Rockwood

Hungry Joe

I used "Rockwood" for the title because I knew it would draw attention. )  Religion always does :x

This is about the second bag out of five that I ordered online.

I am posting because this bag looks a lot better then the first one I used. I was not happy with the shipping and posted my displeasure in other threads so I wanted to show that all was not bad.

This looks more normal, I just hope the 3 others are as good.

saluki2007

I recently did a big purchase of both RW and OO.  I have only gone through one bag of the RW and two bags of OO, but so far the OO had bigger/better chunks.  Plus it seems to ash less. But each to their own.

caliking

Rockwood does seem to have more smaller pieces, but it doesn't seem to affect how it burns. If you had it shipped to you, the bags likely had more small pieces than usual because of the extra handling. A group buy is the way to go, IMO.

Carolina Q

That looks normal?! Smallest pieces I've ever seen. Except the last batch of RO I got from walmart. It was even worse.

GATraveller

I'd blame shipping.  Bag I got off the pallet at local hardware store was full of big chunks.  Great stuff IMHO.

tulocay

+1 on shipping. The bags I buy at the ACE hardware have many more big pieces than that.

Hungry Joe

I still like the size of Wicked Good best. I mix that with RO to fill the voids and it works really well.

Where I live RO and cowboy are about all you get without paying an arm and a leg. I tried a Rockwood pallet buy but couldn't get enough interest. A Wicked Good pallet buy is in the works now with some local people.

I had a picture of the Pockwood shipment but my phone decided to delete every picture on it with out my knowledge.

EGG_Daddy

What kind of discount can you get with a pallet buy?

drummerben

Picked up a bag of Rockwood at my local Ace for $19.99, $5 cheaper than the BGE. It was the last bag so not sure if they plan to keep stocking it, or of it was just a trial run. Looking forward to trying it though since I've never used anything but BGE.

DoofusOfTheDay

drummerben said:

Picked up a bag of Rockwood at my local Ace for $19.99, $5 cheaper than the BGE. It was the last bag so not sure if they plan to keep stocking it, or of it was just a trial run. Looking forward to trying it though since I've never used anything but BGE.

I got the 2nd to last bag at Morgans Ace Hardware on Wednesday, so is that where you got the last bag?

dldawes1

I've been using Frontier and Kroger brand lump since I went through the BGE that I bought when I bought my XLBGE between Christmas and New Years. I have had 4 successful cooks (as far as the lump quality is concerned....and that is not mentioning my errors!!).

I have not done a low/slow yet, is this where I will see a big difference in lump quality ????

I am still new, so forgive my ignorance if I am off base using the less expensive lumps without noticing a difference.

Your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated,

Donnie.

Lit

That looks like what the top end of the bag I got was like. The bottom end was much smaller even. To me I will stick with royal oak for 50 cents a pound since it has bigger pieces than that when you get the large bags. If you like large pieces and have amazon prime try fogo lump off amazon its really dense like wicked good and there were pieces that wouldn't fit in my mini and its not because they were long tree branches they were huge chunks.

saluki2007

dldawes1 

IMHO you will notice differences in charcoal quality on long low and slows.  Here is a good website to reference different types of charcoal.  http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

There is a ton of good info throughout the website.

drummerben

DoofusOfTheDay said:

I got the 2nd to last bag at Morgans Ace Hardware on Wednesday, so is that where you got the last bag?

Doofus, I was at a different Ace Hardware: Bates. Sounds like several Atlanta metro area Ace stores selling at about the same pace - running low or all sold out. I wonder if they plan to keep stocking it?

stlcharcoal

What is the fascination with the huge chunks (logs) of charcoal?  What do you think you're getting out of it?

If the carbon content of the charcoal is the same, and the air flow is regulated, 1-lbs of large charcoal chunks going to burn the same as 1-lbs of small charcoal chunks.

I understand the low and slow factor in Kamado, with the firebox funneling the chunks and ash together and snuffing out the fire.  I've been Egg'ing for 20 yrs now--the fix for this is a new fire grate--first and foremost.  After than, the charcoal is only a factor if you're talking gravel size pieces that the air cannot flow through.  As long as the air can get to it, and through it, it's going to burn the same.

