Cracked Fire Box

CaptMike

My MiniMax fire box is cracked into three sections, from either a very hot burn off (my suspicion), or from being in the back of my truck traveling cross country.  We are boondocking in our fifth wheel, with no way to get a replacement.  It pretty much holds its shape when the pieces are put together.  Any opinions on if it is safe/prudent to cook with it in that condition, or will the heat from the coals potentially damage the Egg itself?  Thank you.

Eggdicted_Dawgfan

You are fine to cook with it. I’ve been using a cracked firebox for a couple years now with no issue. 

Elijah

Yep. Everything except the exterior is cracked for me, but it holds close enough. Just don't want to go through the warranty hassle with ace

fishlessman

The box and ring in my large was a 23 piece puzzle before I bought a new one. Leave a good inch of ash in the bottom, it helps to level out the pieces. Seems the box is more for airflow than insulation

CaptMike

Fire it up I will.  Thank you guys for the replies.  I should have done it first, but I searched it after posting the question, and saw that many do the same.  Merry Christmas to all.

alaskanassasin

CaptMike said:

Fire it up I will.  Thank you guys for the replies.  I should have done it first, but I searched it after posting the question, and saw that many do the same.  Merry Christmas to all.

Merry Christmas! 

GregW

I have always viewed the nuclear high temperature clean burns to be a risky endeavor. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't and something cracks. 

OhioEgger

Cracked fireboxes are both common and insignificant. You can ignore it, or if it bothers you at all you can stick it back together with some JBWeld. It's also easy to get a warranty replacement -- I've done that.

Ozzie_Isaac

Completely safe. I wouldn’t worry unless base cracked.  I have cracked fire bowls and rings in most my eggs.  I occasionally replace them, but last one was cracked for 3 or 4 years before I replaced it.

WoodworkerBED

I have cracked my second fire box in three years.  In my opinion I do not abuse or take my LBGE to extremes.  Does anyone have a theory as to why the fire box is so vulnerable other than it probably gets hotter than any other part of the Egg.  
By the way I have been working with my local ACE dealer for six weeks on getting a replacement and still don't have it.

GregW

I had a really good dealer in the past. He kept a good inventory of replacement ceramic parts in stock. If I had a cracked ceramic part, I simply carried it to the dealer, placed it on the counter and he gave me the replacement right then. This was a long time ago, and dealers like this were why BGE was so popular. The warranty parts were easy to obtain. Now it seems the process is more difficult, almost as if the process is lengthy to discourage warrant claims- all but the most determined will accept a cracked part and give up on pursuing the warranty claim. 

The warranty is what has influenced people too buy a BGE- it's a shame it has became harder to get parts.

RRP

@GregW I swear I wrote that precise reply several times over recent years! I too believe that is what made BGE grow like it did. Now I understand the competition will just mail internal replacement parts. But since ACE is now the dominant BGE dealer why not stock replacement pieces at ACE distribution centers?