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New BGE warranty

B&BKnox
B&BKnox Posts: 283
edited May 2012 in EggHead Forum
Pretty sure this will be censored, but according to the clause void warranty.  a spider, woo, adjustable rig, craycort CI grate of any other non-BGE accessory voids the warranty.  Could they even expand it to rutland gaskets, parafin wax starters, paper towels soaked with 90% isopropyl alcohol?  Aggressive.  What about any temperature control units, external, but?

13.  VOIDING THE WARRANTY:  Any unauthorized modifications or alterations to an EGG will void the Warranty.  This includes drilling holes or tampering with any of the parts; using any parts inside the EGG other than authentic BGE components; or using any internal components in any way other than as intended by the manufacturer.  Modifying or substituting any internal components, including the fire grate and fire ring, will void the Warranty, and BGE expressly disclaims any liability for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damage which may result.  The pouring of lighter fluids or any flammable mixture onto or into an EGG will void the Warranty.  This practice is dangerous and may result in damage or injury.  Please see Safety Tips at BigGreenEgg.com.
Be Well

Knoxville TN

Comments

  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    Surely they don't intend to enforce this? Wow, I was planning on buying another egg this summer. I really wanted a new medium but I'll be looking at other brands now that it seems like they are looking for excuses to get out of their warranty. If I get a crack in my base, they aren't going to pay the claim because I used a spider or Woo instead of a platesetter?
  • odie91
    odie91 Posts: 541
    Is this a new addendum to warranty, or did it always exist?
  • JEC23
    JEC23 Posts: 131
    It was added in february, I'm not sure on the Stoker part as a) it's external and b) they show the Guru in their catalogue so in the UK at least it would be OK to use any forced draught system, monopoly laws etc... Maybe someone should send them an email to query, with the excellent customer service they should give a response.
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    I wasn't gonna post but all this talk about warranty I'm even more curious.

    The warranty changes would only apply to new eggs right? The warranty on my egg or older eggs would be what it was at the purchase date right?

    Like selling something with lifetime warranty and then saying eh let's only do 2 years.

    So older eggs can cook all day with woo's spiders and new grates.... Right?


    _______________________________________________

    XLBGE 
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    If this is the case, BGE just lost a customer.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • Adamd
    Adamd Posts: 160
    I wasn't gonna post but all this talk about warranty I'm even more curious.

    The warranty changes would only apply to new eggs right? The warranty on my egg or older eggs would be what it was at the purchase date right?

    Like selling something with lifetime warranty and then saying eh let's only do 2 years.

    So older eggs can cook all day with woo's spiders and new grates.... Right?
    That's a good question. There could be some BS in the fine print of the warranty that say conditions may change at any time blah blah blah... I don't know know guess that is something we might have to read into.
  • odie91
    odie91 Posts: 541
    Hm... so I guess the new consensus seems to be, don't buy a BGE if you actually want to cook on it, and don't buy a BGE if you live in Canada....
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    How would they ever know? I have never had an issues at all with BGE customer service and I deal directly with the Tucker GA retail store. Walk in there with a cracked firebox or ring and you get a new one on the spot. When my medium egg base cracked I sent an email that morning and picked up my new base that afternoon. I really don't think they are going to hassle their customers with all the new competition on the market.
  • OMG Eggs
    OMG Eggs Posts: 118

    I would think the warranty that counts is the one that was in place when you bought your egg.

  • moose28
    moose28 Posts: 61
    Living in Canada I have to ask why not buy one I you live here. Is there an issue with bge Canada?
  • I agree with Lit. Even though we have seen evidence to the contrary this week on this forum, they just replaced all my inside parts (including grate which is supposedly not covered after 5 years now) and did not ask one question. Not where I bought it, when it bought it, if I bought it, what parts did I have inside it. Nothing. Just gave me new parts. If that goes away, people are going to leave in droves. I'm hoping the are putting this in place to try to protect themselves against obvious abuse and coming after us. That would not be good......for them.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • NightwingXP
    NightwingXP Posts: 448
    I was planning on buying a new large to complement my medium next year. My firebox just broke a week ago and I talked to a dealer and told him I did not have the paperwork. I'm not the original purchaser. He said to email him a picture and he would try to warranty it anyway as he had never had a problem with getting things replaced before. He talked to his rep and then called me about 4 days later and it was gonna be fine. I asked if he was sure since I could not get the original paper work and he told me that if I ever needed parts/accessories/Eggs in the future to make sure to get them from him. I said "deal"! Four hours later he called me back and said that according to his rep the pics did not show any sign of smoke penetration in the break points in the fire box. He said my breaks were to clean and white and his rep told him that it looked like it had been dropped. He DID ask me if I took it out of the Egg to clean it! I wasn't going to argue anyway as I did not purchase it originally and I ordered another firebox and planned on paying for it anyway. Is this possibly an example of how tight they are getting? This thread makes me think about my plans to purchase a large next year with my tax return money!!
    Only 3 things in life matter. Family, Steelers and my BGE!!
  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    edited May 2012

    I would think the warranty that counts is the one that was in place when you bought your egg.

    No, they are changing the deal. Otherwise it would have clearly said some version of "older eggs warranty terms will be grandfathered in...yada, yada, yada." This is the first step. Over time few they are going to stop allowing returns to their distributors if you have ever put "unauthorized parts" in your egg and that is eventually going to trickle down to the dealers. When you complain, your dealer is going to say "I'm sorry, but egg won't give me replacement parts so I can't give them to you. Look, it's all here in the warranty.'

