hinge came loose - top almost fell off

Mary

We've had our egg about 2 months. We thought we installed the band correctly and used the silicone as advised. Last night as I was lifting the top open the band sprung loose. Had the top not come to rest on the edge of a deck railing it would have fallen off completely and probably broken. Before we attempt to redo the band, does anyone have any suggestions for this not happening again? I found one post about tightening down the hex bolts very tight - maybe we didn't do that?? Help welcome. Other than that we're learning and loving it. Mary[p]Also, I ordered a large wok from Outdoor Home. I'm not sure where this is to sit. I took the grate out and thought it would be a tight fit, however, there is some space around edges of wok. It sits nicely down on the fire. but getting at the handles to lift it out is dicey. Any suggestions for wok use?

Dr. Chicken

Mary,
The wok is suppose to fit down on top of the firering, not the firebox. Remove the grill like you did and set the wok right on the firering. You are gona love it!!!!!! [p]I bought a medium because Steve @ Outdoor home said it was harder to overheat the medium in a medium Egg than it was with a large in a large Egg. Since then, I've found out you can overheat both of them if youare not careful. The dimples in the top of the firering are designed to allow the wok to heat evenly. We've had ours about 2 months now and have used it 8 or 10 times. It does a fantastic job! If you want some good recipes, hollar back and I'll e-mail the ones we have used.[p]Good luck on using the wok! Don't give up if it doesn't work prefect the first time. It will get easier each time.[p]I wish I could help with the band tightening problem. I added the locking band to my large last year, and haven't had any problems. Just pure luck I think!!!! :-)))[p]Cheers,[p]Dr. Chicken

Char-Woody

Mary, I think it would help if BGE would use self locking nuts (hex with the plastic inside) as they do advise rechecking your band tightness the first month or two. The bands will stretch a bit. Also make sure there is a proper dimple to recess match in the dome/band settings.
Your dome should not loosen or fall out as you described. If you wish, call BGE at 1-800-939-EGGS, and explain to them what happened. They may have some updates in correcting it.
IMHO..it should be a easy fix and until someone in the "FIX" department at BGE starts recognizing the problem the cure won't happen..Sorry BGE, but its time.
I will forward this post to BGE so they know I am not ducking this issue.
Good luck..C~W[p]

RHO

Mary,[p]Just assembled my first BGE a week or so ago and I found that as per the manual the bolt will actually bend as you tighten it. Now I'll have to keep an eye on mine.[p]PS Did your bolt actually bend in tightening it[p]Regards

Trout Bum

Dr. Chicken,
Is the WOK good for cooking things like Jobu's sausage, onions and peppers. Or maybe bacon wrapped shrimp, etc. or is it mostly just for oriental style cooking.
Big D

The Naked Whiz

Mary,
I'm curious about why one would cook with a wok in a BGE or on any type of grill. Do you get smoke flavor into the food? I've only done a little wok cooking on the stove, so I'm no expert and wonder why one would go to the trouble of building a fire and cooking over a fire.[p]TNW

Mary

RHO, the bolts were only bent slightly - we probably didn't have them tight enough. They were phillips head screws that came with the egg. We are going to follow Char-Woody's advise and get hex type bolts to replace them.

Char-Woody

Mary, e.mail me with more details regarding these phillips head screws.
Thanks..
C~W

Mary

Char-Woody, I spoke with someone at BGE this morning. The only reason he could give was that maybe the band had been bent if someone tried to force the dome shut without releasing the lever. I checked and it doesn't appear to be bent, but we haven't taken it completely off yet. I'm thinking maybe we hadn't tightened their phillips head bolts enough - there is only a slight bend to them. How bent should it be? I'm taking your suggestion and will replace them with a hex type bolt. Guess I'll also need to scrape all the old silicone off before redoing it. We had tightened the bands once as manual suggested, but again, probably not enough. As far as I can tell, the only damage is a small chip at the top (where the daisy wheel sits. Any suggestions for covering up chips? Does it take a special type paint or is it best left alone? Thanks for your help!

Mary

The Naked Whiz, I ordered the wok after reading about it on the forum and seeing some of the recipes. I love to use a wok but my stove top just doesn't seem to be hot enough to maintain a really sizzling wok. It made sense to me that if the wok sits down on those really hot coals you could do a really quick, hot sitr fry. I've tried it once and it worked great. I had grilled lamb chops first - then quickly took the grate out, set the wok in there and stir fried lots of fresh veggies from the garden. Added some fresh grated ginger, garlic and soy sauce. They were done in a few minutes. It was fun and guests were impressed with the big wok.

Mary

Dr. Chicken, thanks for the wok advise. I do love it and think I'll use it regularly. What do you mean by the wok overheating? How do you know if it's overheated? I'd be interested in your recipes - maybe you should post them in the recipe files, or are they already there. Seems like there is a lot of interest in egg woking lately.

Char-Woody

Mary, there was a period of some bad bands from the outside manufacturer of the bands for BGE, and they were out of alignment and would not tighten properly. I think they would be history by now..depending on how long your BGE was in stock tho.
When you say phillips heads, it was the first time I have heard of BGE going to that type of band bolt. I also would change up to a Stainless Steel bolt with a hex head and a self locking hex nut. These won't back up on the threads..Also add a same sized flat washer under the nut and then tighten the band to the point of really solid resistance..Recheck in a week or so..and see if you can torque em just a tad more. Add the silicon as you are intending to do.
No problem with the chip unless its a problem..if it is, then the only solution I can suggest is a tub of rutland furnace cement. Its a paste and you can fill out the chipped spot..(3 bucks for the tub or less) I personally wouldn't worry about it as it will get all black from cooks anyway..The dome cap should cover it when in place.
Holler if there is more we can do..Someone will fix ya up.
C~W[p]

The Naked Whiz

Char-Woody,
My egg, which I bought just this past Father's day, also had a bolt with a phillips head on it. Very VERY annoying. In the good old days, IBM would not use a phillips head ANYTHING in any of its products since they so easily get screwed up. (No pun intended, yeah right...)[p]TNW

Unknown

The Naked Whiz, me thinks I could fill a few paragraphs here, but I will pass..in BGE's best interest.
Cheers...C~W[p]

RHO

Mary,[p]HI Mary:[p]Mine were also phillips but I was able to tughten and bend them considerably by using and open end wrench as well as a phillips screw-driver.[p]Regards[p]

Unknown

Mary,
If you look at a wok, you can see it wasn't designed with Western stoves in mind, but to be used over a wood/charcoal fire with the coals coming up the side of the pan, giving a larger, more efficient area on which to stir fry. You "accidently" stumbled onto the preferred and proper way of wok cooking. If you take your wok and cook with it on your kitchen stove (even using one of those "wok rings") and then compare it to cooking over a charcoal fire, you will see how much more "sizzling" area there is over charcoal.
STeveM