Futhermore, some manufacturers are only able to get huge chunk "charcoal" to you, because it's not charcoal.  Charcoal is light, brittle, & breaks easily.......Charred wood (right before it becomes charcoal) is dense, will not break if dropped, and produces a lot of smoke.

Do a test with the "charcoal" logs.  Throw them on the ground and see if they break into a dozen pieces.  When they hit the ground or impact another piece of "charcoal", do they make a metallic "tink" noise?  If the answer is NO to both of these questions, they are still wood.  So there are actually less pieces in the bag since their weight is higher per chunk.  Then some consumers spend 20-40 minutes burning off the "VOCs" in order to turn their bag of charred wood into charcoal.  They end up with well under 20-lbs of charcoal by the time they do this.

One other note, larger chunks are also a factor of the humidity of the air and wood, plus the temp in the kilns.  Larger chunks used to be more prevalent in US charcoal up until the mid-90s when the EPA cracked down on charcoal plants.  Now that there's a ducted fan pulling the smoke out of every kiln (going to an afterburner), the charcoal burns hotter and faster, resulting in smaller chunks.  The non-US charcoals can still use the old techniques.  It's hell on the environment, but it produces good charcoal.  Asbestos, DDT, lead paint, etc all worked great too, but the industru had to find a safer way.

Regardless of the scientific properties of charcoal, the consumers want big chunks of charcoal, and that's what we try to get to them.  I can personally guarantee our bags have those big chunks when they leave the plant; however, after hundreds to thousands of miles of travel, there's no guarantee on chunk size.

Rockwood is no different than produce at the grocery--we are an all natural product subject to hundreds of different factors. All can influence the chunk size, burn time, ash production, rocks, etc.  What I can guarantee you is that our product is made with 100% Missouri hardwoods in an environmentally friendly plant.  It will have a high carbon content and my dedication to always make it the best lump charcoal available on the market.  Anything more than that, and briquettes are the only way to guarantee uniformity and consistency in a charcoal product.

Springram

I have nine bags left of Rockwood in my garage. Absolutely wonderful charcoal The best I have used.

The point about "VOC's" is true for sure. Rockwood has far less than other brands which means I am up and cooking a lot faster.

Springram

Spring, Texas

minniemoh

Springram said:

I have nine bags left of Rockwood in my garage. Absolutely wonderful charcoal The best I have used.

The point about "VOC's" is true for sure. Rockwood has far less than other brands which means I am up and cooking a lot faster.

Springram

Spring, Texas

I have a little stock pile of charcoal for the winter here. My wife thinks I might be hoarding a little bit. I have some Royal Oak, Rockwood, BGE brand, and a bag of Wicked Good. 

This is not a sales pitch for why you need to go out and buy some Rockwood but rather just some ramblings from an Egghead...

Last night, I started both my LBGEs at about the same time. I was making a spatchcock chicken on one and seasoning my new cast iron set on the other. I didn't do this intentionally and this wasn't a scientific test but there definitely were some differences that I noticed. I just happened to go back to Royal Oak(red bag from Home Depot) because I had emptied the last of a Rockwood bag in the first egg. The next bag I grabbed happened to be Royal Oak since it was the easiest one to get to through my messy garage. I have been using Rockwood for past couple of months. The Royal Oak did take quite a bit longer to burn off the "bad smoke" than the egg with the Rockwood. The other thing I noticed was that the Royal Oak had some pretty large pieces and it also had a much stronger and very pungent smell to the smoke for quite a while. It also took about an extra 20 minutes to get up to cooking temp (400 deg) compared to my other egg that I had started at the same time with Rockwood. Again, none of this was done with the intention of a head to head comparison but just what I noticed when I came back out to check temp on both eggs. 

As far as size of the pieces, I have had some Rockwood with pretty small pieces too. I just mixed them in with the next bag that had larger pieces and it all worked out fine. I will definitely buy more Rockwood when I get my stash dwindled down in the next couple of months - the stuff is worth a few more bucks a bag to me than the Home Depot Royal Oak as I prefer the taste of the food from the Rockwood cooks too. 

SWVABeanCounter

I got one bag from firecraft.com to test it out and yes, pieces were smaller, but I'll second the point about VOC's. I've mainly used RO since that is all that I can find within 50 miles of the house and in my eggsperience, I will gladly pay the price difference because it is a premium product.  Ready to cook in less than half the time and lasts longer.  I'll just have to wait until the next time I travel out of the area to stock up on it.

