Royal Oak Lump from WalMart

LesMo

I was pleased when I saw my local WalMart was carrying Royal Oak lump.  I had been driving 90 miles northwest or 50 miles northeast to my nearest Home Depot to stock up.  Well, the story didn't end well.  I bought 3 bags and each bag has been nothing but small chibbles with a few medium sized lumps mixed in.   I'm very disappointed.  They must have a special deal with WalMart to sell their left overs.  :-(

Jupiter Jim

Nope you just got some bags that have suffered rough shipping and handling, I get Royal Oak all the time from Wally World in NC/FL but I feel the bags over and can usually feel larger chunks and will turn them upside-down and if I hear a lot of small stuff I put it back. Most of the Wally Worlds are going to stop carrying most of the BBQ stuff this time of year to make room for Christmas stuff. 

yljkt

Where do you live that you have to drive 90 or 50 miles to buy Royal Oak? The stuff is pretty much everywhere. Have you tried any other brands? 

bgebrent

@DoubleEgger, opportunity for you?

RRP

You have a couple GFS locations there in Decatur. Their lump is made by RO. Even if for some reason your stores don't stock it they will bring it in for you and their price is good!

LesMo

I live in Decatur, IL.   @RRP; what is GFS?

Jstroke

@LesMo GFS is Gordon Food Service. They have retail stores where they sell restaurant supplies. It used to be called GFS marketplace but they renamed them

Fred19Flintstone

RRP said:

You have a couple GFS locations there in Decatur. Their lump is made by RO. Even if for some reason your stores don't stock it they will bring it in for you and their price is good!

+1  I have a GFS store right by me that stocks that lump year round.  I don't get the jitters in the dead of winter when the lump supply runs low.

Jstroke

Fred19Flintstone said:

RRP said:

You have a couple GFS locations there in Decatur. Their lump is made by RO. Even if for some reason your stores don't stock it they will bring it in for you and their price is good!

+1  I have a GFS store right by me that stocks that lump year round.  I don't get the jitters in the dead of winter when the lump supply runs low.

I burn it year round myself. They are never out and the price never moves unless its on sale. They don't play games with the weight of the bags--simple. as @YukonRon says.
Done
Next Problem

LesMo

The nearest GFS location to Decatur, IL that I see is Springfield and Champaign.  Are they under another name in Decatur? 

Hans61

 My bags of royal oak from Walmart have been good I'm very picky about finding bags that don't look beat up 

blasting

I had ongoing trouble with bags half full of dust and marble size purchased from HD.  That seems to have changed with my last bulk purchase.  The bags have been great lately.

The price can't be beat (when on sale) - but it ain't no Rockwood.

OhioEgger

I've always used mostly Royal Oak, but found a lot of variability from bag to bag. Finally figured out that it's from how the bags were handled. If possible, I like to get bags from the top of a pallet, not the ones underneath. Even Wally World can have bags in good condition.

Slightly related, one of my local dealers recently stopped carrying RO and switched to Humphrey. Tried a couple bags and really like it. Seems like much fewer little pieces (and some really big ones).

EggPerfection

It's mostly a handling issue at Walmart.  They just do such high volumes of everything that pallets are constantly moving.  I've always been happiest with BGE bags from the mother-ship but we're not close neighbors any longer.

tikigriller

This thread has become very interesting.  I never would have thought to inspect the bag prior to buying, but when I think back to my last two bags, huge difference in lump size, and the two bags of larger pieces, were both BGE, however, they were from Nor Cal Patio where I got the Egg, and the other one was from a smaller sized Ace Hardware Store, so they were both smaller stores vs the monster of Home Depot.