Royal Oak Lump quality

KRod

I know that they make BGE charcoal and have used it in the past.  Last 3 bags I’ve bought I’m noticing a lot more “crumbs” than medium to large lumps.  Anyone else notice this or maybe I’ve just been unlucky.

Lowcountrygamecock

I quit with royal oak and started buying kamado Joe big block. I kept finding big pieces of insulation in royal oak and lots of small pieces of lump. 

KRod

Yeah I think I’m going to switch.  I see a lot of sites recommend Jealous Devil.  I may give that a try.

JohnInCarolina

Get some Rockwood if it’s available where you are.  Most folks here prefer it to the alternatives.

Langner91

JohnInCarolina said:

Get some Rockwood if it’s available where you are.  Most folks here prefer it to the alternatives.

If you have an ACE hardware nearby, they will give you $10 off if you download their app before 7/31.  (Normally $5)

That makes for a cheap bag of Rockwood to try.

Corv

Dunno about Rockwood, I know a lot of us like it. But after three bags mostly I just find tiny pieces. Bought a bag of Royal Oak and it's better for sure. My most recent bag is Fogo Super Premium, but I haven't opened it yet.

BigGreenKev

Supply chain can pulverize ANY brand. Look for bags that aren't compressed.  That should give you the best chance for big pieces regardless of brand. 

I'm a royal oak guy from a cost/performance standpoint. I've used 2 bags of JD and its been big chunks but takes a while to get going. See the JD thread of late as some feel strongly about it.  Wicked Good and Rockwood are also good ones. There are many variables that come before you pick up the bag.

lousubcap

Once more into the valley of lump rode a forum thread.  
As divisive a topic as any that appear here.  FWIW-

Lowcountrygamecock

Not a fan of rock wood either. I can’t get it local and had to order it. Last order, two out of three bags had more pebble sized pieces than lumps. Still haven’t opened the third bag but it sounds rough when you shake it. I imagine it was all in shipping and I may try again if I could get it locally but not worth ordering to me. I’ve been using kamado Joe that I can get locally so I can put my hands on and shake. 

4TheGrillOfIt

lousubcap said:

Once more into the valley of lump rode a forum thread.  
As divisive a topic as any that appear here.  FWIW-

Lol Here we go again!  Yeehaw!

jtcBoynton

Corv said:

Dunno about Rockwood, I know a lot of us like it. But after three bags mostly I just find tiny pieces. Bought a bag of Royal Oak and it's better for sure. My most recent bag is Fogo Super Premium, but I haven't opened it yet.

The higher the quality of charcoal the more brittle it is. Rough handling is the issue. You need to have a chat with your supplier. Check out the bags in the store, you can tell if they have been mishandled. 

And , no, Royal Oak is not better.  

Hansm

don't care for Royal Oak,  very harsh.  BGE Maple, Rockwood, FOGO are my staple

stlcharcoal

jtcBoynton said:

The higher the quality of charcoal the more brittle it is. Rough handling is the issue. You need to have a chat with your supplier. Check out the bags in the store, you can tell if they have been mishandled. 

Yes, that is the trade off.

If you want big chunks, they need to have wood fiber in them to hold them together....which means water, VOCs, more smoke, more ash, less BTU's, until you cook it off.

If you want highly carbonized, clean burning straight out of the bag, that means no wood fiber, thus brittle.  Our brand is positioned for this and always has been.  We don't guarantee anything on chunk size, we guarantee carbonization.  Granted you don't want a bags of what we call "fines" (3/4-in minus).  We screen on a 1" chain conveyor, so anything smaller falls through.  The fines get sold into agriculture, biomass fuels, metalizing, etc so it's not like we're gaining anything by dumping those in a bag.....plenty of customers on that side of the business.

The good news is, despite the internet lore, small pieces burn at the same rate, heat, etc as large pieces as long as the O2 can get to them.  It all has the same BTU/# and burn the same if you keep the O2 metered.  The best option is to have a good mix of sizes so that the small pieces stay lit and provide a fire bridge, as the bigger chunks keep the gaps and airflow.  Worse thing you can try to do is try to start a fire with just a bunch of huge chunks, as they are nothing but big heat sinks (i.e. can't throw that "yule log" in the fireplace until you have a very hot bed of coals to get and KEEP the temp up on that.)

Here's more info:  https://www.pizza-porta.com/blog/2019/8/18/guest-blog-charcoal-rockwood-charcoal

I am sorry for anyone that is unsatisfied with the chunk size in our bags, but that is the LEAST important attribute of quality lump charcoal in our opinion......and everything that we've built this brand on in the last 9 yrs (all while being #1 on TNW), has been proper carbonization.  I have no doubt that we would lose that and our market share in a heartbeat, and be like every other brand out there if we switched over to this large chunk marketing approach of selling under carbonized "charred wood" from central and south America.  So long as I'm around, RW will always be US-made with domestic woods and properly carbonized.

