if I get one more cracked base... I'm done!

fishlessman

my gut feeling is there are alot of cracked bases out there but not many are really inspecting them, sometimes you really need to really give the inside a good cleaning to actually see the crack

GoldenQ

Check out the Blaze Kamado if you have deep pockets

JRWhitee

I have had my large since 2006, base cracked once about 5 years ago but still have the same firebox. 

Jstroke

My medium cracked 6 years ago. I have the new base but have never installed it and have even moved house with the broken one. It appears that manufacturers are creating possible options

Jeremiah

I might could buy into KAB’s cracking fire bowls but there’s no direct contact to the base itself. Me thinks they’re gonna crack when they damn well feel like it. 

Hub

When we build our new house with the big, fancy outdoor kitchen, I'm strongly considering the all cast iron cooker.

Lit

Hub said:

When we build our new house with the big, fancy outdoor kitchen, I'm strongly considering the all cast iron cooker.

Why would you do that? Cast iron is not supposed to get over 500 it warps and cracks. 

cookingdude555

cast iron would seem like a pretty weak cooker material IMO.  But you could cook naan on the outside of it, which would be pretty cool actually.

GrateEggspectations

Jeremiah said:

I might could buy into KAB’s cracking fire bowls but there’s no direct contact to the base itself. Me thinks they’re gonna crack when they damn well feel like it. 

My potential concern with the KAB wouldn’t be its contact with the base itself. It would be with its allowing of bigger chunks of burning charcoal to fall and burn directly against the inside of the base. The difference between stock and KAB in this regard is profound. 

Not saying it’s responsible for any cracks, but it’s certainly crossed my mind. 

GrateEggspectations

Hub said:

When we build our new house with the big, fancy outdoor kitchen, I'm strongly considering the all cast iron cooker.

Neat. Prices not far from Eggs. What about rust?

Lit

GrateEggspectations said:

Jeremiah said:

I might could buy into KAB’s cracking fire bowls but there’s no direct contact to the base itself. Me thinks they’re gonna crack when they damn well feel like it. 

My potential concern with the KAB wouldn’t be its contact with the base itself. It would be with its allowing of bigger chunks of burning charcoal to fall and burn directly against the inside of the base. The difference between stock and KAB in this regard is profound. 

Not saying it’s responsible for any cracks, but it’s certainly crossed my mind. 

I’ve had 4 eggs crack and none had the KAB in them. I only bought the KAB for my MM and it never cracked. 

SonVolt

I wonder how many cracks occur after long periods of heavy rain...

Lit

SonVolt said:

I wonder how many cracks occur after long periods of heavy rain...

I see more cracks when it’s hot and sunny

SonVolt

Not cracks in my egg yet, but the pops and cracks in the ceramic briquettes in my gasser have only happened after an extended multi-day period of rain.  When the concrete patio is sweating and everything seems to be saturated in water. 

Hub

GrateEggspectations said:

Neat. Prices not far from Eggs. What about rust?

I can't personally answer as I've not yet tried the product, but the FAQ part of their website indicates rust is not an issue.

Gulfcoastguy

I hope Big Green Egg central is reading this thread. I wanted to upgrade to a large eventually as I have the old size medium and toys are few but in ten years the only thing on the medium that has cracked is the fire ring. I think that I'll hold off for another year.

RRP

GrateEggspectations said:

Jeremiah said:

I might could buy into KAB’s cracking fire bowls but there’s no direct contact to the base itself. Me thinks they’re gonna crack when they damn well feel like it. 

My potential concern with the KAB wouldn’t be its contact with the base itself. It would be with its allowing of bigger chunks of burning charcoal to fall and burn directly against the inside of the base. The difference between stock and KAB in this regard is profound. 

Not saying it’s responsible for any cracks, but it’s certainly crossed my mind. 

I don't follow why you feel "bigger chunks of burning charcoal to fall...." for two reasons.  First the space between the rods is pretty small - not big at all! Secondly, unless you purposefully lit your lump underneath by lighting it somehow on the bottom through the vent then your fire is on top. IOW non burning lump is under the fire between it and the KAB.

Hawg Fan

fishlessman said:

after 3 bases here i just stopped looking for cracks my large popped during a 325 degree turkey cook so im not so sure its the high temps that crack a base and ive done extreme high temp cooks over 1200f and no cracking of the base

My Large Egg has had a crack in the base for 4 years.  I moved last June and thought it might get worse during the moving process, but it didn't.  The crack doesn't affect the way it performs and if it ever does become a cooking issue, I'll use my warranty to get it replaced.  Like Fish, I'm not sure temp is a factor, but it could be.  

Teefus

derka123 said:

Put some thought into it and made a decision. 9/10 cooks I do are grilling. I'm going back to a weber (just ordered a weber deluxe) as my primary cooker, at least I know I won't break anything when I crank the temps. I'm going to get a replacement base and set the LBGE aside for low and slow only.....

This is my regular setup. A 22” Weber kettle for grilling and a LBGE for everything else.

cookingdude555

Replacement bases come with new gaskets, that’s a positive thing. 

BigGreenKev

Does anybody have pictures of the cracks in the bases? I agree there are probably more cracks and some people don't look.  Just curious if they are the hairline type or something more. 

Legume

BigGreenKev said:

Does anybody have pictures of the cracks in the bases? I agree there are probably more cracks and some people don't look.  Just curious if they are the hairline type or something more. 

nolaegghead

Cast iron gets some surface rust but it isn't susceptible to failing from rust because that surface rust protects the underlying iron, and it's very thick.  

They made plumbing from cast iron forever.  It fails because it's brittle and cracks, never from rusting through, although that's technically possible.  Our house and my last house had cast iron sewage pipes.

drumdudeguy

My LBGE is 6 years old. I have been using the KAB with no cast iron grate for 2 years. I have never cracked a base. Every time I cook I shake the KAB into the base and scrape all the ashes out. I wonder if the cracks are caused by larger coal pieces the KAB alliows to pass, lying on the bottom of the BGE base? I would think you want to minimize hot coals in direct contact with the base. By scraping ashes out each time I minimize this risk.

littlerascal56

I think the opposite...I like to maintain a layer of ash on the bottom to keep the hot coals off the ceramics.  If I cleaned it weekly, the hot coals would be sitting direct on the bottom a lot!

drumdudeguy

Well I just inspected my base and mine is cracked too, so my method didn't work. 

gabriegger

Both of my large eggs have hairline cracks across the base but they happened long before I put a KAB in each.  Airflow without the stock grate is better but I have put them back in to stop the larger pieces of lump from falling through during a cook or a good old fashioned ash shake.

drumdudeguy

My LBGE is 10 years old and is kept in the garage so no extreme temperatures from being outside. It could have cracked some time ago and I never knew until I read this forum. I found my receipt and will initiate the replacement process.

fishlessman

drumdudeguy said:

My LBGE is 10 years old and is kept in the garage so no extreme temperatures from being outside. It could have cracked some time ago and I never knew until I read this forum. I found my receipt and will initiate the replacement process.

the trick is to not go looking didnt i mention that

drumdudeguy

Here's mine. Just under the bottom vent.