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Royal Oak no thanks!

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Ottawa_Eggman
Ottawa_Eggman Posts: 111
edited May 2012 in EggHead Forum
I have been using Wick Good WW exclusively since buying my egg in March and have been very happy with it. All except for the price at a little over $27.00 a bag plus taxes around here you are looking a about $31.50 a bag. I have been burning about 2 bags every 3 weeks give or take do the math . Last week Canadian Tire had the Royal Oak (made in USA)  17.5 lbs blue bag on sale for $12.99 +tax. so I figured what the heck I'll give it a try bought a bag brought it home opened it up and  and it went right back in the trunk of the car and back to the store. The whole bag was like this
imageimageimage
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  • Ottawa_Eggman
    Ottawa_Eggman Posts: 111
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    Now compared to the WGWW
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,740
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    have you looked around for mapleleaf, its the best lump around imho and its a canadian brand we cant get down here anymore
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Egg Juju
    Egg Juju Posts: 658
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    Ottawa_Eggman

    Ditto... I am sure someone will be along directly to tell us how wrong we are or that its the same thing. 
    >:)
    Large and Small BGE * www.quelfood.com
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited May 2012
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    I'm certainly not saying you're wrong.  The proof is in the picture.  However, that hasn't been my experience with the Red Bag RO.  After reading this, I went out and opened a new bag (picture below).  It looked "medium" size to me.  The last bag I opened, the pieces were larger than I like.

    Maybe it's in their packaging process.  Maybe they have a long conveyer belt.  At the start of a run, the big chunks get sacked, then the little pieces get giggled around the hopper until they're the only thing left at the end of the run.... or vice versa.

    image
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • bigguy136
    bigguy136 Posts: 1,362
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    I have the USA green bag RO. The larger pices in the bag are 6"-8" long.

    Big Lake, Minnesota

    2X Large BGE, 1 Mini Max, Stokers, Adjustable Rig

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  • michigan_jason
    michigan_jason Posts: 1,346
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    my last 3 bags of RO red bag were perfect, just like your VI. I have had smaller pieces at the bottom, but most good size... must be hit or miss.



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

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  • Ottawa_Eggman
    Ottawa_Eggman Posts: 111
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    Ya VI you're probably right and it may not be the norm but I did want to share what I found as I know there is much debate on the subject around here lol . The only thing is the gaol was to cut down the cost a bit but if I'm running back and forth exchanging bags of lump I'm saving on one fuel at the expense of another kind of point less. I have read on here that most prefer the red bag stuff but I have yet to see it around here. As I mentioned I am very happy with the WGWW  so as the ol' saying goes "IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT"
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    have you looked around for mapleleaf, its the best lump around imho and its a canadian brand we cant get down here anymore

    Fidel is getting Basques in GA at Costco (I think) for $3.50 a 10 lb bag. That is Canadian and has the same woods as Maple Leaf with more Sugar Maple. I'll check where he gets it and let you know

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Sgt93
    Sgt93 Posts: 728
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    In that 3rd pic, one of the pieces in your hand looks like TX, how bad can it be!? LOL.
    XL BGE - Small BGE - A few Komodo Kamado Serious Big Bad 42s
    Follow me on Instagram: @SSgt93
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  • xraypat23
    xraypat23 Posts: 421
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    i get my wicked good weekend warrior from my local ace hardware. 22.00 a bag, and I get monthly coupons, either $5 off or 15%. last run of charcoal was 3 bags for $58 after tax

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,332
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    I do believe there is merit to VI's thoughts about the process.  I stock-piled about 15 bags of the Kroger brand (made by RO) lump over the winter.  Every bag opening was a surprise-most contained medium sized lump, a few were overly small and one or two had  more large pieces than I would have expected.  I'm sure the handling from the supplier also has quite an impact on the contents of the bags.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • NC-CDN
    NC-CDN Posts: 703
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    My red bagged RO does not look like that at all.  Sometimes the small stuff that falls to the bottom of the bag will be like that, but it's not too bad.  Even the bag of Cowboy I opened the other day was pretty solid.  Actually it had huge chunks.  I was impressed.  

    I'd love to try that Mapleleaf, but I've never seen it here.  
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,740
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    have you looked around for mapleleaf, its the best lump around imho and its a canadian brand we cant get down here anymore

    Fidel is getting Basques in GA at Costco (I think) for $3.50 a 10 lb bag. That is Canadian and has the same woods as Maple Leaf with more Sugar Maple. I'll check where he gets it and let you know
    ill be looking for it, maple lump just smells better. all im seeing now is cowboy, ro and wgww, the weekend warrior isnt mild like the old compblend
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,740
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    little steven, found a place to get some nearby, thanks for the heads up, ill stop in at the place tomorrow
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    little steven, found a place to get some nearby, thanks for the heads up, ill stop in at the place tomorrow

    I like it better than ML. Sometimes the pieces can be on the small side but the stuff we had in GA was fine.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • burr_baby33
    burr_baby33 Posts: 503
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    I haven't used RO that much since I bought a large quantity of Ozark Oak.  Now the Ozark is getting low so today I bought 4 bags of RO.  If it turns out ok I'm a happy camper at the price, $6.49/bag.
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,332
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    I haven't used RO that much since I bought a large quantity of Ozark Oak.  Now the Ozark is getting low so today I bought 4 bags of RO.  If it turns out ok I'm a happy camper at the price, $6.49/bag.
    If I recall correctly, you are in the Louisville area (as am I) ..did you buy from Kroger by chance...as that's where I get mine when not experimenting with WGWW and others-looking for the theoretical best burn-rate/lb/$ spent.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,567
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    I also agree RO can be a mixed bag when it comes to quality. I try to feel what is in the bag and have had pretty good luck. I have never had a bag that looked like that.
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  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,567
    edited May 2012
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    You're sharp.
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  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,567
    edited May 2012
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    Slow roasted.

