Nine years on the Large BGE

I've had my Large for 9 years, and I still look forward to cooking on it as often as I can. My BGE has been good to me: I had a warranty replacement on the fire grate after about 4 years, and I noticed that my firebox had a crack after about 7 years. I let the crack grow until it was affecting the temperature difference (front-to-back) too much, and got a new firebox on warranty. The old one came out in 4 pieces. I thought I would share a few shots of what a frequently used Egg going on its tenth year looks like. 

My Egg has been out in the elements for the past six years, and except for a bit of rust on a few of the nuts it still looks great. I had a BGE cover that lasted less than 3 years. It began to crack at the dome area, and then it let in moisture. At that point it was holding more moisture in than it was keeping out so I decided to go uncovered.



The Eggmates are original. I have kept them going by applying mineral oil to the wood a couple of times a year. They could be in better shape, but they are doing their job. The gasket on the other hand gave up somewhere in year 2 (I think), so my gasket has looked like this for at least 6 or 7 years. It hasn't stopped me from achieving whatever temp I want for as long as I need, although it might burn a little more lump by taking longer to shut down.


I have successfully resisted the temptation to acquire more than one Egg in my backyard. I have, however, wanted one for my cottage for years. The problem with keeping one at my cottage is that I am concerned that some punks will pull up in their 4x4, dune buggy, four-wheeler, or whatever punks drive when they are swiping stuff, and steal it when I'm not around. The solution of course was a Minimax that could easily be moved from deck to shed. Unfortunately, it appears that BGE Canada wishes to price itself out of the market; a MM is priced at $855, with a $70 necessary addition for a platesetter. So I picked up a KJ Junior at a Costco roadshow for exactly half the cost of an equivalently laid-out MM. Too bad for BGE, but I'm happy with the outcome.

Overall my Large has been one of the best purchases I have ever made. It has allowed me to enjoy a hobby that at the same time provides great home-cooked food. I wish BGE would keep up with the times a bit and look to provide more value for their customers. For their current price (in Canada) it would be great if they came with the handler, and something like the Divide and Conquer system. The casters that came with my original nest have rusted and chipped. I guess that's ok, since the casters were basically useless in the first place. 

I made dinner tonight on the stovetop, but Egged a beautiful cornbread on CI for dessert, and topped it with some grilled peaches and strawberries. As always, the Egged stuff was the best part of the meal.