improved it marginally (maybe 50% less of a misalignment?), but didn't fix it completely.

Before I go and do it again and "overcompensate" this time in hopes that it settles in the right spot, any other tips?  Note that my bands come together (i.e. the place where the band is cranked down and the bolts bend) are not located behind my hinge (as in the OP's picture), but rather are located at about the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock position (directly opposite the location of the worst misalignment).  Is this relevant in some way?  

Thanks!

jollygreenegg

mattvandyk said:

Did this on my LBGE to try to fix a fairly bad misalignment (both an underbite and shifted to the left such that I could plainly see 1/3-1/2 of the bottom gasket at the 4 o'clock position with the dome closed).  It improved it marginally (maybe 50% less of a misalignment?), but didn't fix it completely.

Before I go and do it again and "overcompensate" this time in hopes that it settles in the right spot, any other tips?  Note that my bands come together (i.e. the place where the band is cranked down and the bolts bend) are not located behind my hinge (as in the OP's picture), but rather are located at about the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock position (directly opposite the location of the worst misalignment).  Is this relevant in some way?  

Thanks!

I wouldn't think that the location of where the bands meet would make a difference. 

Doing a high heat cook after the alignment made my cover shift about an 1/8 towards the back.  Since the seal was still okay and smoke wasn't leaking, I just left it as is.  I think because of the band design and the high heat, the cover and base will always be somewhat off-centered.  

speed51133

back from the dead....can any of you measure the blue spacers? I bought a floor model and never had any. I can make my own wood ones with dimensions....

GoooDawgs

Easier to just to go back to the store and get some.... dealers should have plenty extra on hand for you. 

littlerascal56

They are 1/2” square x 3/4” long.

speed51133

Thanks!

SmokeyLopey

Mine has an underbite, but doesn't leak. I have wanted to adjust so it will be in line, but wonder if, since it doesn't leak and might go back out of alignment during the next high temp cook, if I should leave it the way it is. Any suggestions? It is a large BGE, by the way.

FSUMark

SmokeyLopey said:

Mine has an underbite, but doesn't leak. I have wanted to adjust so it will be in line, but wonder if, since it doesn't leak and might go back out of alignment during the next high temp cook, if I should leave it the way it is. Any suggestions? It is a large BGE, by the way.

Same here.  Dealer assembled, had it about 2 months. Should I contact them?

SmokeyLopey

FSUMark said:

SmokeyLopey said:

Mine has an underbite, but doesn't leak. I have wanted to adjust so it will be in line, but wonder if, since it doesn't leak and might go back out of alignment during the next high temp cook, if I should leave it the way it is. Any suggestions? It is a large BGE, by the way.

Same here.  Dealer assembled, had it about 2 months. Should I contact them?

In fairness to the dealer, tthe BGE getting out of alignment doesn't appear to represent faulty workmanship on their part, but, rather, part of the break-in process. It may be worth a call to see if installation includes a post break-in adjustment. Or, at the very least, if they can provide the blue tabs...if they didn't come with your egg.

FSUMark

SmokeyLopey said:

FSUMark said:

SmokeyLopey said:

Mine has an underbite, but doesn't leak. I have wanted to adjust so it will be in line, but wonder if, since it doesn't leak and might go back out of alignment during the next high temp cook, if I should leave it the way it is. Any suggestions? It is a large BGE, by the way.

Same here.  Dealer assembled, had it about 2 months. Should I contact them?

In fairness to the dealer, tthe BGE getting out of alignment doesn't appear to represent faulty workmanship on their part, but, rather, part of the break-in process. It may be worth a call to see if installation includes a post break-in adjustment. Or, at the very least, if they can provide the blue tabs...if they didn't come with your egg.

I count my blessings.....my FIL bought my large for me as a gift and had it set up when I was at work! No spacers were left though.  I'll pop by there as I talked to them the next day, I'm sure they'll have some

nolaegghead

littlerascal56 said:

They are 1/2” square x 3/4” long.

L 

All the measurements except the one that matters... le sigh

Woody

+1 with nolaegghead
What is the thickness of the flat part which is the part of the spacer used?

And for us venier challenged type could you compare it to a dime/penny/quarter, whatever is closest?

This is timely, as I just glued up a new white oak table top to be installed in the near future and will be dismantling and reassembling my large.

Thank you.

speed51133

looks to be about 1/8in, but I do not believe that part really matters. Ideally it would be thin as possible. It is simply centered on the squares to keep them all in the same plane/angle and support the weight of the band on top.