Lump Issues

[WEBERNV]

Hey guys, reaching out for a little help. I keep hearing how lump cooks super hot and fast compared to briquettes but am am continually having issues. I have been using Royal Oak, starting it in a weber chimney, and pouring it out as soon as I get flames out the top of the chimney. (Tried waiting longer but it seems to be spent by the time the grill is preheated).

For example, I cooked pizza on my pizzaque yesterday, I used 1 lit chimney of Royal Oak on the bottom, 1 unlit chimney on top of that, and another 1/2 chimney of lit to top it all off. The Pizzaque only reached 550 degrees, even with feeding it wood chunks to get the temp to spike. By comparison, I cooked 2 dozen wings in my SSP at the same time with a full lit chimney of stubbs briquettes in the center with charcoal baskets and that burried the lid thermometer past the 550 max temp.

I have had the same issues doing regular cooks like steak and chicken breasts and lump seems to be underwhelming compared to the Stubbs or even KBB. That is why I wanted to burn it up while cooking pizzas, I have about 80 pounds of Royal Oak laying around.

What am i doing wrong, maybe I am just a briquette guy after all?

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[charred]

First off, if you're near CT, I'll take the RO off your hands.

My experience:

Pour lit fuel onto unlit.

Make sure the chimney (is it a Weber?) is full. Pour in lump, shake chimney or move the pieces around so you can fit more in.

Wait a couple mins. after the top layer of lump begins to whiten before pouring out. This usually happens a few mins. after the flames appear.

Maybe you need 2 lit chimneys.

[Travis]

I've had that same issue before, too. Like you said don't let it go too long in the chimney and I normally throw on more unlit after. I might try ditching the chimney when usin the lump and just place a lighter cube or two in the pile. Just to see.


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[MrHoss]

For me.....heat in a pizza attachment for a Kettle is made by flames from wood not the amount of charcoal. Charcoal is the to facilitates the burning of split logs...3 of them in my case.

[WEBERNV]

I appreciate the advice so far, and just to clarify, I have issues with lump not only during pizza cooks but also with regular grilling. It just seems like I can't get the same heat out of lump that I can out of briquettes, which is contrary to everything I read. I must be doing something different to get the opposite results. I have a big stock pile of RO so I guess I will just keep burning it and see if I can work through my issues. I for one can't wait for another big Stubbs sale so I can replenish my stock.

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[kettlebb]

I've never had problems getting heat from lump when I need it. If I need more heat I'll pour a full chimney over an evenly spread pile of unlit and all vents wide open. I'll leave the lid off for about 5-10 minutes to let the fresh stuff get a good start. My issues with lump are the inconsistency of the various sized pieces, the amount of shake and foreign matter in some bags, and the uncarbonized pieces. Those are the reasons why my main fuel has been briquettes, Stubbs. 


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[HoosierKettle]

I tried ro lump on a wing cook and had similar results to what you describe.  I didn't have any trouble with it and it cooked the wings good, but I too was surprised that it didn't seem to cook any hotter than my kbb.  I liked it enough that I would stock up when on sale, but I didn't see any appreciable higher temps.

[HoosierKettle]

It started in half the time and I start my wsm with it now.  I think it does possess some different and good qualities but I haven't seen the heat yet.  In fact, when I started the wsm with it, it seemed like it started it at lower temps than with the same amount of kbb.  I wasn't expecting that but it was a good thing for what I was doing at the time.  the rest of the coal in the wsm was kbb.  I just started with lump

[Hell Fire Grill]

Your charcoal may have to high a moisture content if its not getting hot enough.

I live in the mold capitol of world and some things I'd suggest to ensure your charcoal is dry is to keep it off the floor, especially dirt or concrete floors, because charcoal is a moisture magnet and pulls the moisture out of those two rapidly. A pallet works good and a pair of 2x4s does too.

Keep it 180* from a freezer, fridge or wash machine.

Keep the open bags closed at all times and cover them lightly with empty bags because charcoal pulls moisture out of the air faster than anything.

If you can keep it in the house for a few days after you bring it home it'll dry out if it got moist and if you protect it it'll stay dry and burn hotter and more consistently.

[WEBERNV]

Thanks for all of the input fellas. I guess I am jus frustrated with the amount of lump and wood chunks I had to use during my last pizza cook, I am ready to swear lump off for good! Thanks for letting me vent!

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