Serious hinge issues

Moondog

We are having issues with our lid/hinge assembly on our XLBGE. Last weekend while cooking the lid suddenly would not close and every time we moved it, it became worse moving the lid further and further to the left (left if facing from the handle). We tightened up the bolts as we noticed a few were loose on the hinge assembly and that seemed to correct the issue.

Last night, during another cook, it did it again. We could not find an issue and couldn't close the lid at all. We had to leave the lid open and let the fire burn itself out. This morning we have been trying to resolve the issue, yet not sure what the issue is. One of the bolts on the hinge assembly seems to keep loosening itself. Pictures of the situation can be seen through the link below. HELP!! We've only had our BGE for 3 months. Love it but getting tired of fighting this issue.

For pics, click here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=1cny25xe.8rn98qki&x=0&y=-3i7y2&localeid=en_US

ckillian

Seems like a visit to your dealer, or a call to Big Green Egg, should take care of it.

Ripnem

EEEEKS...Get your dealer on the horn and have him/her get it fixed. I don't have an xl and the hinges are very different. Wish I could help. I'm betting that some of the vets w/xls will chime in and give you any help they can.

Hang tight, all will be good soon.

Panhandle Smoker

Lubricate the hiinges with WD 40. All the bolts on the XL should not be tight, there should be some nylock bolts to prevent them from getting too loose. If all the bolts are too tight it is going to bind and not open and close properly

Moondog

Last weekend when this first happened, we noticed the bolts on the hinge were loose, not tight. We tightened some. It worked fine during the cook last Sunday. Then last night, 1/2 way through the cook, it did it again. This morning we checked and the bolt was tight. The hinge does not have nylock bolts. The hinge unit was already assembled when we unpackaged the egg. All we had to do was attach it to the egg.

highpress

seeing as how I don't even own an egg yet :ermm: (It'll be here wednesday! :woohoo: ) but you said the bolts keep coming loose. Is this something that you can put Loc-tite on? It's a thread locking compound to keep bolts/screws from coming loose. Just a thought...

check it out
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products/subcategory.asp?CatID=10&SubID=48.

Celtic Wolf

That assembly is backwards. If your dealer put it together tell them to come fix it.

If you put it together I hope the instructions were in the box.

"Sparky"

Hey Pete,what part is backwards?It looks alot like mine,cept mine isn't all jacked-up :ohmy: He did say that the band was pre-assembled,and all he had to do is install it.

"Sparky"

Eddie,I agree with you,I think it's the locking nuts that were/are overtightened.Mine aren't nylocks,but they are locking nuts just the same There are 8 of them(4 per side),4 on the rear hinge,and 4 on the spring assist hinges.I can't think of any other reason why this would happen :huh:

Celtic Wolf

Hmmm you are right. His just looked wrong. My Xl looks like that too.

Could be the bolts at the pivot points are too tight.

"Sparky"

That's what I'm thinkin too

RexH

If you have the directions for the hinge assembly, make sure all pieces are on correctly. Next, I would open the lid and remove the springs. Carefully lower the lid, and remove the front brackets on both sides. Then carefully lift the lid up and down to see if the rear hinge is binding..WD40 if it is. If not, WD40 the moving parts of the other brackets. But first make sure nothing is installed wrong.

Moondog

Do you have a picture of your assembly in the rear? It looks like your band bolts tightened all the way and your bolts didn't bend. Ours didn't go all the way and the bolts bent quite a bit. Added pic of the bands.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=1cny25xe.8rn98qki&x=0&y=-3i7y2&localeid=en_US

Panhandle Smoker

It looks like the back hginge bolts are to tight and are binding.

Panhandle Smoker

Here are the band instructions. Everything looks right. My bet is that the back hinge bolts are too tight.
http://forte-products.com/img/BGE XL BAND manual 8-24-07.pdf

Moondog

when you say the back hinge bolts, you are referring to the large hinge assembly on the rear, correct? Which bolts - the ones attached to the band or the ones on the metal arms that pivot?

Panhandle Smoker

Yes the assembly on the rear. The two on the pivot arms not to the band.

Moondog

so they should be kept just loose enough to move? One of them is loosening a great deal all on it's own. Also we have noticed that the spring assist assembly on the left side will not leave the needed slot space as it shows in the assembly instructions. any ideas on that?

Also, are the large bolts on the spring assist assembly supposed to be tight or loose enough to move?

so all the band bolts (the ones with lockwashers) should not be tight, just hand-tight?

"Sparky"

My band bolts are bent(I'll take a pic),but that's not the cause of your problem.Those(two)bolts need to be as tight as possible.Your locknut bolts are over-tightened.They are at the pivot points.Look again at my pic,there is one(of these bolts)just below the center of the spring.There are 8 of them total,and I think that you have them too tight.

Panhandle Smoker

These

Moondog

OK, we're going to reassemble the whole thing now and see how it goes. Thanks so much for all your help! We'll let you know how it turns out (I'm still hoping to get my ribs on there today).

"Sparky"

Yes,thanks Eddie

"Sparky"

There are also four more on the front hinge assembly(two on each side),don't forget those They need to be(kinda)loose also

Panhandle Smoker

Just like Doug said any bolt at a pivot point needs to be snug but loose enough to allow the hinge to move. If it is to tight it will bind and not open or close properly, this could bend the hinge.

Moondog

OK, we have the unit reassembled and it appears to be working properly again. Time will tell. Thanks so much to all of you, especially Eddie and Doug. We would not have figured this out without you.

"Sparky"

Glad to hear it man Now go cook somethin!!! :woohoo:

Ripnem

Told ya Good people run rampant round here. Now get them ribs goin, it's getting late. :ermm:

Grandpas Grub

 
I had a similar problem with my medium egg. My problem ended up being the hinge assembly to band bolts.

It seemed the hing could be 'out of alignment' (for lack of a better description) and it bound. I had to use a lot of pressure to open and to close.

Of course the XL is different.

GG

Panhandle Smoker

Great news, now it's time to get those ribs on.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

I don't have an EXLG either...But I did have the very same problem with my LG.
Ended up replacing (at no cost to me) the hinge and bands. It has been fine ever since.
I'm thankfull for a good, and understanding, dealer