Cracked fire ring. What happened?

[PhilM]

Went to empty the ash and found the fire ring cracked in two places. After-sales said no problem, they'll send a replacement asap. Kamado's only a few weeks old so was really surprised to see this. Can I do anything to reduce the risk of it happening again or is it just the luck of the draw? The bowl looks fine.

[Henrik]

I say luck of the draw. Always nice with good customer service though.

[customtrim]

If they send you the new style which they should you wont have anymore worries

[LA Pork Butt]

It was probably defective. You can still cook on it until the new one arrives.

[EdF]

You can cook on it like that indefinitely. Replace at your convenience.

[scottranda]

Agree!

[Spinaker]

I have read that closing all the dampers down after a hot cook, can cause this to happen. Not sure though. When I go to shut down a cook, I just close all of the dampers down and let the fire snuff out.
More than likely, you just got a defective ring.

[EdF]

Likewise. I'm not sure there's any reliable rhyme or reason. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often. For me, once or twice in 15+ years.

[LA Pork Butt]

I lost on in seven years, and it was replaced in warranty.

[PhilM]

Mine isn't one of the "mainstream" brands, so I was particularly pleased at the positive customer service response. I'll take the advice from here and keep the replacement unused until I really need it. The last cook wasn't over hot though, I'd baked some bread at around 400F then up to 550F for pizza. However, I do just close up all the vents when finished to snuff out the fire. It'll be interesting to see whether the replacement has an expansion gap or if it's just a solid ring like the original. The bowl definitely has a gap.

[LA Pork Butt]

My BGE has an expansion gap on the fire box but none on the fire ring. I don’t know if any manufacturer has a gap in the fire ring.

[LA Pork Butt]

One last thought - you might be able to baling to hold the cracked fire ring together if it gets to be a pain with the two pieces separating when you don’t want them to.

[PhilM]

Thanks for the suggestion. It seems ok at the moment but obviously, that could change.

[PaynTrain]

I've cooked on my large BGE probably 5 times a week since 2007, and have gone through probably 3 rings. I only get warranty replacements when it is really bad though. I like what Komodo Joe has done with their design to remedy this!

[EdF]

Those guys have been staying ahead of the curve with innovation!

[LA Pork Butt]

Are you talking about fire rings or fire boxes? Does the Kamado Joe have a fire ring that sits on top of what appears to be the fire box pictured?

[customtrim]

LA Pork Butt not any more

[PhilM]

Replacement arrived today within 48 hours of the problem being notified. Very impressed with warranty service and now a happy bunny again.

[EdF]

You may, however, want to store that new one for the future. Just saying!