    I know that sounds crazy compared to what we have all experienced up till now, but they have CLEARLY written all this out now. This isn't some kind of rumor...it's RIGHT THERE in black and white. This is the direction they are going and they have now said so ON PAPER. If they are willing to flat out say "We won't honor our warranty if a different grate or non-BGE part has ever been inside an egg" then that's EXACTLY what they intend to do. It's SUCH an overbearing and silly rule that it would not be worth the P.R. hit and loss of sales they are going to take if they don't intend to actually stand behind it and save some money on the deal.

  • B&BKnox
    B&BKnox Posts: 283
    We can only hope that calmer heads prevail and that BGE would honor warranties if one used a woo, adjustable rig or even a craycort CI cooking grid.  I can see them wanting to protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits and tightening up the wording certainly will not hurt.

    My neighbor brought up an interesting point going back to the IBM/Microsoft days when IBM let Gates and Allen take the operating system so they (IBM) could make the hardware.  Well BGE makes the hardware (egg) and a whole cottage industry has cropped up making accessories (software) which BGE gets no profit from.  By wording the warranty as such are they trying to become more Apple like and make sure they control both hardware and software.  Just a thought
    Be Well

    Knoxville TN
  • Egg Juju
    Egg Juju Posts: 658

    I have discussed this with an attorney and the warranty that applies is the one that was in place at the time of purchase.  They can argue the point, but under the consumer protection act they would lose. 

    I choose to believe it is BGE trying to protect themselves against obvious foolish decisions, alterations, and amatuer fabrications.

    Large and Small BGE * www.quelfood.com
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Egg Juju, absolutely.  When you bought your Egg, you got a warranty as described in the owners manual.  That's your warranty.  They can't post a new warranty on the internet and expect to apply to all previously sold Eggs.  End of subject.
    The Naked Whiz
  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
    edited May 2012
    well, before we all go on a witch hunt of epic proportions (like was done regarding the Eggs being sold at Costcos), how about someone actually talking to the Mothership & finding out Egg-sactly what the deal is, why they changed the warranty, whether or not older Eggs will be grandfathered in, and what, if any, "bending of the rules" they plan on allowing. 

    I mean, depending on HOW strict they wanna be, this particular sentence:  "using any parts inside the EGG other than authentic BGE components" could apply to things like CI (or ANY) skillets, dutch ovens, Woks, drip pans, aluminum foil, fire bricks, non-BGE cooking grids, etc, etc, etc...

    If that's the case, then yes, buying a BGE will NOT have the same "draw" for folks that it once had, and if that's the case, they will see a HUGE loss in sales w/ folks going to their competitors.  Not saying it is or is NOT the case, as I don't know (which is why I was suggesting talking directly to the mothership) but I've seen "corporate" big wigs do MUCH more stupid stuff before in an attempt to save $$ or lock in their "customers" and it ended up having the EXACT opposite effect (ie, Bank of America trying to charge a "fee" for having / using their debit card resulted in HUGE customer backlash & boycott). 

    If that's the case, then if BGE started seeing most of their customers going to their competitor, PERHAPS it would smack them in their collective FACES the reality of screwing w/ the warranty like this might NOT be such a great idea...

    jus' sayin...
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    edited May 2012
    I agree with you, Hillbilly-Hightech,
    The only thing I disagree with is the need to call in and have them explain it. The warranty is published now. It's clear. It means EXACTLY what it says if you put other parts in the egg, the warranty is void. That could not be more clear and a phone call to "explain" frankly doesn't really matter much unless you record it...or if they are willing to write it into the warranty. 

    Until they change the verbiage, the warranty is voided if you put non-BGE egg parts in the egg. If they choose to honor it anyways, it's simply because they choose to and not because they have to. From now on, they are doing you (and by "you", I mean anyone who uses a non-bge part in the egg) a favor instead of being obligated to fulfill their side of things. There was no other reason to rewrite this as abuse was already excluded from coverage.



  • JEC23
    JEC23 Posts: 131
    Someone and I guess it may be me then needs to contact BGE and seek clarification as this is getting us no where. If it is taken to the nth degree of peoples understanding then it will apply to lump as well, BGE provide branded therefore you should use it. Before we go get the matches and stakes lets get our heads in order. Luckily I have only used BGE parts as my egg is new but I can understand people's concerns and I like to know what my options are for the future.
  • Janssen14
    Janssen14 Posts: 50
    Glad I bought a primo!
  • MO_Eggin
    MO_Eggin Posts: 282
    For those of us in the USA using the BGE for personal [consumer] use, this issue is likely governed by the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act.  BGE's warranty cannot dictate what after market products you can or cannot use in your Egg, no different than Ford can dictate what brand of oil or tires you use on your Taurus.  However, they can deny warranty coverage to the extent your aftermarket product causes the damage.

    Of course, this is somewhat theoretical because BGE could simply claim your woo / hi que / use of rubbing alcohol as a starter / etc. caused the problem, and you'd have to sue to enforce the warranty (and BGE would have to provide some demonstration of how your modification caused the damage).   



    LBGE - St. Louis, MO; MM & LBGE - around 8100' somewhere in the CO Front Range
  • Chumly
    Chumly Posts: 18
    How long has this new warranty been in effect? Is there any new information/Insight on this issue? Or has anyones customer service experience changed recently?

    I am currently shopping for for a ceramic cooker and the BGE warranty is THE main draw for me. Any information would be appreciated.