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Ugh... broke the carriage bolt

greendragon
greendragon Posts: 1
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
I got a Large Big Green Egg a week ago and have been pretty anxious to put it together. Tonight as I was tightening down the top band's carriage bolt, it just snapped in half. I think a couple of the videos I've seen online showed people tightening it so much where the bands actually touch. I don't have a torque wrench and I rarely do anything with tools, so I am pretty clueless when it comes to what 125 inch lbs means. So I was just going off of what I saw in most of the videos I've seen. From a few messages I've seen though, it sounds like I just need to tighten it until the band starts to bend and then leave it at that.

So now I'll be off to Home Depot to pick up a replacement 5/16" x 2" galvanized carriage bolt, or maybe a few, to try again. Though I am slightly concerned -- the band appears to be bent a bit at the end. I may try to bend it back some, but I'm hopeful that I haven't just ruined the band as well.
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Comments

  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    damn Hercules!

    I've done it too, a number of times. New bolt should be fine. Your bands are fine, don't sweat it. I wouldn't bend the tabs back manually, just let them straighten themselves out as you tighten the new bolt.

    You should tighten it down until the bolts bend, sometimes you get one that was just a bad cast and it snaps. No biggie.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I believe, based on the markings on the head of the bolts, that they are grade 5 carriage bolts.

    BOLT-7.GIF

    2871_13mg.jpg

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • srq2625
    srq2625 Posts: 262
    New bolt - not an issue.

    125 inch-pounds (if that's the correct torque, I don't remember) - think of it this way .... this is the same as applying about 10 pounds of force to the end of the wrench if the wrench is 12 inches long. Most 1/2" open-end wrenches are only about 6" to 8" inches so you would be looking at applying between 15 to 20 pounds of force - about the weight of a couple full 1-gallon milk jug (pound per pint, 8 pints in a gallon).

    The nice thing is, this isn't rocket science. Don't worry about whether the bolts bend or if the ends of the bands touch. Those are rules of thumb that depend on so many factors: how hard is the bolt; how easily does it bend; what's the actual circumference of your egg (they are not all created equal - though they come close). The bolts on my large did, in fact, bend as I was tightening the bands. The bolts on my small that I put together two nights ago did not bend at all, yet the amount of torque applied to each was, eseentially, the same.

    Bottom line - tighten the bolts util they are good and snug. Then check them after each of the first couple or three cooks and then every once in a while after that to make sure they are still tight - don't want the dome coming out of the band and landing on the concrete.
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  • Egger 4 6
    Egger 4 6 Posts: 26
    Pick up stainless if they have it instead of galvanized. Stainless holds up to heat better. Im a heavy equipment mechanic and im here to tell you, 125 in. lbs is not much torque. Band may be irritating but I think it will be ok.
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  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    Be careful if you use stainless hardware - the carriage bolts can strip out the square holes in the tabs of the band. Trust me, I've seen me do it. Stainless hardware doesn't have as much give and the bolts won't bend and will just spin in the holes. It is not necessarily a good thing to make a square hole into a round hole that is too large for that bolt that runs through it.

    The bolts aren't going to get hot - so heat shouldn't be a concern. The only concern would be rust, and if you switch them out every 4-5 years you won't have any issues.
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