My top came off!!!!

Blewis212 · January 2015

Half way through my NewYears Day Butt and I peaked. Knew I shouldn't. When I opened the lid, it kept going. Toppled on to the ground. No breaks or cracks. I lifted and have it caddy wampus to get some more time. Will probably finish in oven. Anyone have anything like this? Think I remember reading somewhere to occasionally tighten screws. That may be good advice.

jls9595 · January 2015

yep, it happened to me a couple months ago although my Egg had been at 800* for an hour. I'm surprised yours fell out during a butt cook. glad it didn't break.

Skiddymarker · January 2015

Lucky it didn't Humpty Dumpty itself.

This comes up often on here, suggest you get your torque wrench out and tighten the band bolts to the specs, 120 inch pounds (10 foot pounds) as it is commonly referred to.

Check every three or four months (there's an app for that) and your dome will not be trying to wander off on you. Happy New Year!

Jeepster47 · January 2015

@Skiddymarker ... thanks for the torque value. Was looking for it awhile ago, but couldn't find it written down any place. Where is it located?

theyolksonyou · January 2015

@Jeepster47‌ it's mentioned in the assembly videos on the mothership website. Also in assembly instructions for those of us who assembled our own, which if memory serves, your dealer assembled yours.

the videos on the site are decent.

Jeepster47 · January 2015

@theyolksonyou ... thanks, I'm off to the movies.

Yes, the dealer did assemble mine ... but, I'm positive he didn't used a torque wrench though. I did some adjusting when adding the nest handler a few weeks ago. Had to rotate the band on the base to keep the door aligned within the nest legs and get the handler to align with the band. Then, I played with the both bands to pass the dollar bill test.

Skiddymarker · January 2015

Interesting, but to add the handler you should not have had to adjust too much, unless the dealer eye balled it. Many do pull on the band bolts until they bend and call it done, if you have a good torque wrench, makes it much easier. Just re-read it and the value is 125 inch pounds:

STEP 4 Position the dome onto the Egg bottom and inside the upper band taking care to align the front of the dome (the ceramic dome has a small hole in the band attaching surface that indicates the front) with the band front (midway between the handle attaching bolts) Insert (1) 5/16” x 2” carriage bolt through the square hole in the band flange then through the round hole in the opposite flange. Install (1) 5/16” flat washer and (1) 5/16” hex nut (hand tighten only). Check to make sure the dome is centered and seated evenly against the egg bottom. Next, position the hinge / band assembly so the lower band is as low as it will go all the way around on the egg bottom. The upper and lower bands will be properly spaced by the hinge assembly at the rear, but the bands are flexible and you should move the upper band as needed to make the space between the bands equal to the rear on the sides and front also. Next, securely tighten both the upper and lower bands to approximately 125 inch lbs. (bending of the bolt and the flanges during tightening is normal / recommended, Don’t fear, the ceramic will not break). Make sure the dome is still evenly seated on the Egg bottom and proceed to tighten all (8) Keps nuts that attach the hinge assembly to the bands. At this time, you should also tighten the 1⁄4” Acorn nuts that attach the handle assembly to the upper band.

IMPORTANT: You must check the band carriage bolts and the hinge / band studs for tightness regularly, especially after each of the first two or three uses. Failure to follow these instructions may cause the dome to slip out of the bands and break; this will not be covered under warranty. (NEVER TIGHTEN THE BANDS WHEN THE GRILL IS IN USE)

Jeepster47 · January 2015

@Skiddymarker ... thank you.

Seems that "Step 4" is contained in the following on-line manual:

http://www.biggreenegg.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2012_Online_Manual.pdf

But, after about September of 2013, the videos are it for assembly instructions ... and they don't include any torques.

The 125 inch-pounds is a good piece of data to keep on file. If you look up the standard recommended torque for a 5/16-18 Grade 5 bolt/nut it's 156 inch-pounds. That torque probably won't break the ceramic, but it might break the bolt due to the bending load that is introduced when tightened.

pgprescott · January 2015

I know this is a serious thread with very serious consequences, but what a disappointment.

Jeepster47 · January 2015

@pgprescott ... okay, that made me laugh.

theyolksonyou · January 2015

@Jeepster47‌ my bad, thought it was in the video. You are correct. It is in the written instruction along with a way to rig up a home brew torque wrench.

Jeepster47 · January 2015

@theyolksonyou ... no worries mate!