If you cannot break it apart by hand, it is not charcoal (yet)!!!!!

Hansm

@stlcharcoal .... YES quality to the goal!!!  I am leaning more and more towards Rockwood.

lousubcap

@Hansm - consider this the final push.  You won't be disappointed!

And since I'm here-how Rockwood jumped in several years ago to provide the home delivery service:
Firecraft used to sell Rockwood online for home delivery.  They gave up on the lump sales (and perhaps everything else).  At that point Rockwood stood up their on line store in a matter of several weeks and have not looked back.
I have no affiliation with the company but fully endorse their products.  FWIW-

danhoo

lousubcap said:

Once more into the valley of lump rode a forum thread.  
As divisive a topic as any that appear here.  FWIW-

What is the best fan and temp controller to ride across valley of lump? 

fishlessman

if there was only a way for me to dispose of all this bad lump. would a disposal fee of 1 dollar be to much to ask

Foghorn

4TheGrillOfIt said:

lousubcap said:

Once more into the valley of lump rode a forum thread.  
As divisive a topic as any that appear here.  FWIW-

Lol Here we go again!  Yeehaw!

This deserves a lump haiku:


A great lump debate
Many brands from which to choose
Just order Rockwood

stlcharcoal

danhoo said:

lousubcap said:

Once more into the valley of lump rode a forum thread.  
As divisive a topic as any that appear here.  FWIW-

What is the best fan and temp controller to ride across valley of lump? 

Flame Boss 500 is my fav.....been a dealer for them since day 1 for all six generations.  I dropped all the other brands I used to sell since none could compete on performance, & both dealer and customer support.

Yno

stlcharcoal said:

jtcBoynton said:

Here's more info:  https://www.pizza-porta.com/blog/2019/8/18/guest-blog-charcoal-rockwood-charcoal

Is that your high school graduation picture, or do you have the Dorian Gray portrait next to the Delorean?

JohnInCarolina

Yno said:

stlcharcoal said:

jtcBoynton said:

Here's more info:  https://www.pizza-porta.com/blog/2019/8/18/guest-blog-charcoal-rockwood-charcoal

Is that your high school graduation picture, or do you have the Dorian Gray portrait next to the Delorean?

Isn’t it also possible he just time traveled with the Delorean?  

danhoo

stlcharcoal said:

danhoo said:

lousubcap said:

Once more into the valley of lump rode a forum thread.  
As divisive a topic as any that appear here.  FWIW-

What is the best fan and temp controller to ride across valley of lump? 

Flame Boss 500 is my fav.....been a dealer for them since day 1 for all six generations.  I dropped all the other brands I used to sell since none could compete on performance, & both dealer and customer support.

That answer was too helpful.

I was expecting to be lambasted for asking about ATC on a BGE and then to be told I should sell my egg and get a pellet popper. 

I guess I'm not very good at trolling and had best leave that for others. 

Yno

JohnInCarolina said:

Yno said:

Isn’t it also possible he just time traveled with the Delorean?  

Does he have an O'Reilly Auto Parts store nearby?
https://www.oreillyauto.com/flux-500.html

Hansm

I dispose of unwanted lump in the pit

stlcharcoal

Yno said:

Is that your high school graduation picture, or do you have the Dorian Gray portrait next to the Delorean?

Neither.....charcoal is nature's botox!

Edit:  Here's a more recent pic with The Notorious J.I.C.

stlcharcoal

oops....double post!

stlcharcoal

and triple post! 

JohnInCarolina

stlcharcoal said:

Yno said:

Is that your high school graduation picture, or do you have the Dorian Gray portrait next to the Delorean?

Neither.....charcoal is nature's botox!

Edit:  Here's a more recent pic with The Notorious J.I.C.

And @texaswig !

Begger

I found Rockwood and it was good, but not perfect.
Others?   Without mention of names?   Quality is 'variable'    Sometimes you get smallish pieces and other times, pieces of Tree.    Usually some of each.  Does not seem to be predictible......

Hansm

I have found BGE Maple from Canada to be consistent and very mild, my go to. I like a mild flavor. Rockwood is also mild. I was using a lot of FOGO Black and Gold, which has been inconsistent flavor wise recently. Narrowing in on Maple and Rockwood

Ybabpmuts

I've been using wicked good weekend warrior blend. Just started showing up at my local ace hardware. It's dense, and its hard to get lit, but once its fully lit, it can go all night. 

Sounds kinda like someone I dated in high school but she couldn't cook.