Charcoal Briquettes - A Seasonal Mystery?

[Merkong]

Question: As we're all watching for price drops on charcoal does that mean that it's tough to come by in the winter months?

Is it a regional thing? (From MN here)

Do I have convince my wife it becomes scarce and it's an "every man for himself" situation and that several hundred pounds on hand would be best?

Help here...

Thx

merkong


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[Hank from Franks]

Lots of charcoal year round up here in Ontario.  Just not at the same killer low pricing you see here.  Mind you I'm not cooking for an army, just a steak a week.  I can get through the winter on two bags.


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[demosthenes9]

Question: As we're all watching for price drops on charcoal does that mean that it's tough to come by in the winter months?

Is it a regional thing? (From MN here)

Do I have convince my wife it becomes scarce and it's an "every man for himself" situation and that several hundred pounds on hand would be best?

Help here...

Thx

merkong


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

You can find charcoal year round at "regular retail pricing".   A number of times per year, generally with holidays associated with grilling, Kingsford original (KBB) goes on sale where it's a basically 2 for 1, or half price.   This year, at least around here, Stubbs and Royal Oak briquettes went on sale at the same time.   RO lump was on sale a couple of times as well.  This is my first year of dabbling with these other brands so I don't know if they always go on sale like Kingsford does.

So, at least with Kingsford, no, there's no real need to buy a year's supply at one time, just get enough plus a little more to get you through to the next sale.   That's the reality.  What you tell wifey ?  That's up to you.   

Then there's Weber charcoal.  It was just introduced this year at a price of $19.99 for a 20lb bag.    Target stores started running them through their clearance cycle resulting in differing prices across the country, from state to state, city to city, and even from store to store within the same city/town.     The lowest price is $5.98 which is 70% off.    Long story short, I don't know if I will ever see it available at this low of a price again, anf it's really, really really good charcoal (burns longer, hotter and cleaner) so yeah, I'm stocking up on all I can.   To the point that even though I have 14 bags of Kingsford, 6 bags of Stubbs, 4 bags of RO, 2 bags of RO Lump and 26 bags of Weber, I might try and figure out an excuse to drive 45 miles to Lexington to pick up a lot of the 53 bags I see in stock there.

BTW, a lot of this also depends on how often you grill out, i.e. how much charcoal you use. 

[SMOKE FREAK]

around here they think that all grilling and smoking ends in October...Coals can still be bought but good prices cant be found till "grilling season" starts up in the spring...I stock up on every sale and never make a purchase during the "non-grilling season...

[Merkong]

Checked out Brickseek and decided to grab up a few of the 15# double bags at $7.88 at Walmart. I was down to one double so seemed right.

I'll try to only buy in season and when things are on sale. We grill 2-4x a week and I'm not sure yet if fuel usage is different in a good old fashioned MN winter. New guy.

I'll keep stocking up I think.

merkong


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[MikeRocksTheRed]

The good sales on KBB tend to start in the late spring/early summer and end after Labor Day weekend.  I always stock up for the fall/winter during the labor day sales.  The good sales on KBB comes to around 26 cents per pound.  I still usually run out even if I load up with 20-30 bags, and it drives me crazy to pay full price for charcoal during the winter.  If you use KBB and cook through the winter, I would stock up because I've rarely found it on sale mid September until sometime in the Spring, usually sometime in May.

[Wahoo95]

The masses grill with equipment like this and are seasonal grillers



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[Campwhatnot]

Up here in Ontario I asked at my local home depot just last wknd about Weber accessories as well as a variety of charcoal going on clearance. I was told that the Weber accessories as well as most of the charcoal are not put on clearance as there is too much demand for it all year around. They did have some no name charcoal that I never heard of before but in my opinion it was no deal as it was still over $10 per 10# "box" . Best deal I have found is a 20# bag of dragons breath lump at a costco liquidation world for $5 a bag. Seems to burn pretty decently. I purchased 15 bags to add to my stock. I may grab another 10 bags this wknd... Lol.

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[LightningBoldtz]

I always have charcoal on hand

[Yendor]

Best deal I have found is a 20# bag of dragons breath lump at a costco liquidation world for $5 a bag. Seems to burn pretty decently. I purchased 15 bags to add to my stock. I may grab another 10 bags this wknd... Lol.

I wish I could find Dragon's Breath around here. That stuff is great. Worst case Ontario you go to The Charcoal Store in Shakopee and grab a bag of their lump. charcoalstore.com They also have a lot of other goodies as well. If you call them they answer the phone as Laserquip, so don't let that alarm you. Good people there and some decent stuff, although their lump is no Dragon's Breath, they used to sell it there. There is usually charcoal available somewhere around here.