PSA - Check Your BGE Bands

Cornholio

Seeing a lot of pizza threads so figured I’d post this.  Don’t be like me and neglect checking your band bolts on a regular basis.  This is one of my least favorite parts of the BGE design.

This happened about a year and a half ago when I fired up my egg for a pizza cook.  I hadn’t done a high heat cook in her since we moved to a new house and like an idiot didn’t tighten the bolts after the move and hadn’t done it in a while before the move.  (Egg was wrapped up and moved whole as it was only a 15 mile move).

Got the egg going nice and hot and put the pie on my pizza stone raised up by the BGE feet, things are going just fine up until this point.  Then I grab the handle to close the lid and as soon as I start pulling it down the lid slides out of the band and landed partly on my patio, still wonder if it would have survived had it fallen completely on the grass.  This was a sad day and it took me awhile to order a new lid through a local dealer after this incident and was on hiatus from egging for several months. 



After this bonehead move I am always cautious while closing the dome and I check my bolts often.  

RIP old lid and daisy wheel. 

slovelad

This is too sad for Friday 

Cornholio

slovelad said:

This is too sad for Friday 

My wounds have healed and I’m currently drinking, sorry to be Debbie downer though.

lkapigian

Looks like a clean break...would make something out of it 

MJG

Thanks. I just tightened mine and poured another Tito’s. That’s a sad sight I’d rather avoid. 

Matt86m

Holy sh!t!  I have never tightened mine but I think I will now! Is there a torque # I should be shooting for or just tight?

BigGreenBean

It's like looking at a car crash.  Thanks for the warning.  

unoriginalusername

How bent were your band bolts?

Cornholio

Matt86m said:

Holy sh!t!  I have never tightened mine but I think I will now! Is there a torque # I should be shooting for or just tight?

No torque numbers I know of other than bend the bolts and keep tightening them occasionally.

Cornholio

unoriginalusername said:

How bent were your band bolts?

Bent enough for 3 or so years of problem free use, BGE suggests regular tightening so I just wanted others here to remember that.  

kingsmoke

Thx for the post.  Been procrastinating. Re aligned and tighten everything.  Overdue maintenance 

Stubby

Thanks for the post. I did a pork but yesterday turbo style and noticed when opening the dome it felt loose side to side.. I checked and tightened all my bolts. It's a little harder to open but no side to side movement. 

EggbertGreenII

The new style handles, at least for the XL feature an upright tang that encapsulates the dome ring to prevent this from happening. Still a good idea to keep checking the tightness of the rings.

derka123

I run two nuts on my bolts, just to be safe.

Kupkaked

Same, two nuts. The bend in those bolts always makes me skeptical of their hold power tho.