Wrestling the Egg

Unknown

I had a bear of a time "installing" my large egg into
my table (made of cedar from BGE plans). In fact I
sustained a scar on the back of my hand from the scrape
I received from the wood while trying to "place" the
egg. Perhaps there is a trick out there for future
reference on how to handle this.

Wise One

TomH,
it's understandable. It would take a bear of a man to lift a large and put it in a table by himself. My only suggestion is that this is definitely a task that is best done by two strong people. Even with that I would like to have some type of rope basket that I could use to lift and lower it into place. And let me warn you, if you think was difficult getting it into the table, try getting it out!

Tim M

TomH,[p]Yea, get many friends to help and be very happy you don't have brand K that weights twice as much or more.[p]Glad you have it in place.[p]Tim

MickeyT

TomH,[p]I put my large egg in by myself and it wasn't too bad. I removed everything from the inside (fire box, trivet, etc.)[p]I then opened up the bottom vent and reached my arm through the egg and grabbed onto it by the vent opening so my little fingers were on the outside of Mr. Big. Then just give her a hoist and set her in place. It is heavy and if you have someone else available then he or she can hold the bottom of the egg while you set it in place. No scratches or scrapes for me. Same with my medium. OBTW....remove the lid first. :>) [p]Mick

Mr Beer

TomH,
I did mine in pieces, before I put the lid on. Placed the base section then inserted fire box, fire ring and grate then installed the lid and put on the hinge assembly. Made it much easier then trying to install a fully assembled BGE.[p]Mr Beer

Unknown

MickeyT., That's it! I think the arm on the inside,
together with removing lid and internal components
makes this much more manageable. Worth a try anyhow![p]

sprinter

TomH,[p]Yeah, I'd suggest that you take that big guy back OUT of the stand, remove the lid and innards, and try and put it back INTO the stand AGAIN to see if its easier that way. Give you a good comparison as to which way tears more ligaments in your back. hehehe I'm sure there are those here in the forum who would be interested in hearing about your results. Probably not too many that would be willing to DO the comparison with their OWN eggs and stands, but many who are interested.[p]Glad you got it into the stand without too much trouble. Happy cooking.[p]Troy

Chipper

TomH,
I installed my large into its homemade table mostly by myself. First, I took everything out from the inside. This makes the weight at least manageable. I then layed a old tarp (apporx. 8'x12' in size) over the cutout where the Egg will sit. This was to slow the desent of the Egg in case I lost my grip. I then picked the Egg up with one hand in the bottom vent and one hand on the hinges and set it on top of the table, not on the tarp. I then got on top of the table and moved the Egg over the top of the tarp covered hole. The tarp worked as intended, giving the Egg a controlled desent although I did still have my hands on it. I then pulled the edges of the tarp through the hole (from the bottom) so the only thing showing through the top of the table is the dome of the Egg. At this point I did have to wait for wifey to get home to help remove the tarp from under the Egg.
A couple of caveats. First, I am a rather large man (6'7" 265lbs.) with a strong back, weak mind, and long arms. Second, This job would have been much easier with two people from the start (a luxury which I did not have).
I think when time comes to move it, I will enlist a unsuspecting vict... er, I mean a kind soul to help with the extraction. I think I will feed them some pulled pork beforehand and promise to pay them with some of the same afterwards. :-)[p]Good Eggin' to ya.

Unknown

Chipper, Here's a little trick I did when I was replacing a cracked stepping stone under my large as well as putting the feet under it. I used a sturdy grain shovel as a lever. I used a thin firebrick as the fulcrum. By pushing on the BGE I could get the shovel under it a couple inches and then pulling down on the shovel as a lever and presto I raised the egg easily. At that point I had the wife hold it in place while replaced the stone and added the feet. At least that day I showed my wife how easy it was to lift something heavy using the primitive lever.

Sundown

sprinter,[p]I'm lazy. When I put my Big Guy together I did, naturally, just what you suggested! Easier to finish building it in the table too, I didn't have to bend over (bad Back) or kneel down (Worse knees)
Maybe the company should re-write the instructions?
But then who reads instructions?[p]Carey

Uncle Dave

TomH,
I have just the answer. I was so paranoid of hurting my egg I told the dealer to put it in the table and bring it to my porch or I would'nt but it. He did, infact they carried it through 14inches of snow. Just an opinion of future buyers. Uncle Dave