Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Aging BGE Hardware

GrateEggspectations
GrateEggspectations Posts: 10,130
in EggHead Forum
I love my BGEs, but I wish they featured hardware that was less prone to wear and tear from aging and ambient humidity. These are mine after some years of use (maybe four and five, respectively) featuring excellent care…



Even were it to have been an optional, paid upgrade, if necessary, it is one that I would probably have purchased. I take good care of my things and like that to show. Hope BGE corporate is listening. 🙂
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,832
    I think that your problem is one of two things:

    ”featuring excellent care” - By design, all that greasy splatter is meant to protect the hardware.  No need to clean it up!

    The gasket adhesive that you used probably contains copper which triggered galvanic corrosion when in contact with the steel from the bands and the hardware.

    ….or better hardware is another option 🤣😂

    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Mr1egg
    Mr1egg Posts: 409
    I wish they had a upgrade band that we could purchase that’s all stainless steel. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 10,130
    edited July 2022
    @paqman

    “Excellent care” means I have not repeatedly tightened and loosened bolts and have been careful not to do things such as scratch the steel’s coating. 

    See photo #2. I can promise you that I was not so sloppy with the Permatex that I smeared it over the MM carrier frame. It was actually applied surprisingly neatly. 🙂
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Corv
    Corv Posts: 450
    FYI, most hardware store stainless steel fasteners are not as strong as the better steel fasteners. A good source for a wide variety of fasteners is McMaster.com.
    Somewhere on the Colorado Front Range
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 33,533
    GrateEggspectations said:
    I love my BGEs, but I wish they featured hardware that was less prone to wear and tear from aging and ambient humidity. These are mine after some years of use (maybe four and five, respectively) featuring excellent care…



    Even were it to have been an optional, paid upgrade, if necessary, it is one that I would probably have purchased. I take good care of my things and like that to show. Hope BGE corporate is listening. 🙂

    my twenty year old egg lives under a snow bank till spring and is not that corroded. are you spraying this thing down with salt....... ;)
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • OhioEgger
    OhioEgger Posts: 947
    Mine has been sitting outside for 11 years and is in just slightly better condition, but I really have no complaints about it.

    Cincinnati, Ohio. Large BGE since 2011. Still learning.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • littlerascal56
    littlerascal56 Posts: 2,106
    edited July 2022
    I buy my stainless nuts, bolts, and hardware at my local Fastenal.  Take them some of your old bolts, and they can fix you right up.  Pretty cheap too. Have purchased stainless strap in 8’ lengths also, but you would have to drill all the holes to match the ones in your bands.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 10,130
    Just because I was curious, I looked up average yearly humidity in my city and it looks like it works out to about 64%, with our most humid month being December, which I really didn’t expect. I guess relatively high humidity here doesn’t play in my favour. Covering them probably also serves to trap the humidity. But again, just wish there was an alternative that aged a little more gracefully. 

    @WeberWho

    That’s a pretty slick look. How did you do it? Bet it was pretty labour intensive. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Money_Hillbilly
    Money_Hillbilly Posts: 449
    @Great_EGGspectations I replaced the rusted acorn nuts with stainless ones from a local hardware store and they are holding up nicely.  There are lots of folks that advertise here on FB Marketplace that do powder coating.  It would be an easy and lasting fix to take your band off and have it powder coated.
    Southeast Louisiana
    3 Larges, Rockin W Smokers Gravity Fed Unit, KBQ, Shirley Fabrication 24 x 36, Teppanyaki Stainless Griddle 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,287
    edited July 2022
    @WeberWho

    That’s a pretty slick look. How did you do it? Bet it was pretty labour intensive. 
    It's honestly been forever. I think used some type of chemical/stripper for the bands, sandblasted, and painted them. My intention was to update the bands at some point but they want something like $150 for replacements which is an absolute joke. I ended up finding a brand new mini for a $100 instead. So the mini in the pictures above has just sat. I've tried to get my wife on board to sell it a few different times but she's not having it. She likes it. 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • danhoo
    danhoo Posts: 699
    edited July 2022
    when I replaced my base I had all the hardware off.

    I soaked all the nuts and bolts in evapo-rust overnight and they came out looking new. 

    One nut/bolt combo on the nest was beyond help. 


    current: | Large BGE |  Genesis 1000 | Genesis E330 | 22 inch Kettle | Weber Summit Kamado
    sold:| PitBoss pro 820 |  WSM 22 | 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories