Ron,

Once again, you seem to be confused. The original problem we spoke of earlier affected only a few early XL BGE's and was quickly resolved by the BGE company. Specifically, the lid would not stay open.

What you refer to now is a completely different issue. After the XL had been out for some time, BGE got feedback from XL owners that the dome top was difficult to raise for the first few inches of travel, until the springs kicked in and started to assist the opening of the lid. By the same token, when you closed the lid, as the lid approached being a few inches from closed, the spring assist dropped out and the lid suddenly became heavy again. It is this behavior that this new spring assist kit is intended to address, not the fact that a few XL's had problems with the lid not staying open.

Please, if you are going to try to "own" everyone who posts about ceramics here, try to get your story straight.

Oops, the link didn't work because of the trailing period. Here's the correct link:

www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramiclinks.htm

Ah, Ron, you got me on that one, lol! Thanks for refreshing my memory. I had forgotten about that problem. I try to add new information to my FAQ as I see posts in the BGE forum asking for help. However, when a supposed problem like cookers not staying open arises, and it turns out to be a non-issue like this one, I forget about it and move on. One or two users assembling their cookers wrong, and old problems that were quickly resolved by the manufacturer just fade off the radar. I'll bet you can find a lot more information on my web page that I've totally forgotten.

So, if you are done posting all the helpful information in my Ceramic FAQ about solving problems that owners might have with a Big Green Egg, I think I'll go back to enjoying my four ceramic cookers and the comradery of my fellow owners. The real message here is that most owners of ceramic charcoal cookers are very happy with their purchase. I'd invite any prospective purchasers of ceramic charcoal cookers to visit any of the online manufacturer's forums and get informed about the cookers and the owner satisfaction levels. Links can be found at www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramiclinks.htm.

With four Eggs, yes, I've replaced 3 fireboxes in 5 years. All of them free. Sorry, but no I don't know about problems with the XL. The one at my dealer and the one at Ace Hardware work fine. I vaguely recall a post on the Big Green Egg Forum about it, but that's the only report I've heard. All the other owners on the BGE forum haven't mentioned it. I'll give you another chance to exit gracefully before you run out of ignorant stereotypes. You enjoy your cooker and all the ceramic owners will enjoy theirs. Peace, bro....

Yep, I've never paid shipping for a replacement firebox. My dealer gets them free.

Well, Ron, it seems like you have learned well all the ignorant stereotypes about ceramic cookers. Enjoy your cooker and all the ceramic owners will enjoy theirs.

$650 is what normal people pay for a Large BGE. Yep, the firebox is cracked and gee, ya know, it works just fine that way. I can get free replacments for life if I ever feel like it. Grate never cracked. Yep, I've replaced the gasket a couple of times, so what? And of course the lid stays open. What a bizarre question, lol! Or should I say, ignorant question?

Ron's comment that ceramic cookers are expensive, fragile and have limited cooking space is rather humorous and somewhat ignorant.

Expensive? You get what you pay for. Ceramic cookers are the most versatile outdoor cookers around. You can make jerkey at 150 degrees, barbecue at 225, roast lamb and turkey at 325, roast chickens at 400, bake pizzas at 650 and sear steaks at 800. And of course, you can do anything at any temperature in between. They also are very efficient with fuel, cooking for 30 hours on a single load of charcoal. They can cook in sub-zero weather, when metal cookers cannot without rigging up insulation of some sort.

Fragile? Say what? Hardly. There are numerous competition barbecue teams taking their supposedly fragile ceramic cookers on the road with them. And, oh by the way, several of them are winning and winning big.

Limited cooking space? Again, hardly. Limited grilling space maybe, but you can cook loads of food in a ceramic cooker. You can do pulled pork for 60 people in a large Big Green Egg for example.

Consider the fact that many many ceramic owners own multiple ceramic cookers. No, ceramic cookers are superb cooking units. They may not be for everyone, but to label them as fragile, expensive and limited is just not a very informed opinion.