Lump Charcoal

[warhog6g]

Do any of you guys (and/or ladies) have any issues with bags of lump charcoal having a lot of pieces that are basically the size of woodchips and are no good for anything?  I bought a couple bags and it seemed that half of each bag was like this.

[1buckie]

" having a lot of pieces that are basically the size of woodchips and are no good for anything?"

......burn insurance on the snake.........








.....nothing goes to waste except the fine dust & that could probably be compounded with wax to make starter cubes......

[mrbill]

it's just pieces breaking off during handling. do like buckie and put them on top of your coals. waste not, want not.

[warhog6g]

Yeah I was thinking about that.  All I have currently is the lump charcoal.  Guess a bag of Kingsford is in my not too distant future

[Lumpy Coal]

Wait till you find pieces of rocks in the bag which I can only assume is there to add weight!!!   

[warhog6g]

Wait till you find pieces of rocks in the bag which I can only assume is there to add weight!!!

Already found a couple

[huntergreen]

never thought to use the small pcs in the snake. tks.      been using stubbs briquettes this season, so far plan on sticking with this brand.

[CakeByte]

If you like using lump for the minion method (which I do), they make a great kindling bed too. In my WSM, I start with a bed of the little tiny pieces (and I really don't worry about what falls through), then add some mid-size pieces around the circle leaving a hole in the center with just kindling, fill in the gaps with some more of the tiny pieces, then make pyramid structures around the center with the large pieces (the longer the burn, the more pyramids I add), and then fill in even more gaps with the "kindling". Then I dump my hot coals in the middle and let it ride.

[austin87]

A guy at BBQs Galore told me to gently rock the bag back and forth in the store and to listen. If it sounds sandy or like there are lots of little pieces, try another bag or another store. I've haven't had as many little pieces of junk since I started doing this.

[warhog6g]

I have no problem with using briquettes...It's just lump happened to be what I had on hand.  Speaking of briquettes...I assume Kingsford is fine?

[Johnpv]

Do any of you guys (and/or ladies) have any issues with bags of lump charcoal having a lot of pieces that are basically the size of woodchips and are no good for anything?  I bought a couple bags and it seemed that half of each bag was like this.

Yeah this is a problem with how the bags are handled.  I've noticed the warehouse stores like Costco, Sam's Club, etc, are some of the worst offenders of this.  I don't know if they're just dropping the crates from as high up as they can repeatedly or what but it's an issue when ever I get lump from them.  Lowes and home depot seem to not be as bad USUALLY but I some times get a terrible bag from them too. 

I love Wicked Good charcoal but I hate having to order it because fedex treats the box like shit and I end up with at least 1/3 of the bag being unusable.  I really need to email them and ask if they have other mailing options.

Also I personally prefer Stubb's briquettes over Kingsford. It's more expensive but it's worth it IMHO, less chemical filler, and more just clean burning charcoal.

A guy at BBQs Galore told me to gently rock the bag back and forth in the store and to listen. If it sounds sandy or like there are lots of little pieces, try another bag or another store. I've haven't had as many little pieces of junk since I started doing this.

This is really good advice I need to start doing this.