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I Waste No Charcoal

I have my system. I sort by small, medium, and large. 
I dump the bag of charcoal in a wheelbarrow and then sort by size 
The small pieces I place on the screen and shake out the charcoal dust 
I end up with three containers of correctly sized charcoal. 

Comments

  • JohnInCarolina
    JohnInCarolina Posts: 32,909
    Looks like you’ve got all your rocks in a row!
    "I've made a note never to piss you two off." - Stike
  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,794
    nice method!
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 16,347
    Hope you're not tossing the dust!  I sprinkle a bit of it on to the top of every cook, just to use it up.
    (I do not clamp the toothpaste tube into my bench vice, to get the last bit out, however, like my Dad did)
    ___________

    "When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set."

    - Lin Yutang


  • BigBuford
    BigBuford Posts: 78
    Sometimes I do sprinkle the dust
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,305
    I wonder what @RRP thinks about this
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,459
    caliking said:
    I don't waste any either.

    Open up the bag, and dump it in. Haven't noticed any difference to date. 
    Yeah, this.  It all burns the same. 
  • Langner91
    Langner91 Posts: 2,120
    BigBuford said:

    I end up with three containers of correctly sized charcoal. 
    Then what?  

    I rip it open and dump it in.

    Clinton, Iowa
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,974
    Rip it open and dump it in.  When I get to the bottom 1/4 of the bag, I open a new one to start a new bag for the bottom of the firebox.  Then I use the remainder of the old bag to top dress the firebox until it's empty.  Fines, powder, and all.  It's all the same BTUs and the smaller pieces and dust accelerate the lighting times. 

    I haven't taken home an undamaged bag off the top of the pallet in years.  My bags are usually the ones I run over with a forklift or have been mutilated somehow.  All burns the same.
     Hol' up... you get FREE charcoal ?!?!?!?

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • Interesting.  Do you have different recipes for the differently shaped charcoal, or do you build the fire the same way every time?
  • BigBuford
    BigBuford Posts: 78
    I buy all my charcoal in 40lb sacks. 
    As far how much and what sizes I put in the Egg, it depends on how long of a cook. 

  • Teefus
    Teefus Posts: 1,238
    I use all mine too. It goes in the top. It burns. Ashes come out the bottom. I stir the leftovers well prior to adding more. I thought everyone did that. 
    Michiana, South of the border.
  • BigBuford
    BigBuford Posts: 78
    Teefus, I do the same. 
  • Mayberry
    Mayberry Posts: 751
    I'm a classic overthinker, but wow....lol.  It all burns the same to me.  I do save the huge meteorite pieces for low and slow cooks and collect them in a bin for later. Unless they are too big...then I bust them up into smaller pieces.  Occasionally, you find a piece that is not fully charred throughout.  In that case, I typically just throw that one out.  But, the rest, including dust, just gets dumped in and burned.  But, to each his own.....I'm OCD about a ton of things.  This just isn't one of them, for me.  
    Athens, GA
    XL BGE, Large BGE and RecTec590
  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,459
    Mayberry said:
    I'm a classic overthinker, but wow....lol.  It all burns the same to me.  I do save the huge meteorite pieces for low and slow cooks and collect them in a bin for later. Unless they are too big...then I bust them up into smaller pieces.  Occasionally, you find a piece that is not fully charred throughout.  In that case, I typically just throw that one out.  But, the rest, including dust, just gets dumped in and burned.  But, to each his own.....I'm OCD about a ton of things.  This just isn't one of them, for me.  
    I may or may not have N ash tool that is in two pieces from breaking up large pieces. 🤷‍♀️
  • Mayberry
    Mayberry Posts: 751
    I may or may not have N ash tool that is in two pieces from breaking up large pieces. 🤷‍♀️

    Guiltily raises own hand  :#
    Athens, GA
    XL BGE, Large BGE and RecTec590
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,084
    WeberWho said:
    I wonder what @RRP thinks about this
    I don't do that sorting - I just throw the big chucks in a bag and when full I use this to smack them with a hammer on the big end and then pour the pieces back into the bag. Works for me!

  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,794
    Do you have another bin for the moon rocks?  :D
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
  • Langner91
    Langner91 Posts: 2,120
    loco_engr said:
    Do you have another bin for the moon rocks?  :D
    I save them.  After a year or two, I had enough for an outdoor water feature.


    Clinton, Iowa
  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,794
    Langner91 said:
    I save them.  After a year or two, I had enough for an outdoor water feature.


     :D  :p
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,738
    edited July 2022
    caliking said:
     Hol' up... you get FREE charcoal ?!?!?!?
    Ain't nothing Free about burnin inventory.
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum