Do The Bands That Hold The Lid and Base Need To Be Tightened?
You should check the tightness of the bands when you first get your cooker, if it has them, even if it came pre-assembled. We have found that cookers pre-assembled by dealers sometimes aren’t quite completely pre-assembled. Next, you should check the tightness of the bands after your first cook. Allow the cooker to completely cool and then check to make sure the bands are still tight. Then, you should occasionally check the tightness of the bands to make sure that they haven’t worked loose. When properly tightened, the bolts on a Big Green Egg should be bent, as you can see in the photo at right. It is difficult to over-tighten these bolts. We have never heard of anyone breaking a cooker from over-tightening the bolts. However, letting the bolts get loose can result in the lid coming off the cooker and possibly breaking and injuring someone. Be sure to read and follow your particular cooker’s instructions on this topic!
