Kingsford briquets in my BGE lump bag!

Stuart

I opened my newest bag of lump late last week and took what I needed out for dinner on Thursday. I noticed alot of small chunks and powder under what I grabbed and assumed that this end of the bag must bave been lower during shipping/storage and thus the settling of smaller lump etc. [p]Saturday when I cleaned out my rubbermaid tub and poured the bag into it an unusually large cloud of soot flew up and I again noticed alot of powder mixed in with the chunks, almost a "core" of it in the middle of the pile. Tonight while scooping out lump for salmon dinner to my shock and puzzlement.....a dozen or so briquets of charcoal with the Kingsford "K" stamped on them![p]What gives? Any other eggers out here have the same problem? I checked the bag for a lot number or something to report but no luck. My assumption is that the same manufacturer for Kingsford (if not Kingsford themselves) is packaging the lump for BGE. Whaddya think gang?[p]Stuart

Gfw

Stuart, possible... However, I'm sure that the folks at BGE could give you the answer. The variety of lump inside the bag is interesting. This bag was one of the best, but I have had several where the dust was about the bottom 1/8 of the bag.[p]

Smokey

Stuart,[p]Thus far I've only had good luck with the BGE lump (but I will be looking closer). The last bag i bought had a very good mix of sizes. I don't separate lump according to size (I heard some do), but am happy so far with the quality and if it ain't broke, don't fix it![p]Smokey

Smokin' Todd

Stuart,
Goto www.peopleswoods.com to order lump(many other smoking woods) if u if u wish not to purchase BGE brand in the future. Prices are very reasonable.
ST

Cornfed

Smokin' Todd,[p]Some of this lump has been used in my Reconstructed Small Big Green Egg (RSBGE - not available in stores). ST was kind enough to lend some for our recent cooks and all worked fine. Prior to this, I'd used BGE lump exclusively and will buy more BGE lump next time I make it up to Mendham, NJ (the location of the nearest BGE lump reseller). The problem is it's an hour and a half round trip and I work full time while going to grad school so free time is limited.[p]Anyway, my point is that I've had great success with both BGE lump and the lump provided by smokingwoods.com courtesy of Smokin' Todd. And while I've never seen any K's on my lump, I have noticed on some pieces of BGE lump, in very small letters, the expression "heeeeeee."[p]-Cornfed

Unknown

Stuart,
It's late and I'm goin' to bed, but for all of you that know Harry's Farmers Market, I have been buying their lump for over a year at $6.99 for 20 lbs. Works for me![p]

RLA

Smokin' Todd,
That $31 shipping charge kinda takes the fun out of ordering or even getting a good deal. Ill stick with BGE brand.
Bob

Smokin' Todd

RLA,
Thank you for your input. All I did was put a little effort to sit down and do a little basic arithmatic. I have found that it is cheaper, even with shipping, to purchase wood and coal from peoples woods then goto my local provider.
For example, the only place around where I live to purchase wood chunks offers them at $10 for 10 lbs. Whereas at peoples woods i can get 20 lbs for 16.95(that is including shipping!heeeeee!)I BBQ mucho, therfore i purchase a big amount at one time.
There are many options out there, but of course if BGE brand is the best available in your area...then go with BGE.
BGE Rocks! E2K just around da' corner!
ST

Tim M

Stuart,[p]Bags of lump charcoal are not much more than pure carbon in a bag. They are made (in BGE brands case) by Royal Oak. The question is, does Royal Oak supply charcoal to Kingsford - or does Royal Oak make briquetts for Kingsford? My guess is they might. So mixing might not be some huge conspiracy. [p]As far as dust in the bottom, you should see how they stack the stuff on pallets and then stack it under two other full pallets. Then ship it hundreds of miles to another warehouse on a tractor trailer rig with recapped tires that are coming apart while going up I-81 to the warehouse of the guy you bought it from. IE: shipping plays a huge part in the % of dust you get in a bag. Next time a truck passes you at 80 mph - wonder what cargo he is hauling.[p]Tim[p]

Dr. Chicken

Tim M,
You have hit the nail squarely on the head! Transportation adds costs and destroys the lump in transit![p]Where I deer hunt in Wisconsin, there is a little town that has a massive charcoal plant just on the eastern edge of town. It is Waupaca,WI and the plant is a Royal Oak plant, and yes, it does package Kingsford right there also! Maybe the BGE lump comes from there too! Who knows??? [p]Dr. Chicken[p]

sprinter

Dr. Chicken,[p]There's another big Royal Oak plant in SE Missouri, just outside of Van Buren. It too packages for Kingsford. I usually can pick up lump when I'm there for about $4.50 for 20 pounds. I can get Royal Oak here in town for $6.00/20 pounds so not a HUGE savings but I always take advantage of the opportunity. It will be interesting to see what a shipped package looks like (dust wise) vs. one that I picked up and delivered myself. Have never seen any BGE charcoal being shipped out, I'll pay more attention next time I'm in the area.[p]Troy

Brant

Stuart,[p]Hmm, a big "K" on the briquettes? Maybe you got some charcoal that was supposed to be used in "another" type of ceramic kooker? :-)[p]I joke (an inside joke at that!) instead of addressing your question, because Tim M already gave the answer I would have given. I've had great luck with my usage of BGE brand lump, but I can't turn down another label of Royal Oak lump, "Star Grill," which is identical in quality and half the price of what my local BGE dealer charges for a 20 pound bag.[p]Brant

Tim M

sprinter,[p]Royal Oak has a plant in southern Virginia too. I tried calling there but found a bad number I guess. I was thinking of going down to pick up a few bags and maybe see the factory (the old engineer in me). I would be interested to see what difference you see in the bags picked up vs shipped. [p]Royal Oak private brands for many people - I would assume they do it like most factories when they private brand, and that's to do special runs from time to time. They probably make a large run now and then to fill the order, rather than have a line running BGE lump all the time. I would assume they do it at the closest factory to Atlanta too(the ship to destination) to save shipping costs. [p]Tim

sprinter

Tim M,[p]I'll be in SE Missouri in July again, big friend get together to and make a river trip, camping, cooking, knocking the head off a few frothy barly pops. I plan on picking up some then and I'll let you know.[p]Troy