Fire grate failure

scottcrazydog · April 2016

Hey gang, just cleaned out the egg and found the cast iron fire grate cracked and split almost all the way across. The egg is only one year old and wondered if any of y'all have had this problem and how to keep it from happening again. It's covered under warranty for 5 years but I would like to know is this something I will have to replace every year. Heck even my old Walmart $110 dollar grill lasted longer than this.

HoustonEgger · April 2016

Should still work with the crack - mine cracked almost 6 years ago and still together. Though I switched to a kickash basket a few years ago and never looked back since.

SmokeyPitt · April 2016

They do crack but I don't think it is that common. I my eggs for about a year and they didn't have any issues. I replaced them with the high-q because I like the better air flow.

Abter · April 2016

I got my medium in December, and it cracked in March. I got it replaced under warranty by the dealer I got the egg from. I did end up paying shipping ($10), and it took 1 to 2 weeks. I kept using the cracked one in the meantime, and I kept it for a backup.

Carolina Q · April 2016

Nature of the beast. My large egg is about 6 years old, fire grate has been cracked for at least 5 1/2 of them. I'm still using it and it works fine. When it won't do the job any more, I'm going to replace it with the fire grate from a Weber Smokey Joe. Cost about $7 as I recall. Better airflow too (similar to a High-Que, but not stainless). I'm sure it won't last as long, though they seem to last quite a while on the Webers.

Chubbs · April 2016

Wish I could find pick of my old one. Folded like a Pringle with a crack in it. I went high que and have loved it. People here are drinking the kick ash basket but not I. High que is all you need unless you want to take tailgating

scottcrazydog · April 2016

Thanks for the input and I'm going to check out the high que

YukonRon · April 2016

Mine exploded sending chunks of metal, actually embedding in the dome.
get rid of it and get a KAB.

Mattman3969 · April 2016

Mine cracked and like @chubbs I got the High Que for the large & small next will be one for the mini. No KAB koolaide here but to each their own.

saluki2007 · April 2016

@Mattman3969 I have the standard grate for my large and have no thoughts of switching. However Ive had my small for about two months now and its kinda a pain in the arse to clean the ash out. I havent drank the basket koolaide either, but considering it for the small.

GaBGE · April 2016

The one on my xl cracked about half way across less than a year old. Got a replacement under warrant and still using the cracked one now for 2 years. New one in box until I need it.

Mattman3969 · April 2016

saluki2007 said:

@Mattman3969 I have the standard grate for my large and have no thoughts of switching. However Ive had my small for about two months now and its kinda a pain in the arse to clean the ash out. I havent drank the basket koolaide either, but considering it for the small.

Understood on the clean out of the small. I think it was @caliking that posted a mod for his ash tool for the small that helps with ash removal. Maybe he'll chime in shortly

caliking · April 2016

Mattman3969 said:

show previous quotes

saluki2007 said:

@Mattman3969 I have the standard grate for my large and have no thoughts of switching. However Ive had my small for about two months now and its kinda a pain in the arse to clean the ash out. I havent drank the basket koolaide either, but considering it for the small.

Understood on the clean out of the small. I think it was @caliking that posted a mod for his ash tool for the small that helps with ash removal. Maybe he'll chime in shortly

Here ya go:
https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1158433/small-ash-tool-mod

works much better than the standard small ash tool.

hapster · April 2016

HiQue on the large now for almost 4 years, put one In the MM a few weeks ago... No issues or regrets

Mattman3969 · April 2016

Thanks @caliking

Jupiter Jim · April 2016

saluki2007 said:

@Mattman3969 I have the standard grate for my large and have no thoughts of switching. However Ive had my small for about two months now and its kinda a pain in the arse to clean the ash out. I havent drank the basket koolaide either, but considering it for the small.

Drink the basket koolaide, I did and gave my high q to a friend. Now have one in each of my larges, small and will get one for the Mini Max at the Georgia Mountain Eggfest in May. Jim

jhl192 · April 2016

Mine cracked on the XL after a few years. Replaced it under warranty but don't use it. I use the kickashbasket.

Eggcelsior · April 2016

Hi-que is great. I had one for my medium that I gave away when I bought my large. My only issue with the Hi-que is the rolled steel edges would cause it to slide around with overly vigorous stirring. For my large, I bought am expanded steel grate which is my favorite. The edges "bite" into the firebox, holding it in place.

I have a kick ash basket as well, which I bought for tailgating as picking out individual coals with tongs is shady as hell when you want your egg to cool down quickly. Unless you are going to be tailgating, I don't see the point in paying the premium for the KAB over the Hi-que. It's not any quicker for getting rid of ash(I just tap on the expanded steel grate a few times when scraping out the ash in the bottom) and holds less volume of charcoal due to how high it sits in the firebox. It is nice at away events when I can just pull the basket out and dump water on the coals. Before, I would pull out the lump coals and drop them into a smokey Joe to use as a "fire pit" while the burned down.

saluki2007 · April 2016

Thanks @Mattman3969 and @caliking

THEBuckeye · April 2016

High Q

Fire grate failure

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