Gezr

Stlcharcol:
Many thanks for the explanation, it gave a rational basis to our many observations. I knew "what" and now I know "why".

Lit

I like big pieces because I can break them down if need be and they still promote air flow. Fogo lump is fully carbonized and burns forever even though its slow to light. Here is a pic of the first chunks I pulled out of a bag this wasn't fishing through it this was the whole first half of the bag. To each their own but there are many options for lump in Georgia especially at the $1 a pound price range. I am really liking the last bag of natures own I got for quick cooks its very neutral since its made from sugar maple.

saluki2007

SWVABeanCounter

The last time I got charcoal I ordered it from firecraft as well.  If you spend $100 it's free shipping.  So my brother and I split the order.  The only thing I can get around here is RO, Cowboy, BGE, and Natural Glo.  So ordering these good fuels from there is a no brainer.

Lit

Here's a pic of what is left in my bag of rockwood and what went into my small. Thats my small so the majority of what you are looking at is 1" or smaller. I agree it has a good smell and is very neutral smoke Maybe I just need to get a bag from ace thats only been shipped once this came from firecraft.

stlcharcoal

Lit said:

Here's a pic of what is left in my bag of rockwood and what went into my small. Thats my small so the majority of what you are looking at is 1" or smaller. I agree it has a good smell and is very neutral smoke Maybe I just need to get a bag from ace thats only been shipped once this came from firecraft.

How much is left in the bag in the second picture?  Normally we have less than 1# of chips and fines in a 20# bag.  That looks like it's still mixed with small to med sized ones.  I'm just curious since I've never seen a bag after it leaves St. Louis.

I might have to order some of that Fogo lump and try it out.  I see a 35# bag on Amazon for $40 w/ free shipping.  Is that what everyone is buying?  It says it's from central America.....I thought it was from eastern Europe?

SWVABeanCounter

saluki2007 said:

SWVABeanCounter

The last time I got charcoal I ordered it from firecraft as well.  If you spend $100 it's free shipping.  So my brother and I split the order.  The only thing I can get around here is RO, Cowboy, BGE, and Natural Glo.  So ordering these good fuels from there is a no brainer.

 

Thanks Saluki, but I knew that.  I ordered a few Christmas presents from them and threw that in for good measure.

henapple

Personally I'm an Ozark Oak guy. Getting it for 50 cents per lb helps as I travel through Arkansas. Next time I cut through St Louis I'll load up on Rockwood for me and @dlk7. It's great stuff. I did an 18 hour cook with it...no sorting, dump and light and had plenty left over. I freaked out on the size also but it works so to me it's irrelevant.

At this point start humming the Star Spangle Banner. ..

Gentleman and egg goddesses, by buying Rockwood Lump Charcoal we are supporting an American based and American owned company. At a time when unemployment and taxes are high we are helping to preserve the American dream by doing our part to boost the economy. Not only that but we are supporting a fellow egghead...one of our own.
God bless Rockwood
God bless Big Green Egg...and
God bless the USA


The viewpoints in this post are in no way endorsed by Rockwood or BGE.

SWVABeanCounter

Dang @henapple, now you got me crying.

dldawes1

@HENAPPLE...makes me want to jump in the truck and rush to ole St Louie to buy myself a bag !!

I haven't started searching around my neck of the woods yet for various lumps. I've got to quit working so much...

Thanks,

Donnie

henapple

Donnie. ..where are you located?

stlcharcoal

dldawes1 said:

@HENAPPLE...makes me want to jump in the truck and rush to ole St Louie to buy myself a bag !!

I haven't started searching around my neck of the woods yet for various lumps. I've got to quit working so much...

Thanks,

Donnie

If you make it down toward Lexington, it's at the BGE dealer in Versailles (Bluegrass Grills).

dldawes1

@stlcharcoal...I'll get down there and get me some....real soon !!!! Thanks, I just havent had much time since I got my BGE to do any shopping. I will check it out though...thanks again.

@HENAPPLE....I live in Northern KY, halfway between Cinci and Louisville. I normally do most "city" shopping in Louisville, however I do frequently go to Lexington and Cinci.

Thanks,

Donnie

chainsaw19

I have tried many brands and it is easily the best lump charcoal I have used. Love this stuff.