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  • Ragtop99
    Ragtop99 Posts: 1,570
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    I've been using wicked good and got a couple bags of RO to try.  Piece size has been fine.  The amazing thing is the difference in density.   The WG is twice as dense.  It feels like you are cooking with real hardwood.  Fill up the fire box with WG and you can BBQ until like next year w/o reloading. ;) 

    The RO is nice for grilling if I need a hot fire everywhere (e.g. lots of steaks) as it lights easily and the big volume can be spread around to have glowing coals under the all of the grate in my XL.  I like the WG for everything else.  If the price were reversed, I'd only buy WG. 
    Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
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  • reh111
    reh111 Posts: 196
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    Just started using RO and am pleased with the size of the chunks but as the above says, the density is not great - the larger pieces seem to break rather easily into smaller ones - my guess is that the OP got a bag that had been thrown around a lot in shipment - my experience is that if those bags are handled roughly the lack of density will result in what he found - a bunch of smaller pieces and some dust
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  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
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    have you looked around for mapleleaf, its the best lump around imho and its a canadian brand we cant get down here anymore
    Fidel is getting Basques in GA at Costco (I think) for $3.50 a 10 lb bag. That is Canadian and has the same woods as Maple Leaf with more Sugar Maple. I'll check where he gets it and let you know
    Please let me know where he is getting it
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    My experience leads me to believe that handling has very little to do with it.  I think it is mostly how the manufacturer screens their charcoal.  I've had wonderful bags that were shipped long distances multiple times.  Lump charcoal isn't so fragile that a little bouncing around is going to turn a bag into chips. 
    The Naked Whiz
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  • Eggbertsdad
    Eggbertsdad Posts: 804
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    The only bag of RO I've tried was a 17.6 lb bag which had nice size pieces in it. I bought a bag of Cowboy last week and it too has some nice/ large pieces. The only with the Cowboy is the ash production. Also, the burn time isn't that great...ok that's 2 things. 
    Sarasota, FL via Boynton Beach, FL, via Sarasota, FL, via Charleston, SC, via The Outer Banks, via God's Country (East TN on Ft. Loudon Lake)
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  • Irrivirsible
    Irrivirsible Posts: 14
    edited May 2012
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    The last 7 bags of Royal Oak red bag I bought have been just like that. Bought at different times in different places. A supermarket chain that has a couple of stores about 20 minutes in either direction has the 17.6lb bags of Royal Oak for $10.99 and there are a lot of them there but I passed. The local Natures Own Chunk Charwood in the brown and orange bag has been the same if not worse so I recently bought a bag of Natures Own in the green and white bag and will be trying that soon. I hate to go to a dealer and pay over $20.00 a bag for any lump but maybe the Wicked Good would be worth it. Also KJ lump is now made in the same factory as Wicked Good and supposedly they added a couple pounds to the bag. Supposed to be very good stuff.
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    The last 7 bags of Royal Oak red bag I bought have been just like that. Bought at different times in different places. A supermarket chain that has a couple of stores about 20 minutes in either direction has the 17.6lb bags for $10.99 and there are a lot of them there but I passed. The local Natures Own Chunk Charwood in the brown and orange bag has been the same if not worse so I recently bought a bag of Natures Own in the green and white bag and will be trying that soon. I hate to go to a dealer and pay over $20.00 a bag for any lump but maybe the Wicked Good would be worth it. Also KJ lump is now made in the same factory as Wicked Good and supposedly they added a couple pounds to the bag. Supposed to be very good stuff.
    WG is great.  I loved it when I used it but not worth triple the cost of what I use now.


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • FingerLicker
    FingerLicker Posts: 13
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    I've gone through about 4 bags of RO since it went on sale at Menards recently (under $5 for 8.8 lbs). One bag looked like the picture the OP posted with lots of little pieces, and the others had nice big chunks. These were from the same stack at the store so it seems to be hit and miss. Now I'm trying to figure out some way to tell which is which in the store by feeling the bags - I can imagine the manager running up and shouting DON'T SQUEEZE THE CHARCOAL!
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  • AUWAG
    AUWAG Posts: 73
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    I personally use BGE lump and don't mind paying a premium. It is consistent and burns very well. I have used different brands but would rather spend a dollar extra per cook to make sure my more expensive meat isn't ruined because I saved a $1 on my charcoal. Meat=more important to me and BGE coal is amazingly consistent
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    I personally use BGE lump and don't mind paying a premium. It is consistent and burns very well. I have used different brands but would rather spend a dollar extra per cook to make sure my more expensive meat isn't ruined because I saved a $1 on my charcoal. Meat=more important to me and BGE coal is amazingly consistent
    Excellent point. I would never compromise my cooks for cost.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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