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Micro-cracking on XL Egg Upper Half?

AK49
AK49 Posts: 4
in EggHead Forum
My XL BGE is 6 months old. It has multiple spiderweb cracking and boils water out of the surface when hot.  Warranty has been requested but no response yet😖. Anyone else also experienced this?  (Note the fire ring is also cracked)
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  • Mark_B_Good
    Mark_B_Good Posts: 1,653
    Holy crap. That can't be right.
    Napoleon Prestige Pro 665, XL BGE, Lots of time for BBQ!
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  • AK49
    AK49 Posts: 4
    Yep, my thoughts exactly. It takes about 40 minutes to temp stabilize while it boils all of the water out of the ceramic each time I cook. It was a son of a **** to try and figure out how to control temp until I figured it out
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  • Battleborn
    Battleborn Posts: 3,693
    It is common. My large is like that, however, I live in the middle of the Mojave, so I don't get the gunk coming out.
    Las Vegas, NV


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  • AK49
    AK49 Posts: 4
    So yours has to steam out each time before temp stabilizes?
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    I know it it seems wrong, but Eggs are ceramic and it’s fire glazed finish. The smaller crazing/cracks are normal and it will at times push out moisture and impurity’s.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • Hub
    Hub Posts: 927
    Ceramic cracks.  That's just how it is.  Most don't consider the cracks a big deal.  I put up with the cracks for over a decade without much issue, but then when I moved I upgraded to a newer, more modern unit that will never crack.  My advice is just accept that it will crack, but won't really matter.
    Beautiful and lovely Villa Rica, Georgia
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    Hub said:
    Ceramic cracks.  That's just how it is.  Most don't consider the cracks a big deal.  I put up with the cracks for over a decade without much issue, but then when I moved I upgraded to a newer, more modern unit that will never crack.  My advice is just accept that it will crack, but won't really matter.
    It’s just the paint crazing, the actual ceramic body is not cracking. But ceramics are porous and will push moisture. This is very different than an actual crack in the ceramics, that does also happen. But the above is not from cracks in the Egg.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,451
    No offense meant, but even for the HIGH price for it a BGE is not fine China!

    Just as Darian said crazing and cracks are commonplace.

    Even if your BGE crazing and cracking becomes a real problem then as long as YOU were the original buyer then the warranty will kick in. OTOH those who bought cheap knockoffs thinking they saved money will find out differently when they try to find ANY seller of knockoffs to help them.

    Buy once, Cry once.

    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • cookingdude555
    cookingdude555 Posts: 3,196
    Its normal, if you get another dome it will do the same thing.  All Kamados do it, I have a few Kamado Joes with my eggs and they have done the same thing.  I find it more when an egg has done a lot of low and slow cooking and a lot of the grease is absorbed into the ceramic.  This is followed by a high heat cook of some kind, resulting in the moisture and grease from previous cooks being expelled.  The hotter the high heat cook, the more aggressively it is expelled.   I do remember wondering the same thing about my new egg 11 years ago.  I usually wipe it with a wet towel now and think nothing more of it.

    You can avoid it with a kamado that is made from metal. I did not experience this issue with my Bubba Keg kamado cooker.  I would also recommend leaving the lower vent open a little when not in use (but close the spark arrester to keep out critters).  This could help your egg dry a little.  I am in the second driest state, so moisture leaves my eggs pretty fast.  Summertime humidity is always pretty low here in the desert. 
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  • BigGreenKev
    BigGreenKev Posts: 275
    Happened to me only once or twice in MN in the last 10 years.  Don't remember what I cooked or weather leading up to it.  
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