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Royal Oak Lump Review - Not Feeling It

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flynnbob
flynnbob Posts: 665
in EggHead Forum
I have been burning RO for the past month or so because HD has it a a good price here (North Fulton, Atlanta).  Here's my review Naked Whiz style.

RO size is OK and it lights fairly quickly, not a lot of junk in the lump.
It will burn hot but it doesn't last - Have had trouble with some pizza and rib cooks.
It has a smokey flavor - This is ok for most cooks, but I really can notice it on veggies.

I am doing ribs and wings tonight and am going with Ozark Oak which I know will bring it home nicely but it is pricey here,  I need to try other lumps and have Rockwood on the radar if I can find it.  Guess that I am burned out on RO.....

Milton, GA.
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,349
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    Interesting comments/observations as lately (past 3-4 months) I have seen the same with the lack of duration characteristic.  If you can get your hands on Wicked Good Weekend Warrior give it a shot.  WGWW went thru a very bad quality issue around 8-10 months ago that I eggsperienced so I gave  it a pass.  Heard good things recently so figured I would give them one last shot-quality fixed and it's quite smoke neutral much like Rockwood.  FWIW-

    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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  • AmericanFlannel
    AmericanFlannel Posts: 131
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    Wicked Good Weekend Warrior can be hard to light according to the people I bought it from. I used my looflighter and it took about twice as long to light and had trouble getting it up to temp. I am on my first bag of RO right now. seems ok? looks and lights like BGE (Same people right?) which I usually use. It's cheap so this will be my go-to charcoal unless I am trying to impress someone 
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    Watch the OO. It'll burn hot. But it's my favorite.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • GreenhawK
    GreenhawK Posts: 398
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    It seems to be in my experience that a $20 bag of charcoal tends to take about twice as long per weight to burn as a $10 bag.  Per dollar it seems to burn at about the same rate.

    I do like to burn a higher end charcoal on really long slow cooks just to keep from worrying about running out.  I rarely notice a difference in taste from brand to brand.  Usually if I do notice a difference in taste it's because I put the meat on before it is burning clean and not due to brand.
    Large BGE Decatur, AL
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  • flynnbob
    flynnbob Posts: 665
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    Good comments.  I guess that you get what you pay for.  I am going to give Wicked Good a shot as well.  I think the RO is OK for a quick steak, etc but comes up short for the long burn.  My ribs are doing just fine right now and the temp is holding really well.
    Milton, GA.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    I liked that RO is readily available by me, and reasonably priced. I have a stock of Rockwood currently, but I will likely go back to RO when it runs out.

    I have done a few overnight cooks with RO and never had a problem if I filled the lump up to the top of the fire ring. The last overnight cook I did was with RO, and I still had lump left after 30hrs.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • beteez
    beteez Posts: 548
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    Never had an issue on over nights w/ RO either
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  • GATABITES
    GATABITES Posts: 1,260
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    me either
    XL BGE 
    Joe JR 
    Baltimore, MD
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    It is cool to see how everyone has different opinions of the exact same product. On one hand RO works for @caliking and others and others don't think it is all that. That is what makes the world go round,opinions I grabbed the last 1/2 bag of RO to do some wokkin last week and was amazed how much longer it took to burn clean compared to OO or RW and even after it burned clean still had a very heavy smoke smell, it was bad enough my wife ask me if I had changed lump again. I will continue to buy RW or OO as long as I can get it even though it is a bit more out of the way than RO.