My band bolts were torqued by feel a few weeks ago ... stopped when I started to get concerned about the bolts breaking. When measured today, they were at 100 inch-pounds. A little over a quarter turn brought them up to 125 inch-pounds. Guess a periodic double check is in order.

No longer nervous about loosing my top ... which should make @pgprescott feel better also.

Zmokin · January 2015

Wow, I've had mine for a few years and I've never re-tightened my band bolts.
I think I'll go grab my torque wrench and see what happens when I set it to 125 in lbs.

Durangler · January 2015

Report back, @Zmokin, please.

I'd be interested where it's at after that amount of time.

Zmokin · January 2015

Durangler said:

Report back, @Zmokin, please.
I'd be interested where it's at after that amount of time.

Just finished and all I can say is WOW!!!
The bottom band maybe went 1.5 full turns on the nut. The top band went 2.5 to 3 turns, maybe more.
I started with the top band, went until the wrench clicked. but it seemed like maybe it clicked from other reasons, so I tightened some more until it clicked again. Then I did the bottom band and it felt like a more solid click. Tried again and it clicked right away. Went back to the top band and it took some more tightening, but not a lot before it clicked. My bolts still don't show a lot of bending but I'm satisfied knowing my bands hadn't slipped yet and they are significantly tighter than they had been so I figure I'm good for awhile, but I might make checking these a semi-annual event from here on out.

Durangler · January 2015

@Zmokin ... Nice save. You should be set for another 6 months.

I try to check mine a couple times a year. Normally during the heat of summer and the cold of winter, if you call 40* cold.

)

Zmokin · January 2015

Durangler said:

@Zmokin ... Nice save. You should be set for another 6 months.
I try to check mine a couple times a year. Normally during the heat of summer and the cold of winter, if you call 40* cold.
)

Yeah, I'm glad I read this topic. I've got quality torque wrenches and other tools. Sure would have felt like an idiot if I broke my dome because I never used one of my torque wrenches for a little maintenance procedure.

Zmokin · January 2015

Blewis212 said:

Half way through my NewYears Day Butt and I peaked. Knew I shouldn't. When I opened the lid, it kept going. Toppled on to the ground. No breaks or cracks. I lifted and have it caddy wampus to get some more time. Will probably finish in oven. Anyone have anything like this? Think I remember reading somewhere to occasionally tighten screws. That may be good advice.

Thank you for posting this topic, you probably saved me from a possible disaster of my own.
Glad yours didn't break.

Fred19Flintstone · January 2015

Check both bands boys & girls! Like @Zmokin‌ , I was shocked how loose mine were. I thought I checked them during the summer. Maybe more frequent checking is needed.

anton · January 2015

I keep this little 2 sized wrench next to eggy at all times, when clean burning or real hot cooks, I check for any looseness, but am careful not to overtorque. It is 1/2" on one end, 7/16" on the other, fits all bolts on a medium egg. Glad you avoided a crisis!

:-bd

Hawg Fan · January 2015

Zmokin said:

Blewis212 said:

Half way through my NewYears Day Butt and I peaked. Knew I shouldn't. When I opened the lid, it kept going. Toppled on to the ground. No breaks or cracks. I lifted and have it caddy wampus to get some more time. Will probably finish in oven. Anyone have anything like this? Think I remember reading somewhere to occasionally tighten screws. That may be good advice.

Thank you for posting this topic, you probably saved me from a possible disaster of my own.
Glad yours didn't break.

Same here. I usually check the tightness once a year, but it makes since to do a warm weather and cold weather check.

Zmokin · January 2015

anton said:

I keep this little 2 sized wrench next to eggy at all times, when clean burning or real hot cooks, I check for any looseness, but am careful not to overtorque. It is 1/2" on one end, 7/16" on the other, fits all bolts on a medium egg. Glad you avoided a crisis!
:-bd

Be careful if you tighten while warm. If the bands are warm, they will shrink more when cold than the Egg will. I think I recall the instructions specified tightening to the torque value while cold. Metals expand and shrink at a far faster rate than ceramics.

Terrebandit · January 2015

@anton‌ - @Zmokin‌ is correct. Don't mess with it when warm

Jeepster47 · January 2015

Here is the warning out of Skiddymarker's post above:

(NEVER TIGHTEN THE BANDS WHEN THE GRILL IS IN USE)

anton · January 2015

Thanks for the re-iteration, I meant before high heat cooks and clean burns. I always turn them cold.
:-bd

My top came off!!!!

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