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Royal Oak Made in America

2

Comments

  • yljkt
    yljkt Posts: 799
    Not sure what this sorting thing is. If I ever get an XL, so help me God, I'll put in an 8 lb. bag and set the whole bag on fire. 
  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,352
    I've been buying Kamado Joe recently and setting aside some of the big chunks for my next low and slow.  Man, there are a lot of big chunks in there!
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
  • I just cleaned my XL after about 3 months. I use it at least 4 times a week. I just dumped a full 16.8 lb. bag of R.O in. It's a perfect fit. When it cooks down I add more on top. I never sort. After 3 months I had about 10 rocks in the bottom of the egg.
  • blasting
    blasting Posts: 6,262

    Eggs are lump misors.  The yearly cost dif between royal oak and rockwood makes it a no brainer for me.  Rockwood has much less dust, more neutal profile, and much quicker to get to good smoke.

    Op - i add to the used lump as needed - even low and slows.  It never gets pulled out.
    Phoenix 
  • There was so much more dust in the Wallmart R.O. That I would pay the extra $2 bag So as not to deal with the mess.
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    Ozark Oak is the best ever... I've got 300 lbs of it. If not that... Rockwood is unbelievable. 
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • Elijah
    Elijah Posts: 679
    I think I pulled lump out of mine once after seeing someone doing it on here. I dumped it back in a few cooks later.
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    thetrim said:
    I've been buying Kamado Joe recently and setting aside some of the big chunks for my next low and slow.  Man, there are a lot of big chunks in there!

    Be careful.....having nothing but huge chunks means huge air gaps.  Yes that can keep the fire from snuffing out, but it can also go the other way.  Carbon needs a kindling temp of 670F to stay lit and there is a very little of it burning with a dome temp of 225F.  If that spot that's burning is too far away from the next piece as it burns out, the fire will go out.  There's no telling how the fire snakes around, so it may be just fine.....but it could go the other way too.  Throw a few big chunks in the bottom then fill in and top with whatever is straight out of the bag.
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    I've just never understood that fascination with huge chunks! As I encounter them I throw them in a separate bag until it is full. Then I take the bag out, dump it on a screened frame I made using 1/2" hardware cloth and beat those chunks into useable pieces. 
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.
  • @stlcharcoal arrowheads huh? Now you have my attention. That would be an excellent find to add to my rock collection. 
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    There was so much more dust in the Wallmart R.O. That I would pay the extra $2 bag So as not to deal with the mess.
    By all accounts, Royal Oak is Royal Oak (US made). Lump is brittle and the amount of dust and lump size is greatly influenced by handling during shipping. Maybe one store will consistently mishandle the bags. I tend to think it is more variable. You need a larger sample size before drawing any conclusions. 

    By far the worst bag I have ever gotten for dust and small pieces was a bag of Rockwood.  Rockwood is a quality product and some praise it for little dust and good lump sizes.  One time I bought two bags. One was as expected and was the poster child of size distribution. The other was nothing but dust and tiny pieces. Pretty sure they left the Rockwood facility in pretty much the same condition. I think that someone dropped one bag off the back of the truck onto the pavement before I got it. 
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
  • The_Stache
    The_Stache Posts: 1,153
    henapple said:
    Ozark Oak is the best ever... I've got 300 lbs of it. If not that... Rockwood is unbelievable. 
    Horder!
    Kirkland, TN
    2 LBGE, 1 MM


  • RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.

    I've found a little metal banding from time to time but never bullets, insulation,  or barbed wire yet- which is good for you since I'm 99.9% Rockwood for the past 3 years or so. I've used almost all of them over the years though. Rocks are about the most exciting thing I ever see. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • 1voyager
    1voyager Posts: 1,157
    A surprise in every bag. Just like Cracker Jacks!
    Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser.
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.

    I've found a little metal banding from time to time but never bullets, insulation,  or barbed wire yet- which is good for you since I'm 99.9% Rockwood for the past 3 years or so. I've used almost all of them over the years though. Rocks are about the most exciting thing I ever see. 

    The metal has really been cut down now that there's a big ass magnet mounted over the conveyor.  Doesn't catch everything--especially anything incased or underneath a big piece.  But it does grab quite a bit.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.

