Big green egg and extreme cold temps

BillyLove

Will firing up the big green egg in 5 degree F environment cause the ceramic to crack? I do not want to chance damaging the ceramic egg over a couple of chickens

Elijah

A small fire should bring things up gradually. 

JohnInCarolina

Yes, if you bring the Egg up to temperature slowly you’re much less likely to cause a stress-induced fracture of the ceramic.  

BillyLove

I thought about putting a heat gun inside the egg on low and warming everything up slowly for 15-20 minutes before lighting the coals. 

ColtsFan

This is the only time of year that use fire starters instead of the weed torch to get things going. It’s worked tor me so far. Not shocking the ceramic is key

WeberWho

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

ColtsFan

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

Good to know!

vb4677

4F here at 7:00am this morning... 

Gentle start using firestarters, left the lid open, but put the ConvEGGtor in early so that it'll warm up gently.  No issues! They are cruising as usual now!!

Salmon in the left one around 200F
Brisket in the right one around 250F

JohnInCarolina

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

These things just aren’t all created equal.  There’s a stochastic component of strength that isn’t captured by a single data point.  But what can be said for sure is that reducing the thermal gradient is one way to lower the stress on the ceramic.  

1voyager

The only thing I do differently is to bring the platesetter inside and get it to room temperature, then place it in the Egg at a lower temperature than usual, about 250 degrees. 

lousubcap

We are edging into some fracture mechanics and flaws and crack propagation material  now.  And it is applicable.  

BigGreenKev

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

Same experience in MN too. Just cook on it as normal.

WeberWho

JohnInCarolina said:

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

These things just aren’t all created equal.  There’s a stochastic component of strength that isn’t captured by a single data point.  But what can be said for sure is that reducing the thermal gradient is one way to lower the stress on the ceramic.  

Correct. It could crack at -27° or it could crack on a perfect sunny 72° day. I'm just saying that I've cooked on mine for 12 winters with a weed torch and I've never thought twice about slowly bringing it up to temp. I have zero issue if someone wants to slowly bring it up in temperature for less stress but I'm just saying that it's not necessarily needed. 

The very reason why I bought my BGE was the lifetime warranty. It's meant to be used all year long in all conditions. I use mine hard and it's still on the original base. I have a warranty if something does crack. So no real need to baby it. It's a cooking tool that has a warranty. I think sometimes we all forget that it's just a grill in the end. Use it and enjoy it. 

JohnInCarolina

WeberWho said:

JohnInCarolina said:

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

These things just aren’t all created equal.  There’s a stochastic component of strength that isn’t captured by a single data point.  But what can be said for sure is that reducing the thermal gradient is one way to lower the stress on the ceramic.  

Correct. It could crack at -27° or it could crack on a perfect sunny 72° day. I'm just saying that I've cooked on mine for 12 winters with a weed torch and I've never thought twice about slowly bringing it up to temp. I have zero issue if someone wants to slowly bring it up in temperature for less stress but I'm just saying that it's not necessarily needed. 

The very reason why I bought my BGE was the lifetime warranty. It's meant to be used all year long in all conditions. I use mine hard and it's still on the original base. I have a warranty if something does crack. So no real need to baby it. It's a cooking tool that has a warranty. I think sometimes we all forget that it's just a grill in the end. Use it and enjoy it. 

Again, you’re arguing from the perspective of your own personal experience, which is only an anecdote.  I’m arguing from the perspective of the science, which I happen to understand very well.  

Regarding the warranty, I’d agree with your philosophy there were warranty processing experiences easy or the same for everyone.  They aren’t, never mind the inconvenience of potentially being without the use of your BGE while you wait for a base replacement, or just the simple PITA of having to swap out an entire base.  

pgprescott

They test these things to extremes in a controlled environment. They should not crack. You can also be blazing a hot fire and it can downpour or sleet and it will be fine. Fact. 

If you wish to be very cautious, there is certainly no harm in that either. 

fishlessman

pgprescott said:

They test these things to extremes in a controlled environment. They should not crack. You can also be blazing a hot fire and it can downpour or sleet and it will be fine. Fact. 

If you wish to be very cautious, there is certainly no harm in that either. 

They have brought them to 1200f dome and tossed ice water in to put them out.  Problem is a material defect will eventually show up. Or that square lower vent design flaw will eventually happen. Have had both problems and it's been on nice days. What triggered it on those days is a mystery but there's no need to push it

JohnInCarolina

Yes, obviously these things are super-duper tested and shouldn't crack at all, which is why nobody ever files warranty claims for cracked bases, plate setters, fire rings, and etc.  

