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Do Any You Sort Out Your Charcoal By Piece Size?

Cullum
Cullum Posts: 215
edited September 2012 in EggHead Forum
I'm thinking about starting to sort out each bag of charcoal by piece size. Just dump it all out and separate into separate containers. How many of you do this?
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Comments

  • I only sort when I do a long burn but it make sense because by the end of the bag all I have left is small pieces and dust.

  • Nope.
    My actuary says I'm dead.
  • FxLynch
    FxLynch Posts: 433
    I sort my bag into two containers  One for the huge shoe sized pieces and logs, another for the rest.  I just do it so I can grab a few of the large pieces when loading a fresh egg for a long cook.  Then dump the smaller and medium pieces on top.  
  • bigphil
    bigphil Posts: 1,390
    dump and go 
    Large Big Green Egg , XL Big Green Egg . BBQ Guru, Weber Kettle, Weber Q grill for road trips.
  • Why take away time for beer drinking just dump and go
    Life is short,love what you do or do something else
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    uummmmm nnoooooooo
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • If you do, please attach mailing address so we know where to send the meds.....
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • I have two large plastic containers that fit under my Egg table.  I dump the whole bag into one and pull the really good sized pieces and place in the second for really long cooks on giant grain fed Iowa pork shoulders and beef briskets.  Don't spend a lot of time on it, just remove the logs for later.  The vast majority of my cooks come out of the "dump" box and work just fine.  The sorting usually takes all of about 60 seconds.
    A poor widows son.
    See der Rabbits, Iowa
  • Not no but, heck no. Its all coal and it all burns. Why in gods name would you give yourself the drizzling shits over some lump? Just dump it in the egg and light it up.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • Dump and light every time no matter what kind of cook i'm doing.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • IrishDevl
    IrishDevl Posts: 1,390
    Sorting = sissy
  • Nope. Dump and light.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • K.I.S.S. method:  Dump, Light.

    Flint, Michigan
  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    Nope
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • Cullum
    Cullum Posts: 215
    Not no but, heck no. Its all coal and it all burns. Why in gods name would you give yourself the drizzling shits over some lump? Just dump it in the egg and light it up.
    Have you ever dumped a bag of small pieces or the bottom of the bag that is just basically powder in that clogged up your holes and tried to do a long cook with that? It's kind of hard to get good air flow that way. 
  • I always use fresh lump for long cooks. I save the other lump for everyday cooks.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • Cullum said:
    Not no but, heck no. Its all coal and it all burns. Why in gods name would you give yourself the drizzling shits over some lump? Just dump it in the egg and light it up.
    Have you ever dumped a bag of small pieces or the bottom of the bag that is just basically powder in that clogged up your holes and tried to do a long cook with that? It's kind of hard to get good air flow that way. 
    Understand where you are going here, but, for a longer cook, open the new bag, dump it in, then top up the fire box with the bottom end of the old bag. You know there will be chips and dust at the bottom of the bag, so always dump it on top, but, do not sort it. Now it also goes without saying that some folks just like to keep things organized while others seem to not care so much. Don't think sorting makes any difference in the end result, but if it makes you feel better, go for it. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • Cullum said:
    Not no but, heck no. Its all coal and it all burns. Why in gods name would you give yourself the drizzling shits over some lump? Just dump it in the egg and light it up.
    Have you ever dumped a bag of small pieces or the bottom of the bag that is just basically powder in that clogged up your holes and tried to do a long cook with that? It's kind of hard to get good air flow that way. 
    I have an XL aka the "no regrets" model. I have no problems with clogging. 
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • chrisnjenn
    chrisnjenn Posts: 534
    edited September 2012
  • Cullum said:
    Not no but, heck no. Its all coal and it all burns. Why in gods name would you give yourself the drizzling shits over some lump? Just dump it in the egg and light it up.
    Have you ever dumped a bag of small pieces or the bottom of the bag that is just basically powder in that clogged up your holes and tried to do a long cook with that? It's kind of hard to get good air flow that way. 
    All the time.  Stir it good and it will cook just fine.  Might take a little longer getting hot, but no big deal.



    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

  • I do the 2 container deal but I do have a good reason.  On occasion I have had problems getting up to high temp for short cooks.  I have determined that in each instance, I had small lump pieces blocking the air flow. 
    I clean about once a week or more often if a cook requires it.  I pull the largest of pieces just so I can be sure to have them available.  
    I usually try to clean on Sunday and put a new layer of large lump at the bottom of my lump. It has really helped me get good temps when I am running home from work and don't have much time to deal with cleaning etc....
    I do dump most of the week but one good setup on Sunday night really helps me be more efficient during the week.
     
  • I do. I have had an egg for about a month. I am trying different brands of lump and want to see how they compare, similar to the Naked Whiz reviews. At this point it is educational for me. Also makes it easy to prepare a fire for low and slow. I think a full load would go >24 hrs in my XL.
  • Dump, light, cook, repeat!

    "You are who you are when nobody is looking"

  • I do not sort other than if I am doing short cooks when I dump I take out a few big pieces to throw in a spare bag with only the big pieces for a low and slow.
    Steve Van Wert, Ohio XL BGE
  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
    edited September 2012
    No sorting here.  

    When I use the Egg, it's a relaxing, fun "egg-sperience" (though there have been a few times when cooking for an "event" or holiday where it's become hectic).  But for the most part, it's a time to become one w/ the universe (and drink beer) :>

    Because of that, if I had to sort lump sizes, or do a full cleanout of the ash in the Egg each time, or remove the old lump & use new lump each time, or clean my cooking grids each time, or any of a number of other things that I've seen/heard folks doing which I consider over-kill, I don't think I'd really get much enjoyment out of using the Egg & would only use it very minimally.  

    Perhaps I'm lazy, but one of the beautiful things I like about the Egg is it's simplicity - it utilizes a concept that man has conquered for quite some time now:  fire & wood  ;)  As far as cooking w/ it, to me it's pretty much "set & forget" - I don't fight & fuss w/ it much at all, which, to me, makes life a WHOLE lot easier >:D<

    JMHO,
    HH
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
  • I separate into tubs pick and choose what I want 
  • I dont do this, kinda see what you are getting at though. Let us know what you find out. I like for someone else to do all the DIRTY work and I can benefit from their findings.

    Conway, S.C.
  • I like to use large pieces of lump in the bottom of the fire box when I do a low and slow. IMHO it give me better air flow. So on my regular cooks I just pour and take any really large pieces of lump out of the fire box. I have a can that I store lump in and i save the large pieces. 

    Opelika, Alabama
  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    Only problem I have is using up some of the small stuff. The medium and big stuff is no problem but the small stuff chokes off the airflow. It's not a big deal, over the entire summer I probably only have a large baggie full of small stuff 'overage'. If I could somehow press that into larger pieces it'd be a perfect world. But what interest is there in that?