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Holy Boulders!

I just refilled the Egg with some fresh Big Green Egg lump and heard a butt puckering clank against the side of the fire ring.  There was a small boulder in there. It measured about 3 1/2 inches long and at least two inches in diameter and rock solid (no pun intended).  Luckily I had enough used charcoal in the Egg already to buffer the hit a little but that thing could have cracked something for sure.  It was all black from being in the charcoal so didn't stand out.  I keep mine in a plastic bin and sort through it but this one was disguised as a lump.  Not real impressed with BGE lump so far.  I should have taken a pic of it but once I made sure the Egg wasn't damaged, I was so pissed, I threw it in the woods.  Anyone else have this experience with BGE charcoal?   

Comments

  • Spaightlabs
    Spaightlabs Posts: 2,349
    i've gotten hunks of rock/kiln artifacts in several different brands.
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,836
    If you wait long enough and chat "lump, lump, lump" @stlcharcoal‌ will show up and explain where these "rocks" come from.
    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
  • i've gotten hunks of rock/kiln artifacts in several different brands.
    I have too. But never anything as big as this one.  I guess it's never really mattered before the BGE but when I heard that hit the ceramic I thought something broke.  Not thinking the warranty would cover that?  
  • I think I'll stick with Full Circle brand.  It's a local St. Louis market, Schnuck's, store brand.  I'm not sure if anyone else carries it.  Supposedly made by Royal Oak.  It too will have small white gravel and stuff but usually small and easy to pick out.  I've used it for years with no issues other than small lump and high dust content.  
  • ads75
    ads75 Posts: 391
    I always pour my lump from a bag into a 5 gallon pale first, mainly so I am not carrying a bag of lump from my garage through my house to my back deck. Sometimes I find stuff then. But sometimes when I am pouring from the pale into my BGE also. Never found anything that big though.
    Large BGE, Mini BGE
    Morgantown, PA
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    I found this in a bag of royal oak. Couldn't figure out why I was having air flow problems.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    @Eggstermeyer‌ next Olympics @henapple‌ is going for the Gold in the faux lump (rock) tossing category. Rumor has is RO will be donating to the event since they have plenty in each bag. >:)
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,727
    DMW said:
    If you wait long enough and chat "lump, lump, lump" @stlcharcoal‌ will show up and explain where these "rocks" come from.

    Yep, I'm here.

    Rocks are going to be in lump charcoal until consumers are ready to pay $100 for a hand sorted 10# bag.  Rocks get lodged in trees or scooped up by the loaders in the logging or kilning process, so some won't even be found until the charcoal burns up.  If they're loose, a char dust covered rock looks just like a chunk of charcoal.

    In the end, who cares if there's a small rock in your bag of charcoal......it's not the same as being in your bag of cereal.  It's not going to change smoke/taste nor how it burns.  The rock(s) will find its way to the bottom to be scraped out with the ash.  No big whoop.

    Concrete is another story because it means someone's kilns are falling apart.  Here's a picture of a chunk of concrete complete with rebar that I got in another brand's bag (yes, I test other brands occasionally.)  2.2 lbs and made a big CLUNK when it dumped into my firebox.  I got a good laugh out of it.

    In any case, most bags have some overage in them, so you'll still get a full 20# of charcoal even with a few rocks in the mix.

  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    @stlcharcoal‌ 100% agree! All kidding aside it's not that unusual to find a lil rock etc as stated it's part of the mass production process. I'm not so anal to have weighed each bag of lump but, I'm sure my WGWW is fairly scaled etc. No worries. B-)
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • Crispix49
    Crispix49 Posts: 191
    Rocks in your lump is like a hair in your food at a restaurant....it sucks, but it's gonna happen!
    Atlanta suburbs
    Large & Mini owner
    UGA Alum - Go Dawgs!
  • mcmac
    mcmac Posts: 496
    I found one recently in a bag of BGE that was about the size of a tennis ball but the bag as a whole was still pretty good lump.
    XL BGE -  Med BGE - Mini BGE - Traeger Pellet Grills

     Hillsboro OR