WeberWho

Like I said, if that makes you feel better slowly bringing it up to temp that's fine by me. I don't know any other local egghead's here in MN that slowly bring their egg or eggs up to temperature because of the cold weather. We have cold weather here 5 months a year. They get used hard. Right or wrong. 

dbCooper

fishlessman said:

pgprescott said:

They test these things to extremes in a controlled environment. They should not crack. You can also be blazing a hot fire and it can downpour or sleet and it will be fine. Fact. 

If you wish to be very cautious, there is certainly no harm in that either. 

They have brought them to 1200f dome and tossed ice water in to put them out.  Problem is a material defect will eventually show up. Or that square lower vent design flaw will eventually happen. Have had both problems and it's been on nice days. What triggered it on those days is a mystery but there's no need to push it

That square vent design flaw, BGE engineers could perhaps learn from aircraft designers moving from square to oval windows at the dawn of the jet age.

JohnInCarolina

WeberWho said:

Like I said, if that makes you feel better slowly bringing it up to temp that's fine by me. I don't know any other local egghead's here in MN that slowly bring their egg or eggs up to temperature because of the cold weather. We have cold weather here 5 months a year. They get used hard. Right or wrong. 

The BGEs *are* made well, and generally do hold up pretty well to use in extreme temperatures.  So your own anecdotal experience and that of all of your cold-weather friends in MN is consistent with that.

However... it is also true that bringing them up to temperature slowly in colder temperatures reduces the risk of stress-induced fractures.  And that statement doesn't have anything to do with feelings.  It has to do with how stresses translate into probabilities of failure in ceramics. 

WeberWho

Im not saying you're wrong but I find it unnecessary. That's all I'm saying. 

JohnInCarolina

WeberWho said:

Im not saying you're wrong but I find it unnecessary. That's all I'm saying. 

Well, there are many things in this world that aren't necessary, but that are nonetheless wise. Like staying out of the pool in the middle of a lightning storm.    

TEXASBGE2018

JohnInCarolina said:

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

These things just aren’t all created equal.  There’s a stochastic component of strength that isn’t captured by a single data point.  But what can be said for sure is that reducing the thermal gradient is one way to lower the stress on the ceramic.  

Nerd

JohnInCarolina

TEXASBGE2018 said:

JohnInCarolina said:

WeberWho said:

I've used my weed torch at -27F with my Big Green Egg. I use it all winter long here in MN. Never been an issue. Going on 13 years and I'm on my original base. Fire it up like normal. Just my two cents.

These things just aren’t all created equal.  There’s a stochastic component of strength that isn’t captured by a single data point.  But what can be said for sure is that reducing the thermal gradient is one way to lower the stress on the ceramic.  

Nerd

Guilty as charged. One of the current projects I have is looking at the thermo-mechanical loads and their potential for inducing fracture in uranium-enriched BeO pellets inside of nuclear fuel rods.  I was telling some of the technical staff working with us at the national labs that the pellet shapes resemble components you can find inside of a BGE:

Botch

JohnInCarolina said:
One of the current projects I have is looking at the thermo-mechanical loads and their potential for inducing fracture in uranium-enriched BeO pellets inside of nuclear fuel rods. 

Wow, flashback.  
While stationed in Albuquerque I was tasked with calculating the long-term reliability of beryllium bottles (spherical) that contained pressurized tritium.  Was given the dimensions, pressure, etc; and they were static.  Two weeks of brushing up on shell theory, fracture theory and I had to throw in the towel, just didn't know how to calculate something like that.  

jdMyers

My lid was frozen shut.  Had to use a weed burner to get the smokehouse lid off.  The. Firestarters in from the top till it opened.  Eeire for sure

JohnInCarolina

Botch said:

JohnInCarolina said:
One of the current projects I have is looking at the thermo-mechanical loads and their potential for inducing fracture in uranium-enriched BeO pellets inside of nuclear fuel rods. 

Wow, flashback.  
While stationed in Albuquerque I was tasked with calculating the long-term reliability of beryllium bottles (spherical) that contained pressurized tritium.  Was given the dimensions, pressure, etc; and they were static.  Two weeks of brushing up on shell theory, fracture theory and I had to throw in the towel, just didn't know how to calculate something like that.  

We use FEA for a lot of it, Botch.  But there’s still a good amount of educated guessing going on when it comes to the constitutive laws, especially when you’re talking at irradiated fuel.

lousubcap

Gotta love talk about that nuclear fuel stuff.  Pretty soon we may move to the real firecracker work @JohnInCarolina also dabbles in.