    I've found a little metal banding from time to time but never bullets, insulation,  or barbed wire yet- which is good for you since I'm 99.9% Rockwood for the past 3 years or so. I've used almost all of them over the years though. Rocks are about the most exciting thing I ever see. 

    The metal has really been cut down now that there's a big ass magnet mounted over the conveyor.  Doesn't catch everything--especially anything incased or underneath a big piece.  But it does grab quite a bit.
    If you didn't remove any metal, it would probably account for 0.0001% of your lump, and I know you overfill your advertised weight.  It doesn't burn, change the flavor of the food or have any other negative effect.  But if for nothing else to shut up people complaining about it, thank you for the magnet.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.

    I've found a little metal banding from time to time but never bullets, insulation,  or barbed wire yet- which is good for you since I'm 99.9% Rockwood for the past 3 years or so. I've used almost all of them over the years though. Rocks are about the most exciting thing I ever see. 

    The metal has really been cut down now that there's a big ass magnet mounted over the conveyor.  Doesn't catch everything--especially anything incased or underneath a big piece.  But it does grab quite a bit.
    If you didn't remove any metal, it would probably account for 0.0001% of your lump, and I know you overfill your advertised weight.  It doesn't burn, change the flavor of the food or have any other negative effect.  But if for nothing else to shut up people complaining about it, thank you for the magnet.

    We don't get many complaints, but it has reduced the ones about metal.  The only way I've ever been able to get the rocks out is floating the charcoal across a water bath.  The rocks (or charcoal with something inside), would sink.  But then it would have to go back outside to dry off......and it will never get down to the <2-3% moisture content.  So increaded costs and we're selling someone water, which makes it harder to light, more smoke, and less carbon in the bag by weight.  Plus what to do with all the dirty water.  Put that in the BAD IDEA file.....but hey, I wouldn't have to hear about rocks anymore.






  • RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.

    I've found a little metal banding from time to time but never bullets, insulation,  or barbed wire yet- which is good for you since I'm 99.9% Rockwood for the past 3 years or so. I've used almost all of them over the years though. Rocks are about the most exciting thing I ever see. 

    The metal has really been cut down now that there's a big ass magnet mounted over the conveyor.  Doesn't catch everything--especially anything incased or underneath a big piece.  But it does grab quite a bit.
    If you didn't remove any metal, it would probably account for 0.0001% of your lump, and I know you overfill your advertised weight.  It doesn't burn, change the flavor of the food or have any other negative effect.  But if for nothing else to shut up people complaining about it, thank you for the magnet.

    We don't get many complaints, but it has reduced the ones about metal.  The only way I've ever been able to get the rocks out is floating the charcoal across a water bath.  The rocks (or charcoal with something inside), would sink.  But then it would have to go back outside to dry off......and it will never get down to the <2-3% moisture content.  So increaded costs and we're selling someone water, which makes it harder to light, more smoke, and less carbon in the bag by weight.  Plus what to do with all the dirty water.  Put that in the BAD IDEA file.....but hey, I wouldn't have to hear about rocks anymore.







    It is called Rockwood after all. It's right on the label :)

    I get a few rocks here and there but it's no big deal. 


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    RRP said:
    Trust us...don't have a cow over ANY foreign debris you might find in ANY brand of lump! Lump making is not a hospital related operation. Rocks, bullets, barbed wire, insulation and many other substances show up in all the brands. The manufacturers are NOT ripping you off! 
    While I agree that they are not ripping anyone off, I have gone through thousands of pounds of lump and dozens of brands over the years. I have not found one bullet, any barbed wire, insulation or "many other substances". A few rocks here and there and some un-carbonized wood but that's about it. 

    Are you using a US made charcoal?  Kind of surprised you haven't found nails, bullets, barbed wire, etc.  Even an arrowhead shows up once in a while.  Rocks, concrete/refractory, metal banding are tough to keep out with the way it's produced, but those other items are inside the trees......especially here in Missouri.

    I've found a little metal banding from time to time but never bullets, insulation,  or barbed wire yet- which is good for you since I'm 99.9% Rockwood for the past 3 years or so. I've used almost all of them over the years though. Rocks are about the most exciting thing I ever see. 

    The metal has really been cut down now that there's a big ass magnet mounted over the conveyor.  Doesn't catch everything--especially anything incased or underneath a big piece.  But it does grab quite a bit.
    If you didn't remove any metal, it would probably account for 0.0001% of your lump, and I know you overfill your advertised weight.  It doesn't burn, change the flavor of the food or have any other negative effect.  But if for nothing else to shut up people complaining about it, thank you for the magnet.

