New medium firebox design

JPF

I got another medium egg back in February'09 and it came with the new designed firebox

I am very happy to say that I took it apart to clean today and no stress cracks at all! It does seem to let more ash build up threw the vent holes than the older model.
Here is my other medium at 6 years old this November, almost time to get a new firebox :silly:


All cleaned and back together for a little lunch

Happy Saturday all

Grandpas Grub

 
From the picture it still looks like a huge gap between the fire ring and the egg wall. My understanding was the new fire box and fire ring were larger, thus making the gap smaller.

When My fire ring is pushed to one side there is a 2.5+ gap between the egg wall and the outside of the fire ring. The huge gap in my egg makes starting and longer getting to higher temperatures. The gap also collects a lot of debris, lump and at times food. I even lost an entire hot dog down the gap one time, dang thing rolled of the grate and down into the abyss.

I was hoping the new design would close up the abyss a little.

GG

JPF

It's a little smaller but still quiet large. My older fire ring has cracked in half and I push it out some to close the gap but it too has a big enough space to loose hot dogs and a hot wing or two. Glad to see you back and feeling better Kent.

Rolling Egg

My medium has no where near the gaps you guys have. If I push mine to one side it has maybe between 1/2 and 3/4 inch. It's almost a year old.

Grandpas Grub

 
Thank you for your thoughts John. It sure is nice to be away from the hospital.

I was thinking of cutting my fire ring in half but then got to thinking about the warranty.

Kent

Grandpas Grub

 
I would need to look up some emails but as I recall the design change was sometime last year.

When I saw John's pictures I was wondering if he got the 'new' design, but sometimes photo's can be deceptive.

Here is a picture of my medium with the aluminum foil block I have put in.



Kent

JPF

Well I thought it was the new one since the holes were in a lower position than the older one. I did get it in the first of 2009 so it might not be then.



That's the only difference that I saw between them. I will have to check out some of the new ones next stop in the dealers shop next week.

JPF

With them both pushed to one side the old one is 1 1/4" wide gap and the new one is 1" so they are both pretty close to the same width.

milesofsmiles

have split from top to bottom to help out during expansion & contraction.

Grandpas Grub

 
If you only have a 1" gap then I would guess the new. From this end that 2nd picture sure looks like the gap is bigger.

I would need to measure again but mine is minimum 2.5" and could be as much as 2.75". I am pretty big and can almost put my entire hand between the wall and the fire ring/box. I can't go down to my wrist though.

GG

tcracing

I bought a medium in June of this year, and the fire box seems at the most 1/2 to 3/4 inch all the way around the inside. Plus, it has a cut from top to bottom in the fire box.

cookingdude555

Kent, there is definitely a change. I have seen your firebox, and it's much different than the one I bought a few months back. My fire ring still isn't the tightest fit, but I think the tighter fit of the fire box is forcing air into the correct place. I use your aluminum rope fix on my small, but the medium doesn't seem to need it. I will take a pic of the firebox the next time I am out there (just finished wings on the mini, and I am not going back out until we step away from 100F ).

(edit: fixed many errors due to typing on iPhone, I even called GG's aluminum invention "ours" instead of yours. :laugh: )

Grandpas Grub

 
OK, its 93° you can go out and do some more cooking. Sometime I want to taste some of your wings (at least 1 anyway).

Now I remember you telling me about the firebox & ring.

Kent

SMITTYtheSMOKER

Yes, the newest fireboxes all have the expansion joints.

cookingdude555

Kent, it seemed like it cooled down, but I just went out and it was hot. Checked KSL and they said 95, cant wait for fall ...

Anyway, I snapped some pics of my new firebox and ring. In all pictures, the fire box and ring are pushed as far as possible up against the front of the egg.

Fire ring:


More fire ring:


Fire box:


More fire box:


Still havent cooked any meat in this thing yet, its been a pizza oven since I got it, hence the white color (innards anyway, previous owner cooked meat in shell) two months later.

It looks like the gap is closed considerably from when you got yours. Although I would like a matching fire ring, I think a wider fire box alone would mostly solve your issue. My firebox is almost snug. I dont know if this will mean that it will crack later from lack of expansion space, but it sure takes off like a rocket right now. Also, notice the Aramid gasket I was talking about has survived some pretty long and hot pizza cooks without many scars. Its pretty good stuff.

Trip

I had this same ah-hah moment this week. I stopped by the BGE headquarters in Tucker last week they replaced my base, firebox and fire ring on my med. (What a company, they were great!) First thing I noticed when I loaded them up was the contour of the firebox seemed to be different. For my first cook I seared a flat iron steak, and I really felt like it got up to temp faster and actually it looks to me like the new design would hold more lump.

cookingdude555

Trip, I agree with you, it really feels like it gets up to temp fast. One thing I noticed was the holes in the firebox are closer to the fire grate (cant see it in my pic because I had taken it out, but the original poster put a pic in that shows how close they are). I wonder if this aids in more air flow from under, creating a nice draft effect (of course in conjunction with the better fit). I have made expanded metal fire grates for my other three eggs to aid in better airflow, but havent seen the need on this one yet.