I keep finding Rocks in my Royal Oak (red bag)

I have had good luck with RO from Wally world. I think it's just hit or miss.

You're not alone, I find rocks in all brands I try.

i weighed a 20 pound bag of cowboy and found it was 22 pounds.  so i don't think anyone is getting ripped off by rocks in their charcoal.  i say this only because one guy had the idea that when the rocks hit 20 pounds, he'd demand a free bag of lump.  ignoring of course what the cost of his lump would be if the supplier were going to go thru and remove every rock by hand to insure rock-free bags.

the rocks can be in wood, on the ground (picked up when the charocal is loaded and handled by equipment), might even be something that falls of from the retort itself (if it's concrete), or from storage areas bounded by concrete walls.  i do know that some pieces i've gotten were refractory ceramic, probably from the retort where they fire the charcoal.

it's a non-issue, unless you get a five pound rock, maybe. 

if you ever watch the dirty jobs episode where charcoal is made, you'll see it isn't exactly a high-tech process.  and that's why charcoal doesn't cost even more than it already does.

Last two 20-pound bags of charcoal i weighed were 22 and 25 pounds

You're going to get rocks. It happens. Never had one that big, but this stuff is jet black and filthy. I'd imagine it's not really that easy to spot a rock as it comes down the chute into the bag.

I shudder to think what this stuff would cost if we required them to sort all the rocks from the lump. JMO

whether you find a couple of rocks or you dont find anything- i agree with stike, it's a non issue.

when it turns into a couple of pounds worth, then maybe i would shake my head.

i've gotten rocks in bags of wicked good too, honestly just part of the whole process and something you've gotta deal with. If you think kingsford blue bag doesn't have rocks in it, they're just ground up and put into the briquettes  themselves.

Rocks won't mess with smoke/heat too much.  Much more worried about insulation, bits of treated woods, etc

After learning that Royal Oal makes Kroger brand lump, I started getting that instead of RO at Wally World. For me, the Kroger brand is cheaper, and I'm consistently seeing larger chunks.

picked up six bags of RO at walmart 6.47 a bag for 8.8# opened a bag nice size pieces and no rocks also got frontier 34#bag at BJ's 19.99 also has nice size pieces think i'll be using them for my daily cooks and stick with WG for my long cooks 

Noticed more rock in RO lately. #10 blue bag "Star Grill" product of USA bought at Wally World in New Westminster BC had two nasties, the large one is concrete, the other a rock. Didn't weigh it before I opened it, but hope it was at least #12 to make up for this.

I have never found anything that big in any lump I've used. I have found a few small (under a 1/2 inch) ones in almost every kind I've used. 

LOL @ Fairchase