    We don't get many complaints, but it has reduced the ones about metal.  The only way I've ever been able to get the rocks out is floating the charcoal across a water bath.  The rocks (or charcoal with something inside), would sink.  But then it would have to go back outside to dry off......and it will never get down to the <2-3% moisture content.  So increaded costs and we're selling someone water, which makes it harder to light, more smoke, and less carbon in the bag by weight.  Plus what to do with all the dirty water.  Put that in the BAD IDEA file.....but hey, I wouldn't have to hear about rocks anymore.







    It is called Rockwood after all. It's right on the label :)

    I get a few rocks here and there but it's no big deal. 



    Yep!!  It's mostly from recent briquette converts.  They're pay 2x-3x more than the briquettes, and I think they're trying any way they can NOT to justify it.....because the emails are often kind of snotty.  They don't understand that the briquettes are/were 30-40% less BTU/# and they were full of a LOT of rocks (crushed limestone).  It's still more expensive when you do the math, but not that much more.
  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 1,894
    If folks are so concerned about the "quality" of their charcoal, maybe they should invest in Binchō-tan.  :) 
    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
  • Royal oak is pretty much all I use.  The stuff is great, and I see a few rocks here and there, but I cant believe people complain about that.  I've never seen a foreign object outside of rocks.  It may have been in there, but I don't inspect it.  It eventually is all ash when I clean out the egg anyway.  I've told my wife I want to be cremated in a XXL egg when the day comes.  She has instructions to use whatever charcoal is on sale.
  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
    SamIAm2 said:
    If folks are so concerned about the "quality" of their charcoal, maybe they should invest in Binchō-tan.  :) 
    I think I saw some while I was over there in May.  Still not sure.

    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

  • SmokingPiney
    SmokingPiney Posts: 2,282
    No problems with RO here. It's available, affordable, and works well. 
    South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS 
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    edited August 2017
    Royal oak is pretty much all I use.  The stuff is great, and I see a few rocks here and there, but I cant believe people complain about that.  I've never seen a foreign object outside of rocks.  It may have been in there, but I don't inspect it.  It eventually is all ash when I clean out the egg anyway.  I've told my wife I want to be cremated in a XXL egg when the day comes.  She has instructions to use whatever charcoal is on sale.
    Good stuff....we are cut from the same cloth.
    RO 'til I die!
    Nothing against Rockwood.
    The smell just brings me back to my first green eggin' high days, how egged food tasted egged, how it smelled different than Blue K, like the smell of lighter fluid at the campground.
    I've tried the hot flavors of the month, always come back to RO.  Cherry wood is like that for me too, just love the smell of it burning.  JD chips, chunks are a close second.
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 1,894
    @saluki2007 -  Possibly at a traditional Yakitori restaurant? Saw a documentary on a program called Begin Japanology-Charcoal last year about the making of "White chacoal". 
    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
  • Toxarch
    Toxarch Posts: 1,900
    I've told my wife I want to be cremated in a XXL egg when the day comes.  She has instructions to use whatever charcoal is on sale.

    Me too on the cremation over charcoal.  I'm planning on using a Mini BGE as my urn.  I told my dad that was my plan for him too.......but he's cheap and said he'd save me the trouble (and charcoal) and try to die near the curb on trash day.  You can see where I get my sense of humor.


    I want a Komodo Kamado as my urn. I'm going to try to take as much of my money as I can with me when I die.

    Aledo, Texas
    Large BGE
    KJ Jr.

    Exodus 12:9 KJV
    Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

  • SouthernEagle
    SouthernEagle Posts: 47
    edited August 2017
    Some of y'all have spent way too much time thinking about all things lump related. I'd tell you to get a hobby but then the BGE is likely your hobby already so back to square one we go.
    I want to spend my time cooking not sorting. Only thing I will do is clean it out good occasionally and take out all the smaller pieces, which I will dump on top of lump when I am getting ready to cook.

    Was given 2 bags of BGE Lump when I purchased, not much left of the 2nd bag, plan 2 buy RO soon, since it sounds easy to find, decent price, and the makers of BGE lump which has worked great for me. 
    LBGE- North of Atlanta, Georgia.

    Hail Southern