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • Terrebandit
    Terrebandit Posts: 1,750
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    I have no trouble with RO on up to 18 hour cooks.
    Dave - Austin, TX
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  • tybeelucy2
    tybeelucy2 Posts: 81
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    I found Rockwood at the ACE off 75 at West Paces Ferry and Northside. Haven't used it yet though.
    LBGE- Atlanta, LBGE and SBGE- Ellijay, GA
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    I think RO is good, not the best but still good. I do find it adds its own smoke flavour, specially on veggies as noted above by @flynnbob. 
    Maple Leaf is super neutral, very little smoke flavour, if you want smoke, you have to add smoke wood. Sugar Maple is also quite neutral. but it does burn faster. 
    WGWW was excellent, they went trough a time when it appeared profits meant more than their clients and product quality. That has been resolved as of the last bag I tried, it was very good, very expensive, but very good. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    Cali...I'm supposed to believe you got 30 plus hours out of RO? That's impossible. I can't believe you use it.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
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    I hear Wicked Good is really awesome cali...you should pick up a bag or two! :D
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Mattman3969 said:
    It is cool to see how everyone has different opinions of the exact same product. On one hand RO works for @caliking and others and others don't think it is all that. That is what makes the world go round,opinions I grabbed the last 1/2 bag of RO to do some wokkin last week and was amazed how much longer it took to burn clean compared to OO or RW and even after it burned clean still had a very heavy smoke smell, it was bad enough my wife ask me if I had changed lump again. I will continue to buy RW or OO as long as I can get it even though it is a bit more out of the way than RO.
    Rockwood definitely burns cleaner. The VOC's burn off very quickly, faster than any other brand i have tried.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @henapple - that's what happens when you don't broaden your horizons and use only one brand of lump. You have no clue what else is out there. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Kosko
    Kosko Posts: 535
    edited February 2014
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    cazzy said:
    I hear Wicked Good is really awesome cali...you should pick up a bag or two! :D

    =))
    Peachtree City, Ga Large BGE
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    cazzy said:
    I hear Wicked Good is really awesome cali...you should pick up a bag or two! :D
    I still have the bag that i was given to test against Rockwood. Its still lying outside all by its lonesome. The Rockwood in the garage refused to associate with it :)

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    I've tried ro and hated it. Had a 12 hour burn and ran out. OO is so much better.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    They pay you to say that? Always wondered how you got such a good price on the double O...

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    I'll do what it takes to use good lump..
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    @hennaple - i gotz to agree with you on this. I made my mind up after the first cook on OO that there was no comparison between OO & RO Then I got lucky and found RW close to one of my vendors in IL that I visit about once a month Personal opinion is that OO burns hotter and RW is more neutral and I can't speak for longevity because I haven't done an overnight in forever.

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @henapple - we know. Just leave the poor bacon out of it.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Mayberry
    Mayberry Posts: 750
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    Nature Glo is good for higher temp, faster cooks. I've been using Royal Oak, like everyone else, because of the price. But after I run out, I won't buy more. It burns way too quickly. I loved Wicked Good, but Ace stopped carrying it. I'd love to try OO or RW if I could find it near Athens, GA. Still looking for a replacement for low and slow since i can't find Wicked Good anymore.
    Athens, GA
    XL BGE, Large BGE and RecTec590
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  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
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    Mayberry said:
    Nature Glo is good for higher temp, faster cooks. I've been using Royal Oak, like everyone else, because of the price. But after I run out, I won't buy more. It burns way too quickly. I loved Wicked Good, but Ace stopped carrying it. I'd love to try OO or RW if I could find it near Athens, GA. Still looking for a replacement for low and slow since i can't find Wicked Good anymore.
    If you get over toward Winder or Loganville, we have Rockwood in both of those stores.
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    I may be incorrect but isn't nature glo made by ro?
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
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    I only used Royal Oak for 6 months or so after I got my egg, as that's what my dealer sold and I didn't know any better. I ordered some Fogo from Amazon and now that's my go to for important cooks. I'm out of RO now and will be trying some OO and RW when I get a chance.
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • Mayberry
    Mayberry Posts: 750
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    @henapple: It is made by RO, but like BGE lump, it burns better for some reason. I've tried Nature Glo vs RO head to head and it's not even comparable, @stlcharcoal: Do you mean at Hill's Ace Hardware? If so, I need to go back there, then. They didn't have any out when I went by a few weeks ago.
    Athens, GA
    XL BGE, Large BGE and RecTec590
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    @Caliking is an unbelievable cook. Why he uses ro is beyond me.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,567
    edited February 2014
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    RO has been hit and miss with me lately, but I have many 30+ hour cooks with it. I recently bought five bags of Rockwood and after going though two bags I have to say It is near the bottom on a scale of 1 to 10 for me. I know it gets great reviews here and shipping might have something to do with it but it has very few nice size pieces, nothing large and burns fairly quick and was mostly chips for me so far.

    Wicked Good is still the best charcoal I have used, and I gone through around 500 lbs a year of a few different brands, for the last 7 years. Luckily I missed the bad period they had last year and plan to order another pallet load soon. If anyone is interested  and in the South Jersey area let me know.

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