PSA - use a torque wrench to tighten the bands... and how to eliminate under/overbite?

caliking · April 2015

My LBGE base cracked recently, got the replacement under warranty, and installed it. Previously, I had tightened the bands with a regular wrench and thought things were good, but I had a significant underbite. Tried the grandviksten method of compensating with cut washers, but it didn't quite work. Tried a few more times to correct it, then just gave up since it didn't really affect how the egg cooked.

Found instructions at grill-repair dot com (google "big-green-egg-spring-assisted-band-replacement-instructions")

and noted the mention of some kind of spacers. I figured that the bands were meant to be flush with the rim of the base and dome respectively, so I did that and tightened the bands. Egged a ribeye at about 450ish, and noted that the top band slipped a bit when I pushed on it. meant to tighten it up after it cooled down.

I had bought a torque wrench from Harbor Freight on sale some time ago. Ordered a deep 1/2" socket with 3/8" drive from Amazon and went to tighten the bands up some more (10 ft lbs as per BGE recs). I was a little surprised to find that the bands weren't as tight as I thought they were. Took a few turns to get them to 10ft lbs.

My underbite has not recurred after 1 cook. I'll wait and see what happens after a few more cooks. I removed the cut washers when I installed the new base. So far so good. Torque wrenches are $12 at HF right now, if you get their coupons. The socket was $5 from Amazon Prime.

Mattman3969 · April 2015

Very good advice Cali.

Little Steven · April 2015

This is funny. The proctologist is talkin' torque wrenches and such

jls9595 · April 2015

I need to go ahead and do this. Thanks Cali

Jeremiah · April 2015

I have a good torque wrench. If anyone local to me wants to check theirs I'd be happy to help. Just a thought.

caliking · April 2015

Little Steven said:

This is funny. The proctologist is talkin' torque wrenches and such

I myself am constantly amazed by all the useless stuff I've learned here...

Little Steven · April 2015

Just sayin'. Do they train y'all in gear ratios and such?

nolaegghead · April 2015

Like...You use a crohn's wrench for loosening.

Little Steven · April 2015

I am so outa here

DMW · April 2015

Little Steven said:

I am so outa here

Still only one t...

Little Steven · April 2015

That is in the rules...check it out

Skiddymarker · April 2015

Have long been a fan of using the right tool for the job.... can't beat a torque wrench, well worth the <$20...

nolaegghead · April 2015

The Harbor Freight torque wrenches are not accurate, but they put you in the ball park - good enough.

Little Steven · April 2015

You can get a good torque wrench at CT for a hun and a half

fergi · April 2015

Just checked mine, wasn't even close to 10 foot pounds. Thanks for the torque value.

DoubleEgger · April 2015

My medium that was a mothership floor model and a little bit of side bite. Will torquing the bolts rectify that as well?

ksmyrl · April 2015

nolaegghead said:

The Harbor Freight torque wrenches are not accurate, but they put you in the ball park - good enough.

+1 maybe okay for eggs. Not so much when changing your transmission.

nolaegghead · April 2015

I've had some cheap ones in the past. Have a Snap-On 1/2" and Proto 3/8". Even those need to be checked/calibrated now and then. I hope mine were ok because I just put half my truck engine back together recently.

ksmyrl · April 2015

I hear ya, my craftsman cost a buck fifty. My wife thought I was crazy. That was 15 years ago. Well worth it.

ksmyrl · April 2015

I used it often to torgue my Harley parts like exhaust and such. Poor Harley, I miss her. Kids took priority.

nolaegghead · April 2015

Kid is grown up. Bought me one of these (file photo but same bike). Easy to ride and fun.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/mg/ijg628xbh1z4.jpg

hapster · April 2015

So if I wrench on the bolts till I can't move them any more and they're bent... Isn't that right enough? How much more than that is 10ft/lbs?

nolaegghead · April 2015

@hapster - that puts you in the ballpark. I used the torque wrench the first time and noted how everything bent. Now I just use gut feel.

caliking · April 2015

Little Steven said:

Just sayin'. Do they train y'all in gear ratios and such?

it depends on who we're trying to screw and by how much

but I do recall about 35 minutes of instruction in a high school physics class...

caliking · April 2015

DoubleEgger said:

My medium that was a mothership floor model and a little bit of side bite. Will torquing the bolts rectify that as well?

I think its more the alignment of the bands flush with the rim of the base and dome. Torquing the bolts just makes sure its tight enough to saty that way. otherwise it can shift after a few cooks as the bands may loosen when the egg heats up.

caliking · April 2015

@hapster - my bolts are now bent. For the first time. I don't think I had ever tightened them enough, since they were still straight until now.

hapster · April 2015

caliking said:

@hapster - my bolts are now bent. For the first time. I don't think I had ever tightened them enough, since they were still straight until now.

Mine are bent... But me, I take after my pops and we both were blessed with the paws and grip of a gorilla

Begger · April 2015

Torque wrench from HF is OK if it is off the same EVERY TIME. If it wanders around, it's worthless at ANY price.

The 2 main measures of such tools are ACCURACY and REPEATABILITY.

This applies to tempreture measurement, as well.

blind99 · April 2015

Caliking doesn't have to open the lid to check a cook. He just slips an endoscope through the top.

So what do you guys recommend for a torque wrench that's reasonably priced and decently accurate?

johnnyp · April 2015

@hapster @caliking no torque wrench for me. I know my bolts are under tightened, and I've been nervous about over tightening and cracking the dome. (Apparently that's not going to happen). Will you post some pics of the bending so we can see what it should look like?

Chowman · April 2015

Guys if you can find harbor freight just buy the 1/4 " torque wrench cause you will need it dedicated to the egg. About $11 on sale.

PSA - use a torque wrench to tighten the bands... and how to eliminate under/overbite?

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